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Kermt Finetune

NVIDIAOfficialPublished by NVIDIA

  • Skill
  • Workflow
  • Data and AI
  • Apache-2.0
  • Medium risk
  • Has scripts

From the author

Finetune a pretrained KERMT encoder on a labeled CSV. Validate the checkpoint and data, prepare features, and run containerized training. Use a local checkpoint or optionally download a pinned Hugging Face model bundle using HF_TOKEN if configured. Write model bundles, prepared data, logs, and trained models to user-selected host directories.
— the description by NVIDIA

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The kermt-finetune skill provides a robust, containerized workflow for finetuning pretrained KERMT encoders on user-supplied CSV datasets. It manages the entire lifecycle of a training run, including checkpoint validation, data preparation, hyperparameter configuration, and detached execution. The skill ensures data integrity by validating inputs, handling dataset splits, and enforcing target confirmation before launching training. It supports both single-GPU and multi-GPU (DDP) configurations, automatically managing dependencies and environment setup via a containerized runtime.

What it does

  • Validates pretrained checkpoints and input CSV data for compatibility.
  • Automates data feature preparation and split generation (random, scaffold, or index-based).
  • Downloads and manages official NVIDIA KERMT model bundles.
  • Launches training in a detached container with configurable hyperparameters.
  • Provides comprehensive logging, TensorBoard integration, and run manifests for reproducibility.
  • Enforces safety gates for model downloads and target column selection.

When to use it

  • When you need to adapt a pretrained KERMT encoder to a specific chemical property prediction task.
  • When you have a labeled CSV dataset and want to perform regression or classification finetuning.
  • When you require a reproducible, containerized training pipeline with automated data validation.
  • When you want to leverage multi-GPU hardware for faster model training.

Advantages

  • Ensures reproducibility through detailed run manifests and command replay functionality.
  • Simplifies complex training workflows with automated pre-flight checks and validation.
  • Provides flexible support for various dataset types and splitting strategies.
  • Maintains environment consistency by using containerized execution for all steps.

Usage examples

“Finetune the default KERMT model on my_data.csv for a regression task.”
The agent validates the data, confirms the target columns, downloads the default hybrid model, and launches a detached training job.
“Run a classification finetune on my_data.csv using 4 GPUs.”
The agent configures the environment for DDP, sets the dataset type to classification, and initiates the training across the specified GPUs.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/nvidia/kermt-finetune/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip kermt-finetune.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by NVIDIA

kermt-finetune

Finetune a pretrained KERMT encoder on a user-supplied labeled CSV. The skill is the workflow orchestrator: validate ckpt, validate data, prepare data, launch the runner detached, return a run directory + container name.

Skill and runtime paths

Set SKILL_DIR to the absolute path of this installed skill directory. Export KERMT_REPO as the absolute path to the KERMT checkout used for model execution. The bundled container helper mounts that checkout at /workspace and this skill at /skill (read-only). Commands inside the container use /skill/scripts/; defaults are bundled in config/. See Released models for checkpoint bundle requirements.

Downloads and local outputs

The optional released-model branch reads config/released_model.json for the Hugging Face repository, pinned revision, and filenames. The bundled scripts/fetch_released_model.py downloads the model bundle over HTTPS into the host directory the user selects. Public models work without credentials; if HF_TOKEN is set, the container helper forwards it for Hugging Face authentication. Prepared data, logs, and workflow results go into the chosen run directory.

Hardware requirements

  • GPUs: 1 by default (single-GPU); pass --gpus 0 (or whichever id) to select one. For faster training on a multi-GPU host, pass --num-gpus N (N>1) to run data-parallel DDP across N GPUs — --batch-size is then per-GPU (effective global batch = batch_size × N).

  • VRAM: ≥ 8 GB for the default batch_size 32 configuration. Lower VRAM works at smaller batch sizes — pass --batch-size N to override.

  • Disk: a few GB per run (checkpoint + features + logs).

  • Driver / CUDA: any host supporting CUDA 12.6 (the kermt image base). kermt-setup validates this up-front.

Inputs

Required:

  • --csv <path> — labeled CSV. First column is smiles; every other column is a target.

Checkpoint (optional — defaults to the released model if omitted):

  • --ckpt <path> — input pretrain checkpoint (grover_base / cmim / hybrid). The validator refuses already-finetuned ckpts with a redirect to kermt-infer. If omitted, the skill offers to download the released pretrained hybrid model nvidia/NV-KERMT-70M-v2 and finetune from it — see "Resolve & validate the checkpoint" (workflow step 3).

  • --pretrained-release — explicit opt-in to use the released model without the interactive prompt (for non-interactive / agent runs). Mutually exclusive with --ckpt.

  • --model-dir <dir> — where to save the downloaded bundle (default $KERMT_REPO/models/NV-KERMT-70M-v2/). An already-complete bundle there is reused, not re-downloaded.

