huggingface-llm-trainer

---
name: huggingface-llm-trainer
description: "Train or fine-tune language models with TRL or Unsloth on Hugging Face Jobs, including SFT, DPO, GRPO, reward models, and GGUF conversion. Use for cloud LLM training; use huggingface-vision-trainer for vision tasks."
license: Apache-2.0 (modified; see UPSTREAMS.json)
---

# TRL Training on Hugging Face Jobs

## Overview

Train language models using TRL (Transformer Reinforcement Learning) on fully managed Hugging Face infrastructure. No local GPU setup required — models train on cloud GPUs and results are automatically saved to the Hugging Face Hub.

**TRL provides multiple training methods:**
- **SFT** (Supervised Fine-Tuning) — standard instruction tuning
- **DPO** (Direct Preference Optimization) — alignment from preference data
- **GRPO** (Group Relative Policy Optimization) — online RL training
- **Reward Modeling** — train reward models for RLHF

See `references/training_methods.md` for method overviews and selection guidance.

### When to Use Unsloth

Use **Unsloth** (`references/unsloth.md`) instead of standard TRL when GPU memory is limited (~60% less VRAM), speed matters (~2x faster), training large models (>13B), or training Vision-Language Models (Unsloth has `FastVisionModel` support). See `scripts/unsloth_sft_example.py` for a production-ready training script.

## Key Directives

1. **Submit jobs via `hf jobs uv run` (CLI) or the `hf_jobs()` MCP tool if the Hugging Face MCP server is configured** — pass the training script inline, don't save to a local file unless the user explicitly requests it. If the user asks to "train a model" or "fine-tune", create the training script AND submit the job immediately.
2. **Always include Trackio** for real-time monitoring — use `scripts/` templates.
3. **Provide job details after submission**: job ID, monitoring URL, estimated time; note the user can request status checks later.
4. **Use example scripts as templates**: `scripts/train_sft_example.py`, `scripts/train_dpo_example.py`, etc.

## Local Script Execution

Repository scripts use PEP 723 inline dependencies. Run them with `uv run`:
```bash
uv run scripts/estimate_cost.py --help
uv run scripts/dataset_inspector.py --help
```

## Prerequisites Checklist

**Account & Authentication:**
- Hugging Face account with Pro/Team/Enterprise plan (Jobs require a paid plan); authenticated login.
- **HF_TOKEN for Hub push is CRITICAL** — the training environment is ephemeral, so results are lost unless pushed to the Hub. Token must have write permissions. Pass `secrets={"HF_TOKEN": "$HF_TOKEN"}` in the job config.

**Dataset Requirements:**
- Must exist on the Hub or be loadable via `datasets.load_dataset()`.
- Format must match the training method (SFT: messages/text/prompt-completion; DPO: chosen/rejected; GRPO: prompt-only). **Always validate unknown datasets first** (see Dataset Validation below).
- Size appropriate for hardware (demo: 50-100 examples on t4-small; production: 1K-10K+ on a10g-large/a100-large).

**Critical Settings:**
- Timeout must exceed expected training time — default 30min is too short; minimum recommended 1-2 hours. The job fails and loses all progress if the timeout is exceeded.
- Hub push must be enabled: `push_to_hub=True`, `hub_model_id="username/model-name"`, `secrets={"HF_TOKEN": "$HF_TOKEN"}`.

## Asynchronous Jobs

Training jobs run in the background and can take hours. After submitting: report the job ID, monitoring URL, and estimated time; wait for the user to request status checks rather than polling. Initial logs can take 30-60 seconds to appear.

## Quick Start

**Sequence length:** TRL config classes use `max_length` (not `max_seq_length`). Default is `max_length=1024` (truncates from right) — override higher for longer context, lower under memory constraints, or `None` for vision models (to avoid cutting image tokens).

### Approach 1: UV Scripts (default choice)

UV scripts use PEP 723 inline dependencies for clean, self-contained training:

```python
hf_jobs("uv", {
    "script": """
# /// script
# dependencies = ["trl>=0.12.0", "peft>=0.7.0", "trackio"]
# ///
from datasets import load_dataset
from peft import LoraConfig
from trl import SFTTrainer, SFTConfig
import trackio

dataset = load_dataset("trl-lib/Capybara", split="train")
dataset_split = dataset.train_test_split(test_size=0.1, seed=42)

trainer = SFTTrainer(
    model="Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B",
    train_dataset=dataset_split["train"],
    eval_dataset=dataset_split["test"],
    peft_config=LoraConfig(r=16, lora_alpha=32),
    args=SFTConfig(
        output_dir="my-model", push_to_hub=True, hub_model_id="username/my-model",
        num_train_epochs=3, eval_strategy="steps", eval_steps=50,
        report_to="trackio", project="my_project", run_name="my_run",
    ),
)
trainer.train()
trainer.push_to_hub()
""",
    "flavor": "a10g-large",
    "timeout": "2h",
    "secrets": {"HF_TOKEN": "$HF_TOKEN"},
})
```

