updates, values, messages, custom, checkpoints, tasks, and debug. Use it when you need direct access to graph-runtime events or specific stream-mode output.
Get started
Basic usage
LangGraph graphs expose thestream (sync) and astream (async) methods to yield streamed outputs as iterators. Pass one or more stream modes to control what data you receive.
Output
Full example
Full example
Output
Stream output format (v2)
Requires LangGraph >= 1.1. All examples on this page use
version="v2".version="v2" to stream() or astream() to get a unified output format. Every chunk is a StreamPart dict with a consistent shape — regardless of stream mode, number of modes, or subgraph settings:
TypedDict containing ValuesStreamPart, UpdatesStreamPart, MessagesStreamPart, CustomStreamPart, CheckpointStreamPart, TasksStreamPart, DebugStreamPart. You can import these types from langgraph.types. The union type StreamPart is a disjoing union on part["type"], enabling full type narrowing in editors and type checkers.
With v1 (default), the output format changes based on your streaming options (single mode returns raw data, multiple modes return (mode, data) tuples, subgraphs return (namespace, data) tuples). With v2, the format is always the same:
chunk["type"] and get the correct payload type. Each branch narrows part["data"] to the specific type for that mode:
Stream modes
Pass one or more of the following stream modes as a list to thestream or astream methods:
Graph state
Use the stream modesupdates and values to stream the state of the graph as it executes.
updatesstreams the updates to the state after each step of the graph.valuesstreams the full value of the state after each step of the graph.
- updates
- values
Use this to stream only the state updates returned by the nodes after each step. The streamed outputs include the name of the node as well as the update.
Output
LLM tokens
Use themessages streaming mode to stream Large Language Model (LLM) outputs token by token from any part of your graph, including nodes, tools, subgraphs, or tasks.
The streamed output from messages mode is a tuple (message_chunk, metadata) where:
message_chunk: the token or message segment from the LLM.metadata: a dictionary containing details about the graph node and LLM invocation.
If your LLM is not available as a LangChain integration, you can stream its outputs using custom mode instead. See use with any LLM for details.
Filter by LLM invocation
You can associatetags with LLM invocations to filter the streamed tokens by LLM invocation.
Omit messages from the stream
Use thenostream tag to exclude LLM output from the stream entirely. Invocations tagged with nostream still run and produce output; their tokens are simply not emitted in messages mode.
This is useful when:
- You need LLM output for internal processing (for example structured output) but do not want to stream it to the client
- You stream the same content through a different channel (for example custom UI messages) and want to avoid duplicate output in the
messagesstream
Filter by node
To stream tokens only from specific nodes, usestream_mode="messages" and filter the outputs by the langgraph_node field in the streamed metadata:
Extended example: streaming LLM tokens from specific nodes
Extended example: streaming LLM tokens from specific nodes
Custom data
To send custom user-defined data from inside a LangGraph node or tool, follow these steps:- Use
get_stream_writerto access the stream writer and emit custom data. - Set
stream_mode="custom"when calling.stream()or.astream()to get the custom data in the stream. You can combine multiple modes (e.g.,["updates", "custom"]), but at least one must be"custom".
- node
- tool
Subgraph outputs
To include outputs from subgraphs in the streamed outputs, you can setsubgraphs=True in the .stream() method of the parent graph. This will stream outputs from both the parent graph and any subgraphs.
The outputs will be streamed as tuples (namespace, data), where namespace is a tuple with the path to the node where a subgraph is invoked, e.g. ("parent_node:<task_id>", "child_node:<task_id>").
- v2 (LangGraph >= 1.1)
- v1 (default)
With
version="v2", subgraph events use the same StreamPart format. The ns field identifies the source:Extended example: streaming from subgraphs
Extended example: streaming from subgraphs
Checkpoints
Use thecheckpoints streaming mode to receive checkpoint events as the graph executes. Each checkpoint event has the same format as the output of get_state(). Requires a checkpointer.
Tasks
Use thetasks streaming mode to receive task start and finish events as the graph executes. Task events include information about which node is running, its results, and any errors. Requires a checkpointer.
Debug
Use thedebug streaming mode to stream as much information as possible throughout the execution of the graph. The streamed outputs include the name of the node as well as the full state.
The
debug mode combines checkpoints and tasks events with additional metadata. Use checkpoints or tasks directly if you only need a subset of the debug information.Multiple modes at once
You can pass a list as thestream_mode parameter to stream multiple modes at once.
With version="v2", every chunk is a StreamPart dict. Use chunk["type"] to distinguish between modes:
Advanced
Use with any LLM
You can usestream_mode="custom" to stream data from any LLM API—even if that API does not implement the LangChain chat model interface.
This lets you integrate raw LLM clients or external services that provide their own streaming interfaces, making LangGraph highly flexible for custom setups.
Extended example: streaming arbitrary chat model
Extended example: streaming arbitrary chat model
Disable streaming for specific chat models
If your application mixes models that support streaming with those that do not, you may need to explicitly disable streaming for models that do not support it. Setstreaming=False when initializing the model.
- init_chat_model
- Chat model interface
Not all chat model integrations support the
streaming parameter. If your model doesn’t support it, use disable_streaming=True instead. This parameter is available on all chat models via the base class.Migrate to v2
The v2 streaming format (used throughout this page) provides a unified output format. Here’s a summary of the key differences and how to migrate:v2 invoke format
When you passversion="v2" to invoke() or ainvoke(), it returns a GraphOutput object with .value and .interrupts attributes:
"values", invoke(..., stream_mode="updates", version="v2") returns list[StreamPart] instead of list[tuple].
This separates state from interrupt metadata. With v1, interrupts are embedded in the returned dict under __interrupt__:
Pydantic and dataclass state coercion
When your graph state is a Pydantic model or dataclass, v2values mode automatically coerces output to the correct type:
Async with Python < 3.11
In Python versions < 3.11, asyncio tasks do not support thecontext parameter.
This limits LangGraph ability to automatically propagate context, and affects LangGraph’s streaming mechanisms in two key ways:
- You must explicitly pass
RunnableConfiginto async LLM calls (e.g.,ainvoke()), as callbacks are not automatically propagated. - You cannot use
get_stream_writerin async nodes or tools—you must pass awriterargument directly.
Extended example: async LLM call with manual config
Extended example: async LLM call with manual config
Extended example: async custom streaming with stream writer
Extended example: async custom streaming with stream writer
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