domino-python-sdk

name	domino-python-sdk
description	Programmatically interact with Domino using python-domino SDK and REST APIs. Covers authentication, running jobs, managing projects, file operations, model deployment, and automation. Use when automating Domino workflows, integrating with CI/CD, or building custom tooling around Domino.

Domino Python SDK Skill

Description

This skill helps users work with the Domino Python SDK (python-domino) and REST APIs to programmatically interact with Domino.

Activation

Activate this skill when users want to:

• Use the Domino Python SDK
• Make API calls to Domino
• Automate Domino workflows
• Integrate Domino with external systems
• Query Domino programmatically

Overview

Domino provides two main programmatic interfaces:

• python-domino: Python SDK for common operations
• REST API: Full HTTP API for all Domino features

Installation

python-domino

# Install from PyPI
pip install dominodatalab

# Or install with extras
pip install "dominodatalab[data]"

In Domino Environment

Add to requirements.txt:

dominodatalab>=1.4.0

Or Dockerfile:

RUN pip install dominodatalab

Authentication

Preferred: Access Token (inside Domino)

When running inside Domino (workspace, job, app, model), fetch a short-lived bearer token from the local sidecar:

import requests, os

TOKEN = requests.get("http://localhost:8899/access-token").text.strip()
BASE = os.environ["DOMINO_API_HOST"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

Use headers on all requests calls. Prefer this over the SDK for new code — see REST API section below.

SDK Authentication (deprecated pattern)

Note: DOMINO_USER_API_KEY and the api_key= parameter are deprecated and will be removed in a future Domino release. Use the access-token endpoint above for new code. The SDK options below are documented for reference only.

from domino import Domino

# Option 1: Pass credentials directly (deprecated)
domino = Domino(
    host="https://your-domino.com",
    api_key="your-api-key",
    project="owner/project-name"
)

# Option 2: Environment variables (deprecated)
import os
os.environ["DOMINO_API_HOST"] = "https://your-domino.com"
os.environ["DOMINO_USER_API_KEY"] = "your-api-key"

domino = Domino("owner/project-name")

# Option 3: Inside Domino (auto-configured via injected env vars)
domino = Domino("owner/project-name")

Common Operations

Projects

from domino import Domino

domino = Domino()

# Create project
project = domino.project_create(
    project_name="my-new-project",
    owner_name="username"
)

# Get project info
info = domino.project_info()
print(f"Project: {info['name']}")
print(f"ID: {info['id']}")

Jobs (Runs)

# Start a job
run = domino.runs_start(
    command="python train.py --epochs 100",
    hardware_tier_name="medium",
    environment_id="env-id"
)
print(f"Run ID: {run['runId']}")

# Start job with different commit
run = domino.runs_start(
    command="python train.py",
    commit_id="abc123"
)

# Check status
status = domino.runs_status(run['runId'])
print(f"Status: {status['status']}")

# Wait for completion
domino.runs_wait(run['runId'])

# Get logs
logs = domino.runs_get_logs(run['runId'])
print(logs)

# Stop a run
domino.runs_stop(run['runId'])

Workspaces

# Start workspace
workspace = domino.workspace_start(
    hardware_tier_name="medium",
    environment_id="env-id",
    workspace_type="JupyterLab"
)
print(f"Workspace ID: {workspace['workspaceId']}")

# Stop workspace
domino.workspace_stop(workspace['workspaceId'])

Files

# Upload file
domino.files_upload(
    path="local/file.csv",
    dest_path="/mnt/code/data/"
)

# Download file
domino.files_download(
    path="/mnt/code/results/output.csv",
    dest_path="local/output.csv"
)

# List files
files = domino.files_list("/mnt/code/")
for f in files:
    print(f['path'])

Datasets

# Create dataset
dataset = domino.datasets_create(
    name="training-data",
    description="Training dataset"
)

# List datasets
datasets = domino.datasets_list()

# Create snapshot
snapshot = domino.datasets_snapshot(
    dataset_name="training-data",
    tag="v1.0"
)

Environments

# List environments
environments = domino.environments_list()
for env in environments:
    print(f"{env['name']}: {env['id']}")

# Get environment details
env = domino.environment_get("env-id")

Model APIs

# Publish model
model = domino.model_publish(
    file="model.py",
    function="predict",
    environment_id="env-id",
    name="my-classifier",
    description="Classification model"
)
print(f"Model ID: {model['id']}")

# List models
models = domino.models_list()

# Get model info
model_info = domino.model_get("model-id")

REST API

Direct API Calls

import requests, os

TOKEN = requests.get("http://localhost:8899/access-token").text.strip()
BASE = os.environ["DOMINO_API_HOST"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

# Get projects
response = requests.get(f"{BASE}/v4/projects", headers=headers)
projects = response.json()

# Start a run
response = requests.post(
    f"{BASE}/v4/projects/{project_id}/runs",
    headers=headers,
    json={
        "command": "python train.py",
        "hardwareTierId": "tier-id"
    }
)
run = response.json()

