refactor: collapse fp8 recipe hierarchy and state property layers

- Merge DelayedScaling/DynamicScaling and the abstract FP8Recipe base into one FP8Recipe dataclass with a dynamic flag; dispatch now reads cfg.recipe.dynamic instead of isinstance checks
- Drop the _ActiveOrDefault descriptor and the FP8State property views; the persistent defaults are plain default_* attributes and get_weight_meta takes the active recipe explicitly
- Convert FP8TensorMeta to a NamedTuple of the three per-operand rings
- Update tests to the new API; the autocast context test now asserts _active_config push/restore directly

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -39,11 +39,12 @@ ruff format .    # re-format after fix
 python -u -m pytest tests/ -v
 ```
 
-> Failed tests may leave orphan tempdirs under `%TEMP%`. Clean them manually if needed.
+> Failed tests may leave orphan tempdirs under the system temp directory
+> (`$TMPDIR` on Linux/macOS, `%TEMP%` on Windows). Clean them manually if needed.
 
 ### 4. (Optional) Full pre-commit check script
 
-If you have Git Bash available:
+If you have `bash` available (Git Bash on Windows works too):
 
 ```bash
 bash scripts/pre_commit.sh

Dockerfile

@@ -57,10 +57,14 @@ COPY docs/ ./docs/
 COPY pyproject.toml .
 COPY README.md .
 
-# Create non-root user matching the host uid/gid (passed via build args)
+# Create non-root user matching the host uid/gid (passed via build args).
+# ubuntu:24.04 ships a default 'ubuntu' user/group at uid/gid 1000, so remove
+# it first to free those ids before creating astrai.
 ARG USER_UID=1000
 ARG USER_GID=1000
-RUN groupadd -g "${USER_GID}" astrai \
+RUN userdel -r ubuntu 2>/dev/null || true \
+    && groupdel ubuntu 2>/dev/null || true \
+    && groupadd -g "${USER_GID}" astrai \
     && useradd -m -u "${USER_UID}" -g astrai astrai \
     && chown -R astrai:astrai /app
 ENV HOME=/home/astrai

README.md

@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ AstrAI is an end-to-end Transformer framework for building, training, evaluating
 | **Data** | Declarative JSON preprocessing, configurable masking and packing, binary/JSONL storage, and streaming datasets |
 | **Inference** | Continuous batching, paged KV cache, radix prefix caching, streaming generation, and Torch/CUDA/FlashAttention backends |
 | **Serving** | FastAPI server with OpenAI and Anthropic chat completion protocols, including SSE streaming and tool calls |
-| **Evaluation** | Perplexity, MMLU, HumanEval, IFEval, IFD, and ROUGE evaluation tools |
+| **Evaluation** | Perplexity, MMLU, HumanEval, IFEval, IFD, ROUGE, and weight-analysis evaluation tools |
 | **Extensibility** | Factory and registry architecture for models, datasets, training strategies, callbacks, kernels, and protocol components |
 
 ### Getting Started
@@ -65,8 +65,9 @@ AstrAI requires Python 3.12+ and pins PyTorch exactly to `2.11.0`. Training, `sc
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/ViperEkura/AstrAI.git
 cd AstrAI
-pip install -e .                                          # pure PyTorch (no CUDA kernels)
+pip install -e .                                          # kernels auto-build when nvcc + CUDA are detected
-# CSRC_KERNELS=true pip install -e . --no-build-isolation  # optional: fused CUDA kernels
+# CSRC_KERNELS=false pip install -e .                     # skip kernels (pure PyTorch)
+# CSRC_KERNELS=true pip install -e . --no-build-isolation  # force the fused CUDA kernel build
 # pip install -e ".[dev]"                                  # dev dependencies (pytest, ruff)
 ```
 
@@ -191,6 +192,9 @@ docker compose up -d
 
 # Docker Compose CPU server profile (CUDA-only generation scripts/demos are unavailable)
 docker compose --profile cpu up -d
+
+# YAML-driven serving (see serve.yaml; up/run/down/logs/status...)
+bash scripts/serve.sh up
 ```
 
 > **Note**: `--gpus all` is required for CUDA support. Without it, `torch.cuda.is_available()` will return `False`.
@@ -236,6 +240,8 @@ See [Inference Guide](docs/guides/inference.md) for SSE streaming format, error
 | [Data Flow](./docs/developer/dataflow.md) | Data pipeline, storage backends & dataset architecture |
 | [Internals](./docs/developer/internals.md) | Training internals: loss formulas, callback lifecycle, KV cache |
 | [CUDA Kernels](./docs/developer/cuda_kernels.md) | Custom CUDA attention kernels & benchmarks |
+| [Docker Serving](./docs/developer/docker-serving.md) | YAML-driven containerized serving (`serve.yaml`, `serve.sh`) |
+| [Docker Training](./docs/developer/docker-training.md) | YAML-driven containerized training (`train.yaml`, `train.sh`) |
 
 ### Contributing
 

astrai/__init__.py

@@ -17,14 +17,9 @@ from astrai.dataset import (
     StoreFactory,
 )
 from astrai.factory import BaseFactory
-from astrai.inference import (
+from astrai.inference import InferenceEngine, get_app, run_server, sample
-    InferenceEngine,
+from astrai.inference.network import ProtocolHandler
-    ProtocolHandler,
+from astrai.inference.runtime.sample import SamplingPipeline
-    SamplingPipeline,
-    get_app,
-    run_server,
-    sample,
-)
 from astrai.logging import setup_logging
 from astrai.model import (
     AutoModel,

astrai/config/train_config.py

@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ from torch.utils.data import Dataset
 from astrai.config.base import BaseConfig
 from astrai.model.components.lora import LoRAConfig
 
-_TRAIN_TYPES = frozenset({"seq", "sft", "dpo", "grpo", "online_grpo", "online_dpo"})
+TRAIN_TYPES = frozenset({"seq", "sft", "dpo", "grpo", "online_grpo", "online_dpo"})
-_PARALLEL_MODES = frozenset({"none", "ddp", "fsdp"})
+PARALLEL_MODES = frozenset({"none", "ddp", "fsdp"})
-_BACKENDS = frozenset({"nccl", "gloo"})
+BACKENDS = frozenset({"nccl", "gloo"})
-_START_METHODS = frozenset({"spawn", "fork", "forkserver"})
+START_METHODS = frozenset({"spawn", "fork", "forkserver"})
 _COMPILE_MODES = frozenset({"default", "reduce-overhead", "max-autotune"})
 
 
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ class TrainConfig(BaseConfig):
         rollout_max_tokens (int): Maximum generated tokens per response in rollout. Defaults to 1024.
         reward_model_fn (Optional[Callable]): Factory for reward model, required for online RL strategies. Defaults to None.
         executor_kwargs (Dict[str, Any]): Extra kwargs passed to ExecutorFactory.create(). Defaults to {}.
-        extra_kwargs (Dict[str, Any]): Other arguments. Defaults to {}.
+        strategy_kwargs (Dict[str, Any]): Extra strategy arguments. Defaults to {}.
     """
 
     model_fn: Callable[[], nn.Module]
@@ -125,35 +125,35 @@ class TrainConfig(BaseConfig):
     reward_model_fn: Optional[Callable] = None
 
     executor_kwargs: Dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)
-    extra_kwargs: Dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)
+    strategy_kwargs: Dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)
 
     @field_validator("strategy")
     def _validate_strategy(cls, v: str) -> str:
-        if v not in _TRAIN_TYPES:
+        if v not in TRAIN_TYPES:
             raise ValueError(
-                f"strategy must be one of {sorted(_TRAIN_TYPES)}, got {v!r}"
+                f"strategy must be one of {sorted(TRAIN_TYPES)}, got {v!r}"
             )
         return v
 
     @field_validator("parallel_mode")
     def _validate_parallel_mode(cls, v: str) -> str:
-        if v not in _PARALLEL_MODES:
+        if v not in PARALLEL_MODES:
             raise ValueError(
-                f"parallel_mode must be one of {sorted(_PARALLEL_MODES)}, got {v!r}"
+                f"parallel_mode must be one of {sorted(PARALLEL_MODES)}, got {v!r}"
             )
         return v
 
     @field_validator("backend")
     def _validate_backend(cls, v: str) -> str:
-        if v not in _BACKENDS:
+        if v not in BACKENDS:
-            raise ValueError(f"backend must be one of {sorted(_BACKENDS)}, got {v!r}")
+            raise ValueError(f"backend must be one of {sorted(BACKENDS)}, got {v!r}")
         return v
 
     @field_validator("start_method")
     def _validate_start_method(cls, v: str) -> str:
-        if v not in _START_METHODS:
+        if v not in START_METHODS:
             raise ValueError(
-                f"start_method must be one of {sorted(_START_METHODS)}, got {v!r}"
+                f"start_method must be one of {sorted(START_METHODS)}, got {v!r}"
             )
         return v
 

astrai/dataset/dataset.py

@@ -383,10 +383,10 @@ class DatasetFactory(BaseFactory["BaseDataset"]):
             transform = _build_jsonl_transform(load_path, tokenizer_path)
             if transform is None:
                 raise FileNotFoundError(
-                    f"JSONL dataset config not found. Expected "
+                    "JSONL dataset config not found. Expected "
-                    f"dataset_config.json alongside *.jsonl files, pass "
+                    "dataset_config.json alongside *.jsonl files, pass "
-                    f"tokenizer_path= for the built-in messages config, or "
+                    "tokenizer_path= for the built-in messages config, or "
-                    f"use processor= for lazy on-the-fly tokenisation."
+                    "use processor= for lazy on-the-fly tokenisation."
                 )
             store.load(load_path, transform=transform, **kwargs)
         else:
@@ -492,9 +492,6 @@ class DPODataset(BaseDataset):
 
     required_keys = ["chosen", "rejected", "chosen_mask", "rejected_mask"]
 
-    def make_processor(self, tokenizer, max_len: int):
-        return partial(dpo_processor, tokenizer=tokenizer, max_len=max_len)
-
     def __getitem__(self, index: int) -> Dict[str, Tensor]:
         return {
             "chosen": self.store.fetch_record(index, "chosen").to(dtype=torch.long),

astrai/dataset/storage.py

@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ class Store(ABC):
         """
         if self._window_size <= 0:
             raise RuntimeError("sample_window() requires window_size > 0 (stream mode)")
-        if self._window_size <= 0 or self._length <= self._window_size:
+        if self._length <= self._window_size:
             raise IndexError(
                 f"Data too short for window: token_count={self._length}, "
                 f"window_size={self._window_size}"

astrai/extension/backend/attention.py

@@ -21,9 +21,20 @@ Usage — mirroring ``torch.nn.attention.sdpa_kernel``:
         ...
 
 Thread-safe via ``contextvars`` — each scheduler thread gets its own
-active backend. ``get_backend()`` returns the active one, falling back
+active backend. Backend resolution follows a strict precedence:
-to a process-wide default (cuda > flash > torch, overridable via
+
-``ASTR_BACKEND``).
+1. explicit ``attn_backend(...)`` context (wins over everything),
+2. the process-wide ``ASTR_BACKEND`` environment override,
+3. an implicit default picked from the available backends
+   (cuda > flash > torch).
+
+Capability is polymorphic: every backend declares ``available()``
+(machine-level) and ``supports_call(...)`` (per-call), so adding a new
+backend requires no changes to the resolution logic. Training calls
+(``fwd=None``, no KV cache) resolve through the same priority list: the
+CUDA cache kernels cannot run without a cache, so they fall back to
+flash (when it can handle the call — mask-free/causal only) and finally
+to the reference ``TorchNativeBackend``.
 
 Layout convention: all q/k/v are ``[batch, seq_len, n_heads, head_dim]``
 (blhd). The backend returns ``[batch, seq_len, n_heads * head_dim]``.
@@ -32,11 +43,12 @@ Layout convention: all q/k/v are ``[batch, seq_len, n_heads, head_dim]``
 import contextvars
 import enum
 import functools
+import logging
 import os
 import threading
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from contextlib import contextmanager
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Optional, Union
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Dict, Optional, Tuple, Union
 
 import torch
 import torch.nn.functional as F
@@ -57,8 +69,9 @@ except Exception:
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from astrai.inference.cache import KVCache
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 
-_default_backend: Optional["AttentionBackend"] = None
 _default_backend_lock = threading.Lock()
 _env_backend_name: Optional[str] = None
 _env_backend: Optional["AttentionBackend"] = None
@@ -66,6 +79,10 @@ _current_backend: contextvars.ContextVar[Optional["AttentionBackend"]] = (
     contextvars.ContextVar("attn_backend", default=None)
 )
 
+# Backends are stateless — one canonical instance per class, created lazily
+# and reused everywhere (resolution, fallback, context managers).
+_singletons: Dict[type, "AttentionBackend"] = {}
+
 
 @functools.lru_cache(maxsize=1)
 def flash_attn_available() -> bool:
@@ -102,58 +119,40 @@ class ATTN_BACKEND(enum.Enum):
     FLASH = "flash"
 
 
-def _priority_backends() -> list["AttentionBackend"]:
+def _instance(backend_cls: type) -> "AttentionBackend":
-    """Available backends in priority order: cuda -> flash -> torch."""
+    """Return the canonical singleton instance for a backend class.
-    backends: list[AttentionBackend] = []
-    if is_available("attn_paged_decode") and is_available("attn_paged_prefill"):
-        backends.append(CudaBackend())
-    if flash_attn_available():
-        backends.append(FlashAttnBackend())
-    backends.append(TorchNativeBackend())
-    return backends
 
-
+    Backends hold no per-instance state, so a single cached instance is
-def _backend_supports(
+    safe and avoids per-call allocation on the attention hot path.
-    backend: "AttentionBackend",
-    q: Tensor,
-    kv_cache: Optional["KVCache"],
-    attn_mask: Optional[Tensor],
-    is_causal: bool,
-    fwd: Optional[str],
-) -> bool:
-    """Whether ``backend`` can run this attention call.
-
-    The CUDA kernels are bf16-only, support head_dim in 32/64/128/256, and
-    need a KV cache (decode/prefill); everything else falls back to torch.
     """
-    if isinstance(backend, CudaBackend):
+    backend = _singletons.get(backend_cls)
-        return (
+    if backend is None:
-            fwd in ("prefill", "decode")
+        backend = backend_cls()
-            and kv_cache is not None
+        _singletons[backend_cls] = backend
-            and q.ndim == 3
+    return backend
-            and q.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+
-            and q.size(-1) in (32, 64, 128, 256)
+
-            and is_available(f"attn_paged_{fwd}")
+@functools.lru_cache(maxsize=1)
-        )
+def _priority_backends() -> Tuple["AttentionBackend", ...]:
-    if isinstance(backend, FlashAttnBackend):
+    """Available backends in priority order: cuda -> flash -> torch.
-        if not flash_attn_available():
+
-            return False
+    Computed once (machine availability cannot change at runtime) and
-        if q.dtype not in (torch.float16, torch.bfloat16):
+    cached forever; the tuple always ends with ``TorchNativeBackend``,
-            return False
+    which is unconditionally available.
-        if fwd is not None:
+    """
-            return q.ndim == 3 and hasattr(_flash_attn, "flash_attn_varlen_func")
+    return tuple(
-        if attn_mask is None or is_causal:
+        _instance(cls)
-            return True
+        for cls in (CudaBackend, FlashAttnBackend, TorchNativeBackend)
-        return attn_mask.dim() == 4
+        if cls.available()
-    return True
+    )
 
 
 def _resolve_default_backend() -> "AttentionBackend":
     """Pick the highest-priority available backend (cuda -> flash -> torch).
 
-    Resolved lazily on first ``get_backend()`` and cached.  Per-call
+    Resolved lazily on first use and cached via ``_priority_backends``.
-    capability fallback happens in ``attention()``, so the default is
+    Per-call capability fallback happens in ``attention()``, so the
-    safe for training and fp32 models.
+    default is safe for training and fp32 models.
     """
     return _priority_backends()[0]
 
@@ -168,9 +167,14 @@ def _environment_backend() -> Optional["AttentionBackend"]:
         with _default_backend_lock:
             if name != _env_backend_name:
                 try:
-                    _env_backend = AttentionBackendFactory.create(name)
+                    _env_backend = _resolve_backend(name)
                 except (ValueError, RuntimeError):
                     _env_backend = None
+                    logger.warning(
+                        "ASTR_BACKEND=%r is not a registered attention backend; "
+                        "falling back to default resolution",
+                        name,
+                    )
                 _env_backend_name = name
     return _env_backend
 
@@ -178,43 +182,46 @@ def _environment_backend() -> Optional["AttentionBackend"]:
 def _resolve_backend(
     backend: Optional[Union[str, ATTN_BACKEND, "AttentionBackend", type]] = None,
 ) -> "AttentionBackend":
-    """Resolve a backend configuration, defaulting to the process policy."""
+    """Resolve a backend configuration to its canonical instance.
+
+    Accepts a registered name, ``ATTN_BACKEND`` enum value, backend class,
+    or instance.  Names/classes resolve to the shared singleton; a caller
+    may still pass its own instance to opt out of sharing.
+    """
     if backend is not None:
         if isinstance(backend, ATTN_BACKEND):
-            return AttentionBackendFactory.create(backend.value)
+            return _instance(AttentionBackendFactory.get_component_class(backend.value))
         if isinstance(backend, str):
-            return AttentionBackendFactory.create(backend)
+            return _instance(AttentionBackendFactory.get_component_class(backend))
         if isinstance(backend, type) and issubclass(backend, AttentionBackend):
-            return backend()
+            return _instance(backend)
         if isinstance(backend, AttentionBackend):
             return backend
         raise TypeError(
             f"expected a registered name, ATTN_BACKEND, AttentionBackend type, "
             f"or instance, got {type(backend).__name__}"
         )
-
+    return _resolve_default_backend()
-    global _default_backend
-    if _default_backend is None:
-        with _default_backend_lock:
-            if _default_backend is None:
-                _default_backend = _resolve_default_backend()
-    return _default_backend
 
 
 def get_backend(
     use_default: bool = True,
 ) -> Optional["AttentionBackend"]:
-    """Return the context override, optionally falling back to the process default.
+    """Resolve the active backend: explicit context > env > default.
 
-    ``ASTR_BACKEND`` is a process-wide override and takes precedence over the
+    An ``attn_backend(...)`` context is the caller's explicit choice and
-    context value. Pass ``use_default=False`` at request submission to retain
+    always wins.  ``ASTR_BACKEND`` is a process-wide override consulted
-    only an environment override or the caller's :func:`attn_backend` value.
+    only when no context is set.  Pass ``use_default=False`` at request
+    submission to retain only an environment override or the caller's
+    :func:`attn_backend` value.
     """
-    return (
+    context_backend = _current_backend.get()
-        _environment_backend()
+    if context_backend is not None:
-        or _current_backend.get()
+        return context_backend
-        or (_resolve_backend() if use_default else None)
+    env_backend = _environment_backend()
-    )
+    if env_backend is not None:
+        return env_backend
+    return _resolve_default_backend() if use_default else None
 
 
 @contextmanager
@@ -253,28 +260,6 @@ def repeat_kv(x: Tensor, n_rep: int) -> Tensor:
     )
 
 
-def _write_and_gather_kv(
-    kv_cache: "KVCache",
-    k: Tensor,
-    v: Tensor,
-    layer_id: int,
-    q: Tensor,
-    attn_mask: Optional[Tensor],
-) -> tuple[Tensor, Tensor]:
-    kv_cache.k_buffer[layer_id, kv_cache.out_cache_loc] = k
-    kv_cache.v_buffer[layer_id, kv_cache.out_cache_loc] = v
-    max_len = kv_cache.max_len
-    indices = kv_cache.req_to_token[kv_cache.req_pool_indices, :max_len]
-    if q.size(1) == 1 and attn_mask is not None and attn_mask.dim() == 4:
-        pos_mask = attn_mask[:, 0, 0]
-    else:
-        pos_mask = (
-            torch.arange(max_len, device=q.device)[None, :] < kv_cache.seq_lens[:, None]
-        )
-    indices = torch.where(pos_mask, indices, torch.zeros_like(indices))
-    return kv_cache.k_buffer[layer_id, indices], kv_cache.v_buffer[layer_id, indices]
-
-
 def attention(
     q: Tensor,
     k: Tensor,
@@ -284,13 +269,23 @@ def attention(
     attn_mask: Optional[Tensor] = None,
     is_causal: bool = False,
     fwd: Optional[str] = None,
+    backend: Optional[Union[str, ATTN_BACKEND, "AttentionBackend", type]] = None,
 ) -> Tensor:
     """Functional attention entry point — mirrors ``F.scaled_dot_product_attention``.
 
-    Delegates to the active backend (set via ``with attn_backend(...)``).
+    Delegates to the active backend.  ``backend`` (optional) is an explicit
+    escape hatch; when omitted the backend is resolved as
+    explicit context > ``ASTR_BACKEND`` env > default (cuda > flash > torch).
     Handles KV cache I/O, GQA head expansion, and causal masking so the
     caller only needs to provide projected q/k/v.
 
+    Training calls (``fwd=None``, ``kv_cache=None``) resolve through the
+    same capability chain — the CUDA cache kernels cannot run without a
+    cache, so they fall back to flash (mask-free/causal calls only) and
+    finally to torch SDPA.  An explicitly-selected backend that cannot
+    handle the call raises — an implicit one falls back down the priority
+    list to the first capable backend.
+
     Args:
         q: [batch, q_len, n_heads, head_dim] (blhd)
         k: [batch, q_len, n_kv_heads, head_dim] (blhd)
@@ -299,30 +294,43 @@ def attention(
         layer_id: transformer layer index for buffer access.
         attn_mask: pre-built attention mask (SDPA-compatible).
         is_causal: whether to apply causal masking.
+        fwd: "prefill" / "decode" for inference, None for training.
+        backend: optional explicit backend (name, enum, class, or instance).
 
     Returns:
         [batch, q_len, n_heads * head_dim]
     """
-    explicit = get_backend(use_default=False)
+    if backend is not None:
-    backend = get_backend()
+        selected = _resolve_backend(backend)
-    if fwd is None and explicit is None:
+        explicit = True
-        backend = TorchNativeBackend()
+    else:
-    if not _backend_supports(backend, q, kv_cache, attn_mask, is_causal, fwd):
+        context_backend = _current_backend.get()
-        if explicit is not None:
+        explicit = context_backend is not None
+        # Resolve through the same chain as inference: explicit context >
+        # ASTR_BACKEND env > default.  Training calls (fwd=None, no cache)
+        # land on the CUDA backend and fall back by capability below —
+        # flash when it can handle the call, else torch SDPA.
+        selected = get_backend()
+        assert selected is not None
+
+    if not selected.supports_call(q, kv_cache, attn_mask, is_causal, fwd):
+        if explicit:
             raise RuntimeError(
-                f"Explicitly-set backend {type(backend).__name__} cannot "
+                f"Explicitly-set backend {type(selected).__name__} cannot "
                 f"handle this attention call (shape={q.shape}, "
                 f"dtype={q.dtype}, kv_cache={'none' if kv_cache is None else 'present'}, "
                 f"attn_mask={'none' if attn_mask is None else 'present'}). "
                 f"Remove the attn_backend() context or switch to a compatible backend."
             )
-        for candidate in _priority_backends():
+        selected = next(
-            if isinstance(candidate, type(backend)):
+            (
-                continue
+                candidate
-            if _backend_supports(candidate, q, kv_cache, attn_mask, is_causal, fwd):
+                for candidate in _priority_backends()
-                backend = candidate
+                if candidate.supports_call(q, kv_cache, attn_mask, is_causal, fwd)
-                break
+            ),
-    return backend.forward(q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal, fwd)
+            _instance(TorchNativeBackend),
+        )
+    return selected.forward(q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal, fwd)
 
 
 class AttentionBackend(ABC):
@@ -332,6 +340,17 @@ class AttentionBackend(ABC):
     ``fwd_prefill`` (q_len > 1, with or without cache). The public
     ``forward`` method dispatches based on q_len.
 
+    Capability contract — every backend declares:
+
+    * ``available()`` — machine-level: can this backend exist here
+      (kernel ``.so`` loaded, flash-attn present, GPU available)?
+      Used once to build the default priority list.
+    * ``supports_call(q, kv_cache, attn_mask, is_causal, fwd)`` — can this
+      backend run this *specific* call (shape/dtype/cache/mask)?  Used by
+      ``attention()`` for the per-call fallback.  Resolution logic never
+      checks concrete backend types, so adding a backend requires no
+      changes outside its own class.
+
     Three equivalent ways to activate a backend::
 
         with attn_backend(ATTN_BACKEND.TORCH_NATIVE):  # enum
@@ -349,6 +368,30 @@ class AttentionBackend(ABC):
     def __exit__(self, *exc) -> None:
         _current_backend.reset(self._token)
 
+    @classmethod
+    @abstractmethod
+    def available(cls) -> bool:
+        """Return True if this backend can run on the current machine.
+
+        Checks static availability only (compiled kernels, optional
+        packages, GPU presence) — not call-specific constraints.
+        """
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def supports_call(
+        self,
+        q: Tensor,
+        kv_cache: Optional["KVCache"],
+        attn_mask: Optional[Tensor],
+        is_causal: bool,
+        fwd: Optional[str],
+    ) -> bool:
+        """Return True if this backend can run this specific attention call.
+
+        Called on the canonical singleton instance (or a caller-provided
+        one); must be side-effect free.
+        """
+
     def forward(
         self,
         q: Tensor,
@@ -434,8 +477,18 @@ class TorchNativeBackend(AttentionBackend):
     runs SDPA directly on the projected q/k/v.
     """
 
-    @staticmethod
+    @classmethod
-    def supports(**kwargs) -> bool:
+    def available(cls) -> bool:
+        return True
+
+    def supports_call(
+        self,
+        q: Tensor,
+        kv_cache: Optional["KVCache"],
+        attn_mask: Optional[Tensor],
+        is_causal: bool,
+        fwd: Optional[str],
+    ) -> bool:
         return True
 
     def fwd_decode(
@@ -538,16 +591,37 @@ class CudaBackend(AttentionBackend):
     Raises ``RuntimeError`` if the required kernel is not available.
     """
 
-    @staticmethod
+    # Head dims supported by the CUDA kernels (single source of truth).
-    def supports(**kwargs) -> bool:
+    HEAD_DIMS = (32, 64, 128, 256)
-        head_dim = kwargs.get("head_dim", -1)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def available(cls) -> bool:
         return (
             torch.cuda.is_available()
-            and head_dim in (32, 64, 128, 256)
             and is_available("attn_paged_decode")
             and is_available("attn_paged_prefill")
         )
 
+    def supports_call(
+        self,
+        q: Tensor,
+        kv_cache: Optional["KVCache"],
+        attn_mask: Optional[Tensor],
+        is_causal: bool,
+        fwd: Optional[str],
+    ) -> bool:
+        # The CUDA kernels are bf16-only, support head_dim in
+        # HEAD_DIMS, and need a KV cache (decode/prefill); everything
+        # else falls back down the priority list to torch.
+        return (
+            fwd in ("prefill", "decode")
+            and kv_cache is not None
+            and q.ndim == 3
+            and q.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+            and q.size(-1) in self.HEAD_DIMS
+            and is_available(f"attn_paged_{fwd}")
+        )
+
     @staticmethod
     def supports_graph() -> bool:
         return True
@@ -565,10 +639,6 @@ class CudaBackend(AttentionBackend):
         if kv_cache is None:
             raise RuntimeError("CudaBackend does not support training (kv_cache=None)")
 
-        loc = kv_cache.out_cache_loc
-        kv_cache.k_buffer[layer_id, loc] = k
-        kv_cache.v_buffer[layer_id, loc] = v
-
         kv_indptr = kv_cache.kv_indptr
 
         out = attn_paged_decode(
@@ -578,6 +648,8 @@ class CudaBackend(AttentionBackend):
             kv_cache.req_to_token,
             kv_cache.req_pool_indices,
             kv_indptr,
+            new_k=k,
+            new_v=v,
             is_causal=True,
             o_part_buf=kv_cache.decode_o_part,
             ml_part_buf=kv_cache.decode_ml_part,
@@ -622,18 +694,39 @@ class CudaBackend(AttentionBackend):
 class FlashAttnBackend(AttentionBackend):
     """FlashAttention backend via the optional ``flash-attn`` package.
 
