fix: serialize nested BaseModel values in dict inputs (v0.5.7)

[dineshreddy91]

Summary

• Fixes TypeError: Object of type MessageContent is not JSON serializable when passing dict inputs containing nested Pydantic BaseModel values (e.g. MessageContent) to client.agent.execute().
• Adds _serialize_value() static method that recursively walks dict/list structures and calls model_dump(exclude_none=True) on any BaseModel instances before the payload reaches json.dumps().
• Fully backward compatible — plain dict inputs with string/int/bool values pass through unchanged.
• Bumps version to 0.5.7.

Reproducer (before fix)

from vlmrun.client import VLMRun
from vlmrun.types import MessageContent

client = VLMRun(base_url="https://agent.vlm.run/v1", api_key="...")
response = client.agent.execute(
    inputs={"file": MessageContent(type="input_file", file_id="some-uuid")},
    batch=True,
)
# TypeError: Object of type MessageContent is not JSON serializable

Test plan

• Existing TestAgentProcessInputs::test_process_inputs_with_dict — plain dict inputs still work
• Existing TestAgentProcessInputs::test_process_inputs_with_basemodel — BaseModel inputs still work
• Existing TestAgentProcessInputs::test_process_inputs_with_none — None inputs still work
• New: test_process_inputs_dict_with_nested_basemodel — MessageContent in dict is serialized
• New: test_process_inputs_dict_with_list_of_basemodels — list of MessageContent is serialized
• New: test_process_inputs_dict_plain_values_unchanged — plain values pass through unchanged
• New: test_process_inputs_dict_with_nested_dict_containing_basemodel — deeply nested BaseModel is serialized
• All 24 tests pass

Made with Cursor

[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request addresses a critical serialization issue where Pydantic BaseModel objects nested within dictionary inputs were not correctly converted to JSON-serializable formats, leading to TypeError exceptions. The solution introduces a robust, recursive serialization utility that ensures all BaseModel instances are properly dumped into dictionaries, thereby enabling seamless JSON serialization for complex input structures while maintaining compatibility with existing plain dictionary inputs.

Highlights

• Serialization Fix: Resolved a TypeError occurring when dictionary inputs to client.agent.execute() contained nested Pydantic BaseModel values, preventing JSON serialization.
• Recursive Serialization Utility: Implemented a new static method, _serialize_value(), which recursively traverses dictionary and list structures to convert BaseModel instances into dictionaries using model_dump(exclude_none=True) before JSON serialization.
• Backward Compatibility: Ensured full backward compatibility, allowing plain dictionary inputs with primitive types to pass through without modification.
• Version Bump: Incremented the package version to 0.5.7.

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Changelog

• tests/test_agent.py
  • Added json and MessageContent imports.
  • Introduced new test cases to validate the serialization of nested BaseModel objects within dictionaries and lists, and to confirm that plain dictionary values are unaffected.
• vlmrun/client/agent.py
  • Implemented a new static method _serialize_value for recursively converting BaseModel instances to dictionaries.
  • Integrated _serialize_value into the _process_inputs method to handle dictionary inputs containing nested Pydantic models.
• vlmrun/version.py
  • Updated the package version from 0.5.6 to 0.5.7.

Activity

• The author, dineshreddy91, has provided a detailed summary of the fix, including a reproducer and a comprehensive test plan.
• Existing tests for plain dict, BaseModel, and None inputs were verified to still pass.
• Four new test cases were added to specifically cover nested BaseModel serialization within dicts and lists, and to confirm plain value preservation.
• All 24 tests passed after the changes.

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[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request effectively addresses a TypeError during JSON serialization of nested Pydantic BaseModel instances within dictionary inputs by introducing a recursive _serialize_value helper. The changes are well-tested with new unit tests covering various scenarios. I have a few suggestions to improve the implementation's robustness and maintainability.

[gemini-code-assist]

The current implementation only handles lists. It would be more robust to also handle other sequence types like tuples, which might also contain BaseModel instances. If a tuple of BaseModels is passed, json.dumps will fail.

Suggested change

	elif isinstance(value, list):
	elif isinstance(value, (list, tuple)):

[gemini-code-assist]

To improve maintainability and reduce code duplication, consider defining the MockClient class once at the TestAgentProcessInputs class level or as a pytest fixture. It is repeated in every test method within this test class (e.g., test_process_inputs_with_dict, test_process_inputs_with_basemodel, etc.), including the newly added tests.

[gemini-code-assist]

For consistency with how _serialize_value is called within itself recursively, it would be clearer to call it as a static method using Agent._serialize_value(...) here as well, instead of self._serialize_value(...). This makes it more explicit that it's a static method and doesn't depend on the instance state.

Suggested change

	return {k: self._serialize_value(v) for k, v in inputs.items()}
	return {k: Agent._serialize_value(v) for k, v in inputs.items()}