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Tao Data Io

NVIDIAOfficialCreated by NVIDIA Corporation

  • Skill
  • Workflow
  • Automation and integrations
  • Apache-2.0
  • Medium risk
  • Has scripts

From the author

The data-mover for TAO jobs — decides the storage tier (A pre-positioned mount with zero fetch / B volume-from-S3 / C ephemeral in-compute fetch), stages inputs (bulk + annotation-selective + archive extract + HF/NGC PTM), maps credentials to env, routes outputs 3-way with upload-excludes, and runs the compute-frame verify gate. A support skill other platform skills (docker, kubernetes, slurm, brev, virtualenv) call to get data to and from the compute container without the TAO SDK. Trigger phrases include "stage inputs", "mount the dataset", "upload TAO results", "download only referenced files", "resolve results_dir", "verify the container can read the data".
— the description by NVIDIA Corporation

AutoGineer summary

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

tao-data-io is a support skill designed to handle data movement for TAO jobs by abstracting storage strategies and staging processes. It determines the optimal storage tier—ranging from pre-positioned mounts to ephemeral in-compute fetches—and manages the transfer of datasets, annotations, and pre-trained models. The skill ensures that compute containers have the necessary data access before execution and handles the routing of results back to storage, all while maintaining strict credential security and verifying data readability from the compute environment.

What it does

  • Determines the storage strategy based on cluster capabilities (pre-positioned, volume-based, or ephemeral).
  • Stages input data including bulk files, selective annotations, archives, and pre-trained models.
  • Maps environment-based credentials for secure access to S3, Hugging Face, and NGC.
  • Verifies that the compute environment can successfully read the staged data before job launch.
  • Routes output results to designated storage locations or persistent mounts.
  • Performs selective downloads based on annotation references to optimize data transfer.

When to use it

  • When you need to stage datasets or pre-trained models for a TAO job.
  • When you need to route job outputs to S3 or a persistent mount.
  • When you need to verify data accessibility within a compute container before starting a job.
  • When you want to perform selective data downloads based on specific annotation files.

Advantages

  • Reduces data movement overhead by supporting pre-positioned storage strategies.
  • Enhances security by managing credentials via environment variables without writing to disk.
  • Provides a unified interface for various storage backends and data sources.
  • Ensures job reliability through pre-launch readability verification.
  • Optimizes bandwidth usage with annotation-selective download capabilities.

Usage examples

“stage inputs for my TAO job”
The agent evaluates the storage tier, fetches the required datasets or models from the configured source, and prepares the local paths for the compute container.
“verify the container can read the data”
The agent probes the compute environment to ensure the specified paths are accessible and that the container has the necessary permissions to read the input data.
“upload TAO results”
The agent identifies the output directory, applies necessary upload excludes, and synchronizes the results to the configured S3 bucket.
“download only referenced files from the annotation”
The agent executes the selective download script to fetch only the specific files listed in the provided annotation file, saving time and storage space.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

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

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip tao-data-io.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by NVIDIA Corporation

tao-data-io

Get data to and from the compute container. Decide the storage tier first — under strategy A (pre-positioned mount) no bytes move at all — and when a fetch is needed, move it host-side with aws/s5cmd/boto3/huggingface-cli/ngc directly — no nvidia-tao-sdk, no in-container runtime. Other platform skills call this skill to stage inputs before launch and sync outputs after. It never launches a container itself. The chosen tier is stamped into the job-record at submit.

When NOT to invoke this skill: if the inputs are already readable from the compute frame (a local path on the execution host, an existing Lustre/PVC/bind mount), that IS tier A — record it and skip this skill entirely; there is nothing to move. Air-gapped hosts: tier A is the only tier — never attempt an S3/HF/NGC fetch; anything missing (datasets, checkpoints, and the container images themselves) must be pre-positioned by the operator, and the preflight's readability check is the only data step that runs.

Credentials (env vars; values never written to disk by this skill)

S3 credentials use the officially documented AWS env vars, read from the session environment: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, and (for S3-compatible stores) AWS_ENDPOINT_URL, AWS_DEFAULT_REGION. The aws CLI and boto3 pick the variables up natively — never run aws configure and never write ~/.aws/credentials:

set -a; source /path/to/.env; set +a   # omit if already exported
aws s3 ls "s3://$S3_BUCKET_NAME/..."   # reads AWS_* from the environment

If a session provides only the legacy TAO names (ACCESS_KEY, SECRET_KEY, S3_ENDPOINT_URL, CLOUD_REGION), map them once, scoped to the command: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="$ACCESS_KEY" AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="$SECRET_KEY" aws s3 ...

HF_TOKEN / NGC_KEY pass through unchanged for PTM pulls. Never pass a credential as a CLI argument (-p, --token, -e KEY=value); use --password-stdin or -e VAR (no value).

Storage strategy (agent decides; the gate verifies)

Pick per backend from what the cluster/daemon actually offers:

  • A — pre-positioned mount (PVC / NFS / Lustre / bind mount already holding the data): mount it, author the mount paths into the spec. No S3 fetch. Also the air-gap answer.