-    Decode (q_len=1, contiguous cache): uses ``flash_attn_with_kvcache``,
+    Decode (q_len=1, contiguous cache): writes K/V to the pool, gathers
-    which reads K/V directly from the flat pool via cache_batch_idx +
+    flat K/V via the ``req_to_token`` page table, and calls
-    cache_seqlens — no materialized KV gather.
+    ``flash_attn_varlen_func`` over the ragged batch
+    (``qo_indptr``/``kv_indptr``).
 
-    Prefill / non-contiguous decode: falls back to KV gather +
+    Prefill: packed 3-D calls share the ``flash_attn_varlen_func`` path;
-    ``flash_attn_func``.
+    dense 4-D calls go through ``flash_attn_func`` (mask-free only).
     """
 
-    @staticmethod
+    @classmethod
-    def supports(**kwargs) -> bool:
+    def available(cls) -> bool:
         return flash_attn_available()
 
+    def supports_call(
+        self,
+        q: Tensor,
+        kv_cache: Optional["KVCache"],
+        attn_mask: Optional[Tensor],
+        is_causal: bool,
+        fwd: Optional[str],
+    ) -> bool:
+        if not self.available():
+            return False
+        if q.dtype not in (torch.float16, torch.bfloat16):
+            return False
+        if fwd is not None:
+            return q.ndim == 3 and hasattr(_flash_attn, "flash_attn_varlen_func")
+        # Dense (training) path: flash_attn_func cannot apply a custom
+        # mask, so only mask-free calls are supported — ``is_causal`` is
+        # a flag, not a mask.  Masked training (SFT/DPO/GRPO) must fall
+        # back to TorchNativeBackend instead of silently ignoring the mask.
+        return attn_mask is None
+
     def fwd_decode(
         self,
         q: Tensor,
@@ -673,9 +766,9 @@ class FlashAttnBackend(AttentionBackend):
             k = repeat_kv(k, n_rep)
             v = repeat_kv(v, n_rep)
 
-        if attn_mask is not None and not is_causal and attn_mask.dim() != 4:
+        if attn_mask is not None:
             raise ValueError(
-                "FlashAttnBackend does not support a custom attention mask; "
+                "FlashAttnBackend cannot handle a custom attention mask; "
                 "use a causal mask or select TorchNativeBackend."
             )
         fa = _flash_attn
@@ -688,7 +781,7 @@ class FlashAttnBackend(AttentionBackend):
             q.contiguous(),
             k.contiguous(),
             v.contiguous(),
-            causal=is_causal or (attn_mask is not None and attn_mask.dim() == 4),
+            causal=is_causal,
         )
         return out.contiguous()
 

astrai/extension/fp8.py

@@ -1,168 +1,191 @@
-"""FP8 training: scaling state and aten::linear dispatch.
+"""FP8 training: scaling recipes, per-tensor state, and aten::linear dispatch.
 
-Layered (see also ``ops/fp8.py`` for the CUDA interface adapter):
+Layered (see ``ops/fp8.py`` for the CUDA interface adapter):
-
+1. ``ops.fp8`` — the only module touching the pybind.
-1. Kernel interface: ``ops.fp8`` - the only module touching the pybind.
+2. This module (strategy layer): scaling *recipes* (TE-style delayed scaling
-2. Training state (this module): per-tensor scales, amax history, delayed
+   or dynamic current-amax scaling), per-tensor scales + amax history, and the
-   scaling, and the ``fp8_autocast`` context (TE-style, like
+   ``fp8_autocast`` context manager (like ``torch.autocast``).
-   ``torch.autocast``).
+3. aten::linear integration: registers the CUDA + AutogradCUDA impls.
-3. aten::linear integration (this module): registers the CUDA impl and the
-   M/N alignment guard.
 
 Usage::
 
     from astrai.extension.fp8 import fp8_autocast
-
+    with fp8_autocast(enabled=True, fp8_format="hybrid"):
-    with fp8_autocast(enabled=True):
         logits = model(input_ids)
-        loss.backward()
+    loss.backward()  # fp8 backward runs anywhere; fwd captured state on the node
 
-Importing this module registers the aten::linear CUDA implementation.
+Format defaults follow the ecosystem consensus: E4M3 forward / E5M2 backward
+("hybrid"); every operand's scale is a quantization step derived from its amax
+history by the active recipe.
+
+The context mirrors ``torch.autocast`` (``autocast_mode.py``): the active
+``(enabled, recipe, fp8_format)`` triple is thread-local (a ``contextvars``
+``ContextVar``, absent outside any region), and the manager is class-based and
+reentrant with nested ``enabled=False`` disabling dispatch inside it. The module
+targets *training*: every step quantizes x/w/g fresh (no weight-cast cache — the
+optimizer bumps the weight version each step, so a torch-style cached_cast would
+miss anyway), and the per-operand scales come from the delayed/dynamic recipe.
 """
 
-from contextlib import contextmanager
+import functools
+from contextvars import ContextVar, Token
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from enum import Enum
+from typing import Dict, List, NamedTuple, Optional
 
 import torch
 from torch.library import Library
 
-from astrai.extension.ops.fp8 import (
+from astrai.extension.ops.fp8 import mm_fp8, quantize, quantize_dual
-    linear_backward_scaled,
-    linear_forward_scaled,
-)
 
-E4M3_MAX = 448.0
+# Max representable value per FP8 format (E4M3: 448, E5M2: 57344).
+FP8_MAX = {"e4m3": 448.0, "e5m2": 57344.0}
 
 
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+class FP8Format(str, Enum):
-# Layer 2: training state (scales, amax history, delayed scaling, autocast)
+    """Per-direction FP8 format. HYBRID = E4M3 forward / E5M2 backward."""
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    E4M3 = "e4m3"
+    E5M2 = "e5m2"
+    HYBRID = "hybrid"
+
+    def fwd(self) -> str:
+        return "e4m3" if self is FP8Format.HYBRID else self.value
+
+    def bwd(self) -> str:
+        return "e5m2" if self is FP8Format.HYBRID else self.value
 
 
-class FP8TensorMeta:
+@dataclass
-    """Scales + amax state for one weight tensor and its paired activations.
+class FP8Recipe:
+    """Scale-from-amax policy: ``scale = (amax / FP8_MAX[fmt]) / 2^margin``.
 
-    - weight: delayed scale from a 16-step amax history window (TE style)
+    ``dynamic=False`` (default) is TE-style delayed scaling: max over the
-    - x/g: delayed one step, reuse the quantize kernel's free atomic amax
+    amax history window (amax from *previous* steps; the window trades
+    responsiveness against stability). ``dynamic=True`` is current-amax
+    scaling (torchao DYNAMIC): measure, then quantize — no history, at an
+    extra pass. ``scale_from_history`` receives the operand's amax tensor
+    (a ring window / the current amax) and returns the quantization step.
     """
 
-    __slots__ = (
+    history_len: int = 16
-        "scale",
+    margin: int = 0
-        "scale_inv",
+    dynamic: bool = False
-        "amax_history",
-        "idx",
-        "x_scale",
-        "x_scale_inv",
-        "x_history",
-        "x_idx",
-        "g_scale",
-        "g_scale_inv",
-        "g_history",
-        "g_idx",
-        "w_init",
-        "x_init",
-        "g_init",
-    )
 
-    def __init__(self, device: torch.device, update_interval: int):
+    def scale_from_history(self, amax: torch.Tensor, fmt: str) -> torch.Tensor:
-        self.scale = torch.ones(1, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
+        peak = amax.max()
-        self.scale_inv = torch.ones(1, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
+        return ((peak / FP8_MAX[fmt]) / (2**self.margin)).clamp_min(1e-12)
-        self.amax_history = torch.ones(
+
-            update_interval, device=device, dtype=torch.float32
+
-        )
+class _ScaleRing:
+    """One operand's delayed-scaling state: a float32 buffer
+    ``[hist[n] | scale | legacy | amax | done]`` (views). The quantize
+    kernel folds its fused amax into ``hist[idx]`` and publishes the next
+    scale from the window in its own last block (``fold_args`` passes the
+    buffer + recipe constants); ``idx`` advances host-side each use. The
+    ``amax``/``done`` tail slots are kernel scratch (self-cleaning across
+    launches); the legacy slot keeps state-buffer compatibility.
+    """
+
+    __slots__ = ("recipe", "state", "hist", "scale", "idx", "initialized")
+
+    def __init__(self, device: torch.device, recipe: FP8Recipe):
+        self.recipe = recipe
+        n = recipe.history_len
+        self.state = torch.zeros(n + 4, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
+        self.hist = self.state[:n]
+        self.scale = self.state[n : n + 1]
         self.idx = 0
-        self.x_scale = torch.ones(1, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
+        self.initialized = False
-        self.x_scale_inv = torch.ones(1, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
-        self.x_history = torch.ones(update_interval, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
-        self.x_idx = 0
-        self.g_scale = torch.ones(1, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
-        self.g_scale_inv = torch.ones(1, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
-        self.g_history = torch.ones(update_interval, device=device, dtype=torch.float32)
-        self.g_idx = 0
-        self.w_init = False
-        self.x_init = False
-        self.g_init = False
 
-    def init_scale(self, t: torch.Tensor) -> None:
+    def advance(self) -> None:
-        """Immediate scale from the current amax; used on the first call.
+        """Rotate to the next history slot after metadata update."""
+        self.idx = (self.idx + 1) % self.hist.numel()
 
-        A scale of 1 would underflow small activations/gradients (e4m3 min
+    def seed(self, t: torch.Tensor, fmt: str) -> None:
-        normal is 2^-6); initialize from the actual amax once, then delayed
-        updates take over.
-        """
         amax = t.abs().amax().to(torch.float32).clamp_min(1e-12)
-        self.scale.copy_(amax / E4M3_MAX)
+        self.hist.fill_(amax)
-        self.scale_inv.copy_(E4M3_MAX / amax)
+        self.scale.copy_(self.recipe.scale_from_history(self.hist, fmt))
-        self.record(amax)
+        self.initialized = True
 
-    def push_x_scale(self, amax: torch.Tensor) -> None:
+    def fold_args(self, fmt: str) -> dict:
-        """Window update for the activation scale (delayed, TE style)."""
+        """Keyword arguments for quantize()'s in-kernel history fold."""
-        self.x_history[self.x_idx] = amax.reshape(())
+        return {
-        self.x_idx = (self.x_idx + 1) % self.x_history.numel()
+            "ring_state": self.state,
-        m = self.x_history.max()
+            "hist_idx": self.idx,
-        self.x_scale.copy_(m / E4M3_MAX)
+            "fp8_max": FP8_MAX[fmt],
-        self.x_scale_inv.copy_(E4M3_MAX / m)
+            "pow2_margin": float(2**self.recipe.margin),
+        }
 
-    def push_g_scale(self, amax: torch.Tensor) -> None:
-        """Window update for the gradient scale (delayed, TE style)."""
-        self.g_history[self.g_idx] = amax.reshape(())
-        self.g_idx = (self.g_idx + 1) % self.g_history.numel()
-        m = self.g_history.max()
-        self.g_scale.copy_(m / E4M3_MAX)
-        self.g_scale_inv.copy_(E4M3_MAX / m)
 
-    def record(self, amax: torch.Tensor) -> None:
+class FP8TensorMeta(NamedTuple):
-        """Push the latest amax into the ring buffer (device-side copy, no sync)."""
+    """Per-weight delayed-scaling rings for ``w``, ``x`` and ``g``.
-        self.amax_history[self.idx] = amax.reshape(())
-        self.idx = (self.idx + 1) % self.amax_history.numel()
 
-    def refresh(self) -> None:
+    Dynamic scaling never allocates a meta; it measures the current amax inline.
-        """Recompute scale from the amax history window (delayed scaling)."""
+    """
-        amax = self.amax_history.max()
+
-        if amax > 0:
+    w: _ScaleRing
-            self.scale.copy_(amax / E4M3_MAX)
+    x: _ScaleRing
-            self.scale_inv.copy_(E4M3_MAX / amax)
+    g: _ScaleRing
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class _ActiveConfig:
+    """The immutable (enabled, recipe, format) triple of one open region."""
+
+    enabled: bool
+    recipe: FP8Recipe
+    fp8_format: FP8Format
+
+
+# Thread-local active configuration (torch's autocast TLS analog): set by
+# fp8_autocast on __enter__, absent outside any region. Autograd engine
+# threads run backwards with their own empty context — fine, since backward
+# only reads state captured on ctx at forward time.
+_active_config: ContextVar[Optional[_ActiveConfig]] = ContextVar(
+    "astrai_fp8_active_config", default=None
+)
 
 
 class FP8State:
-    """Global fp8 training state, TE-style."""
+    """Global fp8 training state: per-tensor metas + out-of-region defaults.
 
-    def __init__(self, update_interval: int = 16):
+    The active ``(enabled, recipe, fp8_format)`` triple is a ``ContextVar``
-        self.enabled = False
+    set by ``fp8_autocast`` (see ``_active``/``_current_config``); these plain
-        self.update_interval = update_interval
+    attributes are the persistent defaults applied outside any region —
-        self.step_count = 0
+    ``fp8_linear_enable`` writes ``default_enabled``. The metas registry is
-        self._metas: dict[tuple, FP8TensorMeta] = {}
+    shared across threads (GIL-protected); fp8 backward runs on autograd
-        self._last_device: torch.device | None = None
+    engine threads and only touches metas captured on ``ctx`` at forward time.
+    """
 
-    def _get_device(self, t: torch.Tensor) -> torch.device:
+    def __init__(self):
-        if self._last_device is None:
+        self.default_enabled = False
-            self._last_device = t.device
+        self.default_recipe: FP8Recipe = FP8Recipe()
-        return t.device
+        self.default_format: FP8Format = FP8Format.HYBRID
+        self._metas: Dict[tuple, FP8TensorMeta] = {}
 
-    def get_weight_meta(self, w: torch.Tensor) -> FP8TensorMeta:
+    def get_weight_meta(self, w: torch.Tensor, recipe: FP8Recipe) -> FP8TensorMeta:
         key = (w.data_ptr(), w.shape, w.dtype)
         meta = self._metas.get(key)
         if meta is None:
-            meta = FP8TensorMeta(self._get_device(w), self.update_interval)
+            meta = FP8TensorMeta(
+                _ScaleRing(w.device, recipe),
+                _ScaleRing(w.device, recipe),
+                _ScaleRing(w.device, recipe),
+            )
             self._metas[key] = meta
         return meta
 
-    def step(self) -> None:
-        """Advance the counter and refresh all weight scales every N steps."""
-        self.step_count += 1
-        if self.step_count % self.update_interval == 0:
-            for meta in self._metas.values():
-                meta.refresh()
-
     def reset(self) -> None:
-        self.enabled = False
+        """Restore construction defaults (switch, recipe, format) and drop all
-        self.step_count = 0
+        per-weight metas — a full state reset for tests / reconfiguration."""
+        self.default_enabled = False
+        self.default_recipe = FP8Recipe()
+        self.default_format = FP8Format.HYBRID
         self._metas.clear()
-        self._last_device = None
 
 
-# Global singleton: autograd backward runs on the engine worker threads, so
+# Process-wide singleton; per-thread/per-region state lives in _active_config.
-# thread-local state would lose the fp8 flag during loss.backward(). The GIL
-# protects Python-side mutation; the CUDA kernels take their own mutex.
 _state = FP8State()
 
 
@@ -170,128 +193,245 @@ def fp8_state() -> FP8State:
     return _state
 
 
-@contextmanager
+def _active() -> Optional[_ActiveConfig]:
-def fp8_autocast(enabled: bool = True, update_interval: int = 16):
+    """The active config when fp8 dispatch is on, else ``None`` (fast guard).
+
+    A region config wins (honoring nested ``enabled=False`` regions); with no
+    region open this falls back to the persistent global switch
+    (``fp8_linear_enable``), so that flag still routes aten::linear to fp8.
+    """
+    cfg = _active_config.get()
+    if cfg is not None:
+        return cfg if cfg.enabled else None
+    if _state.default_enabled:
+        return _ActiveConfig(True, _state.default_recipe, _state.default_format)
+    return None
+
+
+def _current_config() -> _ActiveConfig:
+    """Like ``_active()`` but always returns a config (disabled regions and
+    out-of-region direct calls resolve to the global defaults)."""
+    cfg = _active_config.get()
+    if cfg is not None:
+        return cfg
+    return _ActiveConfig(
+        _state.default_enabled, _state.default_recipe, _state.default_format
+    )
+
+
+class fp8_autocast:
     """Autocast-style context: fp8 linear dispatch on this thread.
 
-    Usage::
+    Mirrors ``torch.autocast`` — a class-based, reentrant, nestable context
+    over thread-local state::
 
-        with fp8_autocast(enabled=True):
+        with fp8_autocast(enabled=True, fp8_format="hybrid"):
             logits = model(input_ids)   # aten::linear -> fp8 path
-            loss.backward()
+        loss.backward()  # fp8 backward; state was captured at forward time
 
-    The scale-update counter advances once per ``enter`` (one training step),
+    Nesting follows torch: each ``__enter__`` pushes the new active config, each
-    refreshing weight scales from their amax history every ``update_interval``.
+    ``__exit__`` restores the previous one, and a nested ``enabled=False`` region
+    simply disables dispatch inside it. The instance doubles as a decorator.
     """
-    state = fp8_state()
-    prev_enabled = state.enabled
-    prev_interval = state.update_interval
-    state.enabled = enabled
-    state.update_interval = update_interval
-    try:
-        if enabled:
-            state.step()
-        yield
-    finally:
-        state.enabled = prev_enabled
-        state.update_interval = prev_interval
 
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        enabled: bool = True,
+        update_interval: int = 16,
+        recipe: Optional[FP8Recipe] = None,
+        fp8_format: str = "hybrid",
+        margin: int = 0,
+    ):
+        if recipe is None:
+            recipe = FP8Recipe(history_len=update_interval, margin=margin)
+        self._config = _ActiveConfig(bool(enabled), recipe, FP8Format(fp8_format))
+        self._tokens: List[Token] = []
 
-def fp8_linear_forward(x: torch.Tensor, w: torch.Tensor, bias=None):
+    def __enter__(self) -> "fp8_autocast":
-    """TE-style scaled fp8 linear forward (called from the aten::linear impl).
+        self._tokens.append(_active_config.set(self._config))
+        return self
 
-    x uses the delayed scale of its paired weight meta (amax from the previous
+    def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb) -> bool:
-    forward of this linear); the quantize kernel emits the current amax for the
+        token = self._tokens.pop()
-    next step. No extra abs/max reduce.
+        _active_config.reset(token)
-    """
+        return False
-    if bias is None:
-        bias = torch.empty(0, device=x.device, dtype=x.dtype)
-    state = fp8_state()
-    meta = state.get_weight_meta(w)
-    if not meta.w_init:
-        meta.init_scale(w)
-        meta.w_init = True
-    if not meta.x_init:
-        amax = x.abs().amax().to(torch.float32).clamp_min(1e-12)
-        meta.x_history.fill_(amax)
-        meta.x_scale.copy_(amax / E4M3_MAX)
-        meta.x_scale_inv.copy_(E4M3_MAX / amax)
-        meta.x_init = True
-    amax_x = torch.empty(1, device=x.device, dtype=torch.float32)
-    amax_w = torch.empty(1, device=x.device, dtype=torch.float32)
-    out = linear_forward_scaled(
-        x,
-        w,
-        bias,
-        meta.x_scale,
-        meta.scale,
-        meta.x_scale_inv,
-        meta.scale_inv,
-        amax_x,
-        amax_w,
-    )
-    meta.record(amax_w)
-    meta.push_x_scale(amax_x)
-    return out
 
+    def __call__(self, func):
+        @functools.wraps(func)
+        def decorate(*args, **kwargs):
+            with self:
+                return func(*args, **kwargs)
 
-def fp8_linear_backward(g, x, w, masks):
+        return decorate
-    """TE-style scaled fp8 linear backward (called from aten::linear_backward)."""
-    state = fp8_state()
-    meta = state.get_weight_meta(w)
-    if not meta.g_init:
-        amax = g.abs().amax().to(torch.float32).clamp_min(1e-12)
-        meta.g_history.fill_(amax)
-        meta.g_scale.copy_(amax / E4M3_MAX)
-        meta.g_scale_inv.copy_(E4M3_MAX / amax)
-        meta.g_init = True
-    amax_g = torch.empty(1, device=g.device, dtype=torch.float32)
-    out = linear_backward_scaled(
-        g,
-        x,
-        w,
-        masks,
-        meta.g_scale,
-        meta.scale,
-        meta.x_scale,
-        meta.g_scale_inv,
-        meta.scale_inv,
-        meta.x_scale_inv,
-        amax_g,
-    )
-    meta.push_g_scale(amax_g)
-    return out
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Layer 3: aten::linear integration
+# Strategy-level forward / backward (called from the aten::linear impl)
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _dynamic_scale(t: torch.Tensor, recipe: FP8Recipe, fmt: str) -> torch.Tensor:
+    amax = t.abs().amax().to(torch.float32).clamp_min(1e-12)
+    return recipe.scale_from_history(amax, fmt)
+
+
+def _is_fp8(dtype: torch.dtype) -> bool:
+    """A pre-quantized weight takes the GEMM directly (no re-quantize)."""
+    return dtype in (torch.float8_e4m3fn, torch.float8_e5m2)
+
+
+def fp8_linear_forward(
+    x: torch.Tensor, w: torch.Tensor, bias=None, cfg: Optional[_ActiveConfig] = None
+):
+    """Scaled fp8 linear forward (called from the aten::linear impl).
+
+    Composed from the two stateless primitives: quantize x/w with the active
+    scales, run the pre-quantized GEMM with the bias fused into its epilogue.
+    Delayed scaling lets the quantize kernel fold the fused amax into the
+    history ring and publish the next scale in its own last block; dynamic
+    scaling measures the current amax itself. Training quantizes the weight
+    every step (the optimizer bumps its version, so there is no cast cache,
+    matching ``cached_cast``-less behavior).
+    """
+    state = fp8_state()
+    if cfg is None:
+        cfg = _current_config()
+    fmt = cfg.fp8_format.fwd()
+    if cfg.recipe.dynamic:
+        sx = _dynamic_scale(x.reshape(-1, w.size(1)), cfg.recipe, fmt)
+        sw = _dynamic_scale(w, cfg.recipe, fmt)
+        x8, _ = quantize(x, sx.reciprocal(), fmt)
+        w8 = w if _is_fp8(w.dtype) else quantize(w, sw.reciprocal(), fmt)[0]
+        # Bias fuses into the GEMM epilogue (fp32 add before the single bf16
+        # rounding — one rounding fewer than the separate out + bias pass);
+        # None passes through to the kernel's no-bias path.
+        out = mm_fp8(
+            x8.reshape(-1, x8.size(-1)), w8, sx * sw, trans_b=True, bias=bias
+        ).reshape(*x.shape[:-1], w.size(0))
+        return out, sx, sw
+
+    meta = state.get_weight_meta(w, cfg.recipe)
+    if not meta.w.initialized:
+        meta.w.seed(w, fmt)
+    if not meta.x.initialized:
+        meta.x.seed(x, fmt)
+    sx, sw = meta.x.scale.clone(), meta.w.scale.clone()
+    # The clones feed this call's kernels (stream-ordered before the in-kernel
+    # fold overwrites the ring scale slots); the fp8 quantize kernel folds the
+    # amax into the history window and publishes the next scale itself.
+    x8, _ = quantize(x, sx.reciprocal(), fmt, **meta.x.fold_args(fmt))
+    if _is_fp8(w.dtype):
+        w8 = w
+    else:
+        w8, _ = quantize(w, sw.reciprocal(), fmt, **meta.w.fold_args(fmt))
+    out = mm_fp8(
+        x8.reshape(-1, x8.size(-1)), w8, sx * sw, trans_b=True, bias=bias
+    ).reshape(*x.shape[:-1], w.size(0))
+    meta.x.advance()
+    if not _is_fp8(w.dtype):
+        meta.w.advance()
+    return out, sx, sw
+
+
+class _LinearFp8(torch.autograd.Function):
+    """The fp8 linear forward/backward pair (standard Function style).
+
+    The forward runs inside ``fp8_autocast`` and captures the active
+    fmt/recipe/meta on ``ctx``; the backward reads only that captured state, so
+    ``loss.backward()`` may run after the context exits. The gradient is
+    quantized once (E5M2 in hybrid) and both dX/dW GEMMs share it; the output
+    masks come from ``needs_input_grad``.
+    """
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def forward(ctx, x, w, bias):
+        cfg = _current_config()
+        out, sx, sw = fp8_linear_forward(x, w, bias, cfg)
+        ctx.save_for_backward(x, w, sx, sw)
+        ctx.fmt_bwd = cfg.fp8_format.bwd()
+        ctx.recipe = cfg.recipe
+        ctx.is_dynamic = cfg.recipe.dynamic
+        ctx.meta = None if ctx.is_dynamic else _state.get_weight_meta(w, cfg.recipe)
+        return out
+
+    @staticmethod
+    @torch.autograd.function.once_differentiable
+    def backward(ctx, g):
+        x, w, _sx_fwd, _sw_fwd = ctx.saved_tensors
+        fmt = ctx.fmt_bwd
+        # Flatten leading dims (the forward GEMMs ran on [-1, N] / [-1, K]
+        # views; the kernels only accept 2D operands).
+        g2 = g.reshape(-1, g.size(-1))
+        if ctx.is_dynamic:
+            sg = _dynamic_scale(g2, ctx.recipe, fmt)
+            sw = _dynamic_scale(w, ctx.recipe, fmt)
+            sx = _dynamic_scale(x, ctx.recipe, fmt)
+        else:
+            meta = ctx.meta
+            if not meta.g.initialized:
+                meta.g.seed(g2, fmt)
+            sg = meta.g.scale.clone()
+            sw, sx = _sw_fwd, _sx_fwd
+        # Backward GEMMs route through the NT fast path via transposed
+        # quantize outputs: g8 [m,n] with w8T [k,n] (trans_b=True) gives
+        # grad_x, g8T [n,m] with x8T [k,m] gives grad_w — no NN-swap or TT
+        # crosswise kernel in the training path. g is consumed in both
+        # orientations, so quantize_dual's single pass feeds both.
+        # The g quantize folds the gradient amax into its ring in-kernel;
+        # the x8T/w8T orientation copies discard amax (those rings were
+        # folded at forward time).
+        g8, g8T, _ = quantize_dual(g2, sg.reciprocal(), fmt, **meta.g.fold_args(fmt))
+        x8T, _ = quantize(
+            x.reshape(-1, x.size(-1)), sx.reciprocal(), fmt, transposed=True
+        )
+        if _is_fp8(w.dtype):
+            # Pre-quantized weight has no transposed copy: keep the swap
+            # path for grad_x (grad_w is unaffected).
+            grad_x = mm_fp8(g8, w, sg * sw).reshape(x.shape)
+        else:
+            w8T, _ = quantize(w, sw.reciprocal(), fmt, transposed=True)
+            grad_x = mm_fp8(g8, w8T, sg * sw, trans_b=True).reshape(x.shape)
+        grad_w = mm_fp8(g8T, x8T, sg * sx, trans_b=True)  # g8.T @ x8
+        # bias-free linears must not pay the column-sum
+        # reduce: g2.sum(0) is another full read of the gradient.
+        grad_b = g2.sum(0).to(torch.bfloat16) if ctx.needs_input_grad[2] else None
+        if not ctx.is_dynamic:
+            meta.g.advance()
+        return grad_x, grad_w, grad_b
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# aten::linear integration
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 def fp8_linear_enable(enabled: bool = True) -> None:
-    """Toggle fp8 dispatch for aten::linear (global; backward runs on engine
+    """Toggle fp8 dispatch for aten::linear globally (the out-of-region default;
-    worker threads, so a thread-local flag would be lost during backward)."""
+    ``fp8_autocast`` regions override it thread-locally)."""
-    fp8_state().enabled = enabled
+    fp8_state().default_enabled = enabled
 
 
 def fp8_linear_enabled() -> bool:
-    return fp8_state().enabled
+    """Whether fp8 dispatch is active right now (region config or global)."""
+    return _active() is not None
 
 
 def _fp8_supported(x: torch.Tensor, w: torch.Tensor) -> bool:
-    """cuBLASLt fp8 requires M % 16 == 0 and N % 16 == 0 (K is padded)."""
+    """Shape guard for the fp8 path. Unlike a strict 16-alignment requirement,
-    m = x.numel() // x.size(-1)
+    the kernels handle unaligned M/N via boundary checks (slower but correct) —
-    return m % 16 == 0 and w.size(0) % 16 == 0
+    so no whole-call bf16 fallback for small decode batches. Only the K-dimension
+    contraction must match and the weight must be 2D."""
+    return x.dim() >= 2 and w.dim() == 2 and x.size(-1) == w.size(1)
 
 
 def _linear_cuda_impl(x: torch.Tensor, w: torch.Tensor, bias=None):
     if (
-        fp8_linear_enabled()
+        _active() is not None
-        and x.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+        and x.dtype is torch.bfloat16
-        and w.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+        and w.dtype is torch.bfloat16
         and _fp8_supported(x, w)
     ):
-        return fp8_linear_forward(x, w, bias)
+        return _LinearFp8.apply(x, w, bias)
     return torch.ops.aten.linear.default.redispatch(
         torch._C.DispatchKeySet(torch._C.DispatchKey.CompositeImplicitAutograd),
         x,
@@ -300,35 +440,11 @@ def _linear_cuda_impl(x: torch.Tensor, w: torch.Tensor, bias=None):
     )
 
