<< All versions

Skill v1.0.8

currentAutomated scan100/100
neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills/neo4j-driver-python-skill

6 files

──Details
PublishedSeptember 30, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Content Hashsha256:46d20e23dc887ca7...
Git SHAa678fef3e47a
Bump Typepatch
Compare with v1.0.7
──Files
Files (1 file, 15.3 KB)
SKILL.md15.3 KBactive
SKILL.md · 432 lines · 15.3 KB

name: neo4j-driver-python-skill description: Neo4j Python Driver v6 — driver lifecycle, execute_query, managed and explicit transactions, async (AsyncGraphDatabase), result handling, data type mapping, error handling, UNWIND batching, connection pool tuning, and causal consistency. Use when writing Python code that connects to Neo4j via GraphDatabase.driver, execute_query, execute_read, execute_write, AsyncGraphDatabase, neo4j.Result, or RoutingControl. Package name is neo4j (not neo4j-driver) since v6. Python >=3.10 required. Does NOT handle Cypher query authoring — use neo4j-cypher-skill. Does NOT cover driver upgrades or breaking changes — use neo4j-migration-skill. Does NOT cover GraphRAG pipelines (neo4j-graphrag package) — use neo4j-graphrag-skill. version: 1.0.8 allowed-tools: Bash WebFetch


When to Use

  • Writing Python code that connects to Neo4j
  • Setting up driver, sessions, transactions, or async patterns
  • Debugging result handling, serialization, or UNWIND batching
  • Reviewing Neo4j driver usage in Python code

When NOT to Use

  • Writing/optimizing Cypher → neo4j-cypher-skill
  • Driver version upgrades → neo4j-migration-skill
  • GraphRAG pipelines (neo4j-graphrag package) → neo4j-graphrag-skill

Installation

bash
pip install neo4j # package name is `neo4j`, NOT `neo4j-driver` (deprecated since v6)
pip install neo4j-rust-ext # optional: 3–10× faster serialization, same API

Python >=3.10 required for v6.x. Python 3.14 supported [6.1+]. Pandas 3 and PyArrow 23/24 supported [6.2+]. PyArrow 25 and Bolt 6.1 uuid.UUID values supported [6.3+]; driver-created SSL contexts honour SSLKEYLOGFILE [6.3+].

Neo4j 2026.08+ UUID properties require neo4j>=6.3 to round-trip as uuid.UUID.


Environment Variables

Load connection config from environment — never hardcode credentials.

python
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv # pip install python-dotenv
load_dotenv(".env") # reads NEO4J_URI / NEO4J_USERNAME / NEO4J_PASSWORD / NEO4J_DATABASE
URI = os.getenv("NEO4J_URI", "neo4j://localhost:7687")
USER = os.getenv("NEO4J_USERNAME", "neo4j")
PASSWORD = os.getenv("NEO4J_PASSWORD", "")
DATABASE = os.getenv("NEO4J_DATABASE", "neo4j")

.env file format:

NEO4J_URI=neo4j+s://xxx.databases.neo4j.io
NEO4J_USERNAME=neo4j
NEO4J_PASSWORD=secret
NEO4J_DATABASE=neo4j

Add .env to .gitignore. Without python-dotenv, use export in shell or os.getenv directly.


Driver Lifecycle

Create one Driver per application. Thread-safe, expensive to create. Never create per-request.

python
from neo4j import GraphDatabase
URI = "neo4j+s://xxx.databases.neo4j.io" # Aura
AUTH = ("neo4j", "password")
# Context manager — preferred for scripts
with GraphDatabase.driver(URI, auth=AUTH) as driver:
driver.verify_connectivity()
# ... work ...
# Long-lived singleton (service / web app)
driver = GraphDatabase.driver(URI, auth=AUTH)
driver.verify_connectivity()
# on shutdown:
driver.close()

URI schemes:

SchemeUse
neo4j+s://TLS + cluster routing — Aura default
neo4j://Unencrypted + cluster routing
bolt+s://TLS, single instance
bolt://Unencrypted, single instance

Auth options: ("user", "pass") tuple, basic_auth(), bearer_auth("jwt"), kerberos_auth("b64").


