The Cohere Python SDK natively supports Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Generative AI service. With `pip install cohere[oci]`, you get `OciClient` and `OciClientV2` classes that behave identically to the Cohere-hosted `Client` and `ClientV2` -- same methods, same response types, same streaming format. Switching from Cohere's hosted API to OCI Generative AI means changing one constructor.

Under the hood, the SDK handles URL rewriting, request and response format translation, OCI cryptographic request signing, and streaming event transformation. Your application code never sees the OCI-specific details.

## Available Models

The SDK supports all Cohere models available on OCI Generative AI, including the Command A family (via `OciClientV2`), the Command R family (via `OciClient`), Embed models, and Rerank models. For the current list of available models and their IDs, see the [OCI Generative AI pretrained models documentation](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/generative-ai/pretrained-models.htm).

## Installation

```bash
pip install cohere[oci]
```

This installs the Cohere SDK along with the OCI SDK dependency required for authentication and request signing.

## Quick Start

### Chat with Command A (V2 API)

```python
import cohere

client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

response = client.chat(
    model="command-a-03-2025",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Explain RAG in three sentences.",
        },
    ],
)

print(response.message.content[0].text)
```

### Chat with Command R (V1 API)

```python
import cohere

client = cohere.OciClient(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

response = client.chat(
    model="command-r-plus-08-2024",
    message="Explain RAG in three sentences.",
)

print(response.text)
```

### Embeddings

```python
import cohere

client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

response = client.embed(
    model="embed-english-v3.0",
    texts=["Oracle Cloud Infrastructure", "Generative AI service"],
    input_type="search_document",
)

for i, embedding in enumerate(response.embeddings.float_):
    print(f"Text {i}: {len(embedding)} dimensions")
```

### Streaming (V2)

```python
import cohere

client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

for event in client.chat_stream(
    model="command-a-03-2025",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Explain RAG in three sentences."}
    ],
):
    if event.type == "content-delta":
        print(event.delta.message.content.text, end="")
```

### Streaming (V1)

```python
import cohere

client = cohere.OciClient(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

for event in client.chat_stream(
    model="command-r-plus-08-2024",
    message="Explain RAG in three sentences.",
):
    if hasattr(event, "text") and event.text:
        print(event.text, end="")
```

The SDK transforms OCI's streaming format to match Cohere's standard streaming events. V2 uses `message-start`, `content-delta`, `content-end`, `message-end`; V1 uses `stream-start`, `text-generation`, `stream-end`.

## Authentication

The SDK supports five authentication methods, covering every deployment scenario from local development to serverless production.

### 1. Config File (Default)

Uses `~/.oci/config` with the `DEFAULT` profile. No additional parameters needed beyond region and compartment.

```python
client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)
```

### 2. Custom Profile

Use a specific profile from your OCI config file.

```python
client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_profile="MY_PROFILE",
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)
```

### 3. Session-based Authentication

Works with OCI CLI session tokens. The SDK automatically re-reads the token file on each request, so `oci session refresh` is picked up without restarting the client.

```python
client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_profile="MY_SESSION_PROFILE",  # Profile with security_token_file
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)
```

### 4. Direct Credentials

Pass OCI credentials directly without a config file. Useful for CI/CD pipelines or containerized deployments.

```python
client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_user_id="ocid1.user.oc1...",
    oci_fingerprint="xx:xx:xx:...",
    oci_tenancy_id="ocid1.tenancy.oc1...",
    oci_private_key_path="~/.oci/key.pem",
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)
```

### 5. Instance Principal

For applications running on OCI Compute instances. No credentials needed -- the instance's identity is used automatically.

```python
client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    auth_type="instance_principal",
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)
```

### 6. Resource Principal

For OCI Functions (serverless). Zero credentials in the deployment -- the function inherits the compartment's security posture.

```python
client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    auth_type="resource_principal",
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)
```