Optional:

  • --dataset-type {regression | classification | multiclass} — default regression (from defaults_finetune.json). Drives loss, metric defaults, and head initialization. For classification tasks pass --dataset-type classification.

  • --targets COL [COL ...] — explicit target column names. If omitted, the validator auto-detects numeric non-smiles columns and the skill confirms with the user before proceeding.

  • --val-csv <path> and --test-csv <path> — user-provided val + test splits. Either pass both or pass neither (the skill auto-splits using the configured --split-type).

  • --split-type {random | scaffold_balanced | index_predetermined} — default scaffold_balanced from defaults_finetune.json.

    • random and scaffold_balanced: build the val/test split internally from the train CSV. No --val-csv / --test-csv needed.

    • index_predetermined: requires pre-split CSVs passed via --val-csv + --test-csv (and, separately, per-fold index files — see kermt/util/utils.split_data). Use this when the dataset ships its own canonical split (e.g. tests/data/Biogen_for_grover/scaffold/ balance/<endpoint>/{train,val,test}.csv).

  • --metric NAME — mae (regression default), auc (classification default), or any name kermt.util.metrics.get_metric_func accepts.

  • --epochs N / --batch-size N / --init-lr F / --max-lr F / --final-lr F / --warmup-epochs F / --weight-decay F / --dropout F / --bond-drop-rate F / --dist-coff F / --early-stop-epoch N / --seed N — training-hyperparameter overrides. Anything not given is filled from config/defaults_finetune.json.

  • --ffn-hidden-size N / --ffn-num-layers N — shared FFN trunk dims.

  • --ffn-num-task-specific-layers N / --ffn-task-specific-hidden-size H — per-target FFN heads (default 0 = off; useful for heterogeneous multi-target finetunes). Both must be set together when N > 0.

  • --ensemble-size N / --num-folds N — multi-model / k-fold CV. Default 1 each.

  • --gpus 0 — single GPU id for single-process finetune (default 0). Ignored when --num-gpus > 1.

  • --num-gpus N — number of GPUs for data-parallel DDP finetune. Default 1 (single-process, unchanged). N>1 runs main.py finetune with WORLD_SIZE=N (one process per GPU); --batch-size is per-GPU.

  • --from-prepare <dir> — skip the prepare step and reuse an existing prepare_data.json in <dir>. Useful when iterating on hyperparameters.

Workflow

Let $KERMT_REPO be the path to your kermt repo checkout, and assume kermt-setup has built kermt:latest. All paths below are on the host; the helper bind-mounts them at known container paths.

  1. Pre-flight: ensure container + system probe.

    "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/kermt_container.sh" check_system | python -c "
    import json, sys; d = json.load(sys.stdin)
    if not d['ok']:
        print('System check failed:', d['gaps']); sys.exit(1)
    print(f'OK: {len(d[\"gpus\"])} GPU(s); CUDA via container toolkit')
    "

    Refuse to proceed if ok: false.

  2. Compute run directory.

    RUN_DIR=$KERMT_REPO/runs/finetune_$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%SZ)
  3. Resolve & validate the checkpoint.

    Resolve — only if --ckpt was omitted. Default to the released pretrained hybrid model nvidia/NV-KERMT-70M-v2:

    • Consent gate. Unless --pretrained-release was passed, ask the user: "No checkpoint given — download the released model nvidia/NV-KERMT-70M-v2 (NVIDIA Open Model License, https://huggingface.co/nvidia/NV-KERMT-70M-v2) and finetune from it? [y/N]". Never download without an explicit yes (or --pretrained-release). If both --ckpt and --pretrained-release are given, abort — they conflict.

    • Save location. Default $KERMT_REPO/models/NV-KERMT-70M-v2/; honor --model-dir <dir> if given. An already-complete bundle is reused.

    • Download (foreground; ~282 MB on first fetch):

      "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/kermt_container.sh" run --model-dir <save-dir> -- \
          "python /skill/scripts/fetch_released_model.py --out /model"

      Parse the JSON; abort on ok: false (surface errors). On success set <user-ckpt> = <save-dir>/kermt_contrastive_v2.0.pt.

    Validate the resolved (or user-provided) ckpt:

    "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/kermt_container.sh" run --ckpt <user-ckpt> -- \
        "python /skill/scripts/check_checkpoint.py --mode finetune_init --ckpt /ckpt"

    Parse the JSON. Abort on ok: false. The validator rejects already- finetuned ckpts (has_task_ffn: true) with a redirect to kermt-infer.

  4. Validate the data.

    "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/kermt_container.sh" run --data <user-csv> -- \
        "python /skill/scripts/check_data.py --mode finetune --csv /data/<basename> [--targets COL1 COL2 ...]"

    If --targets was not given by the user, surface auto_detected_targets from the JSON and ask the user to confirm before continuing. Abort on ok: false.