 
-def _linear_backward_cuda_impl(input_tensor, grad_output, weight, output_mask):
-    if (
-        fp8_linear_enabled()
-        and weight.dtype == torch.bfloat16
-        and _fp8_supported(grad_output, weight)
-    ):
-        return fp8_linear_backward(grad_output, input_tensor, weight, list(output_mask))
-    compute_dtype = weight.dtype
-    grad = grad_output.to(compute_dtype)
-    grad_2d = grad.reshape(-1, weight.size(0))
-    input_2d = input_tensor.reshape(-1, input_tensor.size(-1)).to(compute_dtype)
-    grad_input = (
-        torch.mm(grad_2d, weight)
-        if output_mask[0]
-        else torch.empty(0, device=input_tensor.device, dtype=input_tensor.dtype)
-    )
-    grad_weight = (
-        torch.mm(grad_2d.t(), input_2d)
-        if output_mask[1]
-        else torch.empty(0, device=input_tensor.device, dtype=input_tensor.dtype)
-    )
-    grad_bias = (
-        grad.sum(dim=0)
-        if output_mask[2]
-        else torch.empty(0, device=input_tensor.device, dtype=input_tensor.dtype)
-    )
-    return grad_input.reshape_as(input_tensor), grad_weight, grad_bias
-
-
 _lib = Library("aten", "IMPL", "CUDA")
 _lib.impl("linear", _linear_cuda_impl)
-_lib.impl("linear_backward", _linear_backward_cuda_impl)
+# Also replace torch's generated linear autograd formula (which would call
+# aten::linear_backward after the fp8_autocast region exits). The fp8 backward
+# is owned by _LinearFp8 with state captured at forward time, so loss.backward()
+# works wherever it is called; the CUDA registration still covers inference_mode.
+_lib_autograd = Library("aten", "IMPL", "AutogradCUDA")
+_lib_autograd.impl("linear", _linear_cuda_impl)

astrai/extension/loader.py

@@ -1,43 +1,83 @@
 """Dynamic discovery and loading of compiled CUDA kernel modules.
 
-Each kernel is registered in ``csrc/build.py`` and built into a ``.so`` placed
+Each kernel is built by the CMake build in ``csrc/CMakeLists.txt`` into a
-in this package directory. On import we try to load each one; kernels that
+``.so`` placed in ``astrai/extension/lib/`` — the module name equals the
-failed to build (or are running on a CPU-only machine) are marked unavailable
+``.so`` name equals the pybind name (e.g. ``attn_decode``, defined via
-so the wrapper functions can fall back to ``torch`` SDPA.
+``TORCH_EXTENSION_NAME``). ``KERNEL_NAMES`` is discovered automatically from
+the ``.so`` files present, so adding a kernel to the CMake ``KERNELS``
+registry needs no change here.
+
+Loading is **lazy and centralized**: module names are discovered eagerly
+(cheap glob), but each ``.so`` is imported on first use via the single
+``get_module`` accessor, then cached. The wrapper modules (``ops/*.py``) never
+touch the internals or keep their own caches — they call ``get_module(name)``
+(or ``is_available(name)`` when a torch fallback is acceptable). A kernel that
+failed to build (or is running on a CPU-only machine) is ``None`` in the cache,
+so ``is_available`` returns ``False`` and ``get_module`` raises a clear error.
 """
 
+import glob
 import importlib
 import logging
+import os
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
-KERNEL_NAMES = [
+_LIB_DIR = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "lib")
-    "attn_decode",
+
-    "attn_prefill",
+
-    "attn_paged_decode",
+def _discover_kernel_names() -> list[str]:
-    "attn_paged_prefill",
+    """Return the module names of the compiled kernel ``.so`` files in lib/."""
-    "rotary_emb",
+    names: list[str] = []
-    "fp8_mm",
+    for path in glob.glob(os.path.join(_LIB_DIR, "*.so")):
-]
+        # strip the "<soabi>.so" suffix, e.g. attn_decode.cpython-312-...so
+        names.append(os.path.basename(path).split(".", 1)[0])
+    return sorted(names)
+
+
+KERNEL_NAMES = _discover_kernel_names()
 
 _available: dict[str, bool] = {}
 _modules: dict[str, object] = {}
 
-for _name in KERNEL_NAMES:
+
-    try:
+def _try_load(name: str) -> object:
-        _mod = importlib.import_module(f".lib.{_name}", package=__package__)
+    """Import and cache the ``name`` kernel module (lazy, one attempt).
-        _available[_name] = True
+
-        _modules[_name] = _mod
+    Returns the module, or ``None`` if it is unavailable. Cached so each
-    except ImportError:
+    ``.so`` is imported at most once per process.
-        _available[_name] = False
+    """
-        _modules[_name] = None
+    if name not in _modules:
+        try:
+            _modules[name] = importlib.import_module(
+                f".lib.{name}", package=__package__
+            )
+            _available[name] = True
+        except ImportError:
+            logger.warning("kernel '%s' failed to import; marking unavailable", name)
+            _modules[name] = None
+            _available[name] = False
+    return _modules[name]
 
 
 def is_available(name: str) -> bool:
-    """Return ``True`` if the compiled kernel ``name`` was loaded."""
+    """Return ``True`` if the compiled kernel ``name`` could be loaded."""
+    if name not in _available:
+        _try_load(name)
     return _available.get(name, False)
 
 
 def get_module(name: str) -> object:
-    """Return the loaded kernel module for ``name``, or ``None`` if unavailable."""
+    """Return the loaded kernel module for ``name``, importing it on first use.
-    return _modules.get(name)
+
+    Raises ``RuntimeError`` if the kernel is unavailable (not built, or failed
+    to import) — callers that can tolerate a torch fallback should check
+    ``is_available(name)`` first instead.
+    """
+    mod = _try_load(name)
+    if mod is None:
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"CUDA kernel '{name}' is not available. "
+            f"Build with CSRC_KERNELS=true (or use the torch-native fallback)."
+        )
+    return mod

astrai/extension/ops/attention.py

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ from typing import Optional
 
 import torch
 
-from astrai.extension.loader import _available, _modules
+from astrai.extension.loader import get_module
 
 
 class TensorLayout(enum.IntEnum):
@@ -30,14 +30,6 @@ class TensorLayout(enum.IntEnum):
     BLHD = 1  # [batch, seq_len, n_heads, head_dim]
 
 
-def _check_available(name: str):
-    if not _available.get(name):
-        raise RuntimeError(
-            f"CUDA kernel '{name}' is not available. "
-            f"Build with CSRC_KERNELS=true or use a torch-native backend."
-        )
-
-
 def attn_decode(
     q: torch.Tensor,
     k: torch.Tensor,
@@ -57,9 +49,9 @@ def attn_decode(
     Returns:
         [batch, 1, n_heads, head_dim] (blhd, bf16)
     """
-    _check_available("attn_decode")
+    mod = get_module("attn_decode")
     causal_offset = (k.size(1) - 1) if is_causal else -1
-    return _modules["attn_decode"].attn_decode(
+    return mod.attn_decode(
         q, k, v, mask=mask, causal_offset=causal_offset, layout=TensorLayout.BLHD
     )
 
@@ -83,9 +75,9 @@ def attn_prefill(
     Returns:
         [batch, q_len, n_heads, head_dim] (blhd, bf16)
     """
-    _check_available("attn_prefill")
+    mod = get_module("attn_prefill")
     causal_offset = (k.size(1) - q.size(1)) if is_causal else -1
-    return _modules["attn_prefill"].attn_prefill(
+    return mod.attn_prefill(
         q, k, v, mask=mask, causal_offset=causal_offset, layout=TensorLayout.BLHD
     )
 
@@ -97,6 +89,8 @@ def attn_paged_decode(
     req_to_token: torch.Tensor,
     req_pool_indices: torch.Tensor,
     kv_indptr: torch.Tensor,
+    new_k: Optional[torch.Tensor] = None,
+    new_v: Optional[torch.Tensor] = None,
     mask: Optional[torch.Tensor] = None,
     is_causal: bool = False,
     o_part_buf: Optional[torch.Tensor] = None,
@@ -116,6 +110,8 @@ def attn_paged_decode(
         req_to_token: [num_reqs, max_context_len] (int32) — token -> slot
         req_pool_indices: [batch] (int32) — rows into req_to_token
         kv_indptr: [batch+1] (int32) — prefix sum of per-request seq_lens
+        new_k: current-token K to append, [batch, n_kv_heads, head_dim]
+        new_v: current-token V to append, same shape as new_k
         mask: 2D [batch, max_context_len] (bool, True=keep) or None
         is_causal: apply causal mask
         o_part_buf: pre-allocated split-KV o partial buffer (workflow bypass)
@@ -125,15 +121,17 @@ def attn_paged_decode(
     Returns:
         [batch, n_heads, head_dim] (bf16, 3D)
     """
-    _check_available("attn_paged_decode")
+    mod = get_module("attn_paged_decode")
     causal_offset = 0 if is_causal else -1
-    return _modules["attn_paged_decode"].attn_paged_decode(
+    return mod.attn_paged_decode(
         q,
         k_cache,
         v_cache,
         req_to_token,
         req_pool_indices,
         kv_indptr,
+        new_k=new_k,
+        new_v=new_v,
         mask=mask,
         causal_offset=causal_offset,
         o_part_buf=o_part_buf,
@@ -177,9 +175,9 @@ def attn_paged_prefill(
     Returns:
         [total_q, n_heads, head_dim] (bf16, 3D)
     """
-    _check_available("attn_paged_prefill")
+    mod = get_module("attn_paged_prefill")
     causal_offset = 0 if is_causal else -1
-    return _modules["attn_paged_prefill"].attn_paged_prefill(
+    return mod.attn_paged_prefill(
         q,
         k_cache,
         v_cache,

astrai/extension/ops/fp8.py

@@ -1,73 +1,116 @@
-"""FP8 CUDA kernel interface adapter (the only module touching the pybind.
+"""FP8 CUDA kernel interface adapter (the only module touching the pybind).
 
-Isolates the ``fp8_mm`` CUDA extension behind stable Python functions:
+Attention-style thin wrappers: one Python entry per binding, called directly
-- availability / dtype checks and clear errors
+— no torch.library dispatch layer. Optional arguments (``ring_state``,
-- torch.library ``custom::fp8_mm`` registration (meta + CPU fallback)
+``bias``) keep native Optional semantics at the pybind boundary, and
-- quantize-in-GEMM primitives used by ``fp8.py`` training state
+in-place buffer updates (the delayed-scaling ring fold, like attention's
+KV-cache appends) happen on-stream without mutation declarations. CUDA-only:
+non-CUDA or unsupported inputs raise from the binding's TORCH_CHECKs.
+
+- ``quantize(x, scale, fmt, transposed=False) -> (x8|x8T, amax)`` — BF16/FP16/FP32
+  → FP8 with fused amax (``transposed`` picks the orientation; arity is fixed)
+- ``quantize_dual(x, scale, fmt) -> (x8, x8T, amax)`` — both orientations, one read
+- ``mm_fp8(a8, b8, sa, sb) -> out`` — pre-quantized FP8 GEMM (BF16 output)
+
+``scale`` is the quantization multiplier (device scalar); ``fmt`` is
+``"e4m3"`` or ``"e5m2"``. ``amax`` values are *returned*, never passed as
+output arguments.
 
 Policy (scales, amax history, delayed scaling, autocast) lives in ``fp8.py``;
 this module is stateless.
 """
 
+from typing import Optional, Tuple
+
 import torch
-from torch.library import custom_op
 
-from astrai.extension.loader import get_module, is_available
+from astrai.extension.loader import get_module
+
+# fmt string -> kernel int (0 = E4M3, 1 = E5M2)
+_FMT_TO_INT = {"e4m3": 0, "e5m2": 1}
 
 
-def _mod():
+def _fmt_int(fmt: str) -> int:
-    if not is_available("fp8_mm"):
+    try:
-        raise RuntimeError(
+        return _FMT_TO_INT[fmt]
-            "CUDA kernel 'fp8_mm' is not available. Build with CSRC_KERNELS=true."
+    except KeyError:
-        )
+        raise ValueError(f"unsupported fp8 format {fmt!r} (expected 'e4m3' or 'e5m2')")
-    return get_module("fp8_mm")
 
 
-@custom_op("custom::fp8_mm", mutates_args=())
+def quantize(
-def fp8_mm(
+    x: torch.Tensor,
-    a: torch.Tensor, b: torch.Tensor, sx: torch.Tensor, sw: torch.Tensor
+    scale: torch.Tensor,
-) -> torch.Tensor:
+    fmt: str = "e4m3",
-    """FP8 e4m3 GEMM: a[M,K] x b[N,K] -> bf16[M,N] (pre-scaled inputs)."""
+    transposed: bool = False,
+    ring_state: Optional[torch.Tensor] = None,
+    hist_idx: int = 0,
+    fp8_max: float = 448.0,
+    pow2_margin: float = 1.0,
+) -> Tuple[torch.Tensor, torch.Tensor]:
+    """Float (bf16/fp16/fp32) -> FP8 quantize with fused amax.
 
+    ``scale`` is the quantization multiplier (device scalar); ``fmt`` selects
+    E4M3 or E5M2. ``amax`` is a fresh 1-element float32 tensor.
+    ``transposed=True`` swaps ``x8`` for ``x8T``, the ``[cols][rows]``
+    row-major transpose of the quantized input — the K-contiguous operand
+    orientation NT GEMMs want — at the same 2-tuple arity.
 
-@fp8_mm.register_fake
+    ``ring_state`` (a 1D float32 CUDA buffer laid out
-def _fp8_mm_fake(a, b, sx, sw):
+    ``[hist n | scale | legacy | amax | done]``) switches on the in-kernel
-    return torch.empty((a.size(0), b.size(1)), device=a.device, dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    delayed-scaling fold: the kernel's last block folds the amax into
-
+    ``hist[hist_idx]`` and publishes the next scale as
-
+    ``max(hist) / fp8_max / pow2_margin`` — the returned ``amax`` is then the
-@fp8_mm.register_kernel("cuda")
+    self-cleaned persistent slot (reads zero). None keeps the classic
-def _fp8_mm_cuda(a, b, sx, sw):
+    fresh-amax return.
-    return _mod().fp8_mm(a, b)
-
-
-@fp8_mm.register_kernel("cpu")
-def _fp8_mm_cpu(a, b, sx, sw):
-    return torch.mm(a.float(), b.float().t()).to(torch.bfloat16)
-
-
-def linear_forward_scaled(x, w, bias, sx, sw, sx_inv, sw_inv, amax_x, amax_w):
-    """Quantize x/w with per-tensor scales + cuBLASLt GEMM + bias -> bf16.
-
-    x/w: [..., K] / [N, K] bf16; sx/sw: f32 scale tensors (device scalars);
-    sx_inv/sw_inv: 1/scale; amax_x/amax_w: f32 buffers receiving max-abs.
     """
-    if not (x.dtype == torch.bfloat16 and w.dtype == torch.bfloat16):
+    return get_module("fp8_ops").quantize(
-        raise TypeError(f"fp8 forward requires bf16 inputs, got {x.dtype}/{w.dtype}")
+        x,
-    return _mod().fp8_linear_forward_scaled(
+        scale,
-        x, w, bias, sx, sw, sx_inv, sw_inv, amax_x, amax_w
+        _fmt_int(fmt),
+        transposed,
+        ring_state,
+        hist_idx,
+        fp8_max,
+        pow2_margin,
     )
 
 
-def linear_backward_scaled(g, x, w, masks, sg, sw, sx, sg_inv, sw_inv, sx_inv, amax_g):
+def quantize_dual(
-    """dX = g @ W, dW = g^T @ X, dB = sum(g) with per-tensor scales."""
+    x: torch.Tensor,
-    if not (
+    scale: torch.Tensor,
-        g.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+    fmt: str = "e4m3",
-        and x.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+    ring_state: Optional[torch.Tensor] = None,
-        and w.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+    hist_idx: int = 0,
-    ):
+    fp8_max: float = 448.0,
-        raise TypeError(
+    pow2_margin: float = 1.0,
-            f"fp8 backward requires bf16 inputs, got {g.dtype}/{x.dtype}/{w.dtype}"
+) -> Tuple[torch.Tensor, torch.Tensor, torch.Tensor]:
-        )
+    """Dual-orientation quantize: one read of ``x`` produces both the
-    return _mod().fp8_linear_backward_scaled(
+    row-major ``x8`` and its transposed ``x8T`` (plus ``amax``), for tensors
-        g, x, w, masks, sg, sw, sx, sg_inv, sw_inv, sx_inv, amax_g
+    consumed by GEMMs in both orientations (backward ``g``).
+
+    ``ring_state`` switches on the in-kernel delayed-scaling fold exactly as
+    in :func:`quantize`.
+    """
+    return get_module("fp8_ops").quantize_dual(
+        x, scale, _fmt_int(fmt), ring_state, hist_idx, fp8_max, pow2_margin
     )
+
+
+def mm_fp8(
+    a: torch.Tensor,
+    b: torch.Tensor,
+    scale: torch.Tensor,
+    trans_a: bool = False,
+    trans_b: bool = False,
+    bias: Optional[torch.Tensor] = None,
+) -> torch.Tensor:
+    """Pre-quantized FP8 GEMM: ``a @ b * scale (+ bias)``.
+
+    ``a``/``b`` must be FP8 tensors of the same format, 2D or 3D (batched,
+    matmul-style broadcast on the batch dim). Inner-transposed views (e.g.
+    ``x.t()``) fold into the layout at zero copy. ``scale`` is their combined
+    dequantization scale. ``bias`` (CUDA bf16 1D of length n) adds inside the
+    kernel epilogue in fp32 — no separate elementwise pass. The result is
+    BF16; FP8 output is a separate quantize operation.
+    """
+    return get_module("fp8_ops").mm_fp8(a, b, scale, trans_a, trans_b, bias)

astrai/extension/ops/rotary.py

@@ -10,15 +10,7 @@ Layout: x is packed [tokens, n_heads, head_dim] or dense
 
 import torch
 
-from astrai.extension.loader import _available, _modules
+from astrai.extension.loader import get_module
-
-
-def _check_available():
-    if not _available.get("rotary_emb"):
-        raise RuntimeError(
-            "CUDA kernel 'rotary_emb' is not available. "
-            "Build with CSRC_KERNELS=true or use the torch fallback."
-        )
 
 
 def rotary_emb(x: torch.Tensor, freqs_cis: torch.Tensor) -> torch.Tensor:
@@ -31,9 +23,9 @@ def rotary_emb(x: torch.Tensor, freqs_cis: torch.Tensor) -> torch.Tensor:
     Returns:
         Tensor with the same shape as ``x``.
     """
-    _check_available()
+    mod = get_module("rotary_emb")
     if not x.is_contiguous():
         x = x.contiguous()
     if not freqs_cis.is_contiguous():
         freqs_cis = freqs_cis.contiguous()
-    return _modules["rotary_emb"].rotary_emb(x, freqs_cis)
+    return mod.rotary_emb(x, freqs_cis)

astrai/inference/__init__.py

@@ -12,45 +12,10 @@ Modules:
   - engine.py:     Facade (InferenceEngine)
 """
 
-from astrai.inference.cache import (
-    Allocator,
-    KVCache,
-    KVStorage,
-    PagePool,
-    RadixCache,
-    ReqToTokenPool,
-    TaskCacheManager,
-    page_hash,
-)
 from astrai.inference.engine import InferenceEngine
-from astrai.inference.network import (
+from astrai.inference.network import get_app, run_server
-    AnthropicMessage,
-    BaseToolParser,
-    ChatCompletionRequest,
-    ChatMessage,
-    FunctionDef,
-    GenContext,
-    MessagesRequest,
-    ProtocolHandler,
-    SimpleJsonToolParser,
-    StopChecker,
-    ToolDef,
-    ToolParserFactory,
-    get_app,
-    run_server,
-)
-from astrai.inference.network.anthropic import AnthropicResponseBuilder
-from astrai.inference.network.openai import OpenAIResponseBuilder
 from astrai.inference.runtime.executor import Executor
-from astrai.inference.runtime.sample import (
+from astrai.inference.runtime.sample import sample
-    BaseSamplingStrategy,
-    FrequencyPenaltyStrategy,
-    SamplingPipeline,
-    TemperatureStrategy,
-    TopKStrategy,
-    TopPStrategy,
-    sample,
-)
 from astrai.inference.scheduler import InferenceScheduler
 from astrai.inference.task import STOP, Task, TaskManager, TaskStatus
 
@@ -62,35 +27,7 @@ __all__ = [
     "Task",
     "TaskManager",
     "TaskStatus",
-    "Allocator",
-    "KVCache",
-    "KVStorage",
-    "PagePool",
-    "RadixCache",
-    "ReqToTokenPool",
-    "TaskCacheManager",
-    "page_hash",
     "sample",
-    "BaseSamplingStrategy",
-    "TemperatureStrategy",
-    "TopKStrategy",
-    "TopPStrategy",
-    "FrequencyPenaltyStrategy",
-    "SamplingPipeline",
-    "ProtocolHandler",
-    "StopChecker",
-    "GenContext",
-    "BaseToolParser",
-    "SimpleJsonToolParser",
-    "ToolParserFactory",
-    "OpenAIResponseBuilder",
-    "AnthropicResponseBuilder",
-    "ChatMessage",
-    "ChatCompletionRequest",
-    "FunctionDef",
-    "ToolDef",
-    "AnthropicMessage",
-    "MessagesRequest",
     "get_app",
     "run_server",
 ]

astrai/inference/cache/buffer.py

@@ -72,16 +72,6 @@ class KVStorage:
             (n_layers, size, n_kv_heads, head_dim), device=device, dtype=dtype
         )
 
-    def get_key_buffer(self, layer_id: int) -> Tensor:
-        return self.k_buffer[layer_id]
-
-    def get_value_buffer(self, layer_id: int) -> Tensor:
-        return self.v_buffer[layer_id]
-
-    def set_kv_buffer(self, layer_id: int, loc: Tensor, k: Tensor, v: Tensor) -> None:
-        self.k_buffer[layer_id, loc] = k
-        self.v_buffer[layer_id, loc] = v
-
 
 @dataclass
 class KVCache:

astrai/inference/cache/strategy.py

@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@ from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Callable, Dict, List, Optional, OrderedDict
 
-import torch
-
 from astrai.inference.cache.buffer import ReqToTokenPool
 
 # ---- data contract: per-task slot state ----

astrai/inference/engine.py

@@ -156,9 +156,8 @@ class InferenceEngine:
         async def _agen():
             loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
             while True:
-                try:
+                token = await loop.run_in_executor(None, next, sync_gen, None)
-                    token = await loop.run_in_executor(None, next, sync_gen)
+                if token is None:
-                except StopIteration:
                     break
                 yield token
 

astrai/inference/metrics.py

@@ -148,17 +148,6 @@ class MetricsCollector:
         self._completed.append(timing)
         self._accumulate(timing)
 
-    def clear(self):
-        """Reset all state (e.g. on engine shutdown)."""
-        self._timings.clear()
-        self._completed.clear()
-        self._ttft_ms_sum = 0.0
-        self._ttft_ms_count = 0
-        self._decode_tps_sum = 0.0
-        self._decode_tps_count = 0
-        self._e2e_ms_sum = 0.0
-        self._e2e_ms_count = 0
-
     # timing scopes
 