Choosing the Right API

APIUse whenAuto-retryStreaming
driver.execute_query()Most queries — simple, safe default✅❌ eager
session.execute_read/write()Large results / multiple queries in one tx✅✅
session.run()LOAD CSV, CALL {} IN TRANSACTIONS, scripts⚠️ one-shot [6.2+]✅
AsyncGraphDatabaseasyncio applications✅✅

session.run() retry [6.2+]: single immediate retry on DBMS-marked idempotent errors only (currently admission control). Disable with disable_auto_commit_retries=True at driver or session level.


execute_query — Default API

python
from neo4j import GraphDatabase, RoutingControl
# Tuple unpacking — most common
records, summary, keys = driver.execute_query(
"MATCH (p:Person {name: $name})-[:KNOWS]->(f) RETURN f.name AS name",
name="Alice",
routing_=RoutingControl.READ, # route reads to replicas
database_="neo4j", # always specify — saves a round-trip
)
for record in records:
print(record["name"])
print(summary.result_available_after, "ms")
# Write — check counters
summary = driver.execute_query(
"CREATE (p:Person {name: $name, age: $age})",
name="Bob", age=30,
database_="neo4j",
).summary
print(summary.counters.nodes_created)

Trailing-underscore convention — config kwargs end with _ (database_, routing_, auth_, result_transformer_, bookmark_manager_). No query parameter name may end with _; pass those via parameters_={"key_": val}.

Never f-string or format Cypher. Always $param — prevents injection and enables plan caching.

result_transformer_ — reshape before return:

python
import neo4j
df = driver.execute_query("MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name, p.age", database_="neo4j",
result_transformer_=neo4j.Result.to_df)
record = driver.execute_query("MATCH (p:Person {name:$n}) RETURN p", n="Alice", database_="neo4j",
result_transformer_=neo4j.Result.single) # raises if 0 or 2+ results

Result.single() raises ResultNotSingleError on zero results (not just 2+). Use single(strict=False) for None-on-empty.


Managed Transactions (execute_read / execute_write)

Use for large results or multiple queries in one transaction.

python
with driver.session(database="neo4j") as session:
def get_people(tx):
result = tx.run("MATCH (p:Person) WHERE p.name STARTS WITH $pfx RETURN p.name AS name",
pfx="Al")
return [r["name"] for r in result] # consume INSIDE callback — Result invalid after tx closes
names = session.execute_read(get_people)
def create_person(tx):
tx.run("CREATE (p:Person {name: $name})", name="Carol")
session.execute_write(create_person)

Result lifetime — Result is a lazy cursor backed by the open transaction. Returning it unconsumed raises ResultConsumedError. Always collect to list inside the callback.

Callback may retry on transient failures — keep callbacks idempotent; move side effects (HTTP calls, emails) outside the callback.

Timeout/metadata via @unit_of_work (named functions only — cannot decorate lambdas):

python
from neo4j import unit_of_work
@unit_of_work(timeout=5.0, metadata={"app": "svc", "user": user_id})
def get_people(tx):
return [r["name"] for r in tx.run("MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name AS name")]
session.execute_read(get_people)

Implicit Transactions (session.run)

Use only for LOAD CSV, CALL {} IN TRANSACTIONS, or quick scripts. session.run() does a single immediate retry on idempotent (DBMS-marked) errors only [6.2+]; other errors do not retry.

python
with driver.session(database="neo4j") as session:
result = session.run("CREATE (p:Person {name: $name})", name="Alice")
summary = result.consume() # call consume() to guarantee commit before proceeding
print(summary.counters.nodes_created)
# Opt out of one-shot retry [6.2+] — driver- or session-level
driver = GraphDatabase.driver(URI, auth=AUTH, disable_auto_commit_retries=True)
with driver.session(database="neo4j", disable_auto_commit_retries=True) as session:
session.run("...")

Async API

Mirror of sync API — replace GraphDatabase with AsyncGraphDatabase, await every call.

python
from neo4j import AsyncGraphDatabase
import asyncio
# Singleton — same rule as sync: never create per-request
driver = AsyncGraphDatabase.driver(URI, auth=AUTH)
async def main():
records, _, _ = await driver.execute_query(
"MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name AS name",
database_="neo4j", routing_=RoutingControl.READ,
)
print([r["name"] for r in records])
await driver.close()
asyncio.run(main())

FastAPI lifespan pattern:

python
from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
from fastapi import FastAPI
_driver = None
@asynccontextmanager
async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
global _driver
_driver = AsyncGraphDatabase.driver(URI, auth=AUTH)
await _driver.verify_connectivity()
yield
await _driver.close()
app = FastAPI(lifespan=lifespan)

Parallel queries with asyncio.gather:

python
results = await asyncio.gather(
driver.execute_query("MATCH (a:Artist) RETURN a.name AS name", database_="neo4j"),
driver.execute_query("MATCH (v:Venue) RETURN v.name AS name", database_="neo4j"),
)

Never use sync `GraphDatabase` in asyncio — blocks the event loop.

Full async patterns → references/async.md


Error Handling

python
from neo4j.exceptions import (
Neo4jError, ServiceUnavailable, TransientError,
AuthError, ConstraintError,
)
try:
driver.execute_query("...", database_="neo4j")
except AuthError:
... # bad credentials
except ServiceUnavailable:
... # no servers reachable
except ConstraintError as e:
# unique/existence constraint violation — catch BEFORE Neo4jError (it's a subclass)
print(e.code, e.message)
except TransientError as e:
# raised only after retries exhausted (execute_query retries automatically)
print(e.code)
except Neo4jError as e:
print(e.code, e.message, e.gql_status)

Catch ConstraintError before Neo4jError — it is a subclass and will be swallowed otherwise.


