pytorch-preference-optimization

name	pytorch-preference-optimization
description	Guide for implementing preference optimization methods (DPO, SimPO, IPO) in PyTorch. Use when implementing loss functions for RLHF-style training.

PyTorch Preference Optimization

Common Pattern

All preference optimization methods take:

• policy_chosen_logps: log probs for preferred responses
• policy_rejected_logps: log probs for rejected responses

DPO Loss

# Requires reference model log probs
logits = (policy_chosen_logps - ref_chosen_logps) - (policy_rejected_logps - ref_rejected_logps)
losses = -F.logsigmoid(beta * logits)

SimPO Loss (Reference-Free)

# No reference model needed - uses length-normalized log probs
pi_logratios = policy_chosen_logps - policy_rejected_logps  # already avg'd per token
logits = pi_logratios - gamma_beta_ratio  # gamma_beta_ratio = gamma/beta
losses = -F.logsigmoid(beta * logits)

Tips

• F.logsigmoid(x) is numerically more stable than torch.log(torch.sigmoid(x))
• For label smoothing: loss = -logsigmoid(logits)*(1-ls) - logsigmoid(-logits)*ls
• Hinge loss: torch.relu(1 - beta * logits)
• Always .detach() reward tensors to prevent gradient flow through them