     @contextmanager
@@ -180,17 +169,6 @@ class MetricsCollector:
                 t._decode_steps += 1
                 t._decode_total_s += dt
 
-    # access
-
-    def get_timing(self, task_id: str) -> Optional[TaskTiming]:
-        """Return the timing record for *task_id* (active or completed)."""
-        if task_id in self._timings:
-            return self._timings[task_id]
-        for t in self._completed:
-            if t.task_id == task_id:
-                return t
-        return None
-
     # aggregate stats
 
     def get_stats(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:

astrai/inference/runtime/executor.py

@@ -67,11 +67,15 @@ class DecodeSteadyState:
 
     When the same ordered task set decodes one token per step, sampling
     params and task signature are reused; only positions advance by 1.
+    ``last_tokens`` keeps that step's sampled ids on-device so the next
+    step with an unchanged signature can fill ``input_ids`` via a
+    device-to-device copy.
     """
 
     task_sig: tuple
     positions: list[int]
     sampling_info: SamplingBatchInfo
+    last_tokens: Optional[Tensor] = None
 
 
 def _build_sampling_batch_info(tasks: List[Task], device) -> SamplingBatchInfo:
@@ -205,8 +209,8 @@ class Executor:
         max_q_heads = config.num_attention_heads
         head_dim = config.hidden_size // config.num_attention_heads
         backend = get_backend()
-        self._graph_supported = backend.supports_graph() and CudaBackend.supports(
+        self._graph_supported = backend.supports_graph() and (
-            head_dim=head_dim
+            CudaBackend.available() and head_dim in CudaBackend.HEAD_DIMS
         )
         self._workspace = InferenceWorkspace(
             max_batch_size=kv_cache.max_batch_size,
@@ -250,6 +254,13 @@ class Executor:
         return_logprobs: bool = False,
         info: Optional[SamplingBatchInfo] = None,
     ):
+        """Sample from ``logits`` and return ``(host_payload, tokens)``.
+
+        ``host_payload`` is the scheduler-facing list (token ids, or
+        ``(token_id, logprob)`` tuples with ``return_logprobs``);
+        ``tokens`` is the ``[B]`` device tensor that produced it, kept
+        for the steady-state decode fast path.
+        """
         info = info or _build_sampling_batch_info(tasks, self.device)
         if info.has_freq:
             history_lists = [
@@ -284,14 +295,14 @@ class Executor:
             return_logprobs=return_logprobs,
         )
         if not return_logprobs:
-            return result.tolist()
+            return result.tolist(), result
 
         tokens, logprobs = result
         tokens_list = tokens.tolist()
         logprobs_list = logprobs.tolist()
         for task, logprob in zip(tasks, logprobs_list):
             task.output_logprobs.append(float(logprob))
-        return list(zip(tokens_list, logprobs_list))
+        return list(zip(tokens_list, logprobs_list)), tokens
 
     def execute_prefill(
         self,
@@ -336,7 +347,8 @@ class Executor:
                 torch.arange(1, batch_sz + 1, device=self.device) * q_len - 1
             ]
 
-        return tasks, self._sample_logits(logits, tasks, return_logprobs)
+        step_out, _ = self._sample_logits(logits, tasks, return_logprobs)
+        return tasks, step_out
 
     def execute_decode(
         self, tasks: List[Task], return_logprobs: bool = False
@@ -360,24 +372,30 @@ class Executor:
 
         b = len(tasks)
         ws = self._workspace
+        task_ids = [t.task_id for t in tasks]
+        cur_positions = [t.next_pos for t in tasks]
+        task_sig = tuple(task_ids)
 
         # ---- pre-replay: update input buffers in-place ----
 
-        input_ids = ws.fill_input_ids(
+        # When the previous decode step ran this same ordered task set, its
-            [t.output_ids[-1] if t.output_ids else t.prompt_ids[-1] for t in tasks]
+        # sampled tokens are still on-device and map 1:1 onto the current
-        )
+        # slots — fill input ids device-to-device.  inference_mode guards
-
+        # the read because the source was produced under sampling's
-        task_ids = [t.task_id for t in tasks]
+        # inference-mode context.
-        cur_positions = [t.next_pos for t in tasks]
+        cached = self._decode_cache
+        sig_match = cached is not None and cached.task_sig == task_sig
+        if sig_match and cached.last_tokens is not None:
+            with torch.inference_mode():
+                input_ids = ws.fill_input_ids_from_device(cached.last_tokens)
+        else:
+            input_ids = ws.fill_input_ids(
+                [t.output_ids[-1] if t.output_ids else t.prompt_ids[-1] for t in tasks]
+            )
 
         kv_cache = self.task_cache.bind(task_ids, ws)
 
-        task_sig = tuple(task_ids)
+        reuse_decode_state = self.task_cache.bind_was_steady and sig_match
-        reuse_decode_state = (
-            self.task_cache.bind_was_steady
-            and self._decode_cache is not None
-            and self._decode_cache.task_sig == task_sig
-        )
         if reuse_decode_state:
             info = self._decode_cache.sampling_info
             ws.position_ids[:b] += 1
@@ -418,4 +436,8 @@ class Executor:
                 )
             logits = outputs["logits"]
 
-        return self._sample_logits(logits, tasks, return_logprobs, info=info)
+        step_out, tokens_dev = self._sample_logits(
+            logits, tasks, return_logprobs, info=info
+        )
+        self._decode_cache.last_tokens = tokens_dev
+        return step_out

astrai/inference/scheduler.py

@@ -79,29 +79,21 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
 
         if backend is None:
             self._backend = None
-            default_backend = get_backend()
+            active_backend = get_backend()
-            self._backend_name = type(default_backend).__name__
-            with attn_backend(default_backend):
-                self._executor = Executor(
-                    model=model,
-                    kv_cache=self._cache,
-                    task_cache=self._task_cache,
-                    device=self.device,
-                    dtype=self.dtype,
-                    enable_cuda_graph=enable_cuda_graph,
-                )
         else:
-            with attn_backend(backend):
+            active_backend = backend
+        with attn_backend(active_backend):
+            if backend is not None:
                 self._backend = get_backend()
-                self._backend_name = type(self._backend).__name__
+            self._backend_name = type(get_backend()).__name__
-                self._executor = Executor(
+            self._executor = Executor(
-                    model=model,
+                model=model,
-                    kv_cache=self._cache,
+                kv_cache=self._cache,
-                    task_cache=self._task_cache,
+                task_cache=self._task_cache,
-                    device=self.device,
+                device=self.device,
-                    dtype=self.dtype,
+                dtype=self.dtype,
-                    enable_cuda_graph=enable_cuda_graph,
+                enable_cuda_graph=enable_cuda_graph,
-                )
+            )
 
         self._stop_event = threading.Event()
         self._loop_thread: Optional[threading.Thread] = None
@@ -283,12 +275,7 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
         except Exception as e:
             self._stop_event.set()
             logger.error(f"Scheduler loop crashed: {e}", exc_info=True)
-            for task in self._task_mgr.get_active_tasks():
+            self._abort_and_clear(free_waiting=False)
-                self._task_mgr.invoke_callback(task.task_id, STOP)
-                self._task_cache.task_free(task.task_id)
-            for task in self._task_mgr.get_waiting_tasks():
-                self._task_mgr.invoke_callback(task.task_id, STOP)
-            self._task_mgr.clear_queues()
 
     def start(self):
         if self._loop_thread is not None and self._loop_thread.is_alive():
@@ -304,15 +291,20 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
         if self._loop_thread is not None:
             self._loop_thread.join(timeout=2.0)
         self._loop_thread = None
+        self._abort_and_clear(free_waiting=True)
+        if torch.cuda.is_available():
+            torch.cuda.empty_cache()
+
+    def _abort_and_clear(self, free_waiting: bool):
+        """Invoke STOP callbacks, release cache slots, and clear task queues."""
         for task in self._task_mgr.get_active_tasks():
             self._task_mgr.invoke_callback(task.task_id, STOP)
             self._task_cache.task_free(task.task_id)
         for task in self._task_mgr.get_waiting_tasks():
             self._task_mgr.invoke_callback(task.task_id, STOP)
-            self._task_cache.task_free(task.task_id)
+            if free_waiting:
+                self._task_cache.task_free(task.task_id)
         self._task_mgr.clear_queues()
-        if torch.cuda.is_available():
-            torch.cuda.empty_cache()
 
     def run_batch(
         self,

astrai/inference/workspace.py

@@ -124,13 +124,6 @@ class InferenceWorkspace:
             device=device,
         )
 
-    def decode_buffers(self, batch: int, q_heads: int):
-        """Return ``(o_part, ml_part)`` view sliced to live dimensions."""
-        return (
-            self.decode_o_part[:batch, :q_heads],
-            self.decode_ml_part[:batch, :q_heads],
-        )
-
     def fill_input_ids(self, ids: "list[int]") -> Tensor:
         """Write ``ids`` into the device buffer and return ``[B]``.
 
@@ -146,6 +139,18 @@ class InferenceWorkspace:
         self.input_ids[:b].copy_(pin[:b])
         return self.input_ids[:b]
 
+    def fill_input_ids_from_device(self, tokens: Tensor) -> Tensor:
+        """Copy device-resident ``[B]`` token ids into the device buffer.
+
+        Steady-state decode fast path: when the executor's cached task
+        signature still matches, the previous step's sampled tokens map
+        1:1 onto the current slots, so the ids transfer device-to-device
+        instead of round-tripping through the host staging buffers.
+        """
+        b = tokens.size(0)
+        self.input_ids[:b].copy_(tokens)
+        return self.input_ids[:b]
+
     def decode_mask(self, position_ids: Tensor, total_len: int) -> Tensor:
         """Return the ``[B, 1, total_len]`` validity mask for this step.
 

astrai/logging.py

@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 import logging
 import os
 
+from astrai.parallel.setup import get_rank, get_world_size
+
+
+class _DistributedContextFilter(logging.Filter):
+    def filter(self, record: logging.LogRecord) -> bool:
+        record.rank = str(get_rank())
+        record.world_size = str(get_world_size())
+        return True
+
 
 def setup_logging(level: str = "INFO"):
     """Attach a StreamHandler to the ``astrai`` logger (idempotent).
@@ -18,9 +27,10 @@ def setup_logging(level: str = "INFO"):
     level_name = os.environ.get("ASTR_LOG_LEVEL", level).upper()
     logger.setLevel(getattr(logging, level_name, logging.INFO))
     handler = logging.StreamHandler()
+    handler.addFilter(_DistributedContextFilter())
     handler.setFormatter(
         logging.Formatter(
-            "%(asctime)s | %(levelname)-7s | %(name)s | %(message)s",
+            "%(asctime)s | %(levelname)-8s | rank=%(rank)2s/%(world_size)-2s | %(name)-32s | %(message)s",
             datefmt="%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S",
         )
     )

astrai/model/automodel.py

@@ -4,13 +4,21 @@ AutoModel base class for model loading and saving.
 
 from contextlib import contextmanager
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Self, Union
+from typing import Union
 
 import torch.nn as nn
 
 from astrai.config.model_config import BaseModelConfig, ConfigFactory
 from astrai.factory import BaseFactory
-from astrai.serialization import load_model_config, load_model_weights, save_model
+from astrai.serialization import (
+    HF_MODEL_TYPES,
+    adapt_config,
+    convert_hf_weights,
+    load_model_config,
+    load_model_weights,
+    looks_like_hf_state_dict,
+    save_model,
+)
 
 
 @contextmanager
@@ -57,7 +65,25 @@ class AutoModel(nn.Module):
         path: Union[str, Path],
         disable_random_init: bool = True,
         strict: bool = True,
+        weights_format: str = "auto",
     ) -> nn.Module:
+        """Load a model directory.
+
+        Args:
+            path: Directory containing ``config.json`` and optionally
+                ``model.safetensors``.
+            disable_random_init: Replace parameter initializers with no-ops
+                while building the model.
+            strict: Passed to ``load_state_dict``.
+            weights_format: ``"auto"`` detects HuggingFace checkpoints
+                (LLaMA-style keys and ``model_type``) and converts them;
+                ``"astrai"`` skips conversion; ``"hf"`` forces it.
+        """
+        if weights_format not in ("auto", "astrai", "hf"):
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"weights_format must be one of 'auto', 'astrai', 'hf', "
+                f"got {weights_format!r}"
+            )
 
         model_path = Path(path)
 
@@ -66,6 +92,12 @@ class AutoModel(nn.Module):
             raise FileNotFoundError(f"Config file not found: {config_path}")
 
         raw = load_model_config(str(model_path))
+        is_hf_config = weights_format == "hf" or (
+            weights_format == "auto" and raw.get("model_type") in HF_MODEL_TYPES
+        )
+        if is_hf_config:
+            raw = adapt_config(raw)
+
         config = ConfigFactory.load(raw)
         model_type = config.model_type or "autoregressive_lm"
 
@@ -75,8 +107,14 @@ class AutoModel(nn.Module):
             model = actual_cls(config)
 
         weights_path = model_path / "model.safetensors"
-        if weights_path.exists():
+        index_path = model_path / "model.safetensors.index.json"
+        if weights_path.exists() or index_path.exists():
             state_dict = load_model_weights(str(model_path))
+            is_hf_weights = is_hf_config or (
+                weights_format == "auto" and looks_like_hf_state_dict(state_dict)
+            )
+            if is_hf_weights:
+                state_dict = convert_hf_weights(state_dict, config)
             model.load_state_dict(state_dict, strict=strict)
 
         return model
@@ -90,7 +128,3 @@ class AutoModel(nn.Module):
             state_dict=self.state_dict(),
             save_directory=str(save_directory),
         )
-
-    def to(self, *args, **kwargs) -> Self:
-        """Move model to device/dtype."""
-        return super().to(*args, **kwargs)

astrai/model/components/mlp.py

@@ -29,12 +29,6 @@ class FFNOutput(TypedDict):
     router_stats: Optional[RouterStats]
 
 
-class RoutedOutput(TypedDict):
-    hidden_states: Tensor
-    aux_loss: Optional[Tensor]
-    router_stats: Optional[RouterStats]
-
-
 @FFNFactory.register("mlp")
 class MLP(nn.Module):
     def __init__(self, dim: int, dim_ffn: int, down_init_std: float = 0.02):
@@ -122,7 +116,7 @@ class DeepSeekMoE(nn.Module):
             / self.n_shared_experts
         )
 
-    def _routed_forward(self, x: Tensor, include_aux_loss: bool) -> RoutedOutput:
+    def _routed_forward(self, x: Tensor, include_aux_loss: bool) -> FFNOutput:
         N, D = x.shape
         K = self.n_activated_experts
         E = self.n_routed_experts

astrai/parallel/setup.py

@@ -30,15 +30,13 @@ def get_current_device():
 def get_world_size() -> int:
     if dist.is_available() and dist.is_initialized():
         return dist.get_world_size()
-    else:
+    return int(os.environ.get("WORLD_SIZE", "1"))
-        return 1
 
 
 def get_rank() -> int:
     if dist.is_available() and dist.is_initialized():
         return dist.get_rank()
-    else:
+    return int(os.environ.get("RANK", "0"))
-        return 0
 
 
 @contextmanager
@@ -247,18 +245,15 @@ class LocalStrategy(LaunchStrategy):
             ctx.join()
 
 
-def _detect_launcher() -> str:
+def _is_external_launcher() -> bool:
-    """Detect the distributed launcher from environment.
+    """Whether an external launcher (torchrun/elastic/manual env) started us."""
-
-    Returns one of: "torchelastic", "torchrun", "external", "local".
-    """
     if dist.is_torchelastic_launched():
-        return "torchelastic"
+        return True
     if "LOCAL_WORLD_SIZE" in os.environ:
-        return "torchrun"
+        return True
     if "RANK" in os.environ and "WORLD_SIZE" in os.environ:
-        return "external"
+        return True
-    return "local"
+    return False
 
 
 def spawn_parallel_fn(
@@ -273,8 +268,7 @@ def spawn_parallel_fn(
 ):
     if master_port is None:
         master_port = find_free_port()
-    launcher = _detect_launcher()
+    if _is_external_launcher():
-    if launcher in ("torchelastic", "torchrun", "external"):
         strategy = TorchrunStrategy(
             world_size, backend, master_addr, master_port, device_type, start_method
         )

astrai/serialization/__init__.py

@@ -22,9 +22,21 @@ from astrai.serialization.dataset import (
     load_bin_offsets,
     save_bin,
 )
+from astrai.serialization.hf_adapter import (
+    HF_MODEL_TYPES,
+    adapt_config,
+    convert_hf_config,
+    convert_hf_weights,
+    looks_like_hf_state_dict,
+)
 
 __all__ = [
     "Checkpoint",
+    "HF_MODEL_TYPES",
+    "adapt_config",
+    "convert_hf_config",
+    "convert_hf_weights",
+    "looks_like_hf_state_dict",
     "load_json",
     "load_model_config",
     "load_model_weights",

astrai/serialization/checkpoint.py

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import json
 import time
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Any, Dict, Optional, Union
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, Optional, Union
 
 import safetensors.torch as st
 import torch
@@ -22,39 +22,31 @@ def save_safetensors(state_dict: dict, path: Union[str, Path]):
     st.save_file(state_dict, str(path))
 
 
-def load_safetensors(path: Union[str, Path], broadcast: bool = False) -> dict:
+def _broadcast_load(loader: Callable[[], dict], broadcast: bool) -> dict:
+    """Load on rank 0 and broadcast the object to all ranks."""
     if not broadcast or not dist.is_initialized():
-        return st.load_file(str(path))
+        return loader()
-
     rank = get_rank()
     if rank == 0:
-        state_dict = st.load_file(str(path))
+        data = loader()
     else:
-        state_dict = {}
+        data = {}
-    tmp = [state_dict]
+    tmp = [data]
     dist.broadcast_object_list(tmp, src=0)
     return tmp[0]
 
 
+def load_safetensors(path: Union[str, Path], broadcast: bool = False) -> dict:
+    return _broadcast_load(lambda: st.load_file(str(path)), broadcast)
+
+
 def save_json(data: dict, path: Union[str, Path]):
     with open(str(path), "w") as f:
         json.dump(data, f, indent=2)
 
 
 def load_json(path: Union[str, Path], broadcast: bool = False) -> dict:
-    if not broadcast or not dist.is_initialized():
+    return _broadcast_load(lambda: json.loads(Path(path).read_text()), broadcast)
-        with open(str(path), "r") as f:
-            return json.load(f)
-
-    rank = get_rank()
-    if rank == 0:
-        with open(str(path), "r") as f:
-            data = json.load(f)
-    else:
-        data = {}
-    tmp = [data]
-    dist.broadcast_object_list(tmp, src=0)
-    return tmp[0]
 
 
 def save_torch(obj: Any, path: Union[str, Path]):
@@ -99,7 +91,21 @@ def load_model_config(save_directory: str) -> dict:
 
 
 def load_model_weights(save_directory: str) -> dict:
-    return load_state_dict(Path(save_directory) / _WEIGHTS_FILE)
+    save_path = Path(save_directory)
+    weights_file = save_path / _WEIGHTS_FILE
+    if weights_file.exists():
+        return load_state_dict(weights_file)
+
+    index_path = save_path / "model.safetensors.index.json"
+    if index_path.exists():
+        index = load_json(index_path)
+        weight_map = index.get("weight_map", {})
+        state_dict = {}
+        for shard in sorted(set(weight_map.values())):
+            state_dict.update(load_state_dict(save_path / shard))
+        return state_dict
+
+    raise FileNotFoundError(f"No model weights found in {save_directory}")
 
 
 def load_state_dict(path: Union[str, Path], broadcast: bool = False) -> dict:
@@ -190,8 +196,10 @@ class Checkpoint:
         if meta_path.exists():
             return cls.load(save_dir, broadcast=broadcast)
 
-        if weights_path.exists():
+        weights_path = save_path / _WEIGHTS_FILE
-            state_dict = load_state_dict(weights_path, broadcast=broadcast)
+        index_path = save_path / "model.safetensors.index.json"
+        if weights_path.exists() or index_path.exists():
+            state_dict = load_model_weights(save_dir)
             config = {}
             config_path = save_path / _CONFIG_FILE
             if config_path.exists():

astrai/serialization/hf_adapter.py

@@ -0,0 +1,271 @@
+"""HuggingFace checkpoint adaptation for LLaMA-style decoder models.
+
+AstrAI stores weights with its own key names (``layers.<i>.input_norm``,
+``layers.<i>.mlp.gate``), while HuggingFace decoder-only checkpoints use
+``model.layers.<i>.input_layernorm`` / ``model.layers.<i>.mlp.gate_proj``.
+This module translates HF configs and state dicts so external checkpoints
+can be loaded directly.
+
+Supported families (LLaMA layout, dense and MoE):
+- dense FFN: llama, mistral, qwen2, gemma, gemma2, phi3
+- MoE FFN (Mixtral / Qwen2-MoE / DeepSeek-V3 layout): router
+  ``mlp.gate``, routed experts ``mlp.experts.<j>``, shared experts
+  ``mlp.shared_experts.<j>``
+
+Not supported:
+- MLA attention (DeepSeek-V2/V3 ``kv_a_proj_with_mqa``) uses a different
+  KV factorization and cannot be converted numerically.
+- Attention/MLP bias (``attention_bias`` / ``mlp_bias``) — AstrAI
+  projections are bias-free.
+"""
+
+import logging
+import re
+from typing import Any, Dict, Mapping
+
+import torch
+
+from astrai.config.base import BaseConfig
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+HF_MODEL_TYPES = frozenset(
+    {
+        "llama",
+        "mistral",
+        "mixtral",
+        "qwen2",
+        "qwen2_moe",
+        "gemma",
+        "gemma2",
+        "phi3",
+    }
+)
+
+_EMBED = re.compile(r"^model\.embed_tokens\.weight$")
+_ATTN = re.compile(r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.self_attn\.(q|k|v|o)_proj\.(weight|bias)$")
+_Q_NORM = re.compile(r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.self_attn\.q_norm\.weight$")
+_K_NORM = re.compile(r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.self_attn\.k_norm\.weight$")
+_INPUT_NORM = re.compile(r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.input_layernorm\.weight$")
+_POST_NORM = re.compile(r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.post_attention_layernorm\.weight$")
+_FINAL_NORM = re.compile(r"^model\.norm\.weight$")
+_LM_HEAD = re.compile(r"^lm_head\.weight$")
+_DENSE_MLP = re.compile(
+    r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.mlp\.(gate|up|down)_proj\.(weight|bias)$"
+)
+_MOE_ROUTER = re.compile(r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.mlp\.gate\.weight$")
+_MOE_EXPERTS = re.compile(
+    r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.mlp\.experts\.(\d+)\.(gate|up|down)_proj\.(weight|bias)$"
+)
+_MOE_SHARED = re.compile(
+    r"^model\.layers\.(\d+)\.mlp\.shared_expert(?:s)?\.(\d+)\."
+    r"(gate|up|down)_proj\.(weight|bias)$"
+)
+
+_ASTR_PREFIXES = ("embed_tokens.", "layers.", "norm.", "lm_head.")
+
+
+def looks_like_hf_state_dict(state_dict: Mapping[str, Any]) -> bool:
+    """Return True if *state_dict* uses HuggingFace key names."""
+    return any(
+        key.startswith("model.")
+        or "self_attn." in key
+        or "input_layernorm" in key
+        or "mlp.experts." in key
+        for key in state_dict
+    )
+
+
+def _is_dense_mlp_layer(config: BaseConfig, layer_id: int) -> bool:
+    """Return whether a layer uses dense MLP instead of routed experts."""
+    if getattr(config, "ffn_type", "mlp") != "moe":
+        return True
+    mlp_only = getattr(config, "mlp_only_layers", None) or []
+    if layer_id in mlp_only:
+        return True
+    step = getattr(config, "decoder_sparse_step", 1) or 1
+    return step > 1 and (layer_id + 1) % step != 0
+
+
+def adapt_config(raw: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Translate *raw* for AstrAI if it looks like an HF model config."""
+    if raw.get("model_type") in HF_MODEL_TYPES:
+        return convert_hf_config(raw)
+    return raw
+
+
+def convert_hf_config(raw: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Convert an HF LLaMA-style config dict to AstrAI field names."""
+    if raw.get("attention_bias") or raw.get("mlp_bias"):
+        raise NotImplementedError(
+            "attention_bias / mlp_bias checkpoints are not supported; "
+            "AstrAI projections are bias-free"
+        )
+
+    cfg: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+    for key in (
+        "vocab_size",
+        "hidden_size",
+        "num_hidden_layers",
+        "intermediate_size",
+        "rms_norm_eps",
+        "tie_word_embeddings",
+        "max_position_embeddings",
+        "rope_theta",
+        "rope_scaling",
+        "num_attention_heads",
+        "num_key_value_heads",
+        "use_qk_norm",
+        "use_gated_attention",
+        "kv_lora_rank",
+        "qk_nope_head_dim",
+        "qk_rope_head_dim",
+        "moe_intermediate_size",
+        "shared_expert_intermediate_size",
+        "topk_method",
+        "norm_topk_prob",
+        "moe_aux_loss_coef",
+        "decoder_sparse_step",
+        "mlp_only_layers",
+        "neftune_alpha",
+    ):
+        if key in raw:
+            cfg[key] = raw[key]
+
+    if "qk_norm" in raw and "use_qk_norm" not in cfg:
+        cfg["use_qk_norm"] = raw["qk_norm"]
+    if (
+        raw.get("model_type") in ("gemma", "gemma2")
+        and "use_qk_norm" not in cfg
+        and "qk_norm" not in raw
+    ):
+        # Gemma/Gemma2 always apply RMSNorm to Q and K before attention.
+        cfg["use_qk_norm"] = True
+
+    n_heads = raw.get("num_attention_heads")
+    if cfg.get("num_key_value_heads") is None and n_heads is not None:
+        cfg["num_key_value_heads"] = n_heads
+
+    if raw.get("head_dim") is not None and n_heads and raw.get("hidden_size"):
+        expected = raw["hidden_size"] // n_heads
+        if raw["head_dim"] != expected:
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                f"HF head_dim={raw['head_dim']} differs from the computed "
+                f"head dim {expected}; AstrAI derives head_dim from "
+                "hidden_size / num_attention_heads"
+            )
+
+    if "kv_lora_rank" in raw:
+        cfg["attn_type"] = "mla"
+
+    n_experts = raw.get("num_local_experts") or raw.get("n_routed_experts")
+    if n_experts:
+        cfg["ffn_type"] = "moe"
+        cfg["n_routed_experts"] = n_experts
+        if "num_experts_per_tok" in raw:
+            cfg["n_activated_experts"] = raw["num_experts_per_tok"]
+        if "n_activated_experts" in raw:
+            cfg["n_activated_experts"] = raw["n_activated_experts"]
+        if "n_shared_experts" in raw:
+            cfg["n_shared_experts"] = raw["n_shared_experts"]
+        else:
+            # Mixtral has no shared experts; AstrAI defaults to one.
+            cfg["n_shared_experts"] = 0
+        if cfg.get("moe_intermediate_size") is None and "intermediate_size" in raw:
+            # MoE configs store the per-expert FFN size in intermediate_size.
+            cfg["moe_intermediate_size"] = raw["intermediate_size"]
+        first_k_dense = raw.get("first_k_dense_replace")
+        if isinstance(first_k_dense, int) and first_k_dense > 0:
+            cfg["mlp_only_layers"] = list(range(first_k_dense))
+            cfg["decoder_sparse_step"] = 1
+
+    cfg["model_type"] = "autoregressive_lm"
+    return cfg
+
+
+def convert_hf_weights(
+    state_dict: Mapping[str, Any],
+    config: BaseConfig,
+) -> Dict[str, torch.Tensor]:
+    """Rename HF state dict keys to AstrAI names.
+
+    Keys that are already AstrAI-style pass through unchanged; unmapped
+    HF keys are dropped with a warning. Use with ``strict=True`` to fail
+    loudly when the checkpoint does not match the config.
+    """
+    if getattr(config, "attn_type", "gqa") == "mla":
+        if any("kv_a_proj_with_mqa" in key for key in state_dict):
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                "MLA attention (DeepSeek-V2/V3 kv_a_proj_with_mqa) uses a "
+                "different KV factorization and cannot be converted"
+            )
+
+    ffn_type = getattr(config, "ffn_type", "mlp")
+    converted: Dict[str, torch.Tensor] = {}
+    skipped: list[str] = []
+    for key, tensor in state_dict.items():
+        if key.startswith(_ASTR_PREFIXES):
+            converted[key] = tensor
+            continue
+
+        new_key = None
+        if ffn_type == "moe":
+            m = _MOE_ROUTER.match(key)
+            if m:
+                new_key = f"layers.{m.group(1)}.mlp.router.weight"
+            else:
+                m = _MOE_EXPERTS.match(key)
+                if m:
+                    new_key = (
+                        f"layers.{m.group(1)}.mlp.routed_experts.{m.group(2)}."
+                        f"{m.group(3)}.{m.group(4)}"
+                    )
+                else:
+                    m = _MOE_SHARED.match(key)
+                    if m:
+                        new_key = (
+                            f"layers.{m.group(1)}.mlp.shared_experts.{m.group(2)}."
+                            f"{m.group(3)}.{m.group(4)}"
+                        )
+            if new_key is None:
+                m = _DENSE_MLP.match(key)
+                if m and _is_dense_mlp_layer(config, int(m.group(1))):
+                    new_key = f"layers.{m.group(1)}.mlp.{m.group(2)}.{m.group(3)}"
+        else:
+            m = _DENSE_MLP.match(key)
+            if m:
+                new_key = f"layers.{m.group(1)}.mlp.{m.group(2)}.{m.group(3)}"
+
+        if new_key is None:
+            m = _ATTN.match(key)
+            if m:
+                new_key = (
+                    f"layers.{m.group(1)}.attention.{m.group(2)}_proj.{m.group(3)}"
+                )
+            elif (m := _Q_NORM.match(key)) is not None:
+                new_key = f"layers.{m.group(1)}.attention.q_norm.weight"
+            elif (m := _K_NORM.match(key)) is not None:
+                new_key = f"layers.{m.group(1)}.attention.k_norm.weight"
+            elif (m := _INPUT_NORM.match(key)) is not None:
+                new_key = f"layers.{m.group(1)}.input_norm.weight"
+            elif (m := _POST_NORM.match(key)) is not None:
+                new_key = f"layers.{m.group(1)}.post_attention_norm.weight"
+            elif (m := _EMBED.match(key)) is not None:
+                new_key = "embed_tokens.weight"
+            elif (m := _FINAL_NORM.match(key)) is not None:
+                new_key = "norm.weight"
+            elif (m := _LM_HEAD.match(key)) is not None:
+                new_key = "lm_head.weight"
+
+        if new_key is None:
+            skipped.append(key)
+        else:
+            converted[new_key] = tensor
+
+    if skipped:
+        logger.warning(
+            "Dropped %d unmapped HuggingFace weight key(s): %s",
+            len(skipped),
+            ", ".join(sorted(skipped)[:10]),
+        )
+    return converted

