Resolving LangGraph and LangSmith version compatibility issues in production

When deploying LangGraph applications with self-hosted LangSmith instances, you may encounter ValueError messages related to checkpoint_during and durability parameters. This issue typically occurs due to version mismatches between your local LangGraph client and your production LangSmith server deployment.

Understanding the Issue

The compatibility problem stems from a parameter change in LangGraph v0.6.0 (released July 28th):

• LangGraph <0.6.0: Uses checkpoint_during parameter

• LangGraph ≥0.6.0: Uses durability parameter (replaces the deprecated checkpoint_during)

This creates conflicts when your local development environment uses a newer LangGraph version while your production LangSmith deployment uses an older Helm chart version that contains pre-0.6.0 LangGraph components.

Common Symptoms

• Local development works correctly, but production/QA environments fail

• ValueError messages mentioning checkpoint_during or durability parameters

• Errors occur even when these parameters aren't explicitly set in your code

• Deployment failures in self-hosted LangSmith instances

Troubleshooting Steps

1. Check Version Compatibility

Verify the versions in your environment:

• Check your local LangGraph version: pip show langgraph

• Identify your LangSmith Helm chart version in production

• Note that LangSmith Helm chart version 0.10.41 and earlier contain LangGraph versions prior to 0.6.0

2. Align Versions

Choose one of these approaches:

Option A: Update Production (Recommended)

• Update your LangSmith Helm chart to a version that includes LangGraph ≥0.6.0

• This ensures your production environment supports the newer durability parameter

Option B: Downgrade Local Development

• Temporarily downgrade your local LangGraph version to match your production environment

• Use pip install langgraph<0.6.0 to install a compatible version

3. Verify Configuration

After aligning versions:

• Test your deployment in a staging environment first

• Ensure all client libraries and server components use compatible versions

• Review the durability modes documentation when upgrading to understand the new parameter options

Prevention

To avoid this issue in the future:

• Maintain version consistency between development and production environments

• Document the specific versions of LangGraph and LangSmith components in your deployment

• Test version upgrades in staging environments before deploying to production

• Monitor release notes for breaking changes when updating LangGraph or LangSmith components