Rust SDK - Send Method - Edgee documentation

The send() method is used to make non-streaming chat completion requests to the Edgee AI Gateway. It returns a Result<SendResponse> with the model’s response.

Arguments

Parameter	Type	Description
`model`	`impl Into<String>`	The model identifier to use (e.g., `"gpt-4o"`)
`input`	`impl Into<Input>`	The input for the completion. Can be a string (`&str` or `String`), `Vec<Message>`, or `InputObject`

Input Types

The send() method accepts multiple input types through the Into<Input> trait:

String Input

When input is a string (&str or String), it’s automatically converted to a user message:

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", "What is the capital of France?").await?;

// Equivalent to: input: InputObject::new(vec![Message::user("What is the capital of France?")])
println!("{}", response.text().unwrap_or(""));
// "The capital of France is Paris."

`Vec<Message>`

You can pass a vector of messages directly:

use edgee::Message;

let messages = vec![
    Message::system("You are a helpful assistant."),
    Message::user("What is 2+2?"),
];

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", messages).await?;
println!("{}", response.text().unwrap_or(""));
// "2+2 equals 4."

InputObject

When input is an InputObject, you have full control over the conversation:

Property	Type	Description
`messages`	`Vec<Message>`	Array of conversation messages
`tools`	`Option<Vec<Tool>>`	Array of function tools available to the model
`tool_choice`	`Option<serde_json::Value>`	Controls which tool (if any) the model should call. See Tools documentation for details
`tags`	`Option<Vec<String>>`	Optional tags to categorize and label the request for analytics and filtering. Can also be sent via the `x-edgee-tags` header (comma-separated)
`enable_compression`	`Option<bool>`	Enable token compression for this request (overrides console settings). If not set, uses the configuration from your API key or organization settings
`compression_rate`	`Option<f64>`	Target compression rate (0.0-1.0, default 0.75). Only used if compression is enabled. Higher values attempt more aggressive compression

Example with InputObject:

use edgee::{Message, InputObject};

let input = InputObject::new(vec![
    Message::user("What is 2+2?")
]);

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", input).await?;
println!("{}", response.text().unwrap_or(""));
// "2+2 equals 4."

Example with Tags:

use edgee::{Message, InputObject};

let input = InputObject::new(vec![
    Message::user("Summarize this article")
]).with_tags(vec![
    "summarization".to_string(),
    "production".to_string(),
    "user-123".to_string()
]);

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", input).await?;

Message Object

Each message in the messages array is created using Message constructors:

Constructor	Description
`Message::system(content)`	System instructions that set the behavior of the assistant
`Message::developer(content)`	Instructions provided by the application developer, prioritized ahead of user messages
`Message::user(content)`	Instructions provided by an end user
`Message::assistant(content)`	Assistant responses (can include `tool_calls`)
`Message::tool(tool_call_id, content)`	Results from tool/function calls

Message Structure:

Property	Type	Description
`role`	`Role`	The role of the message sender: `Role::System`, `Role::Developer`, `Role::User`, `Role::Assistant`, or `Role::Tool`
`content`	`Option<String>`	The message content. Required for `System`, `User`, and `Tool` roles. Optional for `Assistant` when `tool_calls` is present
`tool_calls`	`Option<Vec<ToolCall>>`	Array of tool calls made by the assistant. Only present in `Assistant` messages
`tool_call_id`	`Option<String>`	ID of the tool call this message is responding to. Required for `Tool` role messages

Example - System and User Messages:

use edgee::Message;

let messages = vec![
    Message::system("You are a helpful assistant."),
    Message::user("What is 2+2?"),
    Message::assistant("2+2 equals 4."),
    Message::user("What about 3+3?"),
];

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", messages).await?;
println!("{}", response.text().unwrap_or(""));
// "3+3 equals 6."

For complete tool calling examples and best practices, see Tools documentation.

Return Value

The send() method returns a Result<SendResponse>. On success, it contains:

SendResponse Object

Property	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	Unique identifier for the completion
`object`	`String`	Object type (typically `"chat.completion"`)
`created`	`u64`	Unix timestamp of when the completion was created
`model`	`String`	Model identifier used for the completion
`choices`	`Vec<Choice>`	Array of completion choices (typically one)
`usage`	`Option<Usage>`	Token usage information (if provided by the API)
`compression`	`Option<Compression>`	Token compression metrics (if compression was applied)

Choice Object

Each choice in the choices array contains:

Property	Type	Description
`index`	`u32`	The index of this choice in the array
`message`	`Message`	The assistant’s message response
`finish_reason`	`Option<String>`	Reason why the generation stopped. Possible values: `"stop"`, `"length"`, `"tool_calls"`, `"content_filter"`, or `None`

Example - Handling Multiple Choices:

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", "Give me a creative idea.").await?;

// Process all choices
for choice in &response.choices {
    println!("Choice {}: {:?}", choice.index, choice.message.content);
    println!("Finish reason: {:?}", choice.finish_reason);
}

Message Object (in Response)

The message in each choice has:

Property	Type	Description
`role`	`Role`	The role of the message (typically `Role::Assistant`)
`content`	`Option<String>`	The text content of the response. `None` when `tool_calls` is present
`tool_calls`	`Option<Vec<ToolCall>>`	Array of tool calls requested by the model (if any). See Tools documentation for details

Usage Object

Token usage information (when available):

Property	Type	Description
`prompt_tokens`	`u32`	Number of tokens in the prompt (after compression if applied)
`completion_tokens`	`u32`	Number of tokens in the completion
`total_tokens`	`u32`	Total tokens used (prompt + completion)

Example - Accessing Token Usage:

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", "Explain quantum computing briefly.").await?;

if let Some(usage) = &response.usage {
    println!("Prompt tokens: {}", usage.prompt_tokens);
    println!("Completion tokens: {}", usage.completion_tokens);
    println!("Total tokens: {}", usage.total_tokens);
}

Compression Object

Token compression metrics (when compression is applied):

Property	Type	Description
`input_tokens`	`u32`	Original number of input tokens before compression
`saved_tokens`	`u32`	Number of tokens saved by compression
`rate`	`f64`	Compression rate as a decimal (0-1). For example, `0.61` means 61% compression

Example - Accessing Compression Metrics:

let input = InputObject::new(vec![
    Message::user("Analyze this long document with lots of context...")
])
.with_enable_compression(true)
.with_compression_rate(0.8); // Target 80% compression

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", input).await?;
println!("{}", response.text().unwrap_or(""));

if let Some(compression) = &response.compression {
    println!("Original input tokens: {}", compression.input_tokens);
    println!("Tokens saved: {}", compression.saved_tokens);
    println!("Compression rate: {:.1}%", compression.rate * 100.0);
}

The compression object is only present when token compression is applied to the request. Simple queries may not trigger compression.

Convenience Methods

The SendResponse struct provides convenience methods for easier access:

Method	Return Type	Description
`text()`	`Option<&str>`	Shortcut to `choices[0].message.content.as_deref()`
`message()`	`Option<&Message>`	Shortcut to `choices[0].message`
`finish_reason()`	`Option<&str>`	Shortcut to `choices[0].finish_reason.as_deref()`
`tool_calls()`	`Option<&Vec<ToolCall>>`	Shortcut to `choices[0].message.tool_calls.as_ref()`

Example - Using Convenience Methods:

let response = client.send("gpt-4o", "Hello!").await?;

// Instead of: response.choices[0].message.content.as_deref()
if let Some(text) = response.text() {
    println!("{}", text);
}

// Instead of: response.choices[0].message
if let Some(message) = response.message() {
    println!("Role: {:?}", message.role);
}

// Instead of: response.choices[0].finish_reason.as_deref()
if let Some(reason) = response.finish_reason() {
    println!("Finish reason: {}", reason);
}

// Instead of: response.choices[0].message.tool_calls.as_ref()
if let Some(tool_calls) = response.tool_calls() {
    println!("Tool calls: {:?}", tool_calls);
}

Error Handling

The send() method returns a Result<SendResponse>, which can contain various error types:

use edgee::{Edgee, Error};

match client.send("gpt-4o", "Hello!").await {
    Ok(response) => {
        println!("{}", response.text().unwrap_or(""));
    }
    Err(Error::Api { status, message }) => {
        eprintln!("API error {}: {}", status, message);
    }
    Err(Error::Http(e)) => {
        eprintln!("HTTP error: {}", e);
    }
    Err(Error::Json(e)) => {
        eprintln!("JSON error: {}", e);
    }
    Err(e) => {
        eprintln!("Error: {}", e);
    }
}

Common Errors

API errors: Error::Api { status, message } - The API returned an error status
HTTP errors: Error::Http(reqwest::Error) - Network or HTTP errors
JSON errors: Error::Json(serde_json::Error) - JSON serialization/deserialization errors
Missing API key: Error::MissingApiKey - API key not provided

SDK Documentation

​Arguments

​Input Types

​String Input

​Vec<Message>

​InputObject

​Message Object

​Return Value

​SendResponse Object

​Choice Object

​Message Object (in Response)

​Usage Object

​Compression Object

​Convenience Methods

​Error Handling

​Common Errors

Arguments

Input Types

String Input

`Vec<Message>`

InputObject

Message Object

Return Value

SendResponse Object

Choice Object

Message Object (in Response)

Usage Object

Compression Object

Convenience Methods

Error Handling

Common Errors