  5. Prepare the data (skip if --from-prepare given).

    Pre-flight: check for sibling val.csv / test.csv. Before invoking prepare_data, inspect the parent directory of <user-csv>. If a canonical-looking sibling val.csv (or val_*.csv — common variants include val_T.csv, val_clean.csv) AND a matching test.csv / test_*.csv exist next to the train CSV, the dataset ships its own pre-defined split. In that case set --split-type index_predetermined AND pass --val-csv / --test-csv — otherwise the configured split_type (default scaffold_balanced) will re-split the train CSV from scratch and silently discard the user's val/test files. When in doubt — or when the sibling files use non-canonical suffixes (_T, _v2, etc.) — surface the situation to the user and ask which they want.

    Quoting target names. If any of the --targets column names contain shell metacharacters (>, &, |, (, ), $, etc.), single-quote each one when passing on the CLI to keep the shell from eating part of the name. Example: --targets 'Log_Caco2_Papp_A>B' 'logD'. The CSV header itself is read directly by the downstream trainer and is unaffected, but the prepare_data.json manifest's targets[] field captures whatever the shell delivers — unquoted metacharacters get truncated there.

    Mount note: kermt_container.sh --data <host-csv> mounts the parent directory of <host-csv> at /data. --val-csv and --test-csv must therefore reference files in that same parent directory. If val/test live in a separate directory (e.g. a sibling splits/ folder), mount the parent of all three using --data <dir> on a directory rather than a file.

    "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/kermt_container.sh" run --data <user-csv> --run-dir $RUN_DIR -- \
        "python /skill/scripts/prepare_data.py --mode finetune \\
             --csv /data/<basename> --out /runs/data \\
             --split-type <split_type> \\
             [--val-csv /data/<val-basename> --test-csv /data/<test-basename>] \\
             [--val-frac 0.1 --test-frac 0.1 --seed 0] \\
             --targets <COL1> [COL2 ...]"

    Outputs land at $RUN_DIR/data/prepare_data.json. For scaffold_balanced and index_predetermined, prep emits a single clean_full_csv + .npz; the runner passes them through to main.py finetune which calls split_data internally with the user-supplied seed.

  6. Estimate runtime + echo applied defaults.

    • Finetune wall time is typically minutes-to-hours on 1 GPU.

    • Surface a summary of every flag that was filled from the defaults vs user-supplied, so the user knows what was assumed. The runner records this in args_applied.

    • Sample message: "Filling from defaults_finetune.json: epochs=30, batch_size=32, split_type=scaffold_balanced. Override any of these with --<flag>."

  7. Targets confirmation gate (hard requirement). Before launching the runner, regardless of how the targets list was determined (CLI --targets, auto-detection in step 4, or a user natural-language request like "finetune on Caco2 and HLM"), echo the final targets list to the user with an explicit count: "Will finetune on N target(s): COL1, COL2, ...". If the user's request specified a subset that doesn't match this list (e.g., they asked for 2 tasks via natural language but the list still has 4), treat it as a discrepancy and re-prompt with the diff — never silently proceed on the wrong target set. Wait for explicit confirmation before launching unless --yes was given.

  8. Launch the runner detached. (Consistent with the pretrain skills.)

    "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/kermt_container.sh" run_detached \\
        --name kermt-finetune-<ts> \\
        --ckpt <user-ckpt> --run-dir $RUN_DIR -- \\
        "python /skill/scripts/run_finetune_local.py \\
             --ckpt /ckpt \\
             --prepare-manifest /runs/data/prepare_data.json \\
             --dataset-type <type> \\
             --out /runs \\
             [--gpus 0] \\
             [--num-gpus N] \\
             [--epochs N --batch-size N --init-lr F ...] \\
             [--ffn-num-task-specific-layers N --ffn-task-specific-hidden-size H]"

    Returns the container name + id + log file path.

  9. Report to the user. Output a short summary:

    • Container name + id

    • $RUN_DIR/run.json (manifest with cmd_replay + image digest)

    • Log file: $RUN_DIR/logs/finetune.log

    • TensorBoard: $RUN_DIR/logs/tb (open with tensorboard --logdir $RUN_DIR/logs/tb)

    • Final checkpoints land at $RUN_DIR/ckpt/fold_0/model_0/model.pt (best-val) and last_checkpoint.pt (sibling, auto-resume target). Held-out test predictions + metrics land at $RUN_DIR/ckpt/fold_0/test_result.csv. Paths vary with --num-folds / --ensemble-size.

    • To follow progress: kermt-monitor <RUN_DIR> (one-shot) or docker logs -f <container-name> (streaming).

    • To block until the run finishes (useful for short test runs): docker wait <container-name> — prints the exit code on completion.