  • B — volume populated from S3: an initContainer / stage step fills a durable volume; compute mounts it; a final step drains it back to S3 if needed.

  • C — ephemeral + in-compute fetch: no persistent mount — fetch into the compute container and upload out at the end (today's K8s default).

Verify-before-launch gate (the one invariant)

The path the spec references is readable from the compute frame (not the launcher's), and the output destination persists after the container exits.

Probe in the compute's frame of reference (in-container aws s3 cp/touch on the resolved results_dir, or a kubectl run/srun probe) — a green aws s3 ls on the launcher is not proof the pod can read the data (managed backends inject different creds into the compute container).

Input staging

  • Bulk folder: s5cmd cp 's3://.../*' <stage> or aws s3 sync.

  • Single file: aws s3 cp.

  • Annotation-selective (download only files referenced by an annotation): use references/selective_download.py (below).

  • Archive: tar -xzf X -C <dir> --strip-components=1 guarded by a .extracted marker (idempotent).

  • PTM (ngc:// / hf://): huggingface-cli download / ngc registry model download-version, then author the local path.

After staging, author the spec with local paths and run the verify gate.

Output routing (3-way) + upload

  • TAO_RESULTS_ROOT set → write to that mount, no upload.

  • else S3_BUCKET_NAME set → upload to s3://$S3_BUCKET_NAME/results/$TAO_JOB_ID/.

  • else → loud ephemeral warning.

SLURM: never set S3_BUCKET_NAME (Lustre-only); run any upload on the login node, not inside the GPU allocation. Upload with excludes: aws s3 sync <local>/ s3://... --exclude '.tao/*' <upload_excludes...>.

Quick Start — annotation-selective staging

Download only the files an annotation references (e.g. the video column), preserving relative paths, into a local staging dir:

set -a; source /path/to/.env; set +a   # omit if already exported
python references/selective_download.py \
  --annotation /path/to/annotation.parquet \
  --key video \
  --bucket "$S3_BUCKET_NAME" --src-prefix datasets/clips \
  --dest /data/stage/clips

--key is repeatable or comma-separated; --format overrides extension inference (parquet/jsonl/json/csv).

Helpers

  • references/selective_download.py — annotation-driven selective download (boto3 + pandas). Unit tests live in references/tests/; run with python -m pytest.

Files

references/tests/test_selective_download.py

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

"""Unit tests for selective_download.

The parse path (extract_keys) is the silent-sample-drop risk, so it is tested
exhaustively across formats, ordering, dedup, nulls, list cells, and the
missing-column error. The download path uses an injected fake S3 client — no
network, no moto.
"""

import sys
from pathlib import Path

import pandas as pd
import pytest

sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]))
import selective_download as sd  # noqa: E402


# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# fixtures
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #

@pytest.fixture
def records():
    # 4 rows, with a duplicate video and a null, to exercise dedup + null drop
    return [
        {"video": "clips/a.mp4", "caption": "x"},
        {"video": "clips/b.mp4", "caption": "y"},
        {"video": "clips/a.mp4", "caption": "z"},   # duplicate
        {"video": None, "caption": "w"},            # null -> dropped
    ]


def _write(tmp_path, records, fmt):
    df = pd.DataFrame(records)
    p = tmp_path / f"ann.{ 'jsonl' if fmt=='jsonl' else fmt }"
    if fmt == "parquet":
        df.to_parquet(p)
    elif fmt == "csv":
        df.to_csv(p, index=False)
    elif fmt == "jsonl":
        df.to_json(p, orient="records", lines=True)
    elif fmt == "json":
        df.to_json(p, orient="records")
    return p


class FakeS3:
    """Minimal stand-in for a boto3 S3 client (positional download_file)."""

    def __init__(self, objects: dict[str, bytes]):
        self.objects = objects
        self.downloaded: list[str] = []

    def download_file(self, bucket, key, filename):
        if key not in self.objects:
            from botocore.exceptions import ClientError
            raise ClientError(
                {"Error": {"Code": "404", "Message": "Not Found"}}, "GetObject"
            )
        Path(filename).write_bytes(self.objects[key])
        self.downloaded.append(key)


# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# extract_keys — parse correctness
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #

@pytest.mark.parametrize("fmt", ["parquet", "jsonl", "json", "csv"])
def test_extract_keys_roundtrip_all_formats(tmp_path, records, fmt):
    p = _write(tmp_path, records, fmt)
    got = sd.extract_keys(p, ["video"])
    assert got == ["clips/a.mp4", "clips/b.mp4"]  # dedup + order + null dropped


def test_extract_keys_format_inference(tmp_path, records):
    p = _write(tmp_path, records, "parquet")
    assert sd.infer_format(p) == "parquet"
    assert sd.extract_keys(p, ["video"], fmt=None) == ["clips/a.mp4", "clips/b.mp4"]


def test_extract_keys_dedup_preserves_first_seen_order(tmp_path):
    recs = [{"f": "z"}, {"f": "a"}, {"f": "z"}, {"f": "m"}, {"f": "a"}]
    p = _write(tmp_path, recs, "jsonl")
    assert sd.extract_keys(p, ["f"]) == ["z", "a", "m"]