Result Access & Null Safety

python
record = records[0]
record["name"] # by key — KeyError if absent
record[0] # by index
record.get("name") # None for absent key OR graph null
record.get("name", "Unknown")
d = record.data() # dict — values still driver objects for Node/Rel/temporal types

record.data() is not JSON-safe if result contains Node, Relationship, Path, or neo4j.time.* values. Project scalar fields in Cypher instead of returning whole nodes.

python
# ❌ raises TypeError on json.dumps
records, _, _ = driver.execute_query("MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p", database_="neo4j")
json.dumps(records[0].data())
# ✅ project scalars
records, _, _ = driver.execute_query(
"MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name AS name, p.age AS age", database_="neo4j")
json.dumps(records[0].data()) # safe

Node/Relationship/temporal access:

python
node = record["p"] # neo4j.graph.Node
node.element_id # stable within this transaction only
node.labels # frozenset({'Person'})
dict(node) # all properties as plain dict
rel = record["r"] # neo4j.graph.Relationship
rel.type # 'KNOWS'
dt = record["created_at"] # neo4j.time.DateTime
dt.to_native() # datetime.datetime (loses sub-µs precision)

Full type mapping table → references/data-types.md


Batch Writes with UNWIND

Pass list[dict] — only shape the driver serializes correctly for UNWIND.

python
people = [{"name": "Alice", "age": 30}, {"name": "Bob", "age": 25}]
driver.execute_query(
"UNWIND $rows AS row MERGE (p:Person {name: row.name}) SET p.age = row.age",
rows=people,
database_="neo4j",
)

Custom objects and dataclasses must be converted to dict before passing as parameters.


Performance

  • Always set database_ / database= — omitting triggers a home-database round-trip per call.
  • execute_read routes to replicas automatically; use routing_=RoutingControl.READ with execute_query.
  • Batch writes: one execute_write callback for the whole list > one tx per item.
  • Large results: stream lazily inside execute_read callback; execute_query is always eager.

Connection pool tuning:

python
driver = GraphDatabase.driver(URI, auth=AUTH,
max_connection_pool_size=50, # default 100
connection_acquisition_timeout=30, # seconds to wait for free connection
max_connection_lifetime=3600, # seconds; recycles stale connections
connection_timeout=15,
keep_alive=True,
)

Session exhaustion: each open session holds a connection. Always use with driver.session(...) as session.

Full performance patterns → references/performance.md


Common Errors

MistakeFix
f-string / .format() Cypher paramsUse $param placeholders always
Param name ending with _Pass via parameters_={"key_": val}
Omitting database_Always set — saves a round-trip every call
Returning Result from tx callbackConsume to list inside callback
Side effects in execute_read/write callbackMove outside — callback may retry
Passing dataclass/Pydantic as paramConvert to dict first
UNWIND with list of objectslist[dict] only
record.get() for absent-key detection"key" in record.keys() for absent; .get() returns None for both absent and graph null
No .consume() after session.run()Commit timing undefined; call .consume()
Sync driver inside asyncioUse AsyncGraphDatabase — sync blocks event loop
Async driver created per requestSingleton — create once at startup
Leaked sessionswith driver.session(...) as session always
json.dumps(record.data()) with node/temporalProject scalars in Cypher or convert explicitly
result["name"] on EagerResultIndex result.records[0]["name"] or unpack records, _, _ = ...
Result.single() returns None for 0 resultsIt raises — use single(strict=False)
@unit_of_work on lambdaUse named function
Neo4jError caught before ConstraintErrorCatch ConstraintError first — it's a subclass
neo4j-driver package namePackage is neo4j since v6; neo4j-driver deprecated

References

Load on demand:

Docs:

  • https://neo4j.com/docs/python-manual/current/
  • https://neo4j.com/docs/api/python-driver/current/

Checklist

  • [ ] Package installed as neo4j (not neo4j-driver)
  • [ ] One Driver instance created at startup; shared everywhere
  • [ ] verify_connectivity() called at startup
  • [ ] database_ / database= set on every call
  • [ ] $param placeholders used — no f-strings or .format()
  • [ ] Result consumed inside tx callback (not returned raw)
  • [ ] Sessions used as context managers (with driver.session(...) as session)
  • [ ] ConstraintError caught before Neo4jError
  • [ ] AsyncGraphDatabase used in asyncio code (not sync driver)
  • [ ] Async driver created once at app startup (not per request)
  • [ ] Side effects outside execute_read/write callbacks
  • [ ] UNWIND batches use list[dict]
← v1.0.7All versions