Hard rules

  • Never download the released model without consent. When --ckpt is omitted, download nvidia/NV-KERMT-70M-v2 only after an explicit user "yes" or an explicit --pretrained-release flag. --ckpt and --pretrained-release are mutually exclusive.

  • Never modify the user's input ckpt. The runner passes its path via --checkpoint_path; task/train.py loads it read-only into the model and attaches a new FFN head. The source file stays untouched.

  • Arch comes from the ckpt, not from CLI/defaults. The runner extracts hidden_size, depth, num_attn_head, activation, embedding_output_type, self_attention (+ attn_hidden / attn_out when applicable) from the ckpt's saved_args. There is no --hidden-size flag on this runner.

  • Never block on the long-running finetune. The skill launches via run_detached and returns immediately after step 9. Use kermt-monitor.

  • Echo applied defaults back to the user. The args_applied field of run.json records every flag's value + source (user / default-config). Surface a one-line summary of every filled-from-default flag so the user knows what was assumed.

Common errors

  • finetune_init requires a pretrain ckpt (grover_base / cmim / hybrid) → the ckpt you passed is already finetuned (has task FFN heads). Pick a pretrain ckpt instead, or use kermt-infer if you want to run predictions with the existing finetuned model. To resume a finetune on the SAME dataset, bypass the skill and call python main.py finetune --checkpoint_path <ckpt> ... directly — the agent skill doesn't support resume because saved-task identity can't be machine-verified against the new training data.

  • prepare_data manifest reports ok=False → check errors for the failed step (typically clean_smiles or save_features). Fix and re-run.

  • ffn_num_task_specific_layers=N>0 but ffn_task_specific_hidden_size is unset → MTL heads need an explicit hidden size. Pass --ffn-task-specific-hidden-size H.

  • finetune is single-GPU (from --gpus 0,1) → --gpus selects one device for single-process finetune. For multi-GPU, use --num-gpus N (DDP) instead.

Replayability

The run.json cmd_replay field is a single-line command that re-runs the finetune with the same inputs, hyperparameters, and arch. To replay inside the kermt container:

$(jq -r .cmd_replay $RUN_DIR/run.json)

If ok_to_replay: false in the manifest (because the kermt repo working tree was dirty at launch time), the replay may not be bit-exact — pin the exact commit via the repo.commit field and git checkout it first.

Files

scripts/run_finetune_local.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

"""Workstation finetune runner — composes prepare_data + check_checkpoint outputs
into a `main.py finetune` invocation (which calls task/cross_validate.py).

The runner is responsible for:
  - reading the prepare_data.json manifest produced by prepare_data.py --mode finetune
  - validating the input ckpt is a pretrain checkpoint (via check_checkpoint.py
    --mode finetune_init) and extracting its encoder arch
  - merging hyperparameters from defaults_finetune.json with per-flag CLI overrides
  - building the final main.py finetune argv (data + features + arch + training)
  - emitting a reproducible run.json manifest (source-repo commit, image digest,
    cmd_replay, args_applied with per-flag source attribution)
  - executing the finetune (or writing the manifest only, with --dry-run)

Arch params come exclusively from the ckpt's saved_args (via check_checkpoint.py).
User-supplied arch flags are not exposed; the runner refuses to override what
the ckpt dictates so the FFN heads attach to a consistent encoder.

Single-GPU is the default for finetune. `--gpus N` picks a specific device id
(defaults to GPU 0). For data-parallel multi-GPU finetuning, pass `--num-gpus N`
(N>1): the runner sets `WORLD_SIZE=N` and `main.py finetune` spawns one process
per GPU, and `--batch-size` is interpreted per-GPU.

CLI
---
    run_finetune_local.py
        --ckpt <path>                  # input pretrain ckpt (required)
        --prepare-manifest <path>      # prepare_data.json (mode=finetune)
        --out <run-dir>                # output dir
        --dataset-type {regression|classification|multiclass}   # required
        [--ckpt-validator-out <path>]  # cached check_checkpoint.py JSON
        [--gpus 0]                     # single GPU id (default 0)
        [--dry-run]                    # write run.json + print command, do not execute
        [--epochs N] [--batch-size N] [--init-lr F] [--max-lr F] [--final-lr F]
        [--warmup-epochs F] [--weight-decay F] [--dropout F]
        [--metric NAME] [--seed N]
        [--ensemble-size N] [--num-folds N]
        [--split-sizes TRAIN VAL TEST]
        [--ffn-hidden-size N] [--ffn-num-layers N]
        [--ffn-num-task-specific-layers N] [--ffn-task-specific-hidden-size N]
        [--early-stop-epoch N] [--dist-coff F] [--bond-drop-rate F]
        [--show-individual-scores]
"""
from __future__ import annotations

import argparse
import datetime
import json
import os
import subprocess
import sys
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any