def test_extract_keys_multiple_columns_in_key_order(tmp_path):
    recs = [{"image": "i1.png", "mask": "m1.png"}, {"image": "i2.png", "mask": "m2.png"}]
    p = _write(tmp_path, recs, "jsonl")
    assert sd.extract_keys(p, ["image", "mask"]) == ["i1.png", "i2.png", "m1.png", "m2.png"]


def test_extract_keys_list_valued_cells_flatten(tmp_path):
    recs = [{"frames": ["f1.jpg", "f2.jpg"]}, {"frames": ["f2.jpg", "f3.jpg"]}]
    p = _write(tmp_path, recs, "jsonl")
    assert sd.extract_keys(p, ["frames"]) == ["f1.jpg", "f2.jpg", "f3.jpg"]


def test_extract_keys_missing_column_raises_with_available(tmp_path, records):
    p = _write(tmp_path, records, "parquet")
    with pytest.raises(KeyError) as exc:
        sd.extract_keys(p, ["does_not_exist"])
    assert "video" in str(exc.value)  # lists what IS available


def test_extract_keys_empty_keys_raises(tmp_path, records):
    p = _write(tmp_path, records, "parquet")
    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
        sd.extract_keys(p, [])


def test_infer_format_unknown_extension_raises(tmp_path):
    p = tmp_path / "ann.weird"
    p.write_text("{}")
    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
        sd.infer_format(p)


# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# download_selective — only-referenced, idempotency, fail-loud, nested dirs
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #

def test_download_only_referenced_files(tmp_path):
    objects = {
        "src/clips/a.mp4": b"a",
        "src/clips/b.mp4": b"b",
        "src/clips/UNREFERENCED.mp4": b"nope",  # present in bucket, not requested
    }
    s3 = FakeS3(objects)
    rel = ["clips/a.mp4", "clips/b.mp4"]
    out = sd.download_selective(s3, "bkt", "src", rel, tmp_path)
    assert len(out) == len(rel)                       # sample-count invariant
    assert sorted(s3.downloaded) == ["src/clips/a.mp4", "src/clips/b.mp4"]
    assert "src/clips/UNREFERENCED.mp4" not in s3.downloaded


def test_download_creates_nested_dirs_and_content(tmp_path):
    s3 = FakeS3({"p/deep/nested/x.bin": b"payload"})
    out = sd.download_selective(s3, "bkt", "p", ["deep/nested/x.bin"], tmp_path)
    assert (tmp_path / "deep/nested/x.bin").read_bytes() == b"payload"
    assert out == [str(tmp_path / "deep/nested/x.bin")]


def test_download_idempotent_skips_existing_nonempty(tmp_path):
    s3 = FakeS3({"src/a.mp4": b"a"})
    (tmp_path / "a.mp4").write_bytes(b"already")
    out = sd.download_selective(s3, "bkt", "src", ["a.mp4"], tmp_path)
    assert out == [str(tmp_path / "a.mp4")]
    assert s3.downloaded == []                         # not re-fetched
    assert (tmp_path / "a.mp4").read_bytes() == b"already"


def test_download_missing_object_fails_loud(tmp_path):
    s3 = FakeS3({"src/a.mp4": b"a"})
    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError) as exc:
        sd.download_selective(s3, "bkt", "src", ["a.mp4", "MISSING.mp4"], tmp_path)
    assert "1 of 2" in str(exc.value)
    assert "MISSING.mp4" in str(exc.value)


def test_download_empty_src_prefix_uses_bare_keys(tmp_path):
    s3 = FakeS3({"a.mp4": b"a"})
    out = sd.download_selective(s3, "bkt", "", ["a.mp4"], tmp_path)
    assert s3.downloaded == ["a.mp4"]
    assert out == [str(tmp_path / "a.mp4")]


# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# end-to-end: parse then stage
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #

def test_extract_then_download_end_to_end(tmp_path, records):
    ann = _write(tmp_path, records, "jsonl")
    dest = tmp_path / "stage"
    s3 = FakeS3({"data/clips/a.mp4": b"a", "data/clips/b.mp4": b"b"})
    rel = sd.extract_keys(ann, ["video"])
    out = sd.download_selective(s3, "bkt", "data", rel, dest)
    # exactly the 2 unique, non-null referenced files staged
    assert len(out) == 2
    assert (dest / "clips/a.mp4").exists() and (dest / "clips/b.mp4").exists()

Requirements and compatibility

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: Declares allowed tools, Needs Python, Needs Node.js

The author says: Requires aws CLI or s5cmd on the staging host, plus Python 3.10+ with boto3 and pandas/pyarrow for annotation-selective download. No nvidia-tao-sdk, no fsspec/s3fs. Credentials are read from the process environment, whether exported in the user's shell or sourced from a user-approved env file.

Security

What our scanner noticed· Medium risk

  • Large base64-encoded blobs
  • References to credential files
  • Scripts that your agent may run

This skill includes scripts that your agent may run. Read them before you use it.

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
NVIDIA Corporation
Publisher
NVIDIA (Official)
Source
NVIDIA/skills · skills/tao-data-io · commit fce3cca
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE-APACHE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

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Download ZIP

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