Common Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/v4/projects	GET	List projects
/v4/projects/{id}/runs	POST	Start a run
/v4/projects/{id}/runs/{runId}	GET	Get run status
/v4/projects/{id}/files	GET	List files
/v4/gateway/runs/{runId}/logs	GET	Get run logs
/v4/models	GET	List models
/v4/models/{id}/latest/model	POST	Call model

Domino Data API

Separate SDK for data access:

from domino_data.data_sources import DataSourceClient

# Initialize client
client = DataSourceClient()

# List data sources
sources = client.list_data_sources()

# Query data source
df = client.get_datasource("my-datasource").query(
    "SELECT * FROM customers WHERE region = 'US'"
)

Automation Examples

CI/CD Integration

# trigger_training.py - Call from CI/CD pipeline
from domino import Domino
import sys

domino = Domino("team/ml-project")

# Start training job
run = domino.runs_start(
    command="python train.py",
    hardware_tier_name="gpu-large"
)

# Wait for completion
result = domino.runs_wait(run['runId'])

if result['status'] != 'Succeeded':
    print(f"Training failed: {result['status']}")
    sys.exit(1)

print("Training completed successfully!")

Batch Job Scheduler

# Run multiple experiments
from domino import Domino
import itertools

domino = Domino("team/experiments")

# Parameter grid
params = {
    "learning_rate": [0.01, 0.001, 0.0001],
    "batch_size": [32, 64, 128]
}

# Generate combinations
combinations = list(itertools.product(*params.values()))
param_names = list(params.keys())

# Submit all experiments
runs = []
for combo in combinations:
    param_str = " ".join(
        f"--{name}={value}"
        for name, value in zip(param_names, combo)
    )
    run = domino.runs_start(
        command=f"python experiment.py {param_str}",
        hardware_tier_name="gpu-small"
    )
    runs.append(run['runId'])
    print(f"Started run {run['runId']} with {param_str}")

# Wait for all to complete
for run_id in runs:
    result = domino.runs_wait(run_id)
    print(f"Run {run_id}: {result['status']}")

Model Deployment Pipeline

from domino import Domino

domino = Domino("team/model-deployment")

# 1. Train model
train_run = domino.runs_start(command="python train.py")
domino.runs_wait(train_run['runId'])

# 2. Evaluate model
eval_run = domino.runs_start(command="python evaluate.py")
domino.runs_wait(eval_run['runId'])

# 3. Deploy if evaluation passes
# (Check evaluation results first)
model = domino.model_publish(
    file="serve.py",
    function="predict",
    name="production-model"
)

print(f"Model deployed: {model['id']}")

Error Handling

from domino import Domino
from domino.exceptions import DominoException

try:
    domino = Domino("team/project")
    run = domino.runs_start(command="python train.py")
except DominoException as e:
    print(f"Domino error: {e}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Unexpected error: {e}")

Best Practices

1. Use the Access Token Endpoint

import requests, os

# Fetch a short-lived token from the local sidecar (inside Domino)
TOKEN = requests.get("http://localhost:8899/access-token").text.strip()
BASE = os.environ["DOMINO_API_HOST"]

2. Handle Rate Limits

import time
from domino.exceptions import DominoException

def api_call_with_retry(func, max_retries=3):
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        try:
            return func()
        except DominoException as e:
            if "rate limit" in str(e).lower():
                time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
            else:
                raise
    raise Exception("Max retries exceeded")

3. Log API Calls

import logging

logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def start_run(command):
    logger.info(f"Starting run: {command}")
    run = domino.runs_start(command=command)
    logger.info(f"Run ID: {run['runId']}")
    return run

Detailed API Reference

For comprehensive REST API documentation, see these specialized guides:

Guide	Description
API-PROJECTS.md	Projects, collaborators, Git repos, goals
API-JOBS.md	Jobs, scheduled jobs, logs, tags
API-DATASETS.md	Datasets, snapshots, tags, grants
API-MODELS.md	Model APIs, deployments, registry
API-ENVIRONMENTS.md	Environments, revisions, Dockerfile
API-APPS.md	Apps, versions, instances, logs
API-ADMIN.md	Users, orgs, hardware tiers, data sources
API-REFERENCE.md	Complete endpoint reference

Documentation Reference

Before writing or verifying any API call, use the cluster swagger to confirm current endpoint paths and field names. Use public docs for workflow context and field explanations.

Get the cluster base URL: $DOMINO_API_HOST (injected by Domino into every workspace, job, and app).

Fetch the swagger spec:

# No authentication required for the public API spec
curl "$DOMINO_API_HOST/assets/public-api.json"
# Browser UI: $DOMINO_API_HOST/assets/lib/swagger-ui/index.html?url=/assets/public-api.json#/

Public docs (workflow context and field explanations):

• API Guide
• REST API Reference
• python-domino Library
• GitHub Repository