# sys.path tweak so `_utils` is importable whether launched via kermt_run
# (PYTHONPATH=/workspace) or bare-Python from the host.
if str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent) not in sys.path:
    sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent))
from _utils import (  # noqa: E402
    resolve_kermt_repo, assert_prepare_manifest_basics, docker_image_digest, format_cmd_replay,
    git_commit_with_env_override, load_json, merge_default_into_applied,
    resolve_single_gpu, run_checkpoint_validator, runner_environment,
)


REPO_ROOT = resolve_kermt_repo()
SKILL_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
DEFAULTS_PATH = SKILL_ROOT / "config" / "defaults_finetune.json"
CHECK_CHECKPOINT_PATH = SKILL_ROOT / "scripts" / "check_checkpoint.py"
MAIN_PY_PATH = REPO_ROOT / "main.py"

# Architecture fields the runner pulls from the ckpt and refuses to let the
# user override. Mirrors the pretrain runner's ARCH_FLAGS_FROM_CKPT but adds
# the self-attention triple since finetune-time FFN attaches above the
# self-attention layer if the encoder was pretrained with it.
ARCH_FLAGS_FROM_CKPT = (
    "hidden_size", "depth", "num_attn_head", "activation", "backbone",
    "embedding_output_type", "self_attention", "attn_hidden", "attn_out",
)

# Hyperparameter flag groups + their JSON path in defaults_finetune.json.
# Flags listed here are *eligible* for default-config lookup; whether a key
# exists in defaults_finetune.json is independent. Anything in this tuple that
# the user passes via CLI ends up in args_applied with source="user"; anything
# not passed but present in defaults ends up source="default-config". Anything
# in this tuple that's neither passed nor in defaults is simply absent from
# args_applied (so the argv-builder skips it and main.py finetune's own
# argparse default takes effect).
TRAINING_FLAGS = (
    "epochs", "batch_size", "init_lr", "max_lr", "final_lr",
    "dropout", "bond_drop_rate", "dist_coff", "seed", "tensorboard",
    "warmup_epochs", "weight_decay", "early_stop_epoch",
)
TASK_FLAGS = (
    "dataset_type", "metric", "split_type", "ensemble_size", "num_folds",
    "no_features_scaling", "show_individual_scores",
)
FFN_FLAGS = (
    "ffn_hidden_size", "ffn_num_layers",
    "ffn_num_task_specific_layers", "ffn_task_specific_hidden_size",
)


# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Helpers
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

def _verify_prepare_manifest(manifest: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
    assert_prepare_manifest_basics(manifest, "finetune")
    out = manifest.get("outputs", {})
    method = manifest.get("split_method")
    if method == "deferred_to_runner":
        if "clean_full_csv" not in out:
            raise ValueError(
                "split_method=deferred_to_runner but the manifest doesn't include "
                "clean_full_csv. Was prepare_data run with --skip-features but no clean step?"
            )
    elif method in ("user_provided", "random"):
        missing = [k for k in ("clean_train_csv", "clean_val_csv", "clean_test_csv") if k not in out]
        if missing:
            raise ValueError(
                f"prepare_data manifest (split_method={method}) is missing required outputs: "
                f"{missing}. Rerun prepare_data without --skip-features."
            )
    else:
        raise ValueError(
            f"prepare_data manifest has unrecognized split_method='{method}'. "
            "Expected one of: user_provided, random, deferred_to_runner."
        )


def _arch_from_validator(validator_out: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
    arch = validator_out.get("arch") or {}
    # Most fields are required; self_attention/attn_hidden/attn_out are only
    # required when self_attention is True. The ckpt's arch dict will have
    # self_attention=False with the attn_* fields as None in the common case.
    required_always = ("hidden_size", "depth", "num_attn_head", "activation",
                       "backbone", "embedding_output_type", "self_attention")
    missing = [k for k in required_always if arch.get(k) is None]
    if missing:
        raise ValueError(
            f"checkpoint validator did not surface required arch fields: {missing}. "
            "The ckpt must have saved_args with these set (the standard "
            "save_model_for_restart format)."
        )
    if arch.get("self_attention"):
        attn_missing = [k for k in ("attn_hidden", "attn_out") if arch.get(k) is None]
        if attn_missing:
            raise ValueError(
                f"ckpt has self_attention=True but arch is missing {attn_missing}; "
                "the ckpt's saved_args must include them."
            )
    return arch


def _apply_defaults(args: argparse.Namespace, defaults: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, dict[str, Any]]:
    """Merges defaults_finetune.json + CLI overrides into args_applied, keyed by
    flag name (snake_case) with {value, source} entries. Source is 'user' if the
    user supplied the flag on the CLI, else 'default-config'."""
    applied: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = {}
    training = defaults.get("training", {})
    task_cfg = defaults.get("task", {})
    ffn = defaults.get("ffn_head", {})

