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Solving NYT Connections with DSPy

In this example, you'll build an AI system that solves NYT Connections puzzles that:

  • Loads and process Connections puzzle data
  • Uses DSPy for structured reasoning
  • Optimize the solver using MIPROv2 automatic optimization
  • Evaluate puzzle-solving performance with custom metrics
  • Deploy and monitor the AI system in production

Prerequisites​

To follow the steps in this guide, you'll need:

  • Basic Python knowledge
  • Python 3.9+ installed on your system. Refer to the Installation guide for information.
  • Understanding of language models and AI pipelines
  • Basic knowledge of the NYT Connections puzzle format

Step 1: Set up your Dagster environment​

First, set up a new Dagster project.

  1. Clone the Dagster repo and navigate to the project:

    cd examples/docs_projects/project_dspy

  2. Install the required dependencies with uv:

    uv sync

  3. Activate the virtual environment:

    source .venv/bin/activate

  4. Ensure the following environments have been populated in your .env file. Start by copying the template:

    cp .env.example .env

    Then populate the fields.

Step 2: Launch the Dagster webserver​

To make sure Dagster and its dependencies were installed correctly, navigate to the project root directory and start the Dagster webserver:

dg dev

Navigate to http://127.0.0.1:3000 to view the Dagster UI.

Next steps​