src/core/README.md

OpenEnv: Agentic Execution Environments

An e2e framework for creating, deploying and using isolated execution environments for agentic RL training, built using Gymnasium style simple APIs. OpenEnv provides a standard for interacting with agentic execution environments via simple Gymnasium style APIs - step(), reset(), state(). Users of agentic execution environments can interact with the environment during RL training loops using these simple APIs.

In addition to making it easier for researchers and RL framework writers, we also provide tools for environment creators making it easier for them to create richer environments and make them available over familiar protocols like HTTP and packaged using canonical technologies like docker. Environment creators can use the OpenEnv framework to create environments that are isolated, secure, and easy to deploy and use.

Overview

openenv.core provides the foundational building blocks for creating and interacting with containerized environments over HTTP. It enables you to build agent environments that can be deployed as Docker containers and accessed via a simple HTTP API.

⚠️ Early Development Warning OpenEnv is currently in an experimental stage. You should expect bugs, incomplete features, and APIs that may change in future versions. The project welcomes bugfixes, but to make sure things are well coordinated you should discuss any significant change before starting the work. It's recommended that you signal your intention to contribute in the issue tracker, either by filing a new issue or by claiming an existing one.

OpenEnv Core

Core components for OpenEnv - a framework for building HTTP-based agentic environments.

Features

• EnvClient: Async-first client for interacting with remote environments
• SyncEnvClient: Synchronous wrapper via .sync() for sync codebases
• HTTPEnvServer: FastAPI-based server wrapper for exposing environments over HTTP/WebSocket
• Container Providers: Pluggable architecture for running containers (Docker, Kubernetes, etc.)
• Type System: Strongly-typed Action/Observation/State interfaces
• Web Interface: Optional web UI for interacting with environments

Installation

pip install "openenv[core]"

For development:

pip install "openenv[core]"

Quick Start

Creating an Environment Client

EnvClient is async by default. Use async with and await for all operations:

import asyncio
from openenv.core import EnvClient, StepResult
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Any

@dataclass
class MyAction:
    text: str

@dataclass
class MyObservation:
    response: str

class MyEnvClient(EnvClient[MyAction, MyObservation, Any]):
    def _step_payload(self, action: MyAction) -> dict:
        return {"text": action.text}

    def _parse_result(self, payload: dict) -> StepResult[MyObservation]:
        obs_data = payload["observation"]
        return StepResult(
            observation=MyObservation(**obs_data),
            reward=payload.get("reward"),
            done=payload.get("done", False)
        )

    def _parse_state(self, payload: dict) -> Any:
        return payload

# Async usage (recommended)
async def main():
    client = await MyEnvClient.from_docker_image("my-env:latest")
    async with client:
        result = await client.reset()
        step_result = await client.step(MyAction(text="hello"))

asyncio.run(main())

# Sync usage (via .sync() wrapper)
with MyEnvClient(base_url="http://localhost:8000").sync() as client:
    result = client.reset()
    step_result = client.step(MyAction(text="hello"))

Creating an Environment Server

from openenv.core.env_server import Environment, HTTPEnvServer, create_app
from dataclasses import dataclass

@dataclass
class MyAction:
    text: str

@dataclass
class MyObservation:
    response: str
    reward: float = 0.0
    done: bool = False

class MyEnvironment(Environment):
    def reset(self) -> MyObservation:
        return MyObservation(response="Ready")

    def step(self, action: MyAction) -> MyObservation:
        return MyObservation(
            response=f"Echo: {action.text}",
            reward=1.0,
            done=False
        )

# Create FastAPI app
env = MyEnvironment()
app = create_app(env, MyAction, MyObservation)

# Run with: uvicorn module:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Container Providers

OpenEnv Core supports multiple container providers:

Local Docker Provider

from openenv.core.containers.runtime import LocalDockerProvider

provider = LocalDockerProvider()
base_url = provider.start_container("my-env:latest")
provider.wait_for_ready(base_url)
# Use environment...
provider.stop_container()

Kubernetes Provider (Coming Soon)

from openenv.core.containers.runtime import KubernetesProvider

provider = KubernetesProvider(namespace="envs")
base_url = provider.start_container("my-env:latest")
# Use environment...
provider.stop_container()

API Reference

EnvClient

Async base class for environment clients. Key methods:

• async connect(): Establish WebSocket connection
• async reset(**kwargs): Reset environment
• async step(action): Execute action
• async state(): Get current state
• async close(): Close connection and cleanup
• sync(): Return a SyncEnvClient wrapper for synchronous usage

Abstract methods to implement:

• _step_payload(action): Convert action to JSON
• _parse_result(payload): Parse response to StepResult
• _parse_state(payload): Parse state response

SyncEnvClient

Synchronous wrapper around EnvClient. Use client.sync() to get one:

sync_client = async_client.sync()
with sync_client:
    result = sync_client.reset()
    result = sync_client.step(action)

HTTPEnvServer

Server wrapper with these methods:

• register_routes(app): Register endpoints on FastAPI app
• _deserialize_action(data): Convert JSON to Action
• _serialize_observation(obs): Convert Observation to JSON

Environment Interface

Base interface for environment implementations:

• reset(): Reset environment and return initial observation
• step(action): Execute action and return observation
• state: Property returning current environment state

License

This project is licensed under the BSD-3-Clause License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see the main OpenEnv repository for contribution guidelines.

Links

• Homepage: https://github.com/meta-pytorch/OpenEnv
• Documentation: https://github.com/meta-pytorch/OpenEnv/blob/main/README.md
• Bug Tracker: https://github.com/meta-pytorch/OpenEnv/issues