    for f in TRAINING_FLAGS:
        merge_default_into_applied(applied, args, f, training)
    for f in TASK_FLAGS:
        merge_default_into_applied(applied, args, f, task_cfg)
    for f in FFN_FLAGS:
        merge_default_into_applied(applied, args, f, ffn)

    return applied


def _validate_mtl_consistency(applied: dict[str, dict[str, Any]]) -> None:
    """If ffn_num_task_specific_layers > 0, ffn_task_specific_hidden_size must be set."""
    n_layers = applied.get("ffn_num_task_specific_layers", {}).get("value", 0) or 0
    hidden = applied.get("ffn_task_specific_hidden_size", {}).get("value")
    if n_layers > 0 and not hidden:
        raise ValueError(
            f"ffn_num_task_specific_layers={n_layers} but ffn_task_specific_hidden_size is "
            "unset. When MTL heads are enabled, the hidden size must be supplied — pass "
            "--ffn-task-specific-hidden-size H (or set it in defaults_finetune.json)."
        )


def _build_argv(
    *, gpu: int, out_dir: Path, manifest: dict[str, Any], ckpt: Path,
    arch: dict[str, Any], applied: dict[str, dict[str, Any]],
    num_gpus: int = 1,
) -> list[str]:
    """Constructs the full finetune argv as a list of strings.

    Single-process and multi-GPU (DDP) finetune share one entrypoint,
    `main.py finetune ...`. DDP is selected at runtime by the WORLD_SIZE env var
    (this runner sets it to num_gpus when num_gpus > 1; main.py then spawns one
    process per GPU). The argv is therefore identical for both; num_gpus is kept
    only to document that --batch_size is per-GPU under DDP.
    """
    outputs = manifest["outputs"]
    method = manifest["split_method"]

    argv: list[str] = [sys.executable, "-u", str(MAIN_PY_PATH), "finetune"]

    # Data + features paths
    if method == "deferred_to_runner":
        argv += ["--data_path", outputs["clean_full_csv"]]
        if "clean_full_npz" in outputs:
            argv += ["--features_path", outputs["clean_full_npz"]]
        # Split is done inside task/train.py via args.split_type/split_sizes/seed.
        split_type = manifest.get("split_type") or applied.get("split_type", {}).get("value", "random")
        argv += ["--split_type", str(split_type)]
        if manifest.get("split_fractions"):
            sf = manifest["split_fractions"]
            argv += ["--split_sizes", str(sf["train"]), str(sf["val"]), str(sf["test"])]
    else:
        # user_provided or random: prep produced ready-made train/val/test CSVs + npz.
        argv += ["--data_path", outputs["clean_train_csv"]]
        argv += ["--separate_val_path",  outputs["clean_val_csv"]]
        argv += ["--separate_test_path", outputs["clean_test_csv"]]
        if "clean_train_npz" in outputs:
            argv += ["--features_path", outputs["clean_train_npz"]]
        if "clean_val_npz" in outputs:
            argv += ["--separate_val_features_path", outputs["clean_val_npz"]]
        if "clean_test_npz" in outputs:
            argv += ["--separate_test_features_path", outputs["clean_test_npz"]]
        # task/train.py with separate_val + separate_test paths won't re-split,
        # but split_type is still required by argparse — pass the manifest-or-default value.
        split_type_val = applied.get("split_type", {}).get("value", "random")
        argv += ["--split_type", str(split_type_val)]

    # Pretrained encoder weights — task/train.py loads them into the model
    # via args.checkpoint_paths and then attaches the new FFN head.
    argv += ["--checkpoint_path", str(ckpt)]

    # Task semantics
    if "dataset_type" in applied:
        argv += ["--dataset_type", str(applied["dataset_type"]["value"])]
    if "metric" in applied:
        argv += ["--metric", str(applied["metric"]["value"])]
    if applied.get("no_features_scaling", {}).get("value"):
        argv += ["--no_features_scaling"]
    if "ensemble_size" in applied:
        argv += ["--ensemble_size", str(applied["ensemble_size"]["value"])]
    if "num_folds" in applied:
        argv += ["--num_folds", str(applied["num_folds"]["value"])]

    # Architecture — sourced from the ckpt's validator output.
    argv += [
        "--hidden_size",  str(arch["hidden_size"]),
        "--depth",        str(arch["depth"]),
        "--num_attn_head", str(arch["num_attn_head"]),
        "--activation",   str(arch["activation"]),
        "--embedding_output_type", str(arch["embedding_output_type"]),
    ]
    if arch.get("self_attention"):
        argv += ["--self_attention",
                 "--attn_hidden", str(arch["attn_hidden"]),
                 "--attn_out",    str(arch["attn_out"])]