## V1 vs V2 API

The SDK provides two client classes that map to the two OCI Generative AI API formats:

|                      | `OciClient` (V1)                       | `OciClientV2` (V2)                              |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| **Chat models**      | Command R family                       | Command A family                                |
| **Chat format**      | Single `message` string                | `messages` array                                |
| **Streaming events** | `text-generation`, `stream-end`        | `message-start`, `content-delta`, `message-end` |
| **Embed response**   | `response.embeddings` (list of floats) | `response.embeddings.float_` (dict by type)     |
| **Tool use**         | `tools` + `tool_results`               | `tools` + `tool_calls` + `tool_choice`          |
| **Thinking**         | Not supported                          | Supported via `thinking` parameter              |

## Tool Use (V2)

Command A supports native tool use on OCI Generative AI. Define tools and the model will return `tool_calls` with structured arguments.

```python
import cohere

client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

response = client.chat(
    model="command-a-03-2025",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "What's the weather in Toronto?"}
    ],
    max_tokens=200,
    tools=[
        {
            "type": "function",
            "function": {
                "name": "get_weather",
                "description": "Get current weather for a location",
                "parameters": {
                    "type": "object",
                    "properties": {
                        "location": {
                            "type": "string",
                            "description": "City name",
                        }
                    },
                    "required": ["location"],
                },
            },
        }
    ],
)

if response.message.tool_calls:
    for tc in response.message.tool_calls:
        print(f"{tc.function.name}({tc.function.arguments})")
# Output: get_weather({"location":"Toronto"})
```

## Vision (V2)

Command A Vision can reason over images alongside text. Pass images as base64 data URIs or URLs in the message content.

```python
import cohere
import base64

client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

# Read and encode an image
with open("document.png", "rb") as f:
    img_b64 = base64.b64encode(f.read()).decode()

response = client.chat(
    model="command-a-vision",
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "text",
                    "text": "Describe what you see in this image.",
                },
                {
                    "type": "image_url",
                    "image_url": {
                        "url": f"data:image/png;base64,{img_b64}"
                    },
                },
            ],
        }
    ],
)

print(response.message.content[0].text)
```

## Embed v4

Embed v4 is Cohere's latest embedding model with 1536 dimensions, available alongside the Embed v3 family.

```python
import cohere

client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

response = client.embed(
    model="embed-v4.0",
    texts=["Oracle Cloud Infrastructure", "Generative AI service"],
    input_type="search_document",
)

for i, embedding in enumerate(response.embeddings.float_):
    print(f"Text {i}: {len(embedding)} dimensions")
# Output: 1536 dimensions per text
```

## Supported Features

| Feature       | OCI Support                                         |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| `chat`        | Supported                                           |
| `chat_stream` | Supported                                           |
| `embed`       | Supported                                           |
| `rerank`      | Dedicated endpoints only                            |
| `generate`    | Not supported (OCI base models require fine-tuning) |
| `classify`    | Not supported                                       |
| `summarize`   | Not supported                                       |
| `tokenize`    | Offline only                                        |
| `detokenize`  | Offline only                                        |

