luciole-studio/misaka-agent/accelerate

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Run PyTorch training across GPUs with minimal changes.

Install

npx vskill@latest install luciole-studio/misaka-agent/accelerate

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SKILL.md

The same SKILL.md was published earlier as aivrar/portable-hermes-agent/accelerate.

HuggingFace Accelerate - Unified Distributed Training

Quick start

Accelerate simplifies distributed training to 4 lines of code.

Installation:

bash
pip install accelerate

Convert PyTorch script (4 lines):

python
import torch
+ from accelerate import Accelerator
+ accelerator = Accelerator()
model = torch.nn.Transformer()
optimizer = torch.optim.Adam(model.parameters())
dataloader = torch.utils.data.DataLoader(dataset)
+ model, optimizer, dataloader = accelerator.prepare(model, optimizer, dataloader)
for batch in dataloader:
optimizer.zero_grad()
loss = model(batch)
- loss.backward()
+ accelerator.backward(loss)
optimizer.step()

Run (single command):

bash
accelerate launch train.py

Common workflows

Workflow 1: From single GPU to multi-GPU

Original script:

python
# train.py
import torch
model = torch.nn.Linear(10, 2).to('cuda')
optimizer = torch.optim.Adam(model.parameters())
dataloader = torch.utils.data.DataLoader(dataset, batch_size=32)
for epoch in range(10):
for batch in dataloader:
batch = batch.to('cuda')
optimizer.zero_grad()
loss = model(batch).mean()
loss.backward()
optimizer.step()

With Accelerate (4 lines added):

python
# train.py
import torch
from accelerate import Accelerator # +1
accelerator = Accelerator() # +2
model = torch.nn.Linear(10, 2)
optimizer = torch.optim.Adam(model.parameters())
dataloader = torch.utils.data.DataLoader(dataset, batch_size=32)
model, optimizer, dataloader = accelerator.prepare(model, optimizer, dataloader) # +3
for epoch in range(10):
for batch in dataloader:
# No .to('cuda') needed - automatic!
optimizer.zero_grad()
loss = model(batch).mean()
accelerator.backward(loss) # +4
optimizer.step()

Configure (interactive):

bash
accelerate config

Questions:

  • Which machine? (single/multi GPU/TPU/CPU)
  • How many machines? (1)
  • Mixed precision? (no/fp16/bf16/fp8)
  • DeepSpeed? (no/yes)

Launch (works on any setup):

bash
# Single GPU
accelerate launch train.py
# Multi-GPU (8 GPUs)
accelerate launch --multi_gpu --num_processes 8 train.py
# Multi-node
accelerate launch --multi_gpu --num_processes 16 \
--num_machines 2 --machine_rank 0 \
--main_process_ip $MASTER_ADDR \
train.py
Workflow 2: Mixed precision training

Enable FP16/BF16:

python
from accelerate import Accelerator
# FP16 (with gradient scaling)
accelerator = Accelerator(mixed_precision='fp16')
# BF16 (no scaling, more stable)
accelerator = Accelerator(mixed_precision='bf16')
# FP8 (H100+)
accelerator = Accelerator(mixed_precision='fp8')
model, optimizer, dataloader = accelerator.prepare(model, optimizer, dataloader)
# Everything else is automatic!
for batch in dataloader:
with accelerator.autocast(): # Optional, done automatically
loss = model(batch)
accelerator.backward(loss)
Workflow 3: DeepSpeed ZeRO integration

Enable DeepSpeed ZeRO-2 (pass a DeepSpeedPlugin, not a raw dict):

python
from accelerate import Accelerator, DeepSpeedPlugin
deepspeed_plugin = DeepSpeedPlugin(
zero_stage=2, # ZeRO-2
offload_optimizer_device="none", # or "cpu" to offload
gradient_accumulation_steps=4,
)
accelerator = Accelerator(
mixed_precision='bf16',
deepspeed_plugin=deepspeed_plugin, # DeepSpeedPlugin instance (or dict[str, DeepSpeedPlugin])
)
# Same code as before!
model, optimizer, dataloader = accelerator.prepare(model, optimizer, dataloader)

Or point at a full DeepSpeed JSON config via the plugin:

python
from accelerate import Accelerator, DeepSpeedPlugin
# hf_ds_config accepts a path to a DeepSpeed config JSON (or a dict)
deepspeed_plugin = DeepSpeedPlugin(hf_ds_config="ds_config.json")
accelerator = Accelerator(mixed_precision='bf16', deepspeed_plugin=deepspeed_plugin)

ds_config.json (a raw DeepSpeed config — passed via the plugin, NOT via --config_file):

json
{
"fp16": {"enabled": false},
"bf16": {"enabled": true},
"zero_optimization": {
"stage": 2,
"offload_optimizer": {"device": "cpu"},
"allgather_bucket_size": 5e8,
"reduce_bucket_size": 5e8
}
}