    # FFN head
    if "ffn_hidden_size" in applied:
        argv += ["--ffn_hidden_size", str(applied["ffn_hidden_size"]["value"])]
    if "ffn_num_layers" in applied:
        argv += ["--ffn_num_layers", str(applied["ffn_num_layers"]["value"])]
    if applied.get("ffn_num_task_specific_layers", {}).get("value", 0):
        argv += ["--ffn_num_task_specific_layers", str(applied["ffn_num_task_specific_layers"]["value"])]
        argv += ["--ffn_task_specific_hidden_size", str(applied["ffn_task_specific_hidden_size"]["value"])]

    # Training schedule
    for name in ("epochs", "batch_size", "init_lr", "max_lr", "final_lr",
                 "dropout", "bond_drop_rate", "dist_coff", "seed",
                 "weight_decay", "warmup_epochs", "early_stop_epoch"):
        if name in applied:
            argv += [f"--{name}", str(applied[name]["value"])]

    if applied.get("tensorboard", {}).get("value"):
        argv += ["--tensorboard"]
    if applied.get("show_individual_scores", {}).get("value"):
        argv += ["--show_individual_scores"]

    # GPU + save_dir. Under DDP (num_gpus>1) gpu is None: main.py finetune pins
    # each rank to its own device, and run_training ignores args.gpu when
    # distributed, so no --gpu flag is passed.
    if gpu is not None:
        argv += ["--gpu", str(gpu)]
    argv += ["--save_dir", str(out_dir / "ckpt")]

    return argv


# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Main flow
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

def run(args: argparse.Namespace) -> dict[str, Any]:
    out_dir = Path(args.out).resolve()
    out_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    (out_dir / "ckpt").mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    (out_dir / "logs").mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

    # 1. Load defaults + prepare manifest.
    defaults = load_json(DEFAULTS_PATH, name="defaults_finetune.json")
    prep_manifest_path = Path(args.prepare_manifest).resolve()
    manifest = load_json(prep_manifest_path, name="prepare_data.json")
    _verify_prepare_manifest(manifest)

    # 2. Validate ckpt + extract arch.
    ckpt = Path(args.ckpt).resolve()
    if args.ckpt_validator_out:
        validator_out = load_json(Path(args.ckpt_validator_out), name="ckpt validator output")
    else:
        validator_out = run_checkpoint_validator(ckpt, mode="finetune_init", script_path=CHECK_CHECKPOINT_PATH)
    if not validator_out.get("ok"):
        raise ValueError(
            f"check_checkpoint.py rejected the input ckpt: {validator_out.get('errors')}"
        )
    arch = _arch_from_validator(validator_out)
    model_type = validator_out.get("model_type")

    # 3. GPU selection.
    num_gpus = max(1, int(getattr(args, "num_gpus", 1) or 1))
    distributed = num_gpus > 1
    if distributed:
        # Data-parallel DDP: main.py finetune uses GPUs 0..num_gpus-1 (one rank
        # each) via WORLD_SIZE; a single-device pin does not apply.
        gpu = None
    else:
        gpu = resolve_single_gpu(args.gpus, workflow="finetune")

    # 4. Apply defaults + collect args_applied.
    applied = _apply_defaults(args, defaults)
    # MTL FFN consistency
    _validate_mtl_consistency(applied)

    # 5. Build the finetune argv (always main.py finetune; DDP selected via WORLD_SIZE).
    argv = _build_argv(
        gpu=gpu, out_dir=out_dir, manifest=manifest, ckpt=ckpt,
        arch=arch, applied=applied, num_gpus=num_gpus,
    )

    # 6. Build the run.json manifest.
    commit, dirty = git_commit_with_env_override(REPO_ROOT)
    image_tag = os.environ.get("KERMT_IMAGE", "kermt:latest")
    image_digest = docker_image_digest(image_tag)
    replay_env = {"WORLD_SIZE": str(num_gpus)} if distributed else {"CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES": gpu}
    cmd_replay = format_cmd_replay(argv, env=replay_env)
    targets = manifest.get("targets")
    run_manifest: dict[str, Any] = {
        "workflow": "finetune",
        "started_at": datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc).isoformat(),
        "container": {"image_tag": image_tag, "image_digest": image_digest},
        "repo": {"commit": commit, "dirty": dirty},
        "inputs": {
            "ckpt": str(ckpt),
            "prepare_data_manifest": str(prep_manifest_path),
            "ckpt_validator_out": (
                str(Path(args.ckpt_validator_out).resolve()) if args.ckpt_validator_out else None
            ),
            "targets": list(targets) if targets else None,
        },
        "model_type": model_type,
        "gpu": gpu,
        "num_gpus": num_gpus,
        "distributed": distributed,
        "args_applied": applied,
        "arch": arch,
        "save_dir": str(out_dir / "ckpt"),
        "logs_dir": str(out_dir / "logs"),
        "tensorboard_dir": str(out_dir / "logs" / "tb"),
        "argv": argv,
        "cmd_replay": cmd_replay,
        "ok_to_replay": (not dirty) and (commit != "unknown"),
        "dry_run": bool(args.dry_run),
    }
    (out_dir / "run.json").write_text(json.dumps(run_manifest, indent=2))

