LlamaIndex IBM Watsonx LLM

0.7.0.post1 verified Sat May 09 auth: no python

LlamaIndex integration for IBM watsonx.ai foundation models. Current version 0.7.0.post1 requires Python 3.11+ and <3.14. Lightly maintained, with occasional releases following LlamaIndex updates.

pip install llama-index-llms-ibm

Common errors

error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'llama_index.llms.ibm' ↓

cause Outdated package or wrong import path for v0.7+. The correct subpackage is not installed.

fix

Install the package: pip install llama-index-llms-ibm and import using from llama_index.llms.ibm import WatsonxLLM.

error ValueError: The api_key client must be specified, or set the WATSONX_APIKEY environment variable. ↓

cause Missing or empty API key.

fix

Set the WATSONX_APIKEY environment variable or pass api_key parameter.

error ClientError: Error: ibm_watsonx_ai...Project ID is required for this operation. ↓

cause Missing project ID required for watsonx.ai.

fix

Set WATSONX_PROJECT_ID environment variable or pass project_id parameter.

Warnings

breaking In v0.7.0, the import path changed from `llama_index.llms.ibm` to requiring specific submodule imports. Old `from llama_index.llms.ibm import IBM` no longer works; use `from llama_index.llms.ibm import WatsonxLLM`. ↓

fix Update imports to use WatsonxLLM class and correct path.

breaking The `model_id` parameter is now required and defaults removed. Previously optional models may fail if not explicitly provided. ↓

fix Always specify `model_id` when creating WatsonxLLM instance.

gotcha IBM watsonx.ai credentials must be passed via environment variables (WATSONX_APIKEY, WATSONX_PROJECT_ID) or constructor arguments. Passing only API key without project ID raises a missing credentials error. ↓

fix Ensure both WATSONX_APIKEY and WATSONX_PROJECT_ID are set.

deprecated The `IBM` class alias is deprecated in v0.7.0 and will be removed in a future release. Use `WatsonxLLM` instead. ↓

fix Replace `IBM` with `WatsonxLLM`.

Imports

IBM

wrong

from llama_index.llms import IBM

correct

from llama_index.llms.ibm import IBM

requires subpackage import in v0.7+

IBM Watsonx

wrong

from llama_index.llms.ibm import Watsonx

correct

from llama_index.llms.ibm import WatsonxLLM

class renamed to WatsonxLLM in v0.7+

Quickstart

Minimal example using WatsonxLLM. Set WATSONX_APIKEY and WATSONX_PROJECT_ID environment variables.

import os
from llama_index.llms.ibm import WatsonxLLM

api_key = os.environ.get('WATSONX_APIKEY', '')
project_id = os.environ.get('WATSONX_PROJECT_ID', '')

llm = WatsonxLLM(
    model_id='meta-llama/llama-3-70b-instruct',
    api_key=api_key,
    project_id=project_id,
)
response = llm.complete('What is the capital of France?')
print(response.text)