Quickstart - Less Documentation

Write a custom Python script locally, then run it on Less with scheduling, logs, notifications, and flexible compute.

1. Install

Requires Python 3.11 or later.

pip install less-sdk

2. Get values from Less

Create a Python asset in Less. Add any Variables your script should read, then save it.
The Local SDK setup modal opens. Copy the generated script into your editor. Reopen it later from the ⋯ menu → Generate local SDK setup.

The top of that script sets three values for local development. The token expires after 24 hours.

3. Run a script

Use the copied os.environ block, then call Less:

# LOCAL ONLY — omit this block when you paste the script into Less.
# The platform sets LESS_API_URL, LESS_API_TOKEN, and LESS_ASSET_ID for you.

import os

os.environ["LESS_API_URL"] = "your-less-api-url"
os.environ["LESS_API_TOKEN"] = "your-script-api-token"
os.environ["LESS_ASSET_ID"] = "your-python-asset-id"

import less
import pandas as pd

less.reload_config()  # pick up env if less was already imported

# END LOCAL ONLY

less.log("Connected to Less")

tables = less.list_tables()
less.log(f"Found {len(tables)} tables")

first_table = tables.iloc[0]
less.log(f"Reading table {first_table['table_name']}")

df = less.read_table(first_table["id"])
less.log(f"Successfully read {df.shape[0]} rows and {df.shape[1]} columns")

demo_df = pd.DataFrame(
    {
        "order_id": [1, 2, 3],
        "amount": [10.5, 20.0, 7.25],
    }
)

less.write_table("demo_orders", demo_df)
less.log("The script ran successfully")

4. Run it on Less

Paste the script back into the Python asset — omit the os.environ block. The platform sets those variables when the job runs. Add a schedule if you want it to run regularly.