> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.helicone.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Trace Tools with the Logger SDK

> Log LLM responses from any external tools used in your LLM applications using Helicone's Logger SDK.

export const strings = {
  additionalHeadersForSessions: "Helicone provides additional headers to help you manage and analyze your sessions.",
  azureOpenAIDocs: `To learn more about the differences between OpenAI and AzureOpenAI, review the <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/openai/overview">documentation here</a>.`,
  chainOfThoughtPromptingCookbookDescription: "Craft effective prompts, ideal for complex responses requiring multi-step problem solving.",
  chatbotCookbookDescription: "This step-by-step guide covers function calling, response formatting and monitoring with Helicone.",
  createHeliconeManualLogger: "Create a new HeliconeManualLogger instance",
  configureWebSocketConnection: "Configure WebSocket connection",
  environmentTrackingCookbookDescription: "Effortlessly track and manage your environments with Helicone across different deployment contexts.",
  exportBaseUrl: tool => `Export your ${tool} base URL`,
  getStartedWithPackage: "To get started, install the @helicone/helpers package",
  generateKey: "Create an account and generate an API key",
  generateKeyInstructions: `Log into <a href="https://www.helicone.ai" target="_blank">Helicone</a> or create an account. Once you have an account, you can generate an <a href="https://helicone.ai/developer" target="_blank">API key here</a>.`,
  generateSessionId: "Generate the unique session ID that will be used to track the session.",
  gettingUserRequestsCookbookDescription: "Retrieve user-specific requests to monitor, debug, and track costs for individual users.",
  githubActionsCookbookDescription: "Automate the monitoring and caching of your LLM calls in your CI pipelines for better deployment processes.",
  groupingCallsWithSessions: "Grouping Calls with Helicone Sessions",
  handleWebSocketEvents: "Handle WebSocket events",
  heliconeLoggerAPIReference: `To learn more about the <code>HeliconeManualLogger</code> API, see the <a href="/getting-started/integration-method/custom" target="_blank">API Reference here</a>.`,
  howToIntegrate: "How to Integrate",
  howToPromptThinkingModelsCookbookDescription: "Best practices to to effectively prompt thinking models like Deepseek and OpenAI o1-o3 for optimal results.",
  howToUseSessions: "To group related API calls and analyze them collectively, you can use Helicone's session tracking features. This is useful for grouping all interactions within a single conversation or user session.",
  includeHeadersInRequests: "Include headers in your requests",
  includeSessionHeaders: "Include the session headers when you make API requests. This way, the session information is attached to each request, allowing Helicone to group and analyze them together.",
  installRequiredDependencies: "Install required dependencies",
  installSDK: tool => `Install ${tool}`,
  logYourRequest: "Log your request",
  modelRegistryDescription: "You can find all 100+ supported models at <a href=\"https://helicone.ai/models\" target=\"_blank\">helicone.ai/models</a>.",
  modifyBasePath: "Modify the base URL path",
  optional: "Optional",
  relatedGuides: "Related Guides",
  replayLlmSessionsCookbookDescription: "Learn how to replay and modify LLM sessions using Helicone to optimize your AI agents and improve their performance.",
  sessionManagement: "Session Management",
  setApiKey: "Set up your Helicone API key in your .env file",
  setUpToolBaseUrl: tool => `Set up your ${tool} base URL`,
  setUpToolApiKey: tool => `Set up your ${tool} API key as an environment variable`,
  startUsing: tool => `Start using ${tool} with Helicone`,
  useTheSDK: tool => `Use the ${tool} SDK`,
  verifyInHelicone: "Verify your requests in Helicone",
  verifyInHeliconeDesciption: tool => `With the above setup, any calls to ${tool} will automatically be logged and monitored by Helicone. Review them in your <a href="https://www.helicone.ai/dashboard" target="_blank">Helicone dashboard</a>.`,
  viewRequestsInDashboard: "View requests in the Helicone dashboard",
  viewRequestsInDashboardDescription: product => `All your ${product} requests are now visible in your <a href="https://us.helicone.ai/dashboard" target="_blank">Helicone dashboard</a>.`,
  whyUseSessions: "By including the session headers in each request, you have more granular control over session tracking. This approach is especially useful if you want to handle sessions dynamically or manage multiple sessions concurrently."
};