## End-to-End Example

The following example demonstrates a complete application flow on OCI Generative AI: embedding documents for a knowledge base, retrieving relevant context, using tool calling for live data, processing images with vision, and streaming a final response.

```python
import cohere
import base64

# Initialize V2 client for Command A models
client = cohere.OciClientV2(
    oci_region="us-chicago-1",
    oci_compartment_id="ocid1.compartment.oc1...",
)

# --- Step 1: Build a knowledge base with embeddings ---

documents = [
    "Oracle Cloud Infrastructure provides enterprise-grade AI services.",
    "Cohere Command A is a 111B parameter model with 256K context window.",
    "OCI Generative AI is FedRAMP High and DISA IL5 authorized.",
]

doc_embeddings = client.embed(
    model="embed-english-v3.0",
    texts=documents,
    input_type="search_document",
).embeddings.float_

query_embedding = client.embed(
    model="embed-english-v3.0",
    texts=["What security certifications does OCI have?"],
    input_type="search_query",
).embeddings.float_[0]

# Find the most relevant document (cosine similarity)
best_idx = max(
    range(len(documents)),
    key=lambda i: sum(
        a * b for a, b in zip(query_embedding, doc_embeddings[i])
    ),
)
print(f"Best match: {documents[best_idx]}")

# --- Step 2: Grounded chat with retrieved context ---

response = client.chat(
    model="command-a-03-2025",
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "system",
            "content": "Answer based on the provided context only.",
        },
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": f"Context: {documents[best_idx]}\n\nWhat certifications does OCI have?",
        },
    ],
    temperature=0.3,
)
print(f"Answer: {response.message.content[0].text}")

# --- Step 3: Tool use — call an external API ---

response = client.chat(
    model="command-a-03-2025",
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "What's the current stock price of ORCL?",
        }
    ],
    tools=[
        {
            "type": "function",
            "function": {
                "name": "get_stock_price",
                "description": "Get the current stock price for a ticker symbol",
                "parameters": {
                    "type": "object",
                    "properties": {
                        "ticker": {
                            "type": "string",
                            "description": "Stock ticker symbol",
                        }
                    },
                    "required": ["ticker"],
                },
            },
        }
    ],
)

# Model returns a tool call
tool_call = response.message.tool_calls[0]
print(
    f"Tool call: {tool_call.function.name}({tool_call.function.arguments})"
)

# Send the tool result back
final = client.chat(
    model="command-a-03-2025",
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "What's the current stock price of ORCL?",
        },
        {
            "role": "assistant",
            "tool_calls": [
                {
                    "id": tool_call.id,
                    "type": "function",
                    "function": {
                        "name": tool_call.function.name,
                        "arguments": tool_call.function.arguments,
                    },
                }
            ],
            "tool_plan": response.message.tool_plan,
        },
        {
            "role": "tool",
            "tool_call_id": tool_call.id,
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "text",
                    "text": '{"ticker": "ORCL", "price": 187.42, "currency": "USD"}',
                }
            ],
        },
    ],
    tools=[
        {
            "type": "function",
            "function": {
                "name": "get_stock_price",
                "description": "Get the current stock price for a ticker symbol",
                "parameters": {
                    "type": "object",
                    "properties": {"ticker": {"type": "string"}},
                    "required": ["ticker"],
                },
            },
        }
    ],
)
print(f"Final answer: {final.message.content[0].text}")

# --- Step 4: Vision — analyze an image ---

with open("chart.png", "rb") as f:
    img_b64 = base64.b64encode(f.read()).decode()

response = client.chat(
    model="command-a-vision",
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "text",
                    "text": "Describe the trend shown in this chart.",
                },
                {
                    "type": "image_url",
                    "image_url": {
                        "url": f"data:image/png;base64,{img_b64}"
                    },
                },
            ],
        }
    ],
)
print(f"Vision: {response.message.content[0].text}")

# --- Step 5: Stream a response in real time ---

print("Streaming: ", end="")
for event in client.chat_stream(
    model="command-a-03-2025",
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Summarize why enterprises choose OCI for AI.",
        }
    ],
):
    if event.type == "content-delta":
        print(event.delta.message.content.text, end="")
print()
```

## Additional Resources

- [Cohere Python SDK on GitHub](https://github.com/cohere-ai/cohere-python)
- [OCI Generative AI Documentation](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/generative-ai/home.htm)
- [OCI Generative AI Pretrained Models](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/generative-ai/pretrained-models.htm)

You can also work with Cohere models on OCI through the [OCI Console](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/generative-ai/overview.htm), the [OCI CLI](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/tools/oci-cli/latest/oci_cli_docs/cmdref/generative-ai-inference.html), or the [OCI API](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/api/#/en/generative-ai-inference/) directly.

## Related pages

- [Cohere on Amazon Web Services (AWS)](./deployment-options-cohere-on-aws.md)
- [Cohere on the Microsoft Azure Platform](./deployment-options-v2-cohere-on-microsoft-azure.md)

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