The `script` parameter accepts inline code or a publicly-accessible/Hub/GitHub/Gist URL — **local file paths do not work** (jobs run in isolated containers with no access to the local filesystem). To use a local script, upload it to the Hub first (`hf upload ...`) and reference its resolved URL.

### Approach 2: TRL Maintained Scripts

Run TRL's battle-tested example scripts directly from a URL, passing CLI-style `script_args` (`--model_name_or_path`, `--dataset_name`, `--output_dir`, `--push_to_hub`, `--hub_model_id`). Available at https://github.com/huggingface/trl/tree/main/examples/scripts.

### Approach 3: HF Jobs CLI

When no `hf_jobs`-style tool is available, use the `hf jobs` CLI directly. **Flags must come before the script URL**, the subcommand order is `hf jobs uv run` (not `run uv`), and use `--secrets` (plural):

```bash
hf jobs uv run \
  --flavor a10g-large --timeout 2h --secrets HF_TOKEN \
  "https://huggingface.co/user/repo/resolve/main/train.py"
```

Check status: `hf jobs ps`, `hf jobs logs <job-id>`, `hf jobs inspect <job-id>`, `hf jobs cancel <job-id>`.

### Approach 4: TRL Jobs Package

`uvx trl-jobs sft --model_name Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B --dataset_name trl-lib/Capybara` gives pre-configured defaults, automatic Trackio integration, and automatic Hub push — best for terminal-only, quick local experimentation. Repository: https://github.com/huggingface/trl-jobs.

## Hardware Selection

| Model Size | Recommended Hardware | Cost (approx/hr) |
|------------|---------------------|------------------|
| <1B params | `t4-small` | ~$0.75 |
| 1-3B params | `t4-medium`, `l4x1` | ~$1.50-2.50 |
| 3-7B params | `a10g-small`, `a10g-large` | ~$3.50-5.00 |
| 7-13B params | `a10g-large`, `a100-large` (LoRA) | ~$5-10 |
| 13B+ params | `a100-large`, `a10g-largex2` (LoRA) | ~$10-20 |

Use LoRA/PEFT for models >7B; multi-GPU is handled automatically by TRL/Accelerate. See `references/hardware_guide.md` for full specs.

## Saving Results to the Hub

**The Jobs environment is ephemeral — everything is deleted when the job ends.** Set `push_to_hub=True` and `hub_model_id="username/model-name"` in the training config, and pass `secrets={"HF_TOKEN": "$HF_TOKEN"}` in the job submission. See `references/hub_saving.md` for troubleshooting.

## Timeout Management

Default is 30 minutes — too short for real training. Set explicitly (`"timeout": "2h"`, formats: `"90m"`, `"2h"`, seconds as integer) with a 20-30% buffer for loading/checkpointing/Hub push. Guideline: quick demo 10-30min, development 1-2h, production (3-7B) 4-6h. On timeout the job is killed immediately and unsaved progress is lost.

## Choosing a Base Model

Use `scripts/hf_benchmarks.py` to find top-performing models for a task, keeping size/hardware constraints in mind: `uv run scripts/hf_benchmarks.py search --query ocr` then `uv run scripts/hf_benchmarks.py leaderboard <benchmark-id>`.

## Cost Estimation

Offer to estimate cost when parameters are known (hardware, dataset size, epochs), with `scripts/estimate_cost.py`:
```bash
uv run scripts/estimate_cost.py --model meta-llama/Llama-2-7b-hf --dataset trl-lib/Capybara --hardware a10g-large --dataset-size 16000 --epochs 3
```

## Example Training Scripts

Production-ready templates: `scripts/train_sft_example.py`, `scripts/train_dpo_example.py`, `scripts/train_grpo_example.py`, `scripts/unsloth_sft_example.py` (Unsloth, faster/less VRAM). Pass their content inline or use as templates.

## Monitoring with Trackio

Add `trackio` to dependencies and configure `report_to="trackio"`, `run_name="meaningful_name"`. Defaults: space ID `{username}/trackio`, minimal config (hyperparameters + model/dataset info), a Project Name to group runs. Apply the user's preferences instead when specified. See `references/trackio_guide.md` for grouping runs across experiments.

