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pytorch-lightning

Helps organize PyTorch model training with LightningModule and Trainer, including validation, logging, model saving, and early stopping. It also guides distributed training across multiple GPUs and settings for reduced-precision computation.

OriginalShow the original description

Clean training loops with built-in distributed support.

Works withDiscord
AI rating90/ 100See how to install

Good for

  • Converting existing PyTorch training code to Lightning
  • Adding validation metrics and model checkpoints
  • Setting up training across multiple GPUs
  • Configuring early stopping and learning rate schedules

Overview

What it does

This skill organizes PyTorch model training around LightningModule and Trainer. It brings training logic and optimization settings together, adding validation, testing, logging, and model checkpoints during training. It also covers distributed training across multiple GPUs, mixed precision to adjust computation precision, and gradient accumulation.

When it helps

Use it when you want to organize a training loop written by hand or expand training from a single GPU to multiple GPUs. It helps you save models based on validation results, stop training early when improvement stalls, and configure learning rate changes. The material also includes examples of checks for situations where memory runs out or validation does not run.

Example requests

  • “Move this PyTorch training code into LightningModule and Trainer.”
  • “Log validation loss, save the best-performing models, and configure early stopping.”
  • “Create a training configuration that uses DDP across eight GPUs.”

Notes

The listed dependencies are lightning, torch, and transformers. The skill covers CPU, GPU, TPU, and Apple MPS, but the distributed training strategy and computation precision must be chosen to match the hardware you use.

This overview was written by AI (OpenAI Codex) from the public SKILL.md. Check the original below for the exact behavior.

Objective evaluation

AI rated this skill on four points using only the contents of its SKILL.md. Stars and popularity are not taken into account.

Clear instructionsIs it clear when to use it and what it does?
AGoodThe material explicitly describes use cases and actions for migrating PyTorch code, validation, and distributed training.
Concrete stepsAre steps, inputs, outputs, and examples spelled out?
AGoodCode examples show a three-step migration, validation metrics, and settings for saving the top three models.
SafetyAre sending data, deleting files, and running commands disclosed?
BPartly lackingTraining execution and automatic saving with ModelCheckpoint are shown, but no confirmation procedure before saving is provided.
Easy setupDoes it need few tools or API keys, and are they documented?
AGoodDependencies and supported operating systems are listed, and the installation command pip install lightning is provided.

The total counts each point as A = 25, B = 15, C = 5. Rated by AI (OpenAI Codex) as of Oct 20, 2026. Treat it as a guide and read the original before installing.

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Files included (4)

  • SKILL.md8.8 KB
  • references/callbacks.md11.7 KB
  • references/distributed.md10.6 KB
  • references/hyperparameter-tuning.md12.3 KB

SKILL.md (original)

Review the instructions the agent will receive before you install.

PyTorch Lightning - High-Level Training Framework

Quick start

PyTorch Lightning organizes PyTorch code to eliminate boilerplate while maintaining flexibility.

Installation:

pip install lightning

Convert PyTorch to Lightning (3 steps):

import lightning as L
import torch
from torch import nn
from torch.utils.data import DataLoader, Dataset

# Step 1: Define LightningModule (organize your PyTorch code)
class LitModel(L.LightningModule):
    def __init__(self, hidden_size=128):
        super().__init__()
        self.model = nn.Sequential(
            nn.Linear(28 * 28, hidden_size),
            nn.ReLU(),
            nn.Linear(hidden_size, 10)
        )

    def training_step(self, batch, batch_idx):
        x, y = batch
        y_hat = self.model(x)
        loss = nn.functional.cross_entropy(y_hat, y)
        self.log('train_loss', loss)  # Auto-logged to TensorBoard
        return loss

    def configure_optimizers(self):
        return torch.optim.Adam(self.parameters(), lr=1e-3)

# Step 2: Create data
train_loader = DataLoader(train_dataset, batch_size=32)

# Step 3: Train with Trainer (handles everything else!)
trainer = L.Trainer(max_epochs=10, accelerator='gpu', devices=2)
model = LitModel()
trainer.fit(model, train_loader)

That's it! Trainer handles:

  • GPU/TPU/CPU switching
  • Distributed training (DDP, FSDP, DeepSpeed)
  • Mixed precision (FP16, BF16)
  • Gradient accumulation
  • Checkpointing
  • Logging
  • Progress bars

Common workflows

Workflow 1: From PyTorch to Lightning

Original PyTorch code:

model = MyModel()
optimizer = torch.optim.Adam(model.parameters())
model.to('cuda')

for epoch in range(max_epochs):
    for batch in train_loader:
        batch = batch.to('cuda')
        optimizer.zero_grad()
        loss = model(batch)
        loss.backward()
        optimizer.step()

Lightning version:

class LitModel(L.LightningModule):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.model = MyModel()

    def training_step(self, batch, batch_idx):
        loss = self.model(batch)  # No .to('cuda') needed!
        return loss

    def configure_optimizers(self):
        return torch.optim.Adam(self.parameters())

# Train
trainer = L.Trainer(max_epochs=10, accelerator='gpu')
trainer.fit(LitModel(), train_loader)

Benefits: 40+ lines → 15 lines, no device management, automatic distributed

Workflow 2: Validation and testing

class LitModel(L.LightningModule):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.model = MyModel()

    def training_step(self, batch, batch_idx):
        x, y = batch
        y_hat = self.model(x)
        loss = nn.functional.cross_entropy(y_hat, y)
        self.log('train_loss', loss)
        return loss

    def validation_step(self, batch, batch_idx):
        x, y = batch
        y_hat = self.model(x)
        val_loss = nn.functional.cross_entropy(y_hat, y)
        acc = (y_hat.argmax(dim=1) == y).float().mean()
        self.log('val_loss', val_loss)
        self.log('val_acc', acc)

    def test_step(self, batch, batch_idx):
        x, y = batch
        y_hat = self.model(x)
        test_loss = nn.functional.cross_entropy(y_hat, y)
        self.log('test_loss', test_loss)

    def configure_optimizers(self):
        return torch.optim.Adam(self.parameters(), lr=1e-3)