astrai/trainer/metric_util.py

@@ -94,21 +94,5 @@ def ctx_get_grad_snr(ctx):
     return tracker.snr
 
 
-def ctx_get_moe_aux_loss(ctx):
+def ctx_get_moe_metric(ctx, key):
-    return ctx.strategy._moe_metrics.get("aux_loss")
+    return ctx.strategy._moe_metrics.get(key)
-
-
-def ctx_get_router_entropy(ctx):
-    return ctx.strategy._moe_metrics.get("router_entropy")
-
-
-def ctx_get_dead_expert_fraction(ctx):
-    return ctx.strategy._moe_metrics.get("dead_expert_fraction")
-
-
-def ctx_get_load_imbalance_mean(ctx):
-    return ctx.strategy._moe_metrics.get("load_imbalance_mean")
-
-
-def ctx_get_load_imbalance_max(ctx):
-    return ctx.strategy._moe_metrics.get("load_imbalance_max")

astrai/trainer/schedule.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 import math
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
-from typing import Any, Dict, List
+from typing import List
 
 from torch.optim.lr_scheduler import LRScheduler
 
@@ -20,12 +20,6 @@ class BaseScheduler(LRScheduler, ABC):
         """Calculate the current learning rate."""
         raise NotImplementedError
 
-    def state_dict(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
-        return super().state_dict()
-
-    def load_state_dict(self, state_dict: Dict[str, Any]):
-        super().load_state_dict(state_dict)
-
 
 class SchedulerFactory(BaseFactory["BaseScheduler"]):
     """Factory class for creating learning rate schedulers.

astrai/trainer/strategy.py

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """Training strategy implementations with factory pattern."""
 
-from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from abc import ABC
 from typing import Callable, Dict, List, Optional, TypedDict, Union
 
 import torch
@@ -184,10 +184,9 @@ class BaseStrategy(ABC):
         self.executor = kwargs.pop("executor", None)
         self.moe_aux_loss_coef = kwargs.pop("moe_aux_loss_coef", 0.01)
         self._moe_metrics: Dict[str, float] = {}
-        self.extra_kwargs = kwargs
+        self.strategy_kwargs = kwargs
         self._rollout_runner = None
 
-    @abstractmethod
     def compute_loss(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> Tensor:
         """Compute loss for the given batch.
 
@@ -197,7 +196,7 @@ class BaseStrategy(ABC):
         Returns:
             Computed loss tensor
         """
-        raise NotImplementedError
+        return self.compute_loss_output(batch)["loss"]
 
     def compute_loss_output(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> LossOutput:
         return self._normalize_output(self.compute_loss(batch))
@@ -328,9 +327,6 @@ class SEQStrategy(BaseStrategy):
         super().__init__(model, device, **kwargs)
         self.label_smoothing = label_smoothing
 
-    def compute_loss(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> Tensor:
-        return self.compute_loss_output(batch)["loss"]
-
     def compute_loss_output(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> LossOutput:
         batch = move_to_device(batch, self.device)
         input_ids, target_ids = batch["input_ids"], batch["target_ids"]
@@ -369,9 +365,6 @@ class SFTStrategy(BaseStrategy):
         super().__init__(model, device, **kwargs)
         self.label_smoothing = label_smoothing
 
-    def compute_loss(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> Tensor:
-        return self.compute_loss_output(batch)["loss"]
-
     def compute_loss_output(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> LossOutput:
         batch = move_to_device(batch, self.device)
         input_ids, target_ids, position_ids, loss_mask = (
@@ -426,9 +419,6 @@ class DPOStrategy(BaseStrategy):
         self.beta = beta
         self.reduction = reduction
 
-    def compute_loss(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> Tensor:
-        return self.compute_loss_output(batch)["loss"]
-
     def compute_loss_output(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> LossOutput:
         batch = move_to_device(batch, self.device)
         chosen_ids, rejected_ids = batch["chosen"], batch["rejected"]
@@ -553,9 +543,6 @@ class GRPOStrategy(BaseStrategy):
         if state_dict is not None:
             self.old_model.load_state_dict(state_dict)
 
-    def compute_loss(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> Tensor:
-        return self.compute_loss_output(batch)["loss"]
-
     def compute_loss_output(self, batch: Dict[str, Tensor]) -> LossOutput:
         batch = move_to_device(batch, self.device)
         prompts = batch["prompts"]

astrai/trainer/train_callback.py

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import logging
 import os
 import sys
 import time
+from functools import partial
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import IO, Callable, List, Optional, Protocol, runtime_checkable
 
@@ -17,15 +18,11 @@ from astrai.parallel import only_on_rank
 from astrai.parallel.setup import get_current_device
 from astrai.serialization import Checkpoint
 from astrai.trainer.metric_util import (
-    ctx_get_dead_expert_fraction,
     ctx_get_grad_norm,
     ctx_get_grad_snr,
-    ctx_get_load_imbalance_max,
-    ctx_get_load_imbalance_mean,
     ctx_get_loss,
     ctx_get_lr,
-    ctx_get_moe_aux_loss,
+    ctx_get_moe_metric,
-    ctx_get_router_entropy,
     ctx_get_val_loss,
 )
 from astrai.trainer.train_context import TrainContext
@@ -119,6 +116,8 @@ class GradientCheckpointingCallback(TrainCallback):
             del module._original_forward
 
     def on_train_begin(self, context: TrainContext):
+        if not self.modules:
+            return
         context.model.apply(self._enable)
         logger.info("Gradient checkpointing enabled")
 
@@ -262,11 +261,15 @@ class MetricCallback(TrainCallback):
             "val_loss": ctx_get_val_loss,
             "grad_norm": ctx_get_grad_norm,
             "grad_snr": ctx_get_grad_snr,
-            "moe_aux_loss": ctx_get_moe_aux_loss,
+            "moe_aux_loss": partial(ctx_get_moe_metric, key="aux_loss"),
-            "router_entropy": ctx_get_router_entropy,
+            "router_entropy": partial(ctx_get_moe_metric, key="router_entropy"),
-            "dead_expert_fraction": ctx_get_dead_expert_fraction,
+            "dead_expert_fraction": partial(
-            "load_imbalance_mean": ctx_get_load_imbalance_mean,
+                ctx_get_moe_metric, key="dead_expert_fraction"
-            "load_imbalance_max": ctx_get_load_imbalance_max,
+            ),
+            "load_imbalance_mean": partial(
+                ctx_get_moe_metric, key="load_imbalance_mean"
+            ),
+            "load_imbalance_max": partial(ctx_get_moe_metric, key="load_imbalance_max"),
         }
 
     def _metrics(self, context: TrainContext, names):

astrai/trainer/train_context.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import torch
 import torch.nn as nn
 from torch.utils.data import DataLoader, random_split
 
+from astrai.config.model_config import ConfigFactory
 from astrai.config.train_config import TrainConfig
 from astrai.dataset import RDSampler
 from astrai.inference.scheduler import InferenceScheduler
@@ -15,7 +16,13 @@ from astrai.model.components.lora import inject_lora
 from astrai.parallel.executor import BaseExecutor, ExecutorFactory, create_ref_model
 from astrai.parallel.setup import get_current_device, get_rank, get_world_size
 from astrai.protocols import OptimizerProtocol, SchedulerProtocol
-from astrai.serialization import Checkpoint, load_json
+from astrai.serialization import (
+    Checkpoint,
+    adapt_config,
+    convert_hf_weights,
+    load_json,
+    looks_like_hf_state_dict,
+)
 from astrai.tokenize import AutoTokenizer
 from astrai.trainer.metric_util import GradSNRTracker
 from astrai.trainer.rollout import RolloutGenerator, RolloutRunner
@@ -126,9 +133,18 @@ class TrainContextBuilder:
         if self._param_path:
             config_path = Path(self._param_path) / "config.json"
             if config_path.exists():
-                state.model_config = load_json(config_path)
+                state.model_config = adapt_config(load_json(config_path))
             checkpoint = Checkpoint.load_any(self._param_path)
             if checkpoint is not None:
+                if checkpoint.config:
+                    checkpoint.config = adapt_config(checkpoint.config)
+                if checkpoint.state_dict and looks_like_hf_state_dict(
+                    checkpoint.state_dict
+                ):
+                    checkpoint.state_dict = convert_hf_weights(
+                        checkpoint.state_dict,
+                        ConfigFactory.load(checkpoint.config or state.model_config),
+                    )
                 state.state_dict = checkpoint.state_dict
                 state.model_config = checkpoint.config or state.model_config
                 if self._resume:
@@ -140,8 +156,10 @@ class TrainContextBuilder:
                         checkpoint.consumed_samples // per_step * per_step
                     )
                     state.checkpoint = checkpoint
-        if not state.model_config and hasattr(cfg.model_fn(), "config"):
+        if not state.model_config:
-            state.model_config = cfg.model_fn().config.to_dict()
+            model = cfg.model_fn()
+            if hasattr(model, "config"):
+                state.model_config = model.config.to_dict()
         return state
 
     def _create_context(
@@ -204,7 +222,6 @@ class TrainContextBuilder:
     def _create_dataloaders(
         self, context: TrainContext, train_dataset, val_dataset
     ) -> None:
-        cfg = self.config
         sampler_offset = context.consumed_samples // context.world_size
         if self._resume and sampler_offset > 0:
             samples_per_replica = (
@@ -261,7 +278,7 @@ class TrainContextBuilder:
 
     def _create_strategy(self, context: TrainContext, executor: BaseExecutor) -> dict:
         cfg = self.config
-        kwargs = dict(cfg.extra_kwargs)
+        kwargs = dict(cfg.strategy_kwargs)
         kwargs.setdefault("moe_aux_loss_coef", cfg.moe_aux_loss_coef)
         if cfg.strategy in ("dpo", "grpo", "online_grpo", "online_dpo"):
             kwargs["ref_model"] = create_ref_model(

csrc/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -48,10 +48,44 @@ set(TORCH_LIBS
 
 set(CMAKE_CUDA_ARCHITECTURES "${ASTRAI_CUDA_ARCH}")
 
-set(KERNELS attn_decode attn_prefill attn_paged_decode attn_paged_prefill rotary_emb fp8_mm)
+# Kernel registry — parallel lists of module names (.so / pybind names,
+# globally unique across families) and their per-family source paths under
+# kernels/. `loader.py` auto-discovers the .so files in astrai/extension/lib/,
+# so this CMake registry is the single place to register a new kernel.
+#
+# FP8 MMA instructions require sm_89+. Keep the target out of the build on
+# older architectures instead of instantiating templates that cannot compile.
+# The remaining kernels are still useful on sm_80+ (including sm_86).
+set(KERNEL_NAMES
+    attn_decode
+    attn_prefill
+    attn_paged_decode
+    attn_paged_prefill
+    rotary_emb
+)
+set(KERNEL_SRCS
+    attention/decode.cu
+    attention/prefill.cu
+    attention/paged_decode.cu
+    attention/paged_prefill.cu
+    rotary/rotary_emb.cu
+)
 
-foreach(name ${KERNELS})
+if(ASTRAI_CUDA_ARCH GREATER_EQUAL 89)
-    add_library(${name} MODULE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/kernels/${name}.cu")
+    list(APPEND KERNEL_NAMES fp8_ops)
+    list(APPEND KERNEL_SRCS fp8/ops.cu)
+else()
+    message(WARNING
+        "FP8 operator disabled: ASTRAI_CUDA_ARCH=${ASTRAI_CUDA_ARCH} "
+        "requires compute capability 89 or newer")
+endif()
+
+list(LENGTH KERNEL_NAMES _kernel_count)
+math(EXPR _kernel_last "${_kernel_count} - 1")
+foreach(i RANGE ${_kernel_last})
+    list(GET KERNEL_NAMES ${i} name)
+    list(GET KERNEL_SRCS ${i} src)
+    add_library(${name} MODULE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/kernels/${src}")
 
     target_compile_definitions(${name} PRIVATE TORCH_EXTENSION_NAME=${name})
 
@@ -61,9 +95,6 @@ foreach(name ${KERNELS})
         "${PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}")
 
     target_link_libraries(${name} PRIVATE ${TORCH_LIBS})
-    if(${name} STREQUAL "fp8_mm")
-        target_link_libraries(${name} PRIVATE CUDA::cublasLt)
-    endif()
     target_link_options(${name} PRIVATE "-Wl,-rpath,${TORCH_LIB_DIR}")
 
     target_compile_options(${name} PRIVATE

csrc/__init__.py

@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 # Source directory for CUDA kernels — build-time only.
-# Compiled .so files live in astrAI/_ext/.
+# Compiled .so files live in astrai/extension/lib/ (see csrc/CMakeLists.txt).

csrc/kernels/attention/common.h

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+#pragma once
+
+// Pure POD header
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
+
+// Tensor layout for Q/K/V tensors passed to attention kernels.
+// Internally, kernels always operate on BHLD [batch, n_heads, seq_len, head_dim].
+// When the caller passes BLHD, dims 1 and 2 are transposed at entry.
+enum TensorLayout : int {
+    BHLD = 0,  // [batch, n_heads, seq_len, head_dim]
+    BLHD = 1,  // [batch, seq_len, n_heads, head_dim]
+};
+
+// Split-KV workspace cap: max decode splits per (batch, q_head).
+constexpr int MAX_SPLITS = 32;
+
+// Paged-prefill host Q-tile granularity in q rows: one q_tile_to_index unit
+// covers this many query rows of one request.  Must match Q_TILE_ROWS in
+// astrai/inference/workspace.py, which builds the device-side tile maps.
+constexpr int HOST_Q_TILE_ROWS = 64;
+
+
+// Unified attention params covering BOTH addressing modes:
+//   - Contiguous K/V: dense [batch, kv_head, kv_len, head_dim] tensors (k/v).
+//   - Paged (SGLang-style): flat pool [size, kv_head, head_dim] + req_to_token.
+// Each kernel selects the addressing via a KVSource policy (see
+// layout_policies.cuh); a given call only touches the fields of one mode, so
+// this is a POD shared by both paths rather than two parallel structs that
+// drift out of sync.
+//
+// Pointer/flag members carry default member initializers: the pointers gate
+// optional paths via null checks (new_k_ptr, mask, o_part, ...), so a stack
+// `AttentionParams<T> p;` left partially packed must never see garbage
+// non-null pointers or a garbage use_mask/causal_offset — that class of bug
+// reads through wild addresses. NSDMI keeps the struct an aggregate (C++17)
+// and trivially copyable, so `= {}`, memcpy-style packing and by-value kernel
+// params all behave exactly as before.
+template<typename T, typename AT = float>
+struct AttentionParams {
+    // Shape
+    int batch;
+    int q_head;
+    int kv_head;
+    int head_dim;
+    int q_len;   // Per-request in contiguous mode; total_q in paged mode.
+    int kv_len;  // Contiguous mode; paged mode uses kv_indptr.
+
+    // Attention behavior
+    float scale;
+    // -1 = non-causal; >=0 = absolute position of first Q token
+    int causal_offset = -1;
+    int use_mask = 0;
+
+    // pointers
+    const T* __restrict__ q_ptr = nullptr;
+    const T* __restrict__ k_ptr = nullptr;
+    const T* __restrict__ v_ptr = nullptr;
+    const T* __restrict__ new_k_ptr = nullptr;
+    const T* __restrict__ new_v_ptr = nullptr;
+    T* __restrict__ o_ptr = nullptr;
+    const bool* __restrict__ mask = nullptr;
+
+    // strides
+    int q_b_stride;
+    int q_h_stride;
+    int q_l_stride;
+    int q_d_stride;
+
+    int kv_b_stride;
+    int kv_h_stride;
+    int kv_l_stride;
+    int kv_d_stride;
+
+    int new_kv_b_stride;
+    int new_kv_h_stride;
+
+    int mask_b_stride;
+    int mask_h_stride;
+    int mask_l_stride;
+
+    // Paged K/V addressing
+    const int* __restrict__ req_to_token = nullptr;      // [num_reqs, max_context_len]
+    const int* __restrict__ req_pool_indices = nullptr;  // [batch]
+    const int* __restrict__ kv_indptr = nullptr;         // [batch + 1]
+    const int* __restrict__ qo_indptr = nullptr;         // [batch + 1] or nullptr for decode
+    const int* __restrict__ q_tile_to_batch = nullptr;   // [num_q_tiles], prefill only
+    const int* __restrict__ q_tile_to_index = nullptr;   // [num_q_tiles], prefill only
+    int num_q_tiles;
+    int max_context_len; // req_to_token stride (dim 1)
+
+    // Decode split-KV workspace
+    int num_splits;
+    AT* __restrict__ o_part = nullptr;
+    AT* __restrict__ ml_part = nullptr;
+};
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attention/decode.cu

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-#include "attn_dispatchers.cuh"
+#include "dispatchers.cuh"
-#include "attn_entry_utils.cuh"
+#include "entry_utils.cuh"
+
+using namespace astrai::attention;
 
 torch::Tensor attn_decode(
     torch::Tensor q,

csrc/kernels/attention/decode_split_kv.cuh

@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 #pragma once
 #include <cuda_bf16.h>
 #include <float.h>
-#include "attn_common.h"
+#include "common.h"
-#include "attn_layout_policies.cuh"
+#include "layout_policies.cuh"
-#include "attn_warp_utils.cuh"
+#include "../common/reduce.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
+
 constexpr int DC_CHUNK = 64;
 
 // Scalar split-KV decode (fallback for sm < 80, no tensor cores), unified
@@ -57,8 +61,8 @@ __global__ void attn_decode_split_kv_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
             int s = i / p.head_dim;
             int d_dim = i % p.head_dim;
             int kc = chunk_start + s;
-            int token = KV::resolve_token(p, kctx, kc, true);
+            KVAddr a = KV::template decode_addr<1>(
-            KVAddr a = KV::kv_addr_from_token(p, kctx, token, d_dim);
+                p, kctx, batch, kv_head, kc, d_dim, true, true);
             k_smem[i] = a.valid ? *reinterpret_cast<const bf16*>(a.k) : (bf16)0.f;
             v_smem[i] = a.valid ? *reinterpret_cast<const bf16*>(a.v) : (bf16)0.f;
         }
@@ -142,3 +146,6 @@ __global__ void attn_decode_combine_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
     int o_off = KV::q_decode_base(p, batch, q_head) + d * p.q_d_stride;
     p.o_ptr[o_off] = __float2bfloat16(acc * inv);
 }
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attention/decode_split_kv_mma.cuh

@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 #pragma once
 #include <cfloat>
 #include <cuda_bf16.h>
-#include "attn_common.h"
+#include "common.h"
-#include "attn_layout_policies.cuh"
+#include "layout_policies.cuh"
-#include "attn_mma_utils.cuh"
+#include "mma_utils.cuh"
-#include "attn_warp_utils.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
 
 // Split-K (FlashDecoding) tensor-core decode via GQA head-packing, unified
 // across contiguous and paged (SGLang flat-pool) K/V via the KV template
@@ -73,13 +75,15 @@ __global__ void attn_decode_split_kv_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
             int r = i / Traits::HEAD_DIM, d = i % Traits::HEAD_DIM;
             int kc = kv0 + r;
             bool valid = kc < seq_len;
-            int token = KV::resolve_token(p, kctx, kc, valid);
+            // All GQA passes consume new K/V directly. Only the first pass
-            KVAddr a = KV::kv_addr_from_token(p, kctx, token, d);
+            // persists it, so no cross-block synchronization is required.
+            KVAddr a = KV::template decode_addr<Traits::VEC>(
+                p, kctx, batch, kv_head, kc, d, valid, pass == 0);
             int off = r * Traits::LD + swiz_col(d, r, Traits::SWIZ_MASK);
-            cp_async_16_pred(&dK[off], a.k, a.valid);
+            astrai::cp_async_16(&dK[off], a.k, a.valid);
-            cp_async_16_pred(&dV[off], a.v, a.valid);
+            astrai::cp_async_16(&dV[off], a.v, a.valid);
         }
-        cp_async_commit();
+        astrai::cp_async_commit_group();
     };
 
     // ---- Multi-stage cp.async pipeline ----
@@ -124,9 +128,9 @@ __global__ void attn_decode_split_kv_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
 
         for (int it = 0; it < ntiles; it++) {
             if (it + 1 == ntiles)
-                cp_async_wait_group<0>();
+                astrai::cp_async_wait_group<0>();
             else
-                cp_async_wait_group<STAGES - 1>();
+                astrai::cp_async_wait_group<STAGES - 1>();
             __syncwarp();
             process_tile(it, it & (STAGES - 1));
             __syncwarp();
@@ -137,7 +141,7 @@ __global__ void attn_decode_split_kv_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
         // Fewer tiles than stages: load all, wait for all, process.
         for (int i = 0; i < ntiles; i++)
             load_tile(ti_begin + i, i);
-        cp_async_wait_group<0>();
+        astrai::cp_async_wait_all();
         __syncwarp();
         for (int it = 0; it < ntiles; it++)
             process_tile(it, it);
@@ -179,3 +183,6 @@ __global__ void attn_decode_split_kv_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
         }
     }
 }
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attention/dispatchers.cuh

@@ -3,22 +3,24 @@
 // No torch dependency; pure CUDA.
 //
 // The paged and contiguous kernels are unified by the KVSource policy
-// (ContigKV / PagedKV from attn_layout_policies.cuh), so each launcher struct
+// (ContigKV / PagedKV from layout_policies.cuh), so each launcher struct
 // below is templated on KV and the paged dispatch is just the same launcher
 // instantiated with PagedKV.  Only the grid/split math differs, and that is
 // covered by KV::host_q_len / KV::host_kv_len.
 