Or via interactive config:

bash
accelerate config
# Select: DeepSpeed → ZeRO-2
# This writes an accelerate YAML config (default: ~/.cache/huggingface/accelerate/default_config.yaml)

Launch (--config_file expects an accelerate YAML, not a raw DeepSpeed JSON):

bash
# Uses the default accelerate config written by `accelerate config`
accelerate launch train.py
# Or point at a specific accelerate YAML
accelerate launch --config_file accelerate_deepspeed.yaml train.py
Workflow 4: FSDP (Fully Sharded Data Parallel)

Enable FSDP:

python
from accelerate import Accelerator, FullyShardedDataParallelPlugin
fsdp_plugin = FullyShardedDataParallelPlugin(
sharding_strategy="FULL_SHARD", # ZeRO-3 equivalent
auto_wrap_policy="transformer_based_wrap", # valid: transformer_based_wrap | size_based_wrap | no_wrap
cpu_offload=False
)
accelerator = Accelerator(
mixed_precision='bf16',
fsdp_plugin=fsdp_plugin
)
model, optimizer, dataloader = accelerator.prepare(model, optimizer, dataloader)

Or via config:

bash
accelerate config
# Select: FSDP → Full Shard → No CPU Offload
Workflow 5: Gradient accumulation

Accumulate gradients:

python
from accelerate import Accelerator
accelerator = Accelerator(gradient_accumulation_steps=4)
model, optimizer, dataloader = accelerator.prepare(model, optimizer, dataloader)
for batch in dataloader:
with accelerator.accumulate(model): # Handles accumulation
optimizer.zero_grad()
loss = model(batch)
accelerator.backward(loss)
optimizer.step()

Effective batch size: batch_size * num_gpus * gradient_accumulation_steps

When to use vs alternatives

Use Accelerate when:

  • Want simplest distributed training
  • Need single script for any hardware
  • Use HuggingFace ecosystem
  • Want flexibility (DDP/DeepSpeed/FSDP/Megatron)
  • Need quick prototyping

Key advantages:

  • 4 lines: Minimal code changes
  • Unified API: Same code for DDP, DeepSpeed, FSDP, Megatron
  • Automatic: Device placement, mixed precision, sharding
  • Interactive config: No manual launcher setup
  • Single launch: Works everywhere

Use alternatives instead:

  • PyTorch Lightning: Need callbacks, high-level abstractions
  • Ray Train: Multi-node orchestration, hyperparameter tuning
  • DeepSpeed: Direct API control, advanced features
  • Raw DDP: Maximum control, minimal abstraction

Common issues

Issue: Wrong device placement

Don't manually move to device:

python
# WRONG
batch = batch.to('cuda')
# CORRECT
# Accelerate handles it automatically after prepare()

Issue: Gradient accumulation not working

Use context manager:

python
# CORRECT
with accelerator.accumulate(model):
optimizer.zero_grad()
accelerator.backward(loss)
optimizer.step()

Issue: Checkpointing in distributed

Use accelerator methods:

python
# Save only on main process
if accelerator.is_main_process:
accelerator.save_state('checkpoint/')
# Load on all processes
accelerator.load_state('checkpoint/')

Issue: Different results with FSDP

Ensure same random seed:

python
from accelerate.utils import set_seed
set_seed(42)

Advanced topics

Megatron integration: See references/megatron-integration.md for tensor parallelism, pipeline parallelism, and sequence parallelism setup.

Custom plugins: See references/custom-plugins.md for creating custom distributed plugins and advanced configuration.

Performance tuning: See references/performance.md for profiling, memory optimization, and best practices.

Hardware requirements

  • CPU: Works (slow)
  • Single GPU: Works
  • Multi-GPU: DDP (default), DeepSpeed, or FSDP
  • Multi-node: DDP, DeepSpeed, FSDP, Megatron
  • TPU: Supported
  • Apple MPS: Supported

Launcher requirements:

  • DDP: torch.distributed.run (built-in)
  • DeepSpeed: deepspeed (pip install deepspeed)
  • FSDP: PyTorch 1.12+ (built-in)
  • Megatron: Custom setup

Resources

  • Docs: https://huggingface.co/docs/accelerate
  • GitHub: https://github.com/huggingface/accelerate
  • Version: 1.11.0+
  • Tutorial: "Accelerate your scripts"
  • Examples: https://github.com/huggingface/accelerate/tree/main/examples
  • Used by: HuggingFace Transformers, TRL, PEFT, all HF libraries

Security

  • Security scanPassed, 90 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
  • Model reviewPassed

Quality evaluation

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Source

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Extension points

  • pluginCustom plugin integration

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