No thrills. Un-Optimized. Training.

---

Brute Force Training

A no-thrills, unoptimized Python package for finetuning Vision-Language Models (VLMs). This package provides simple training utilities for various VLM architectures with HuggingFace datasets integration.

Supported Models

• Qwen2-VL: Vision-language models from the Qwen2-VL series
• Qwen2.5-VL: Enhanced vision-language models with improved capabilities
• LFM2-VL: Liquid AI's vision-language models
• Qwen3: Text-only models from the Qwen3 series

Features

• 🚀 Simple, unoptimized training loops - perfect for research and experimentation
• 📊 HuggingFace datasets integration out of the box
• 🔧 Configurable data filtering and preprocessing
• 💾 Automatic model checkpointing during training
• 🎯 Built-in validation loops
• 📸 Automatic image preprocessing and resizing
• 🏗️ Modular architecture with base classes for easy extension
• 📈 Comprehensive documentation generation - README.md for each checkpoint
• 🎨 Training visualizations - Loss curves and evaluation charts
• 📋 HuggingFace model cards - Automatic metadata generation
• 🔍 Pre/post training evaluation - Compare model performance
• 📊 Training metrics tracking - Detailed training history

Installation

From PyPI (when published)

pip install brute-force-training

From Source

git clone https://github.com/wjbmattingly/brute-force-training.git
cd brute-force-training
pip install -e .

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• PyTorch 1.11.0+
• transformers 4.37.0+
• datasets 2.14.0+

Quick Start

Vision-Language Model Training (Qwen2-VL)

from brute_force_training import Qwen2VLTrainer

# Initialize trainer
trainer = Qwen2VLTrainer(
    model_name="Qwen/Qwen2-VL-2B-Instruct",
    output_dir="./my_finetuned_model"
)

# Train the model
trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="your_dataset_name",
    image_column="image",
    text_column="text", 
    user_text="Describe this image",
    max_steps=1000,
    train_batch_size=2,
    learning_rate=1e-5,
    validate_before=True,    # Pre-training evaluation
    generate_docs=True       # Generate documentation
)

Text-Only Model Training (Qwen3)

from brute_force_training import Qwen3Trainer

# Initialize trainer
trainer = Qwen3Trainer(
    model_name="Qwen/Qwen3-4B-Thinking-2507",
    output_dir="./my_finetuned_qwen3"
)

# Train the model
trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="your_text_dataset",
    input_column="input",
    output_column="output",
    system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant.",  # ✨ System prompt support
    max_steps=1000,
    train_batch_size=4,
    learning_rate=1e-5
)

System Prompts for Text Models

Just like vision models have user_text, text models now support system_prompt:

# Math tutoring model
trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="math_problems",
    system_prompt="You are a mathematics tutor. Provide step-by-step solutions."
)

# Code assistant model  
trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="code_questions",
    system_prompt="You are a coding assistant. Write clean, efficient code."
)

# Creative writing model
trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="writing_prompts", 
    system_prompt="You are a creative writer. Write engaging stories."
)

# No system prompt (original behavior)
trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="general_qa",
    system_prompt=None  # Or just omit this parameter
)

Documentation & Visualization Features

Automatic Documentation Generation

Every checkpoint now includes comprehensive documentation:

trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="your_dataset",
    # ... other parameters ...
    validate_before=True,    # Run evaluation before training starts
    generate_docs=True       # Generate docs and visualizations
)

Each saved checkpoint will contain:

• README.md - Detailed model card with training info
• training_curves.png - Loss and learning rate visualizations
• evaluation_comparison.png - Before/after training performance
• training_metrics.json - Complete training history
• model_card_metadata.json - HuggingFace metadata

Pre/Post Training Evaluation

Compare your model's performance before and after training:

# This will automatically run if validate_before=True
# Shows output like:
# 🔍 Running pre-training evaluation...
# 📊 Pre-training - Loss: 2.456789, Perplexity: 11.67
# 
# [training happens]
#
# 🔍 Running post-training evaluation...  
# 📊 Post-training - Loss: 1.234567, Perplexity: 3.44
# 🎯 Loss improvement: +49.75% (from 2.456789 to 1.234567)

Training Visualizations

Automatic generation of:

• Loss curves showing training and validation loss over time
• Learning rate schedules
• Evaluation comparisons with before/after metrics
• Training progress with step-by-step metrics

Advanced Usage

Custom Data Filtering

def my_filter_function(example):
    # Only include examples with text length between 50-1000 characters
    return 50 <= len(example['text']) <= 1000

trainer = Qwen2VLTrainer(
    model_name="Qwen/Qwen2-VL-2B-Instruct",
    output_dir="./filtered_model"
)

# Override the default filtering
trainer.filter_dataset = lambda dataset: dataset.filter(my_filter_function)

trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="your_dataset",
    image_column="image",
    text_column="text"
)

Training Configuration

trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="CATMuS/medieval",
    image_column="im",
    text_column="text",
    user_text="Transcribe this medieval manuscript line",
    
    # Training parameters
    max_steps=10000,
    eval_steps=500,
    num_accumulation_steps=4,
    learning_rate=1e-5,
    
    # Data selection
    train_select_start=0,
    train_select_end=5000,
    val_select_start=5000,
    val_select_end=6000,
    
    # Batch sizes
    train_batch_size=2,
    val_batch_size=2,
    
    # Image preprocessing
    max_image_size=500
)

Model-Specific Examples

LFM2-VL Training

from brute_force_training import LFM2VLTrainer

trainer = LFM2VLTrainer(
    model_name="LiquidAI/LFM2-VL-450M",
    output_dir="./lfm2_finetuned"
)

trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="your_dataset",
    image_column="image",
    text_column="caption",
    user_text="What is in this image?",
    max_steps=5000,
    train_batch_size=1,  # LFM2-VL typically needs smaller batch sizes
    learning_rate=1e-5
)

Qwen2.5-VL Training

from brute_force_training import Qwen25VLTrainer

trainer = Qwen25VLTrainer(
    model_name="Qwen/Qwen2.5-VL-3B-Instruct",
    output_dir="./qwen25_finetuned",
    min_pixel=256,
    max_pixel=384,
    image_factor=28
)

trainer.train_and_validate(
    dataset_name="your_dataset",
    image_column="image", 
    text_column="text",
    max_steps=8000,
    eval_steps=1000
)

Dataset Format

Vision-Language Datasets

Your HuggingFace dataset should have:

• An image column (PIL Images or base64 strings)
• A text column (string descriptions/captions)

Text-Only Datasets

Your HuggingFace dataset should have:

• An input column (input text)
• An output column (target text)

Project Structure

brute_force_training/
├── __init__.py
├── datasets/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── vision_language.py    # VisionLanguageDataset class
│   └── text_only.py         # TextOnlyDataset class
├── trainers/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── base.py              # BaseTrainer abstract class
│   ├── qwen2_vl.py          # Qwen2VLTrainer
│   ├── qwen25_vl.py         # Qwen25VLTrainer
│   ├── lfm2_vl.py           # LFM2VLTrainer
│   └── qwen3.py             # Qwen3Trainer
└── utils/
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── image_utils.py       # Image preprocessing utilities
    └── tokenization.py     # Tokenization utilities

Contributing

This is a research-focused package intended for experimentation. Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

The original training scripts were adapted from zhangfaen/finetune-Qwen2-VL. We are deeply grateful for their foundational work.

Limitations

This package is intentionally "brute force" and unoptimized. It's designed for:

• Research and experimentation
• Quick prototyping
• Educational purposes

For production use cases, consider more optimized training frameworks.

Support

For questions, issues, or feature requests, please open an issue on GitHub.