 #include <cuda_runtime.h>
 #include <algorithm>
-#include "attn_warp_utils.cuh"
+#include "layout_policies.cuh"
-#include "attn_layout_policies.cuh"
+#include "prefill_split_q.cuh"
-#include "attn_prefill_split_q.cuh"
+#include "decode_split_kv.cuh"
-#include "attn_decode_split_kv.cuh"
 #ifndef ASTRAI_NO_MMA
-#include "attn_prefill_split_q_mma.cuh"
+#include "prefill_split_q_mma.cuh"
-#include "attn_decode_split_kv_mma.cuh"
+#include "decode_split_kv_mma.cuh"
 #endif
 
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
+
 // Split-KV: compute number of splits to fill all SMs for small-batch decode.
 // Caps splits so each split processes at least `min_tiles_per_split` tiles,
 // avoiding excessive loop/prologue overhead when tiles are small.
@@ -86,8 +88,17 @@ struct PrefillLauncherMMA {
     static void launch(AttentionParams<bf16>& p, cudaStream_t stream) {
         using Config = PrefillConfigMap<HEAD_DIM, IsCausal>;
         using Traits = KernelTraits<HEAD_DIM, Config::BC, Config::WARPS, Config::STAGES>;
-        constexpr int ROWS = Traits::BR * Config::WARPS;
+        // GQA head packing: HB = min(G, WARPS) q-heads of one kv-head group
-        dim3 grid(QSchedule::host_q_blocks(p, ROWS), p.q_head,
+        // share each block's K/V stream (~HB× less global K/V traffic).
+        // Each head gets WPH = WARPS/HB 16-row chunks per block, so per-head
+        // rows drop from 64 to BR*WPH while total mma work per K/V byte is
+        // unchanged.  G=1 (MHA) reproduces the historical grid exactly.
+        const int G = p.q_head / p.kv_head;
+        const int HB = std::min(G, Config::WARPS);
+        const int WPH = Config::WARPS / HB;
+        constexpr int BR = Traits::BR;
+        dim3 grid(QSchedule::packed_grid_x(p, BR * WPH),
+                  p.kv_head * ((G + HB - 1) / HB),
                   QSchedule::host_grid_batch(p));
         dim3 block(Traits::NUM_THREADS);
         attn_prefill_split_q_mma_kernel<Traits, QSchedule, KV, IsCausal, HasMask>
@@ -231,3 +242,6 @@ static inline void dispatch_paged_decode(AttentionParams<bf16>& p, cudaStream_t
 
     attn_decode_combine_kernel<PagedKV><<<p.batch * p.q_head, p.head_dim, 0, stream>>>(p);
 }
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attention/entry_utils.cuh

@@ -2,10 +2,7 @@
 #include <float.h>
 #include <torch/extension.h>
 #include <c10/cuda/CUDAGuard.h>
-#include "attn_common.h"
+#include "common.h"
-#include "attn_warp_utils.cuh"
-
-using bf16 = __nv_bfloat16;
 
 // Dispatch head_dim: shared macro — avoids C++20 lambda template syntax.
 // Usage: DISPATCH_HEAD_DIM(hd, fn, args...)
@@ -21,6 +18,11 @@ using bf16 = __nv_bfloat16;
                          " (supported: 32, 64, 128, 256)"); \
     }
 
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
+
+using bf16 = __nv_bfloat16;
+
 // The split kernel unconditionally writes every (batch, q_head, split) slot it
 // owns — including empty split ranges, which store m = -FLT_MAX so the combine
 // skips them. Allocators are therefore left uninitialized (torch::empty); the
@@ -130,6 +132,8 @@ inline void attn_pack_params(
     p.q_ptr = (const T*)q.data_ptr();
     p.k_ptr = (const T*)k.data_ptr();
     p.v_ptr = (const T*)v.data_ptr();
+    p.new_k_ptr = nullptr;
+    p.new_v_ptr = nullptr;
     p.o_ptr = nullptr;
     p.o_part = nullptr;
     p.ml_part = nullptr;
@@ -148,6 +152,8 @@ inline void attn_pack_paged_decode_params(
     torch::Tensor req_to_token,
     torch::Tensor req_pool_indices,
     torch::Tensor kv_indptr,
+    const c10::optional<torch::Tensor>& new_k,
+    const c10::optional<torch::Tensor>& new_v,
     c10::optional<torch::Tensor> mask,
     int64_t causal_offset,
     double scale,
@@ -191,6 +197,33 @@ inline void attn_pack_paged_decode_params(
     p.qo_indptr = nullptr;
     p.max_context_len = (int)req_to_token.size(1);
 
+    TORCH_CHECK(new_k.has_value() == new_v.has_value(),
+                "new_k and new_v must be provided together");
+    if (new_k.has_value()) {
+        auto nk = new_k.value();
+        auto nv = new_v.value();
+        TORCH_CHECK(nk.is_cuda() && nv.is_cuda(), "new K/V must be CUDA tensors");
+        TORCH_CHECK(nk.dtype() == torch::kBFloat16 && nv.dtype() == torch::kBFloat16,
+                    "new K/V must be bf16");
+        TORCH_CHECK(nk.dim() == 3 && nv.dim() == 3,
+                    "new K/V must be 3D [batch, kv_head, head_dim]");
+        TORCH_CHECK(nk.sizes() == nv.sizes(), "new K and V must have identical shapes");
+        TORCH_CHECK(nk.strides() == nv.strides(),
+                    "new K and V must have identical strides");
+        TORCH_CHECK(nk.size(0) == p.batch && nk.size(1) == p.kv_head
+                    && nk.size(2) == p.head_dim, "new K/V shape mismatch");
+        TORCH_CHECK(nk.stride(2) == 1 && nv.stride(2) == 1,
+                    "new K/V head_dim must be contiguous");
+        p.new_k_ptr = (const T*)nk.data_ptr();
+        p.new_v_ptr = (const T*)nv.data_ptr();
+        p.new_kv_b_stride = (int)nk.stride(0);
+        p.new_kv_h_stride = (int)nk.stride(1);
+    } else {
+        p.new_k_ptr = nullptr;
+        p.new_v_ptr = nullptr;
+        p.new_kv_b_stride = p.new_kv_h_stride = 0;
+    }
+
     p.causal_offset = (int)causal_offset;
     p.use_mask = (mask.has_value() && mask.value().defined()) ? 1 : 0;
     p.scale = (scale > 0.0) ? (float)scale : 1.0f / sqrtf((float)p.head_dim);
@@ -279,6 +312,8 @@ inline void attn_pack_paged_prefill_params(
 
     p.k_ptr = (const T*)k_cache.data_ptr();
     p.v_ptr = (const T*)v_cache.data_ptr();
+    p.new_k_ptr = nullptr;
+    p.new_v_ptr = nullptr;
     p.q_ptr = (const T*)q.data_ptr();
     p.req_to_token = req_to_token.data_ptr<int>();
     p.req_pool_indices = req_pool_indices.data_ptr<int>();
@@ -323,3 +358,6 @@ inline void attn_pack_paged_prefill_params(
     p.o_part = nullptr;
     p.ml_part = nullptr;
 }
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attention/layout_policies.cuh

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #pragma once
 #include <cuda_bf16.h>
-#include "attn_common.h"
+#include "common.h"
 
 // ============================================================================
 // Attention layout policies keep Q scheduling independent from K/V storage.
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@
 #define DEVICE_FORCEINLINE static __device__ __forceinline__
 #define HOST_DEV_FORCEINLINE static __host__ __device__ __forceinline__
 
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
+
 using bf16 = __nv_bfloat16;
 
 // ============================================================================
@@ -53,6 +56,20 @@ struct DenseQSchedule {
         q_tile = blockIdx.x;
     }
 
+    // GQA-packed prefill mapping: HB q-heads of one kv-head group share a
+    // block's K/V stream, each head owning `rows` = BR*WPH consecutive q rows
+    // per block.  Dense tensors tile q_len directly, one block per range.
+    HOST_FORCEINLINE int packed_grid_x(
+        const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, int rows) {
+        return (p.q_len + rows - 1) / rows;
+    }
+
+    DEVICE_FORCEINLINE void map_packed_block(
+        const AttentionParams<bf16>&, int rows, int& batch, int& row_base) {
+        batch = blockIdx.z;
+        row_base = blockIdx.x * rows;
+    }
+
     DEVICE_FORCEINLINE int q_len(
         const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, int) {
         return p.q_len;
@@ -81,6 +98,23 @@ struct PackedQSchedule {
         q_tile = p.q_tile_to_index[blockIdx.x];
     }
 
+    // GQA-packed prefill mapping: the host tile maps are built in
+    // HOST_Q_TILE_ROWS granularity, so each host tile splits into
+    // HOST_Q_TILE_ROWS / rows packed blocks along blockIdx.x.
+    HOST_FORCEINLINE int packed_grid_x(
+        const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, int rows) {
+        return p.num_q_tiles * (HOST_Q_TILE_ROWS / rows);
+    }
+
+    DEVICE_FORCEINLINE void map_packed_block(
+        const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, int rows, int& batch, int& row_base) {
+        const int hb = HOST_Q_TILE_ROWS / rows;
+        const int host_tile = blockIdx.x / hb;
+        batch = p.q_tile_to_batch[host_tile];
+        row_base = p.q_tile_to_index[host_tile] * HOST_Q_TILE_ROWS
+            + (blockIdx.x - host_tile * hb) * rows;
+    }
+
     DEVICE_FORCEINLINE int q_len(
         const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, int batch) {
         return p.qo_indptr[batch + 1] - p.qo_indptr[batch];
@@ -160,6 +194,14 @@ struct ContigKV {
             + (int64_t)d * p.kv_d_stride;
         return {&p.k_ptr[gmem_off], &p.v_ptr[gmem_off], valid};
     }
+
+    template <int VEC>
+    DEVICE_FORCEINLINE KVAddr decode_addr(
+        const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, const KVContext& c,
+        int, int, int kc, int d, bool valid, bool) {
+        int token = resolve_token(p, c, kc, valid);
+        return kv_addr_from_token(p, c, token, d);
+    }
 };
 
 // ---- Paged (SGLang-style flat pool) K/V ----
@@ -209,4 +251,42 @@ struct PagedKV {
         const int64_t gmem_off = (int64_t)safe_slot * c.pool_stride + c.head_off + d;
         return {&p.k_ptr[gmem_off], &p.v_ptr[gmem_off], valid};
     }
+
+    DEVICE_FORCEINLINE KVAddr new_kv_addr(
+        const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, int batch, int kv_head, int d) {
+        const int64_t off = (int64_t)batch * p.new_kv_b_stride
+            + (int64_t)kv_head * p.new_kv_h_stride + d;
+        return {&p.new_k_ptr[off], &p.new_v_ptr[off], true};
+    }
+
+    DEVICE_FORCEINLINE void store_new_kv(
+        const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, const KVContext& c,
+        int seq_len, int d, const KVAddr& src) {
+        int slot = resolve_token(p, c, seq_len - 1, true);
+        const int64_t off = (int64_t)slot * c.pool_stride + c.head_off + d;
+        const_cast<bf16*>(p.k_ptr)[off] = *reinterpret_cast<const bf16*>(src.k);
+        const_cast<bf16*>(p.v_ptr)[off] = *reinterpret_cast<const bf16*>(src.v);
+    }
+
+    template <int VEC>
+    DEVICE_FORCEINLINE KVAddr decode_addr(
+        const AttentionParams<bf16>& p, const KVContext& c,
+        int batch, int kv_head, int kc, int d, bool valid, bool persist) {
+        if (p.new_k_ptr && valid && kc == kv_len(p, batch) - 1) {
+            KVAddr src = new_kv_addr(p, batch, kv_head, d);
+            if (persist) {
+                #pragma unroll
+                for (int j = 0; j < VEC; j++) {
+                    KVAddr value = new_kv_addr(p, batch, kv_head, d + j);
+                    store_new_kv(p, c, kc + 1, d + j, value);
+                }
+            }
+            return src;
+        }
+        int token = resolve_token(p, c, kc, valid);
+        return kv_addr_from_token(p, c, token, d);
+    }
 };
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attention/mma_utils.cuh

@@ -3,12 +3,18 @@
 #include <cuda_fp16.h>
 #include <cuda_runtime.h>
 
+#include "../common/cp_async.cuh"
+#include "../common/mma.cuh"
+
 // Predicated cp.async (4-operand form) requires CUDA 11.2+.
 // bf16 mma.sync requires sm_80+ (guarded at build time by ASTRAI_NO_MMA).
 #if CUDART_VERSION < 11020
 #error "AstrAI CUDA kernels require CUDA 11.2 or later (CUDART_VERSION >= 11020)."
 #endif
 
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
+
 // ============================================================================
 // KernelTraits — FlashAttention-v2 style compile-time configuration bundle.
 //
@@ -24,10 +30,10 @@ struct KernelTraits {
 
     static constexpr int BR = 16;             // Q rows per warp (mma M=16)
 
-    // Derived: mma.sync.m16n8k16 tile counts
+    // Derived: mma tile counts from the shared mma_shape (m16n8k16 for bf16)
-    static constexpr int KD  = HEAD_DIM / 16;  // Q/K k-slides
+    static constexpr int KD  = HEAD_DIM / astrai::mma_shape<bf16>::k;  // Q/K k-slides
     static constexpr int NC8 = BC / 8;          // S n-tiles (N=8)
-    static constexpr int KT2 = BC / 16;         // P k-tiles (K=16)
+    static constexpr int KT2 = BC / astrai::mma_shape<bf16>::k;        // P k-tiles (K=16)
     static constexpr int DN8 = HEAD_DIM / 8;    // O n-tiles (N=8)
 
     static constexpr int LD = HEAD_DIM;         // smem leading dim
@@ -43,16 +49,7 @@ struct KernelTraits {
 
 // ---- PTX wrappers ----
 using bf16 = __nv_bfloat16;
-
+// bf16 mma.sync lives in the shared astrai::mma_sync template (common/mma.cuh).
-__device__ __forceinline__ void mma16816(float* d, const unsigned* a,
-                                          const unsigned* b, const float* c) {
-    asm volatile(
-        "mma.sync.aligned.m16n8k16.row.col.f32.bf16.bf16.f32 "
-        "{%0,%1,%2,%3}, {%4,%5,%6,%7}, {%8,%9}, {%10,%11,%12,%13};"
-        : "=f"(d[0]), "=f"(d[1]), "=f"(d[2]), "=f"(d[3])
-        : "r"(a[0]), "r"(a[1]), "r"(a[2]), "r"(a[3]), "r"(b[0]), "r"(b[1]),
-          "f"(c[0]), "f"(c[1]), "f"(c[2]), "f"(c[3]));
-}
 
 // read two adjacent bf16 from smem as one packed .b32 (elem0 low, elem1 high)
 __device__ __forceinline__ unsigned ld2(const bf16* p) {
@@ -73,62 +70,18 @@ __device__ __forceinline__ unsigned pkb(bf16 a, bf16 b) {
     return *reinterpret_cast<unsigned*>(&v);
 }
 
-// ldmatrix: cooperatively load mma fragments from smem (one instruction per
+// ldmatrix lives in the shared template (common/mma.cuh):
-// 16x16 / 16x8 tile) with the exact register layout mma expects.
+// `astrai::ldmatrix_x2<bf16>` / `<bf16, /*Trans=*/true>` load the K/V
-__device__ __forceinline__ void ldmatrix_x4(unsigned* r, const bf16* p) {
+// fragments with the exact register layout mma expects.
-    unsigned a = __cvta_generic_to_shared(p);
-    asm volatile("ldmatrix.sync.aligned.m8n8.x4.shared.b16 {%0,%1,%2,%3}, [%4];"
-                 : "=r"(r[0]), "=r"(r[1]), "=r"(r[2]), "=r"(r[3])
-                 : "r"(a));
-}
-__device__ __forceinline__ void ldmatrix_x2(unsigned* r, const bf16* p) {
-    unsigned a = __cvta_generic_to_shared(p);
-    asm volatile("ldmatrix.sync.aligned.m8n8.x2.shared.b16 {%0,%1}, [%2];"
-                 : "=r"(r[0]), "=r"(r[1])
-                 : "r"(a));
-}
-__device__ __forceinline__ void ldmatrix_x2_trans(unsigned* r, const bf16* p) {
-    unsigned a = __cvta_generic_to_shared(p);
-    asm volatile("ldmatrix.sync.aligned.m8n8.x2.trans.shared.b16 {%0,%1}, [%2];"
-                 : "=r"(r[0]), "=r"(r[1])
-                 : "r"(a));
-}
 
 // XOR swizzle for shared-memory column at 8-bf16 chunk granularity.
 __device__ __forceinline__ int swiz_col(int d, int r, int mask = 7) {
     return ((d >> 3) ^ (r & mask)) << 3 | (d & 7);
 }
 
-// Predicated cp.async: copy 16 bytes when `pred`, otherwise zero-fill.
+// cp.async primitives live in the shared template (common/cp_async.cuh):
-// BypassL1 defaults to .cg (L2 only); false selects .ca (L1 + L2).
+// `astrai::cp_async_16` (predicated), `astrai::cp_async_commit_group`,
-// src_size=0 means no bytes are read, so an out-of-bounds address is safe.
+// `astrai::cp_async_wait_group<N>` / `_wait_all` stage the K/V tiles.
-template <bool BypassL1 = true>
-__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_16_pred(bf16* smem_ptr,
-                                                  const void* gmem_ptr,
-                                                  bool pred) {
-    unsigned smem_addr = __cvta_generic_to_shared(smem_ptr);
-    int src_size = pred ? 16 : 0;
-    if constexpr (BypassL1) {
-        asm volatile("cp.async.cg.shared.global [%0], [%1], 16, %2;"
-                     :: "r"(smem_addr), "l"(gmem_ptr), "r"(src_size));
-    } else {
-        asm volatile("cp.async.ca.shared.global [%0], [%1], 16, %2;"
-                     :: "r"(smem_addr), "l"(gmem_ptr), "r"(src_size));
-    }
-}
-
-__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_commit() {
-    asm volatile("cp.async.commit_group;");
-}
-
-__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_wait_all() {
-    asm volatile("cp.async.wait_all;");
-}
-
-template <int N>
-__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_wait_group() {
-    asm volatile("cp.async.wait_group %0;" :: "n"(N));
-}
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Q-load: load query rows directly from global memory into mma A-operand
@@ -180,9 +133,9 @@ __device__ inline void mma_compute_scores(
         #pragma unroll
         for (int kt = 0; kt < Traits::KD; kt++) {
             unsigned b[2];
-            ldmatrix_x2(b, &sK[krow_l * Traits::LD
+            astrai::ldmatrix_x2<bf16>(b, &sK[krow_l * Traits::LD
                 + swiz_col(kt * 16 + kcol_h, krow_l, Traits::SWIZ_MASK)]);
-            mma16816(Sacc[n8], Qa[kt], b, Sacc[n8]);
+            astrai::mma_sync<bf16>(Sacc[n8], Qa[kt], b, Sacc[n8]);
         }
     }
 }
@@ -290,9 +243,12 @@ __device__ inline void mma_pv_accumulate(
         #pragma unroll
         for (int dn8 = 0; dn8 < Traits::DN8; dn8++) {
             unsigned b[2];
-            ldmatrix_x2_trans(b, &sV[vrow_l * Traits::LD
+            astrai::ldmatrix_x2<bf16, true>(b, &sV[vrow_l * Traits::LD
                 + swiz_col(dn8 * 8, vrow_l, Traits::SWIZ_MASK)]);
-            mma16816(Oacc[dn8], Pa, b, Oacc[dn8]);
+            astrai::mma_sync<bf16>(Oacc[dn8], Pa, b, Oacc[dn8]);
         }
     }
 }
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attention/paged_decode.cu

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-#include "attn_dispatchers.cuh"
+#include "dispatchers.cuh"
-#include "attn_entry_utils.cuh"
+#include "entry_utils.cuh"
+
+using namespace astrai::attention;
 
 torch::Tensor attn_paged_decode(
     torch::Tensor q,
@@ -8,6 +10,8 @@ torch::Tensor attn_paged_decode(
     torch::Tensor req_to_token,
     torch::Tensor req_pool_indices,
     torch::Tensor kv_indptr,
+    c10::optional<torch::Tensor> new_k,
+    c10::optional<torch::Tensor> new_v,
     c10::optional<torch::Tensor> mask,
     int64_t causal_offset,
     double scale,
@@ -21,6 +25,7 @@ torch::Tensor attn_paged_decode(
     AttentionParams<bf16> p;
     attn_pack_paged_decode_params(q, k_cache, v_cache,
                                    req_to_token, req_pool_indices, kv_indptr,
+                                   new_k, new_v,
                                    mask, causal_offset, scale, p);
 
     torch::Tensor O;
@@ -71,6 +76,8 @@ PYBIND11_MODULE(TORCH_EXTENSION_NAME, m) {
         py::arg("req_to_token"),
         py::arg("req_pool_indices"),
         py::arg("kv_indptr"),
+        py::arg("new_k") = py::none(),
+        py::arg("new_v") = py::none(),
         py::arg("mask") = py::none(),
         py::arg("causal_offset") = -1,
         py::arg("scale") = 0.0,

csrc/kernels/attention/paged_prefill.cu

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-#include "attn_dispatchers.cuh"
+#include "dispatchers.cuh"
-#include "attn_entry_utils.cuh"
+#include "entry_utils.cuh"
+
+using namespace astrai::attention;
 
 torch::Tensor attn_paged_prefill(
     torch::Tensor q,

csrc/kernels/attention/prefill.cu

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-#include "attn_dispatchers.cuh"
+#include "dispatchers.cuh"
-#include "attn_entry_utils.cuh"
+#include "entry_utils.cuh"
+
+using namespace astrai::attention;
 
 torch::Tensor attn_prefill(
     torch::Tensor q,

csrc/kernels/attention/prefill_split_q.cuh

@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 #pragma once
 #include <cfloat>
 #include <cuda_bf16.h>
-#include "attn_common.h"
+#include "common.h"
-#include "attn_layout_policies.cuh"
+#include "layout_policies.cuh"
+#include "../common/reduce.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
 
 using bf16 = __nv_bfloat16;
 
@@ -11,14 +15,7 @@ using bf16 = __nv_bfloat16;
 // compile-time bools — the compiler eliminates dead branches.
 // Unified across contiguous and paged (SGLang flat-pool) K/V via KV.
 // Templated on <HEAD_DIM, KV, G, ROWS, P_BC, IsCausal, HasMask>.
-
+// group_reduce_sum<G> lives in common/reduce.cuh (astrai::).
-template <int G>
-__device__ __forceinline__ float group_reduce_sum(float v, unsigned mask) {
-#pragma unroll
-    for (int o = G / 2; o > 0; o >>= 1)
-        v += __shfl_xor_sync(mask, v, o);
-    return v;
-}
 
 // load 8 contiguous bf16 from (16-byte aligned) smem as one float4
 __device__ __forceinline__ void ld8(const bf16* p, float* o) {
@@ -155,3 +152,6 @@ __global__ void attn_prefill_split_q_kernel_t(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
             p.o_ptr[o_off + i * p.q_d_stride] = __float2bfloat16(acc[i] * rl);
     }
 }
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attention/prefill_split_q_mma.cuh

@@ -1,15 +1,25 @@
 #pragma once
 #include <cfloat>
 #include <cuda_bf16.h>
-#include "attn_common.h"
+#include "common.h"
-#include "attn_layout_policies.cuh"
+#include "layout_policies.cuh"
-#include "attn_mma_utils.cuh"
+#include "mma_utils.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace attention {
 
 // Tensor-core prefill flash attention (raw mma.sync PTX), unified across
 // contiguous and paged (SGLang flat-pool) K/V via the KV template parameter.
 // One warp owns BR=16 query rows. S = Q@K^T and O = P@V run on bf16 tensor
 // cores via mma.sync.m16n8k16 (f32 accumulate).
 //
+// GQA head packing (FA2/FA3-style): HB = min(G, WARPS) query heads of one
+// kv-head group share a block's K/V tiles, so each K/V element is read from
+// global memory once per block instead of once per q head (~HB× less K/V
+// traffic).  WARPS = WPH × HB: warp w handles head slot w/WPH, chunk w%WPH;
+// all warps of a block cover the same token range, keeping the causal sweep
+// end block-uniform.  G=1 (MHA) degenerates to the unpadded layout.
+//
 // KV = ContigKV (dense [batch, kv_head, kv_len, head_dim]) or PagedKV
 //      (flat pool + req_to_token, ragged batches via qo_indptr/kv_indptr).
 // IsCausal and HasMask are compile-time bools — the compiler eliminates all
@@ -23,11 +33,23 @@ __global__ void attn_prefill_split_q_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
     const int gid = lane >> 2;   // 0..7
     const int tid4 = lane & 3;   // 0..3
 
-    const int q_head = blockIdx.y;
+    const int G = p.q_head / p.kv_head;
-    int batch, q_tile;
+    const int HB = min(G, Traits::WARPS);   // q heads packed per block
-    QSchedule::map_block(p, batch, q_tile);
+    const int WPH = Traits::WARPS / HB;     // 16-row chunks per head
-    const int kv_head = q_head / (p.q_head / p.kv_head);
+    const int BPG = (G + HB - 1) / HB;      // blocks per GQA group
-    const int qrow0 = (q_tile * Traits::WARPS + warp) * Traits::BR;
+    const int chunk = warp % WPH;
+
+    int batch, row_base;
+    QSchedule::map_packed_block(p, Traits::BR * WPH, batch, row_base);
+    const int kv_head = blockIdx.y / BPG;
+    const int slot = blockIdx.y - kv_head * BPG;
+    const int head_idx = slot * HB + warp / WPH;
+    // G % HB tail blocks have idle head slots: clamp to the last head so all
+    // warps do valid work (cp.async + __syncthreads stay block-uniform) and
+    // just skip the O store via `active`.
+    const bool active = head_idx < G;
+    const int q_head = kv_head * G + min(head_idx, G - 1);
+    const int qrow0 = row_base + chunk * Traits::BR;
 
     // Per-request dims (from KV policy — paged reads kv_indptr/qo_indptr).
     const int seq_len    = KV::kv_len(p, batch);
@@ -59,11 +81,11 @@ __global__ void attn_prefill_split_q_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
     const int qr0 = qrow0 + gid;
     const int qr1 = qrow0 + gid + 8;
 
-    // Causal tile-skip bounds (dead code when IsCausal == false)
+    // Causal tile-skip bounds (dead code when IsCausal == false).
+    // max_kv is per-warp (its own 16 rows); block_max_kv is the last row of
+    // the whole block's range and must be uniform for the shared sweep loop.
     const int max_kv = qrow0 + Traits::BR - 1 + causal_off;
-    const int block_max_kv =
+    const int block_max_kv = row_base + WPH * Traits::BR - 1 + causal_off;
-        q_tile * Traits::WARPS * Traits::BR + Traits::WARPS * Traits::BR - 1
-        + causal_off;
 
     int t_end = tiles - 1;
     if constexpr (IsCausal) {
@@ -85,10 +107,10 @@ __global__ void attn_prefill_split_q_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
             int token = KV::resolve_token(p, kctx, kc, valid);
             KVAddr a = KV::kv_addr_from_token(p, kctx, token, d);
             int off = r * Traits::LD + swiz_col(d, r, Traits::SWIZ_MASK);
-            cp_async_16_pred(&dK[off], a.k, a.valid);
+            astrai::cp_async_16(&dK[off], a.k, a.valid);
-            cp_async_16_pred(&dV[off], a.v, a.valid);
+            astrai::cp_async_16(&dV[off], a.v, a.valid);
         }
-        cp_async_commit();
+        astrai::cp_async_commit_group();
     };
 
     // ---- Prologue: issue first tile load ----
@@ -98,7 +120,7 @@ __global__ void attn_prefill_split_q_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
         int buf = ti & 1;
 
         // Wait for current tile, then publish cross-warp + guard buffer reuse.
-        cp_async_wait_group<0>();
+        astrai::cp_async_wait_group<0>();
         __syncthreads();
         if (ti < t_end) load_tile(ti + 1, (ti + 1) & 1);
 