<Steps>
  <Step title={strings.getStartedWithPackage}>
    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash npm theme={null}
      npm install @helicone/helpers
      ```

      ```bash pip theme={null}
      pip install helicone-helpers
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title={strings.setApiKey}>
    <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: strings.generateKeyInstructions }} />

    ```bash theme={null}
    export HELICONE_API_KEY=<your-helicone-api-key>
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title={strings.createHeliconeManualLogger}>
    <CodeGroup>
      ```js js theme={null}
      import { HeliconeManualLogger } from "@helicone/helpers";

      const heliconeLogger = new HeliconeManualLogger({
        apiKey: process.env.HELICONE_API_KEY,
        headers: {} // Additional headers sent with the request (optional)
      });
      ```

      ```python python theme={null}
      from helicone_helpers import HeliconeManualLogger

      helicone_logger = HeliconeManualLogger(
        api_key=os.getenv("HELICONE_API_KEY"),
        headers={} # Additional headers sent with the request (optional)
      )
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title={strings.logYourRequest}>
    <CodeGroup>
      ```js js theme={null}
      const tools = [{
        "type": "function",
        "function": {
          "name": "getWeather",
          "description": "Get current temperature for a given location.",
          "parameters": {
              "type": "object",
              "properties": {
                  "location": {
                      "type": "string",
                      "description": "City and country e.g. Bogotá, Colombia"
                  }
              },
              "required": [
                  "location"
              ],
              "additionalProperties": false
          },
          "strict": true
        }
      }];

      const request = await heliconeLogger.logRequest(
        tools,
        async (resultRecorder) => {
          // The actual tool call
          const response = await fetch("https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions", {
            method: "POST",
            headers: {
              "Content-Type": "application/json",
              "Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY}`
            },
            body: JSON.stringify({
              model: "gpt-4o-mini",
              messages: [
                {
                  role: "user",
                  content: "What's the weather like in Bogotá, Colombia?"
                }
              ],
              tools
            })
          });

          const results = await response.json();

          // Log the results to Helicone
          resultRecorder.appendResults({
            response: results,
            usage: results.usage,
            model: results.model
          });

          return results;
        },
        {
          "Helicone-Property-Session": "user-123" // Optional: Add session tracking or any custom properties
        }
      );
      ```

      ```python python theme={null}
      import os
      import requests

      tools = [{
      "type": "function",
      "function": {
        "name": "getWeather",
        "description": "Get current temperature for a given location.",
        "parameters": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "location": {
              "type": "string",
              "description": "City and country e.g. Bogotá, Colombia"
            }
          },
          "required": ["location"],
          "additionalProperties": False
        },
        "strict": True
      }
      }]

      def tool_call(result_recorder):
      # The tool call
      response = requests.post(
          "https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions",
          headers={
              "Content-Type": "application/json",
              "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.getenv('OPENAI_API_KEY')}"
          },
          json={
              "model": "gpt-4o-mini",
              "messages": [
                  {
                      "role": "user",
                      "content": "What's the weather like in Panama City, Panama?"
                  }
              ],
              "tools": tools
          }
      )
      response_json = response.json()

      # Log the results to Helicone
      result_recorder.append_results({
          "response": response_json,
          "usage": response_json.get("usage"),
          "model": response_json.get("model")
      })
      return response

      request = helicone_logger.log_request(
        provider="openai",
        request={"tools": tools},
        operation=tool_call,
        additional_headers={
            "Helicone-Property-Session": "user-123" # Optional: Add session tracking or any custom properties
        }
      )
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title={strings.verifyInHelicone}>
    <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: strings.verifyInHeliconeDesciption("any tool") }} />
  </Step>
</Steps>

For more complex examples including APIs, database queries, and document search, check out our [full examples on GitHub](https://github.com/Helicone/helicone/tree/main/examples/tools/python).

<div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: strings.heliconeLoggerAPIReference }} />

## Related Guides

* [How to use Helicone Sessions](/guides/sessions)
* [How to use Helicone Custom Properties](/guides/custom-properties)