# Train with validation
trainer = L.Trainer(max_epochs=10)
trainer.fit(model, train_loader, val_loader)

# Test
trainer.test(model, test_loader)

Automatic features:

  • Validation runs every epoch by default
  • Metrics logged to TensorBoard
  • Best model checkpointing based on val_loss

Workflow 3: Distributed training (DDP)

# Same code as single GPU!
model = LitModel()

# 8 GPUs with DDP (automatic!)
trainer = L.Trainer(
    accelerator='gpu',
    devices=8,
    strategy='ddp'  # Or 'fsdp', 'deepspeed'
)

trainer.fit(model, train_loader)

Launch:

# Single command, Lightning handles the rest
python train.py

No changes needed:

  • Automatic data distribution
  • Gradient synchronization
  • Multi-node support (just set num_nodes=2)

Workflow 4: Callbacks for monitoring

from lightning.pytorch.callbacks import ModelCheckpoint, EarlyStopping, LearningRateMonitor

# Create callbacks
checkpoint = ModelCheckpoint(
    monitor='val_loss',
    mode='min',
    save_top_k=3,
    filename='model-{epoch:02d}-{val_loss:.2f}'
)

early_stop = EarlyStopping(
    monitor='val_loss',
    patience=5,
    mode='min'
)

lr_monitor = LearningRateMonitor(logging_interval='epoch')

# Add to Trainer
trainer = L.Trainer(
    max_epochs=100,
    callbacks=[checkpoint, early_stop, lr_monitor]
)

trainer.fit(model, train_loader, val_loader)

Result:

  • Auto-saves best 3 models
  • Stops early if no improvement for 5 epochs
  • Logs learning rate to TensorBoard

Workflow 5: Learning rate scheduling

class LitModel(L.LightningModule):
    # ... (training_step, etc.)

    def configure_optimizers(self):
        optimizer = torch.optim.Adam(self.parameters(), lr=1e-3)

        # Cosine annealing
        scheduler = torch.optim.lr_scheduler.CosineAnnealingLR(
            optimizer,
            T_max=100,
            eta_min=1e-5
        )

        return {
            'optimizer': optimizer,
            'lr_scheduler': {
                'scheduler': scheduler,
                'interval': 'epoch',  # Update per epoch
                'frequency': 1
            }
        }

# Learning rate auto-logged!
trainer = L.Trainer(max_epochs=100)
trainer.fit(model, train_loader)

When to use vs alternatives

Use PyTorch Lightning when:

  • Want clean, organized code
  • Need production-ready training loops
  • Switching between single GPU, multi-GPU, TPU
  • Want built-in callbacks and logging
  • Team collaboration (standardized structure)

Key advantages:

  • Organized: Separates research code from engineering
  • Automatic: DDP, FSDP, DeepSpeed with 1 line
  • Callbacks: Modular training extensions
  • Reproducible: Less boilerplate = fewer bugs
  • Tested: 1M+ downloads/month, battle-tested

Use alternatives instead:

  • Accelerate: Minimal changes to existing code, more flexibility
  • Ray Train: Multi-node orchestration, hyperparameter tuning
  • Raw PyTorch: Maximum control, learning purposes
  • Keras: TensorFlow ecosystem

Common issues

Issue: Loss not decreasing

Check data and model setup:

# Add to training_step
def training_step(self, batch, batch_idx):
    if batch_idx == 0:
        print(f"Batch shape: {batch[0].shape}")
        print(f"Labels: {batch[1]}")
    loss = ...
    return loss

Issue: Out of memory

Reduce batch size or use gradient accumulation:

trainer = L.Trainer(
    accumulate_grad_batches=4,  # Effective batch = batch_size × 4
    precision='bf16'  # Or 'fp16', reduces memory 50%
)

Issue: Validation not running

Ensure you pass val_loader:

# WRONG
trainer.fit(model, train_loader)

# CORRECT
trainer.fit(model, train_loader, val_loader)

Issue: DDP spawns multiple processes unexpectedly

Lightning auto-detects GPUs. Explicitly set devices:

# Test on CPU first
trainer = L.Trainer(accelerator='cpu', devices=1)

# Then GPU
trainer = L.Trainer(accelerator='gpu', devices=1)

Advanced topics

Callbacks: See references/callbacks.md for EarlyStopping, ModelCheckpoint, custom callbacks, and callback hooks.

Distributed strategies: See references/distributed.md for DDP, FSDP, DeepSpeed ZeRO integration, multi-node setup.

Hyperparameter tuning: See references/hyperparameter-tuning.md for integration with Optuna, Ray Tune, and WandB sweeps.

Hardware requirements

  • CPU: Works (good for debugging)
  • Single GPU: Works
  • Multi-GPU: DDP (default), FSDP, or DeepSpeed
  • Multi-node: DDP, FSDP, DeepSpeed
  • TPU: Supported (8 cores)
  • Apple MPS: Supported

Precision options:

  • FP32 (default)
  • FP16 (V100, older GPUs)
  • BF16 (A100/H100, recommended)
  • FP8 (H100)

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