@@ -141,17 +163,20 @@ __global__ void attn_prefill_split_q_mma_kernel(AttentionParams<bf16> p) {
     #pragma unroll
     for (int dn8 = 0; dn8 < Traits::DN8; dn8++) {
         int d = dn8 * 8 + 2 * tid4;
-        if (qr0 < q_len) {
+        if (active && qr0 < q_len) {
             __nv_bfloat162 v = __floats2bfloat162_rn(Oacc[dn8][0] * rl0,
                                                       Oacc[dn8][1] * rl0);
             *reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat162*>(
                 &p.o_ptr[o_base + qr0 * p.q_l_stride + d * p.q_d_stride]) = v;
         }
-        if (qr1 < q_len) {
+        if (active && qr1 < q_len) {
             __nv_bfloat162 v = __floats2bfloat162_rn(Oacc[dn8][2] * rl1,
-                                                      Oacc[dn8][3] * rl1);
+                                                     Oacc[dn8][3] * rl1);
             *reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat162*>(
                 &p.o_ptr[o_base + qr1 * p.q_l_stride + d * p.q_d_stride]) = v;
         }
     }
 }
+
+}  // namespace attention
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/attn_common.h

@@ -1,72 +0,0 @@
-#pragma once
-
-// Tensor layout for Q/K/V tensors passed to attention kernels.
-// Internally, kernels always operate on BHLD [batch, n_heads, seq_len, head_dim].
-// When the caller passes BLHD, dims 1 and 2 are transposed at entry.
-enum TensorLayout : int {
-    BHLD = 0,  // [batch, n_heads, seq_len, head_dim]
-    BLHD = 1,  // [batch, seq_len, n_heads, head_dim]
-};
-
-
-// Unified attention params covering BOTH addressing modes:
-//   - Contiguous K/V: dense [batch, kv_head, kv_len, head_dim] tensors (k/v).
-//   - Paged (SGLang-style): flat pool [size, kv_head, head_dim] + req_to_token.
-// Each kernel selects the addressing via a KVSource policy (see
-// attn_layout_policies.cuh); a given call only touches the fields of one mode, so
-// this is a POD shared by both paths rather than two parallel structs that
-// drift out of sync.
-template<typename T, typename AT = float>
-struct AttentionParams {
-    // Shape
-    int batch;
-    int q_head;
-    int kv_head;
-    int head_dim;
-    int q_len;   // Per-request in contiguous mode; total_q in paged mode.
-    int kv_len;  // Contiguous mode; paged mode uses kv_indptr.
-
-    // Attention behavior
-    float scale;
-    // -1 = non-causal; >=0 = absolute position of first Q token
-    int causal_offset;
-    int use_mask;
-
-    // pointers
-    const T* __restrict__ q_ptr;
-    const T* __restrict__ k_ptr;
-    const T* __restrict__ v_ptr;
-    T* __restrict__ o_ptr;
-    const bool* __restrict__ mask;
-
-    // strides
-    int q_b_stride;
-    int q_h_stride;
-    int q_l_stride;
-    int q_d_stride;
-
-    int kv_b_stride;
-    int kv_h_stride;
-    int kv_l_stride;
-    int kv_d_stride;
-
-    int mask_b_stride;
-    int mask_h_stride;
-    int mask_l_stride;
-
-    // Paged K/V addressing
-    const int* __restrict__ req_to_token;         // [num_reqs, max_context_len]
-    const int* __restrict__ req_pool_indices;     // [batch]
-    const int* __restrict__ kv_indptr;             // [batch + 1]
-    const int* __restrict__ qo_indptr;             // [batch + 1] or nullptr for decode
-    const int* __restrict__ q_tile_to_batch;        // [num_q_tiles], prefill only
-    const int* __restrict__ q_tile_to_index;        // [num_q_tiles], prefill only
-    int num_q_tiles;
-    int max_context_len; // req_to_token stride (dim 1)
-
-    // Decode split-KV workspace
-    int num_splits;
-    AT* __restrict__ o_part;
-    AT* __restrict__ ml_part;
-
-};

csrc/kernels/attn_warp_utils.cuh

@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-#pragma once
-#include <cuda_bf16.h>
-
-using bf16 = __nv_bfloat16;
-
-static constexpr int MAX_SPLITS = 32;
-
-__device__ inline float warp_reduce_sum(float val) {
-    #pragma unroll
-    for (int offset = 16; offset > 0; offset >>= 1)
-        val += __shfl_xor_sync(0xFFFFFFFF, val, offset);
-    return val;
-}

csrc/kernels/common/cp_async.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+// Shared cp.async primitives — pure CUDA, no torch.
+//
+// One header for the async-copy pipeline used by both the attention kernels
+// (predicated 16-byte K/V tile staging) and the fp8 GEMM (predicated operand
+// staging + the fixed-depth wait_group). The emitter is split from its
+// policies: cp_async_16_raw owns the single PTX site, and each wrapper states
+// one destination contract (generic pointer vs loop-carried shared offset)
+// and one predication contract (unconditional vs zero-fill-when-false), so
+// call sites never pass a dead `true` predicate or re-convert a carried
+// offset. PTX requires wait_group's operand to be an immediate, hence the
+// template form below.
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <cuda_runtime.h>
+
+namespace astrai {
+
+// Raw emitter: read src_size bytes (<= 16) from gmem into the shared
+// offset. src_size = 0 reads nothing, so a predicated-off call zero-fills
+// its destination without touching the (possibly out-of-range) source.
+// BypassL1 selects .cg (L2 only, default) vs .ca (L1 + L2).
+template <bool BypassL1 = true>
+__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_16_raw(unsigned smem_addr,
+                                                const void* gmem_ptr,
+                                                int src_size) {
+    if constexpr (BypassL1) {
+        asm volatile("cp.async.cg.shared.global [%0], [%1], 16, %2;"
+                     :: "r"(smem_addr), "l"(gmem_ptr), "r"(src_size));
+    } else {
+        asm volatile("cp.async.ca.shared.global [%0], [%1], 16, %2;"
+                     :: "r"(smem_addr), "l"(gmem_ptr), "r"(src_size));
+    }
+}
+
+// Unconditional 16-byte copy to a generic shared pointer.
+// `T` is the smem element type; only the destination pointer's type matters.
+template <typename T, bool BypassL1 = true>
+__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_16(T* smem_ptr,
+                                            const void* gmem_ptr) {
+    cp_async_16_raw<BypassL1>(__cvta_generic_to_shared(smem_ptr), gmem_ptr,
+                              16);
+}
+
+// Predicated: full copy when `pred`, zero-fill otherwise.
+template <typename T, bool BypassL1 = true>
+__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_16(T* smem_ptr, const void* gmem_ptr,
+                                            bool pred) {
+    cp_async_16_raw<BypassL1>(__cvta_generic_to_shared(smem_ptr), gmem_ptr,
+                              pred ? 16 : 0);
+}
+
+// Predicated raw-offset form: the destination is an already-converted
+// shared-memory offset (e.g. a loop-carried swizzled stage address), so
+// steady-state prefetch sites issue one LDGSTS straight from the register.
+template <bool BypassL1 = true>
+__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_16(unsigned smem_addr,
+                                            const void* gmem_ptr, bool pred) {
+    cp_async_16_raw<BypassL1>(smem_addr, gmem_ptr, pred ? 16 : 0);
+}
+
+// Commit all outstanding cp.async ops of this thread as one group.
+__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_commit_group() {
+    asm volatile("cp.async.commit_group;");
+}
+
+// Wait for every committed group (pipeline drain).
+__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_wait_all() {
+    asm volatile("cp.async.wait_all;");
+}
+
+// Wait until at most KeepGroups committed groups are still in flight.
+// PTX requires an immediate operand; keep it as a template argument so the
+// stage policy stays compile-time configurable.
+template <int KeepGroups>
+__device__ __forceinline__ void cp_async_wait_group() {
+    static_assert(KeepGroups >= 0 && KeepGroups <= 7,
+                  "cp.async.wait_group supports immediates in [0, 7]");
+    asm volatile("cp.async.wait_group %0;" :: "n"(KeepGroups));
+}
+
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/common/device.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+// Pure-CUDA device helpers shared across kernel families (no torch).
+//
+// Family-local headers under kernels/<family>/ own their POD params and
+// strategy traits; anything cross-cutting (compute-capability checks, device
+// constants) lives here.
+
+#pragma once
+
+namespace astrai {
+
+// Compute-capability comparison: is the device at least (major, minor)?
+inline bool sm_at_least(int device_major, int device_minor, int major,
+                        int minor) {
+    return device_major > major ||
+           (device_major == major && device_minor >= minor);
+}
+
+// FP8 tensor-core MMA (`mma.sync.aligned.m16n8k32` with fp8 inputs) exists on
+// Ada (sm_89) and Hopper (sm_90+); sm_80 has no fp8 instructions.
+inline constexpr int kMinSmForFp8Major = 8;
+inline constexpr int kMinSmForFp8Minor = 9;
+
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/common/mma.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+// Shared mma.sync wrappers — pure CUDA, no torch.
+//
+// One template for every tensor-core MMA used by the kernel families. The
+// instruction shape follows from the input element type:
+//   __nv_bfloat16        -> mma.sync.aligned.m16n8k16 (sm_80+), A = 4x b32, B = 2x b32
+//   __nv_fp8_e4m3/e5m2   -> mma.sync.aligned.m16n8k32 (sm_89+), A = 4x b32, B = 2x b32
+// All variants accumulate into fp32: d = a*b + c, with the PTX mnemonic and
+// the K dimension differing per type. `d` may alias `c` (in-place accumulate,
+// as the FP8 GEMM does).
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <cuda_bf16.h>
+#include <cuda_fp8.h>
+#include <cuda_runtime.h>
+#include <type_traits>
+
+
+#define DEVICE_FORCEINLINE static __device__ __forceinline__
+
+namespace astrai {
+
+// Compute capability of the current compilation pass: 0 in the host pass,
+// the numeric CC (e.g. 890) in device passes where __CUDA_ARCH__ is defined.
+// Defined() cannot appear in expressions, so this macro lets mma_sync use
+// the arch in a static_assert instead of per-branch #if guards.
+#ifndef __CUDA_ARCH__
+#define ASTRAI_DEVICE_ARCH 0
+#else
+#define ASTRAI_DEVICE_ARCH __CUDA_ARCH__
+#endif
+
+// Compile-time shape of the MMA instruction for an input element type.
+// `min_arch` is the numeric compute capability the instruction requires —
+// the single place that encodes the hardware floor for each type.
+template <typename InT>
+struct mma_shape {
+    static constexpr int k = 16;         // m16n8k16
+    static constexpr int a_regs = 4;     // A fragment: 4x b32
+    static constexpr int b_regs = 2;     // B fragment: 2x b32
+    static constexpr int min_arch = 800; // bf16 mma.sync, sm_80+
+};
+
+template <>
+struct mma_shape<__nv_fp8_e4m3> {
+    static constexpr int k = 32;         // m16n8k32
+    static constexpr int a_regs = 4;
+    static constexpr int b_regs = 2;
+    static constexpr int min_arch = 890; // fp8 mma.sync, sm_89+ (Ada/Hopper)
+};
+
+template <>
+struct mma_shape<__nv_fp8_e5m2> {
+    static constexpr int k = 32;
+    static constexpr int a_regs = 4;
+    static constexpr int b_regs = 2;
+    static constexpr int min_arch = 890;
+};
+
+// d[4] = a[4] x b[2] + c[4], row-major A, col-major B, fp32 accumulator.
+// The PTX mnemonic is selected from InT. Building for a compute capability
+// below `mma_shape<InT>::min_arch` is a **compile error** — the instruction
+// does not exist there, and a silent no-op would produce wrong results.
+template <typename InT>
+DEVICE_FORCEINLINE void mma_sync(float d[4], const unsigned a[4],
+                                 const unsigned b[2],
+                                 const float c[4]) {
+    static_assert(ASTRAI_DEVICE_ARCH == 0 ||
+                      ASTRAI_DEVICE_ARCH >= mma_shape<InT>::min_arch,
+                  "mma_sync: this MMA shape requires a newer compute "
+                  "capability than the build target");
+    if constexpr (std::is_same_v<InT, __nv_bfloat16>) {
+        asm volatile(
+            "mma.sync.aligned.m16n8k16.row.col.f32.bf16.bf16.f32 "
+            "{%0,%1,%2,%3}, {%4,%5,%6,%7}, {%8,%9}, {%10,%11,%12,%13};"
+            : "=f"(d[0]), "=f"(d[1]), "=f"(d[2]), "=f"(d[3])
+            : "r"(a[0]), "r"(a[1]), "r"(a[2]), "r"(a[3]), "r"(b[0]), "r"(b[1]),
+              "f"(c[0]), "f"(c[1]), "f"(c[2]), "f"(c[3]));
+    } else if constexpr (std::is_same_v<InT, __nv_fp8_e5m2>) {
+        asm volatile(
+            "mma.sync.aligned.m16n8k32.row.col.f32.e5m2.e5m2.f32 "
+            "{%0,%1,%2,%3}, {%4,%5,%6,%7}, {%8,%9}, {%10,%11,%12,%13};"
+            : "=f"(d[0]), "=f"(d[1]), "=f"(d[2]), "=f"(d[3])
+            : "r"(a[0]), "r"(a[1]), "r"(a[2]), "r"(a[3]), "r"(b[0]), "r"(b[1]),
+              "f"(c[0]), "f"(c[1]), "f"(c[2]), "f"(c[3]));
+    } else {
+        asm volatile(
+            "mma.sync.aligned.m16n8k32.row.col.f32.e4m3.e4m3.f32 "
+            "{%0,%1,%2,%3}, {%4,%5,%6,%7}, {%8,%9}, {%10,%11,%12,%13};"
+            : "=f"(d[0]), "=f"(d[1]), "=f"(d[2]), "=f"(d[3])
+            : "r"(a[0]), "r"(a[1]), "r"(a[2]), "r"(a[3]), "r"(b[0]), "r"(b[1]),
+              "f"(c[0]), "f"(c[1]), "f"(c[2]), "f"(c[3]));
+    }
+}
+
+#undef ASTRAI_DEVICE_ARCH
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// ldmatrix — cooperatively load 8x8 b16 matrices from smem into registers.
+//
+// The instruction is identical for every 16-bit-storage element type: bf16
+// maps 1:1 onto b16 slots; fp8 is stored packed two-per-slot (see
+// fp8/gemm.cuh), so one b16 slot holds two fp8 values. `T` is the element
+// type and only serves as a semantic tag.
+//
+//   x2 (single address): matrix0 = p (8 rows), matrix1 = p + 8*16 bytes
+//   x4:                  four matrices at p, +128, +256, +384 bytes
+//   Trans:               transpose variant (V fragments of attention)
+//
+// ldmatrix takes a *single* smem address per thread, but the addresses of
+// the 32 lanes are *not* all the same: lane i supplies the start address of
+// matrix-row i (modulo 8) for matrix (i/8) — lanes 0-7 feed matrix 0's rows,
+// lanes 8-15 matrix 1's rows (x2/x4), lanes 16-23 / 24-31 matrix 2 / 3's rows
+// (x4 only; their addresses are ignored by x2). Each matrix is 8 rows x 16
+// bytes, and consecutive matrices of one instruction are contiguous at
+// 128-byte strides. fp8 fragment layouts in fp8/gemm.cuh are arranged around
+// this constraint.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+template <typename T, bool Trans = false>
+DEVICE_FORCEINLINE void ldmatrix_x2(unsigned r[2], const T* p) {
+    const unsigned a = __cvta_generic_to_shared(p);
+    if constexpr (Trans) {
+        asm volatile(
+            "ldmatrix.sync.aligned.m8n8.x2.trans.shared.b16 {%0,%1}, [%2];"
+            : "=r"(r[0]), "=r"(r[1])
+            : "r"(a));
+    } else {
+        asm volatile(
+            "ldmatrix.sync.aligned.m8n8.x2.shared.b16 {%0,%1}, [%2];"
+            : "=r"(r[0]), "=r"(r[1])
+            : "r"(a));
+    }
+}
+
+// Four matrices at p, p+128, p+256, p+384 bytes (16-byte row stride).
+template <typename T>
+DEVICE_FORCEINLINE void ldmatrix_x4(unsigned r[4], const T* p) {
+    const unsigned a = __cvta_generic_to_shared(p);
+    asm volatile(
+        "ldmatrix.sync.aligned.m8n8.x4.shared.b16 {%0,%1,%2,%3}, [%4];"
+        : "=r"(r[0]), "=r"(r[1]), "=r"(r[2]), "=r"(r[3])
+        : "r"(a));
+}
+
+// Per-lane-address variants: the caller supplies a raw shared-memory address
+// per lane instead of one common pointer. Use when the fragment tiles are
+// XOR-swizzled per 16B chunk so each lane must compute its own row and chunk
+// address (see fp8/gemm.cuh's frag_addr + lane selectors for the m16n8k32
+// operand layouts).
+DEVICE_FORCEINLINE void ldmatrix_x2_lane(unsigned r[2],
+                                          unsigned addr) {
+    asm volatile("ldmatrix.sync.aligned.m8n8.x2.shared.b16 {%0,%1}, [%2];"
+                 : "=r"(r[0]), "=r"(r[1])
+                 : "r"(addr));
+}
+
+DEVICE_FORCEINLINE void ldmatrix_x4_lane(unsigned r[4],
+                                          unsigned addr) {
+    asm volatile("ldmatrix.sync.aligned.m8n8.x4.shared.b16 {%0,%1,%2,%3}, [%4];"
+                 : "=r"(r[0]), "=r"(r[1]), "=r"(r[2]), "=r"(r[3])
+                 : "r"(addr));
+}
+
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/common/reduce.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// Shared warp/block reduction + atomic helpers — pure CUDA, no torch.
+//
+// Extracted from the attention and fp8 families so both share one
+// implementation: warp_reduce_sum (decode scalar kernel), warp_reduce_max +
+// atomic_max_float (fp8 quantize amax), group_reduce_sum<G> (prefill scalar
+// kernel).
+
+#pragma once
+
+namespace astrai {
+
+// Full-warp butterfly sum reduction (32 lanes).
+__device__ __forceinline__ float warp_reduce_sum(float val) {
+#pragma unroll
+    for (int offset = 16; offset > 0; offset >>= 1)
+        val += __shfl_xor_sync(0xFFFFFFFF, val, offset);
+    return val;
+}
+
+// Full-warp butterfly max reduction (32 lanes).
+__device__ __forceinline__ float warp_reduce_max(float value) {
+#pragma unroll
+    for (int offset = 16; offset > 0; offset >>= 1)
+        value = fmaxf(value, __shfl_xor_sync(0xffffffffu, value, offset));
+    return value;
+}
+
+// Sub-warp group reduction over G consecutive lanes (G a power of two).
+// `mask` is the full participating-lane mask of the group (see the
+// prefill scalar kernel's gmask computation).
+template <int G>
+__device__ __forceinline__ float group_reduce_sum(float v, unsigned mask) {
+#pragma unroll
+    for (int o = G / 2; o > 0; o >>= 1)
+        v += __shfl_xor_sync(mask, v, o);
+    return v;
+}
+
+// Unsigned-bit-pattern atomicMax for non-negative floats; a null
+// destination disables the update (kernels with optional amax slots).
+__device__ __forceinline__ void atomic_max_float(float* destination,
+                                                 float value) {
+    if (destination)
+        atomicMax(reinterpret_cast<unsigned*>(destination),
+                  __float_as_uint(value));
+}
+
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8/common.h