## Dataset Validation

**Validate BEFORE launching GPU training** — 50%+ of training failures are format mismatches, and DPO is especially strict about column names (`prompt`, `chosen`, `rejected`). Validation on CPU costs ~$0.01 and takes <1 minute vs. wasting $1-10 and 30-60 minutes on a failed GPU job.

Always validate unknown/custom datasets and any DPO dataset; skip validation only for well-known TRL datasets (`trl-lib/ultrachat_200k`, `trl-lib/Capybara`, etc.). Use the Hub-hosted dataset inspector script (`--dataset name --split train`); output markers are `✓ READY`, `✗ NEEDS MAPPING` (includes copy-paste mapping code), or `✗ INCOMPATIBLE`.

## Converting Models to GGUF

Convert trained models to GGUF for llama.cpp/Ollama/LM Studio/local inference — supports 4/5/8-bit quantization, typically 2-8GB for 7B models vs. 14GB unquantized. See `references/gguf_conversion.md` for the complete conversion script, quantization options, and troubleshooting.

## Common Training Patterns

See `references/training_patterns.md`: quick demo, production with checkpoints, multi-GPU, DPO, GRPO.

## Common Failure Modes

- **Out of memory**: reduce `per_device_train_batch_size` (increase `gradient_accumulation_steps` to compensate, target effective batch size ~128), enable `gradient_checkpointing=True`, or upgrade hardware.
- **Dataset misformatted**: validate first with the dataset inspector, apply the suggested mapping code.
- **Job timeout**: check actual runtime via logs, increase timeout with a 30% buffer, or reduce `num_train_epochs`/dataset size; save checkpoints (`save_strategy="steps"`, `hub_strategy="every_save"`) so partial progress survives.
- **Hub push failures**: confirm `secrets={"HF_TOKEN": "$HF_TOKEN"}`, `push_to_hub=True`, `hub_model_id`, write permissions, and that the target repo exists (or `hub_private_repo=True`).
- **Missing dependencies**: add them to the PEP 723 header.

See `references/troubleshooting.md` for the complete guide.

## Resources

**References:** `references/training_methods.md`, `training_patterns.md`, `unsloth.md`, `gguf_conversion.md`, `trackio_guide.md`, `hardware_guide.md`, `hub_saving.md`, `troubleshooting.md`, `local_training_macos.md`.

**Scripts:** `scripts/train_sft_example.py`, `train_dpo_example.py`, `train_grpo_example.py`, `unsloth_sft_example.py`, `estimate_cost.py`, `convert_to_gguf.py`, `hf_benchmarks.py`.

**External:** [TRL docs](https://huggingface.co/docs/trl), [TRL Jobs training guide](https://huggingface.co/docs/trl/en/jobs_training), [TRL Jobs package](https://github.com/huggingface/trl-jobs), [HF Jobs docs](https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/guides/jobs), [UV scripts guide](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/guides/scripts/).

## Key Takeaways

1. Submit scripts inline — no file saving required unless the user asks.
2. Jobs are asynchronous — don't poll; let the user check status when ready.
3. Always set a timeout above the default 30min (1-2h minimum).
4. Always enable Hub push — the environment is ephemeral.
5. Include Trackio for real-time monitoring.
6. Offer cost estimation when parameters are known.
7. Default to UV scripts (Approach 1) or the TRL maintained scripts (Approach 2); fall back to the `hf jobs` CLI (Approach 3) when no job-submission tool is available.
8. Validate dataset format before training, especially for DPO.
9. Choose hardware for model size; use LoRA for models >7B.

• SKILL.md 12 KB
• references/gguf_conversion.md 10 KB
• references/hardware_guide.md 7 KB
• references/hub_saving.md 8 KB
• references/local_training_macos.md 8 KB
• references/reliability_principles.md 11 KB
• references/trackio_guide.md 6 KB
• references/training_methods.md 5 KB
• references/training_patterns.md 6 KB
• references/troubleshooting.md 9 KB
• references/unsloth.md 8 KB
• scripts/convert_to_gguf.py 12 KB
• scripts/dataset_inspector.py 15 KB
• scripts/estimate_cost.py 5 KB
• scripts/hf_benchmarks.py 20 KB
• scripts/train_dpo_example.py 3 KB
• scripts/train_grpo_example.py 2 KB
• scripts/train_sft_example.py 3 KB
• scripts/unsloth_sft_example.py 16 KB