Replicate SDK Patterns

Quick Guide: Use the replicate npm package to run open-source ML models on serverless GPUs. Use replicate.run() for synchronous execution that returns output directly, replicate.stream() for SSE-based streaming, or replicate.predictions.create() for async background jobs with webhook notifications. Models are referenced as owner/model (uses latest version) or owner/model:version (pinned). File outputs are FileOutput objects implementing ReadableStream. Cold starts are expected for infrequently-used models -- use deployments with min_instances to keep models warm.

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CRITICAL: Before Using This Skill

All code must follow project conventions in CLAUDE.md (kebab-case, named exports, import ordering, import type, named constants)

(You MUST never hardcode API tokens -- always use environment variables via process.env.REPLICATE_API_TOKEN)

(You MUST handle FileOutput objects for models that return files -- do not assume outputs are plain strings or URLs)

(You MUST validate webhooks using validateWebhook() from the replicate package -- never trust unverified webhook payloads)

(You MUST account for cold starts when running infrequently-used models -- use deployments for latency-sensitive applications)