| name | tripy-new-module |
| description | Add a new neural network module to nvtripy. Use when: creating an nn layer, implementing a Module subclass, adding a new layer like Linear/LayerNorm/Conv, defining parameters with DefaultParameter or OptionalParameter, using constant_fields decorator. |
Adding a New Module to nvtripy
When to Use
- Creating a new neural network layer (e.g., normalization, attention, convolution)
- Implementing a
Module subclass with learnable parameters
- Adding a module that wraps existing ops into a reusable component
Architecture Overview
Modules live in nvtripy/frontend/module/ and follow this pattern:
- Optional helper function: A standalone function (not exported) that implements the math, decorated with
@wrappers.interface for constraints.
- Module class: A
@dataclass subclass of Module with @export.public_api and @constant_fields.
- Parameters: Use
DefaultParameter (must be set before use) or OptionalParameter (can be None).
Procedure
Step 1: Create the Module File
Create nvtripy/frontend/module/<module_name>.py:
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Optional, Sequence, Union
from nvtripy import export, utils
from nvtripy.common import datatype
from nvtripy.frontend import wrappers
from nvtripy.frontend.module.module import Module
from nvtripy.frontend.module.parameter import DefaultParameter, OptionalParameter
from nvtripy.frontend.tensor import Tensor
from nvtripy.frontend.wrappers import constant_fields
from nvtripy.frontend.ops import utils as op_utils
from nvtripy.trace.ops.my_op import MyOp
from nvtripy.frontend.constraints import GetInput, GetReturn, OneOf
@wrappers.interface(
input_requirements=OneOf(GetInput("input").dtype, [datatype.float32, datatype.float16, datatype.bfloat16])
& (GetInput("weight").dtype == GetInput("input").dtype),
output_guarantees=GetReturn(0).dtype == GetInput("input").dtype,
)
def my_layer_func(
input: "nvtripy.Tensor",
weight: "nvtripy.Tensor",
bias: "nvtripy.Tensor",
eps: float,
) -> "nvtripy.Tensor":
return op_utils.create_op(MyOp, [input, weight, bias], eps=eps)
@export.public_api(document_under="operations/modules")
@dataclass
@constant_fields(["dtype"])
class MyLayer(Module):
r"""
Brief math description of the layer.
:math:`\text{MyLayer}(x) = f(x, W, b)`
"""
dtype: datatype.dtype
r"""The data type used to perform the operation."""
weight: Tensor
r"""The weight parameter of shape :math:`[\text{features}]`."""
bias: Optional[Tensor]
r"""The bias parameter of shape :math:`[\text{features}]`."""
eps: float
"""A small value for numerical stability."""
def __init__(
self,
features: int,
bias: bool = True,
dtype: datatype.dtype = datatype.float32,
eps: float = 1e-5,
) -> None:
r"""
Args:
features: Size of the feature dimension.
bias: Whether to include a bias term.
dtype: The data type for parameters.
eps: Small constant for numerical stability.
.. code-block:: python
:linenos:
layer = tp.MyLayer(3)
layer.weight = tp.iota(layer.weight.shape)
layer.bias = tp.iota(layer.bias.shape)
input = tp.iota((2, 3), dim=1)
output = layer(input)
assert cp.from_dlpack(output).get().shape == (2, 3)
"""
super().__init__()
self.dtype = dtype
self.weight = DefaultParameter((features,), dtype=dtype)
self.bias = None
if bias:
self.bias = DefaultParameter((features,), dtype=dtype)
self.eps = eps
def forward(self, x: "nvtripy.Tensor") -> "nvtripy.Tensor":
r"""
Args:
x: The input tensor.
Returns:
The output tensor.
"""
return my_layer_func(x, self.weight, self.bias, self.eps)
Step 2: Understand Parameter Types
DefaultParameter(shape, dtype): Creates a placeholder that MUST be replaced with real data before the module runs. Used for required weights:
self.weight = DefaultParameter((out_features, in_features), dtype=dtype)
OptionalParameter(shape, dtype): Can be None — used for optional weights like quantization scales:
self.input_scale = OptionalParameter(shape=[], dtype=dtype)
Step 3: Use @constant_fields
The @constant_fields(["field1", "field2"]) decorator marks fields as compile-time constants. These fields will be baked into the compiled graph and cannot change at runtime. Use for:
dtype — data type configuration
normalized_shape — shape parameters that define the layer structure
quant_dtype — quantization configuration
Step 4: Register the Module
The @export.public_api(document_under="operations/modules") decorator handles registration. The module will be accessible as tp.MyLayer(...).
Ensure the module file is imported in nvtripy/frontend/module/__init__.py.
Complete Example: LayerNorm
@wrappers.interface(
input_requirements=OneOf(GetInput("input").dtype, [datatype.float32, datatype.float16, datatype.bfloat16])
& (GetInput("weight").dtype == GetInput("input").dtype)
& (GetInput("bias").dtype == GetInput("input").dtype),
output_guarantees=GetReturn(0).dtype == GetInput("input").dtype,
)
def layernorm(input, weight, bias, eps):
normalized_shape = weight.shape
D = len(normalized_shape)
input_rank = input.rank
if input_rank < 2:
raise_error(f"Input must have rank >= 2, got {input.rank}")
if input_rank > D:
broadcast_shape = (1,) * (input_rank - D) + normalized_shape
weight = reshape(weight, broadcast_shape)
bias = reshape(bias, broadcast_shape)
return op_utils.create_op(LayerNormOp, [input, weight, bias],
normalized_shape=normalized_shape, eps=eps)
@export.public_api(document_under="operations/modules")
@dataclass
@constant_fields(["dtype", "normalized_shape"])
class LayerNorm(Module):
dtype: datatype.dtype
normalized_shape: []
weight: Tensor
bias: Tensor
eps:
():
().__init__()
.dtype = dtype
(normalized_shape, ):
normalized_shape = (normalized_shape,)
.normalized_shape = normalized_shape
.weight = DefaultParameter(normalized_shape, dtype=dtype)
.bias = DefaultParameter(normalized_shape, dtype=dtype)
.eps = eps
():
layernorm(x, .weight, .bias, .eps)
Complete Example: Linear
Key patterns from Linear:
- Weight shape:
(out_features, in_features) — transposed in forward()
- Optional bias with sentinel:
self.bias = DefaultParameter(...) if bias else None
- Quantization support with
OptionalParameter for scales
- Uses
@constant_fields(["dtype", "quant_dtype"]) for compile-time config
Module Base Class Features
The Module base class (nvtripy/frontend/module/module.py) provides:
state_dict(): Recursively collects all Tensor parameters (supports nested modules, lists, dicts)
load_state_dict(state_dict, strict=True): Loads parameters with shape/dtype validation
__setattr__: Validates parameter compatibility on assignment
__call__: Calls forward() — modules are callable like functions
Checklist