    # 7. Execute (unless --dry-run).
    if args.dry_run:
        run_manifest["status"] = "dry_run"
        return run_manifest

    env = runner_environment(REPO_ROOT)
    if distributed:
        # DDP: main.py finetune reads WORLD_SIZE and spawns one process per GPU.
        # Do not pin CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES to a single device.
        env["WORLD_SIZE"] = str(num_gpus)
    else:
        env["CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"] = str(gpu)
    # main.py enables strict deterministic algorithms via
    # `torch.use_deterministic_algorithms(True)`; CuBLAS then requires this env var.
    env.setdefault("CUBLAS_WORKSPACE_CONFIG", ":4096:8")

    log_file = out_dir / "logs" / "finetune.log"
    with log_file.open("w") as logf:
        proc = subprocess.run(argv, env=env, stdout=logf, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT)
    run_manifest["exit_code"] = proc.returncode
    run_manifest["status"] = "ok" if proc.returncode == 0 else "failed"
    (out_dir / "run.json").write_text(json.dumps(run_manifest, indent=2))
    return run_manifest


def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
    p = argparse.ArgumentParser(
        description="Workstation finetune runner — wraps main.py finetune via subprocess."
    )
    p.add_argument("--ckpt", required=True,
                   help="Path to the input pretrain checkpoint (grover_base / cmim / hybrid).")
    p.add_argument("--prepare-manifest", required=True,
                   help="Path to a prepare_data.json produced with --mode finetune.")
    p.add_argument("--out", required=True, help="Output run directory.")
    p.add_argument("--ckpt-validator-out", default=None,
                   help="Optional cached check_checkpoint.py JSON; computed if absent.")
    p.add_argument("--gpus", default=None,
                   help="Single GPU id for single-process finetune (default 0). "
                        "Ignored when --num-gpus > 1 (DDP uses ranks 0..N-1).")
    p.add_argument("--num-gpus", type=int, default=1,
                   help="Number of GPUs for data-parallel (DDP) finetune. Default 1 "
                        "(single-process main.py finetune, unchanged). N>1 runs "
                        "main.py finetune with WORLD_SIZE=N (one process per GPU); "
                        "--batch-size is per-GPU.")
    p.add_argument("--dry-run", action="store_true",
                   help="Write run.json + print the command without executing.")

    # Task semantics — dataset_type is required (modify_train_args asserts it).
    p.add_argument("--dataset-type", default=None,
                   choices=["regression", "classification", "multiclass"])
    p.add_argument("--metric", default=None)
    p.add_argument("--ensemble-size", type=int, default=None)
    p.add_argument("--num-folds", type=int, default=None)
    p.add_argument("--show-individual-scores", action="store_true", default=None)

    # Training overrides — defaults None so we can distinguish user vs default-config source.
    for f, t in [("epochs", int), ("batch-size", int), ("init-lr", float), ("max-lr", float),
                 ("final-lr", float), ("warmup-epochs", float), ("weight-decay", float),
                 ("dropout", float), ("bond-drop-rate", float), ("dist-coff", float),
                 ("early-stop-epoch", int), ("seed", int)]:
        p.add_argument(f"--{f}", type=t, default=None)

    # FFN head overrides
    p.add_argument("--ffn-hidden-size", type=int, default=None)
    p.add_argument("--ffn-num-layers", type=int, default=None)
    p.add_argument("--ffn-num-task-specific-layers", type=int, default=None)
    p.add_argument("--ffn-task-specific-hidden-size", type=int, default=None)

    args = p.parse_args(argv)

    try:
        manifest = run(args)
    except (FileNotFoundError, ValueError, RuntimeError) as exc:
        print(json.dumps({"ok": False, "errors": [f"{type(exc).__name__}: {exc}"]}, indent=2))
        return 1
    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
        import traceback
        print(traceback.format_exc(), file=sys.stderr)
        print(json.dumps({"ok": False, "errors": [f"unhandled: {type(exc).__name__}: {exc}"]},
                         indent=2))
        return 1

    print(json.dumps({"ok": True, "manifest": manifest}, indent=2))
    return 0 if manifest.get("status") != "failed" else 1


if __name__ == "__main__":
    sys.exit(main())

Requirements and compatibility

Written for: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs Python

The author says: Requires docker, nvidia-container-toolkit, and a CUDA-capable NVIDIA GPU. Designed for Claude Code, Codex, and Nemotron.

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Attribution and licence

Published by
NVIDIA
Publisher
NVIDIA (Official)
Source
NVIDIA/skills · skills/bionemo-kermt-finetune · commit fce3cca
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE-APACHE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
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