@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <cuda_bf16.h>
+#include <cuda_fp8.h>
+#include <cuda_runtime.h>
+#include <cstdint>
+
+// Pure POD/traits header — no .cuh/CUDA-kernel includes; raw __nv_* type
+// spellings only.
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace fp8 {
+
+// Compile-time FP8 format: E4M3 (forward, max 448) or E5M2 (gradients,
+// max 57344).
+enum class FP8Format : int {
+    E4M3 = 0,
+    E5M2 = 1,
+};
+
+// Operand storage tags (CUTLASS-style) relative to the canonical matrices
+// A [M][K] / B [K][N]: A RowMajor = [M][K] (default), A ColMajor = [K][M],
+// B RowMajor = [K][N], B ColMajor = [N][K] (the nn.Linear weight). Selection
+// is by type at compile time (see gemm.cuh's stage loads).
+struct RowMajor {};
+struct ColMajor {};
+
+// Compile-time tile configuration, mirroring KernelTraits in the attention
+// kernels: CTA tile, warp tile (WarpM x WarpN — e.g. 64x32 on the 128x128
+// CTA, 32x32 on the 64x64 small CTA) and cp.async pipeline depth.
+template <FP8Format Fmt, int BlockM, int BlockN, int K, int Stages,
+          int WarpM = 64, int WarpN = 32>
+struct Fp8GemmTraits {
+    static constexpr FP8Format kFormat = Fmt;
+    static constexpr int kBlockM = BlockM;
+    static constexpr int kBlockN = BlockN;
+    static constexpr int kK = K;
+    static constexpr int kStages = Stages;
+    static constexpr int kWarpM = WarpM;
+    static constexpr int kWarpN = WarpN;
+    static constexpr bool kIsE5M2 = (Fmt == FP8Format::E5M2);
+    static constexpr __nv_fp8_interpretation_t kNvFormat =
+        kIsE5M2 ? __NV_E5M2 : __NV_E4M3;
+    static constexpr float kFp8Max = kIsE5M2 ? 57344.0f : 448.0f;
+
+    // Derived geometry: warp tiles tile the CTA. The smem budget is
+    // layout-aware, so it lives in Fp8GemmSmem (gemm.cuh).
+    static constexpr int kWarpsM = BlockM / WarpM;
+    static constexpr int kWarpsN = BlockN / WarpN;
+    static constexpr int kCtaThreads = kWarpsM * kWarpsN * 32;
+    static_assert(kWarpsM * WarpM == BlockM && kWarpsN * WarpN == BlockN,
+                  "warp tiles must exactly tile the CTA");
+    static_assert(WarpM % 16 == 0 && WarpN % 8 == 0,
+                  "warp tile must be a multiple of the m16n8 MMA shape");
+};
+
+// Quantize output orientation: RowMajor = x8 only; Transposed = the
+// [cols][rows] x8T only; Dual = both from a single read. Transposed/Dual
+// produce K-contiguous operands so crosswise consumers (backward
+// grad_x / grad_w) route through the NT fast path.
+enum class QuantLayout : int {
+    RowMajor = 0,
+    Transposed = 1,
+    Dual = 2,
+};
+
+// Quantize-kernel parameter POD: float input -> FP8 with fused amax.
+struct FP8QuantizeParams {
+    const void* __restrict__ input_ptr = nullptr;
+    void* __restrict__ output_ptr = nullptr;
+    void* __restrict__ output_transposed_ptr = nullptr;  // [cols][rows]
+    QuantLayout out_layout = QuantLayout::RowMajor;
+
+    const float* __restrict__ scale = nullptr;  // device multiplier
+    float* __restrict__ amax = nullptr;         // raw-domain max out
+
+    // Optional delayed-scaling ring fold: when fold_ring is set, the kernel's
+    // last-finishing block folds the final amax into hist[hist_idx], reduces
+    // the window and publishes the next scale — replacing the host-side
+    // update chain. amax then points at a persistent self-cleaning slot
+    // (zeroed by the same last block) inside the caller's ring state.
+    bool fold_ring = false;
+    float* __restrict__ hist = nullptr;  // [hist_len] amax history window
+    float* __restrict__ scale_out = nullptr;
+    unsigned int* __restrict__ done = nullptr;  // block-completion counter
+    int hist_len = 0;
+    int hist_idx = 0;
+    float fp8_max = 448.0f;   // scale = max(hist) / fp8_max / pow2_margin
+    float pow2_margin = 1.0f;
+
+    // Element count (elementwise kernel); the tiled kernel views the same
+    // buffer as [rows][cols] row-major.
+    int total = 0;
+    int rows = 0;
+    int cols = 0;
+};
+
+// Unified GEMM parameter POD, mirroring AttentionParams: one struct flows
+// through the kernels; each kernel touches only the fields it needs.
+struct FP8Params {
+    // FP8 operands + output; scales are quantization steps (device
+    // scalars). Optional bf16 bias fuses into the epilogue (fp32 add before
+    // the single bf16 rounding); null disables.
+    const void* __restrict__ a_ptr = nullptr;
+    const void* __restrict__ b_ptr = nullptr;
+    const void* __restrict__ bias_ptr = nullptr;
+    void* __restrict__ out_ptr = nullptr;
+
+    const float* __restrict__ scale = nullptr;
+    // NN-swap mode (canonicalize_gemm): the kernel computes the transposed
+    // problem and the epilogue scatters D[row][col] to out[col * p.m + row]
+    // in the caller's [M][N] buffer. Zero in the plain orientation.
+    int out_transposed = 0;
+    int m, n, k;  // int covers LLM shapes; kernels promote to int64
+
+    // Batched (bmm) geometry: grid.z steps these element strides (0
+    // broadcasts the operand across batches).
+    int batch = 1;
+    int64_t a_batch_stride = 0;
+    int64_t b_batch_stride = 0;
+    int64_t out_batch_stride = 0;
+
+    // Physical leading dims (row strides) of A and B; the binding packs
+    // them so the kernel reads each buffer naturally or transposed per the
+    // LayoutA/LayoutB tags.
+    int a_ld, b_ld;
+};
+
+}  // namespace fp8
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8/gemm.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,271 @@
+#pragma once
+// FP8 GEMM umbrella: the kernel orchestrator and the host-side launch
+// planning. Device layers live in gemm/ (policy / load / scheduler /
+// mainloop / epilogue) — pure CUDA, no torch; launchers are plain functions
+// shared by the torch binding and the C tests. Layout tags and the NN swap
+// semantics are documented in common.h and the design notes
+// (docs/developer/cuda_kernels.md).
+
+#include <cuda_bf16.h>
+#include <cuda_fp8.h>
+#include <cuda_runtime.h>
+#include <type_traits>
+
+#include "../common/cp_async.cuh"
+#include "common.h"
+#include "gemm/epilogue.cuh"
+#include "gemm/load.cuh"
+#include "gemm/mainloop.cuh"
+#include "gemm/policy.cuh"
+#include "gemm/scheduler.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace fp8 {
+
+template <typename Policy>
+__global__ void __launch_bounds__(Policy::kCtaThreads, Policy::kMinCtas)
+    fp8_gemm_kernel(FP8Params p) {
+    using Traits = typename Policy::Traits;
+    using Mainloop = Fp8CollectiveMainloop<Policy>;
+    using Epilogue = Fp8CollectiveEpilogue<Policy>;
+    // Stages live in dynamic shared memory so deep pipelines (> 48KB
+    // static limit) opt in via cudaFuncSetAttribute in the launcher.
+    extern __shared__ __align__(16) char fp8_gemm_smem[];
+
+    // Batch slice (grid.z): broadcast operands carry a 0 stride, so the
+    // same pointer serves every batch.
+    using T8 = typename Mainloop::T8;
+    const T8* a = reinterpret_cast<const T8*>(p.a_ptr) +
+                  (int64_t)blockIdx.z * p.a_batch_stride;
+    const T8* b = reinterpret_cast<const T8*>(p.b_ptr) +
+                  (int64_t)blockIdx.z * p.b_batch_stride;
+    auto* out_bf16 = reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat16*>(p.out_ptr) +
+                     (int64_t)blockIdx.z * p.out_batch_stride;
+
+    static_assert(Mainloop::kBlockM * Mainloop::kBlockN * 2 <=
+                      Mainloop::kARing * Mainloop::kBlockM * Mainloop::kK +
+                          Mainloop::kBRing * Mainloop::kBlockN * Mainloop::kK,
+                  "output tile must fit the reclaimed operand smem");
+    const int2 bn = Fp8GemmTileScheduler<Policy::kGroupRaster>::tile(blockIdx, gridDim);
+    Mainloop mainloop(fp8_gemm_smem, a, b, p.m, p.n, p.k, p.a_ld, p.b_ld,
+                      threadIdx.x, bn);
+    float acc[Mainloop::kNt][Mainloop::kMt][4] = {};  // [nt][mt][acc]
+    mainloop.prologue();
+    mainloop.accumulate(acc);
+    // Drain the pipeline before the epilogue reclaims the operand rings.
+    astrai::cp_async_wait_all();
+    Epilogue(fp8_gemm_smem, p, bn.x, bn.y, threadIdx.x).run(acc, out_bf16);
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Launchers — pure CUDA (no torch), usable from the binding and pure C tests.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// SM count of the current device (cached per device; benign init race —
+// every writer stores the same value).
+inline int device_sm_count() {
+    static int cached[64] = {};
+    int dev = 0;
+    cudaGetDevice(&dev);
+    const bool cacheable = dev >= 0 && dev < 64;
+    int sms = cacheable ? cached[dev] : 0;
+    if (!sms) {
+        cudaDeviceGetAttribute(&sms, cudaDevAttrMultiProcessorCount, dev);
+        sms = sms > 0 ? sms : 1;
+        if (cacheable) cached[dev] = sms;
+    }
+    return sms;
+}
+
+// Launch one kernel instantiation with its shared-memory budget: budgets
+// beyond the 48KB static limit opt in once per instantiation via
+// cudaFuncSetAttribute. Templated on the kernel *value* (auto NTTP) so
+// every instantiation owns its own armed flag — same-signature kernels
+// must not share it. A failed opt-in arms nothing, so the launch below
+// fails loudly through the caller's error checks.
+template <auto Kernel, typename... Args>
+void launch_with_smem(int smem_bytes, dim3 grid, dim3 block,
+                      cudaStream_t stream, Args... args) {
+    if (smem_bytes > 48 * 1024) {
+        static bool armed = false;  // per instantiation
+        if (!armed) {
+            const cudaError_t err = cudaFuncSetAttribute(
+                Kernel, cudaFuncAttributeMaxDynamicSharedMemorySize,
+                smem_bytes);
+            armed = (err == cudaSuccess);
+        }
+    }
+    Kernel<<<grid, block, smem_bytes, stream>>>(args...);
+}
+
+// Padding-driven small-CTA rule: m or n <= 64 wastes half a 128-row CTA's
+// MMA work, and a non-128-divisible shape drags its edge tiles through the
+// predicated generic path — when 64 divides both dims, the 64x64 CTA tiles
+// exactly and wins that band.
+inline bool small_cta_padding(int64_t m, int64_t n) {
+    if (m <= 64 || n <= 64) return true;
+    const bool big_div = (m % 128 == 0) && (n % 128 == 0);
+    const bool small_div = (m % 64 == 0) && (n % 64 == 0);
+    return !big_div && small_div;
+}
+
+// Launch configuration — a pure function of the problem (unit-testable
+// without a GPU). Raster order is not a plan field: every canonical layout
+// runs grouped raster; the plain-raster knob stays available through
+// launch_plan's GroupRaster parameter for experiments.
+struct Fp8GemmPlan {
+    enum class Cta { kSmall64, kNarrow128x64, kBig128 };
+    Cta cta;
+    bool small_s3;  // kSmall64 only: cp.async pipeline depth (2 vs 3 stages)
+};
+
+// crosswise_ops counts the operands taking the direct crosswise load
+// (A ColMajor / B RowMajor storage): 0 = dual-congruous NT, 1 = TN and the
+// NN swap, 2 = TT. The layout shifts the crossovers (measured tables in
+// the design notes): the small CTA hides the crosswise LDG+PRMT latency
+// far better, while the big CTA's operand reuse buys back load bandwidth
+// the crosswise path does not traffic in.
+inline Fp8GemmPlan plan_gemm(const FP8Params& p, int crosswise_ops = 0) {
+    const int64_t sm = device_sm_count();
+    const int64_t tiles_128 =
+        (int64_t)p.batch * ((p.m + 127) / 128) * ((p.n + 127) / 128);
+    const auto small = [&](bool s3) {
+        return Fp8GemmPlan{Fp8GemmPlan::Cta::kSmall64, s3};
+    };
+    const auto big = [] {
+        return Fp8GemmPlan{Fp8GemmPlan::Cta::kBig128, false};
+    };
+    const auto narrow = [] {
+        return Fp8GemmPlan{Fp8GemmPlan::Cta::kNarrow128x64, false};
+    };
+    // Padding rules first: predication waste beats any wave-fill effect.
+    if (small_cta_padding(p.m, p.n)) return small(crosswise_ops > 0);
+    if (crosswise_ops > 0) {
+        // Crosswise ladder (L20 measured): the small s3 CTA holds ~3/4 of
+        // the big CTA's per-SM throughput but tiles 4x finer, so it owns
+        // the whole sub-wave band and past it; the big CTA takes over once
+        // its grid fills ~1.5 waves.
+        if (tiles_128 >= sm * 3 / 2) return big();
+        return small(true);
+    }
+    if (tiles_128 >= sm) {
+        // Wave band: pick by the wave-quantization cost ceil(tiles/sm) *
+        // T_tile. The narrow tile carries half the big tile's MMA work at
+        // ~94% of its per-SM efficiency (T_narrow ~= 0.53 * T_big,
+        // integer-scaled by 100 below) — reproduces every measured
+        // crossover.
+        const int64_t tiles_narrow =
+            (int64_t)p.batch * ((p.m + 127) / 128) * ((p.n + 63) / 64);
+        const auto waves = [sm](int64_t tiles) { return (tiles + sm - 1) / sm; };
+        if (waves(tiles_narrow) * 53 < waves(tiles_128) * 100) return narrow();
+        return big();
+    }
+    // Sub-wave band: the narrow CTA fills the wave with N-tiles at full
+    // warp depth once its grid passes ~3/8 of a wave; below that the plain
+    // 64x64 CTA's extra parallelism wins, and past ~5/8 of a wave of
+    // 128x128 tiles the big CTA's operand reuse wins instead.
+    if (tiles_128 >= sm * 5 / 8) return big();
+    const int64_t tiles_narrow =
+        (int64_t)p.batch * ((p.m + 127) / 128) * ((p.n + 63) / 64);
+    if (tiles_narrow >= sm * 3 / 8) return narrow();
+    // Full-ring small CTAs: the 24KB s2 variant keeps 4 CTAs/SM while the
+    // whole grid stays resident; past that the 32KB s3 variant's deeper
+    // pipeline wins on multi-wave grids.
+    const int64_t tiles_64 =
+        (int64_t)p.batch * ((p.m + 63) / 64) * ((p.n + 63) / 64);
+    return small(tiles_64 > sm * 3);
+}
+
+// Grid + launch for one concrete Policy — the only place a GEMM kernel goes
+// to the wire.
+template <typename Policy>
+void launch_policy(const FP8Params& p, cudaStream_t stream) {
+    using Traits = typename Policy::Traits;
+    dim3 grid((p.n + Traits::kBlockN - 1) / Traits::kBlockN,
+              (p.m + Traits::kBlockM - 1) / Traits::kBlockM, p.batch);
+    launch_with_smem<fp8_gemm_kernel<Policy>>(
+        Policy::kSmemBytes, grid, dim3(Traits::kCtaThreads), stream, p);
+}
+
+// Plan -> Policy: the production-tuned configs. Big CTA: 128x128 of 8 warps
+// x 64x32, kK=64, 2-stage full ring, fast loop only for dual-congruous
+// layouts. Narrow: 128x64. Small CTA: 64x64 of 4 warps x 32x32, kK=64,
+// kFastLoop always on.
+template <FP8Format Fmt, typename LayoutA, typename LayoutB, int GroupRaster>
+void launch_plan(const FP8Params& p, const Fp8GemmPlan& plan,
+                 cudaStream_t stream) {
+    constexpr bool kBigFast = !std::is_same_v<LayoutA, ColMajor> &&
+                              !std::is_same_v<LayoutB, RowMajor>;
+    switch (plan.cta) {
+    case Fp8GemmPlan::Cta::kBig128: {
+        using Policy =
+            Fp8GemmPolicy<Fmt, 128, 128, LayoutA, LayoutB, 64, 32, 64, 2,
+                          GroupRaster, false, kBigFast>;
+        launch_policy<Policy>(p, stream);
+        break;
+    }
+    case Fp8GemmPlan::Cta::kNarrow128x64: {
+        using Policy =
+            Fp8GemmPolicy<Fmt, 128, 64, LayoutA, LayoutB, 32, 32, 64, 2,
+                          GroupRaster, false, true>;
+        launch_policy<Policy>(p, stream);
+        break;
+    }
+    case Fp8GemmPlan::Cta::kSmall64: {
+        if (plan.small_s3) {
+            using Policy = Fp8GemmPolicy<Fmt, 64, 64, LayoutA, LayoutB, 32, 32,
+                                         64, 3, GroupRaster, false, true>;
+            launch_policy<Policy>(p, stream);
+        } else {
+            using Policy = Fp8GemmPolicy<Fmt, 64, 64, LayoutA, LayoutB, 32, 32,
+                                         64, 2, GroupRaster, false, true>;
+            launch_policy<Policy>(p, stream);
+        }
+        break;
+    }
+    }
+}
+
+// Pure problem rewrite: the dual-N-contiguous problem (trans_a/trans_b both
+// false) has no dedicated instantiation — it runs as its transpose
+// E[N][M] = B^T @ A^T (CUTLASS-sm90's is_swapAB) over swapped operands,
+// with p.out_transposed making the epilogue scatter into the caller's
+// [M][N] row-major buffer. The rewritten trans flags become the layout tags
+// the launcher instantiates; the NN path pays a scalar-store scatter, which
+// its rare usage makes the right trade.
+inline void canonicalize_gemm(FP8Params& p, bool& trans_a, bool& trans_b) {
+    if (!trans_a && !trans_b) {
+        FP8Params s = p;  // E = B^T * A^T: swap roles, M <-> N
+        s.m = p.n;
+        s.n = p.m;
+        s.a_ptr = p.b_ptr;
+        s.b_ptr = p.a_ptr;
+        s.a_ld = p.b_ld;
+        s.b_ld = p.a_ld;
+        s.a_batch_stride = p.b_batch_stride;
+        s.b_batch_stride = p.a_batch_stride;
+        s.out_transposed = 1;
+        p = s;
+        trans_a = trans_b = true;
+    }
+}
+
+// Entry point: canonicalize the problem, plan the launch, wire the layout
+// tags through.
+template <FP8Format Fmt>
+void gemm(FP8Params p, cudaStream_t stream, bool trans_a, bool trans_b) {
+    canonicalize_gemm(p, trans_a, trans_b);
+    // Crosswise operand count for the plan: transposed-A storage (ColMajor)
+    // and plain-B storage (RowMajor) both take the direct crosswise load.
+    const int crosswise = (trans_a ? 1 : 0) + (trans_b ? 0 : 1);
+    const Fp8GemmPlan plan = plan_gemm(p, crosswise);
+    if (trans_a && trans_b)
+        launch_plan<Fmt, ColMajor, ColMajor, 8>(p, plan, stream);
+    else if (trans_b)
+        launch_plan<Fmt, RowMajor, ColMajor, 8>(p, plan, stream);
+    else
+        launch_plan<Fmt, ColMajor, RowMajor, 8>(p, plan, stream);
+}
+
+}  // namespace fp8
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8/gemm/epilogue.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+#pragma once
+// Collective epilogue: fused bias, the bf16 scatter of the fp32 accumulators
+// through the reclaimed operand shared memory, and the coalesced copy-out.
+
+#include "../common.h"
+#include "policy.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace fp8 {
+
+template <typename Policy>
+struct Fp8CollectiveEpilogue {
+    using Traits = typename Policy::Traits;
+    static constexpr bool kStreamOut = Policy::kStreamOut;
+    static constexpr int kBlockM = Traits::kBlockM;
+    static constexpr int kBlockN = Traits::kBlockN;
+    static constexpr int kMt = Traits::kWarpM / 16;
+    static constexpr int kNt = Traits::kWarpN / 8;
+
+    __nv_bfloat16* const tile_out;
+    const float output_scale;
+    const __nv_bfloat16* const bias;
+    const int64_t m, n;
+    const bool t_out;
+    const int row_elems, row_chunks;
+    const int warp_m, warp_n, group, thread_in_group;
+    const int64_t block_m, block_n;
+
+    __device__ Fp8CollectiveEpilogue(char* smem, const FP8Params& p,
+                                     int64_t block_m, int64_t block_n, int tid)
+        : tile_out(reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat16*>(smem)),
+          output_scale(*p.scale),
+          bias(reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(p.bias_ptr)),
+          m(p.m), n(p.n), t_out(p.out_transposed != 0),
+          row_elems(t_out ? kBlockM : kBlockN),
+          row_chunks(row_elems / 8),
+          warp_m((tid >> 5) / Traits::kWarpsN),
+          warp_n((tid >> 5) % Traits::kWarpsN),
+          group((tid & 31) >> 2),
+          thread_in_group(tid & 3),
+          block_m(block_m), block_n(block_n) {}
+
+    // Swizzled address of one 16B chunk (row r, chunk c) of the staged
+    // tile. Plain orientation: kBlockM rows of kBlockN elems; out-
+    // transposed (swap dispatch): rows and row length trade places. Both
+    // row-chunk counts are powers of two, keeping the XOR swizzle
+    // well-defined.
+    __device__ __forceinline__ __nv_bfloat16* out_chunk(int r, int c) const {
+        return tile_out + (size_t)r * row_elems +
+               ((c ^ (r & (row_chunks - 1))) * 8);
+    }
+    __device__ __forceinline__ __nv_bfloat16* out_elem(int r, int v) const {
+        return out_chunk(r, v >> 3) + (v & 7);
+    }
+
+    // Scatter the accumulators into the staging tile: the operand rings are
+    // dead once the mainloop ends, so their space stages the bf16 output
+    // tile. Threads scatter (STS.32 of bf16x2 pairs), a barrier makes the
+    // tile coherent, then the whole CTA copies it out in fully-coalesced
+    // 16B chunks. The 16B-chunk XOR swizzle keeps both the scatter and the
+    // gather conflict-free.
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void stage(float acc[kNt][kMt][4]) const {
+        // Fused bias: added to the fp32 accumulator before the single bf16
+        // rounding. The per-lane loads are L1 broadcasts; rows past the
+        // edge skip the load (their smem slots never copy out). Under
+        // out_transposed the bias indexes D-cols = the kernel's rows.
+        const int local_col0 = warp_n * Traits::kWarpN + thread_in_group * 2;
+        const int64_t bias_col0 = block_n * kBlockN;
+        const int64_t bias_row0 = block_m * kBlockM;
+        if (!t_out) {
+#pragma unroll
+            for (int nt = 0; nt < kNt; ++nt) {
+                const int col = local_col0 + nt * 8;
+                const int64_t gcol = bias_col0 + col;
+                const float b0 =
+                    bias && gcol < n ? __bfloat162float(bias[gcol]) : 0.0f;
+                const float b1 =
+                    bias && gcol + 1 < n ? __bfloat162float(bias[gcol + 1])
+                                         : 0.0f;
+#pragma unroll
+                for (int mt = 0; mt < kMt; ++mt) {
+                    const int r0 = warp_m * Traits::kWarpM + group + mt * 16;
+                    const float* tile_acc = acc[nt][mt];
+                    // Two bf16x2 stores per accumulator tile: rows g and
+                    // g+8 of the m16n8 output, columns tig*2/tig*2+1 inside
+                    // one 16B chunk.
+                    const int off = col & 7;  // element offset in the chunk
+                    *reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat162*>(
+                        out_chunk(r0, col >> 3) + off) =
+                        __floats2bfloat162_rn(tile_acc[0] * output_scale + b0,
+                                              tile_acc[1] * output_scale + b1);
+                    *reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat162*>(
+                        out_chunk(r0 + 8, col >> 3) + off) =
+                        __floats2bfloat162_rn(tile_acc[2] * output_scale + b0,
+                                              tile_acc[3] * output_scale + b1);
+                }
+            }
+        } else {
+            // Transposed scatter: accumulator (kernel row r0, col) is
+            // D[col0_global + col][row0_global + r0], staged at T[col][r0].
+            // The acc pair spans two staged rows, so these are scalar
+            // stores (the swap path is the rare NN layout). OOB elements
+            // store dead lanes of the tile, never copied out.
+#pragma unroll
+            for (int nt = 0; nt < kNt; ++nt) {
+                const int col = local_col0 + nt * 8;
+#pragma unroll
+                for (int mt = 0; mt < kMt; ++mt) {
+                    const int r0 = warp_m * Traits::kWarpM + group + mt * 16;
+                    const int64_t grow = bias_row0 + r0;
+                    const float b =
+                        bias && grow < m ? __bfloat162float(bias[grow]) : 0.0f;
+                    const float* tile_acc = acc[nt][mt];
+                    *out_elem(col, r0) =
+                        __float2bfloat16(tile_acc[0] * output_scale + b);
+                    *out_elem(col + 1, r0) =
+                        __float2bfloat16(tile_acc[1] * output_scale + b);
+                    *out_elem(col, r0 + 8) =
+                        __float2bfloat16(tile_acc[2] * output_scale + b);
+                    *out_elem(col + 1, r0 + 8) =
+                        __float2bfloat16(tile_acc[3] * output_scale + b);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Coalesced copy-out: thread -> one 16B chunk; consecutive threads walk
+    // a row so each global transaction covers a full 128B line. Under the
+    // swap the staged rows are D-rows counted from block_n's stripe while
+    // the row length is kernel m', so row/stride flip to the swapped dims.
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void store(__nv_bfloat16* out_bf16) const {
+        constexpr int kTotalChunks =
+            kBlockM * (kBlockN / 8);  // == kBlockN * (kBlockM/8)
+        const int64_t row0_global = block_m * kBlockM;
+        const int64_t col0_global = block_n * kBlockN;
+        for (int idx = threadIdx.x; idx < kTotalChunks; idx += kCtaThreads) {
+            const int r = idx / row_chunks;
+            const int c = idx % row_chunks;
+            const uint4 v = *reinterpret_cast<const uint4*>(out_chunk(r, c));
+            const int64_t row = t_out ? (int64_t)block_n * kBlockN + r
+                                      : row0_global + r;
+            const int64_t col = t_out ? row0_global + (int64_t)c * 8
+                                      : col0_global + (int64_t)c * 8;
+            const int64_t rows_total = t_out ? n : m;
+            const int64_t row_stride = t_out ? m : n;
+            if (row >= rows_total) break;  // rows are consecutive: nothing left
+            auto* dst = out_bf16 + row * row_stride + col;
+            if (col + 8 <= row_stride &&
+                (reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(dst) & 15) == 0) {
+                if constexpr (kStreamOut) {
+                    // Evict-first streaming store knob: neutral on L20
+                    // squares, -3..4% on rects; kept for other SKUs.
+                    __stcs(reinterpret_cast<uint4*>(dst), v);
+                } else {
+                    *reinterpret_cast<uint4*>(dst) = v;
+                }
+            } else {
+                // Row-edge chunk or an odd-stride row base: spill the
+                // elements that survive the row edge.
+                const __nv_bfloat16* elems =
+                    reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(&v);
+                for (int e = 0; e < 8 && col + e < row_stride; ++e)
+                    dst[e] = elems[e];
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void run(float acc[kNt][kMt][4],
+                                        __nv_bfloat16* out_bf16) {
+        stage(acc);
+        __syncthreads();
+        store(out_bf16);
+    }
+
+  private:
+    static constexpr int kCtaThreads = Traits::kCtaThreads;
+};
+
+}  // namespace fp8
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8/gemm/load.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,224 @@
+#pragma once
+// Operand loaders: swizzled shared-memory staging for congruous operands
+// (cp.async, predicated and interior variants, plus the loop-carried
+// prefetch state) and the direct LDG+PRMT path for crosswise operands.
+// The staging invariants and the swizzle derivation live in
+// docs/developer/cuda_kernels.md.
+
+#include "../../common/cp_async.cuh"
+#include "../common.h"
+#include "policy.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace fp8 {
+
+// log2 of a compile-time power of two (for the swizzle shifts).
+template <int N, int Acc = 0>
+struct log2_const : log2_const<(N >> 1), Acc + 1> {};
+template <int Acc>
+struct log2_const<1, Acc> {
+    static constexpr int value = Acc;
+};
+
+// Swizzled address inside a flat [rows * K] staging tile: the 16B chunk
+// index is XORed with the row bits at [3, 3+log2(kChunks)) so a warp's
+// ldmatrix fragment load (8 consecutive rows x 16B) hits all 32 banks
+// exactly once; chunks stay contiguous, so cp.async staging is unaffected.
+template <int K, typename T8>
+__device__ __forceinline__ T8* tile_at(T8* tile, int row, int col) {
+    constexpr int kChunks = K / 16;  // 16B chunks per row
+    static_assert(kChunks >= 1 && (kChunks & (kChunks - 1)) == 0,
+                  "swizzle needs a power-of-two 16B-chunk count");
+    constexpr int kShift = 3 - log2_const<kChunks>::value;
+    return tile + row * K +
+           ((((col >> 4) ^ ((row >> kShift) & (kChunks - 1))) << 4) + (col & 15));
+}
+
+// Stage-load a CONGRUOUS operand (contract-contiguous storage — the only
+// cp.async-able shape) into the flat [rows * K] swizzled tile. kInterior
+// drops all predication: valid only for a fully interior CTA (whole rows,
+// 16B-aligned base|ld, k_base + K <= contract); the address math then folds
+// to one immediate XOR per chunk (see the design notes). Crosswise operands
+// go through load_crosswise_direct instead.
+template <typename T8, int K, int RowsTile, int kThreads,
+          bool kInterior = false>
+__device__ __forceinline__ void
+load_operand_tile(T8* tile, const T8* __restrict__ operand, int64_t rows,
+                  int64_t contract, int64_t ld, int tid, int64_t k_base,
+                  int64_t block_row) {
+    constexpr int kChunks = K / 16;
+    static_assert(RowsTile * kChunks % kThreads == 0,
+                  "tile chunks must divide evenly across threads");
+    constexpr int kCpt = RowsTile * kChunks / kThreads;  // chunks per thread
+    constexpr int kCpr = kChunks / kCpt;  // chunks per row slice
+    const int r = tid / kCpr;
+    const int c0 = (tid % kCpr) * kCpt * 16;
+    if constexpr (kInterior) {
+        const char* src = reinterpret_cast<const char*>(
+            operand + (block_row + r) * ld + k_base + c0);
+        const uintptr_t dst =
+            reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(tile_at<K>(tile, r, c0));
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int j = 0; j < kCpt; ++j)
+            astrai::cp_async_16(reinterpret_cast<T8*>(dst ^ (j << 4)),
+                                src + j * 16);
+    } else {
+        const int64_t row = block_row + r;
+        const bool row_ok = row < rows;
+        // k_base and every c are multiples of 16, so all chunks share the
+        // row base's alignment verdict.
+        const auto* src = operand + row * ld + k_base;
+        const bool chunk_aligned = (reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(src) & 15) == 0;
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int j = 0; j < kCpt; ++j) {
+            const int c = c0 + j * 16;
+            T8* dst = tile_at<K>(tile, r, c);
+            if (row_ok && chunk_aligned && k_base + c + 15 < contract) {
+                astrai::cp_async_16(dst, src + c);
+            } else {
+                // Tail chunk / misaligned base / OOB row: scalar fill.
+#pragma unroll
+                for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i)
+                    dst[i] =
+                        row_ok && k_base + c + i < contract ? src[c + i] : T8(0.0f);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// Loop-carried prefetch state for one congruous operand ring: per-thread
+// (r, c0) mapping with the swizzled stage destination and global source
+// pointer carried across k-tiles, so each prefetch chunk is one LDGSTS
+// issued straight from registers. The guard is a property of the operand's
+// layout, so it lives in the type: the false specialization (crosswise
+// operand) is an empty no-op.
+template <bool kAsync, typename T8, int kK, int kRowsTile, int kThreads>
+struct PrefetchCarry;
+
+template <typename T8, int kK, int kRowsTile, int kThreads>
+struct PrefetchCarry<true, T8, kK, kRowsTile, kThreads> {
+    static constexpr int kCpt = kRowsTile * (kK / 16) / kThreads;
+    static constexpr int kCpr = (kK / 16) / kCpt;
+    unsigned wr = 0;    // current stage's swizzled destination offset
+    unsigned wr0 = 0;   // slot-0 wrap base
+    unsigned wrEnd = 0; // one-past-the-ring sentinel
+    const char* src = nullptr;  // current tile's global source bytes
+
+    __device__ __forceinline__ PrefetchCarry(
+        const T8* ring, int ringSlots, int stageElems, const T8* operand,
+        int64_t ld, int64_t blockRow, int tid, int firstTile) {
+        const int r = tid / kCpr;
+        const int c0 = (tid % kCpr) * kCpt * 16;
+        const T8* slot0 = ring + (firstTile % ringSlots) * stageElems;
+        const unsigned laneOff = static_cast<unsigned>(
+            (const char*)tile_at<kK>(slot0, r, c0) - (const char*)slot0);
+        const unsigned base = __cvta_generic_to_shared(ring) + laneOff;
+        wr = base + (unsigned)((firstTile % ringSlots) * stageElems);
+        wr0 = base;
+        wrEnd = base + (unsigned)(ringSlots * stageElems);
+        src = reinterpret_cast<const char*>(
+                  operand + (blockRow + r) * ld + c0) +
+              (int64_t)firstTile * kK;
+    }
+
+    // Emit this thread's chunks for the current tile; pf false (loop tail)
+    // zero-fills into the slot compute(i-1) already released.
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void emit(bool pf) const {
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int j = 0; j < kCpt; ++j)
+            astrai::cp_async_16(wr ^ (unsigned)(j << 4), src + j * 16, pf);
+    }
+
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void advance(int stageElems) {
+        wr += (unsigned)stageElems;
+        if (wr == wrEnd) wr = wr0;
+        src += kK;
+    }
+};
+
+template <typename T8, int kK, int kRowsTile, int kThreads>
+struct PrefetchCarry<false, T8, kK, kRowsTile, kThreads> {
+    __device__ __forceinline__ PrefetchCarry(
+        const T8*, int, int, const T8*, int64_t, int64_t, int, int) {}
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void emit(bool) const {}
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void advance(int) {}
+};
+
+// Direct (synchronous) crosswise load into a canonical rotating stage:
+// LDG.128 x4 (4 consecutive contract bytes x 16 rows) + in-register PRMT
+// transpose + 16 STS.32. Crosswise operands cannot cp.async into the
+// canonical tile (a 16B global run holds one contract byte for each of 16
+// rows), so they take this path; a staged smem->smem variant measured
+// 15-20% slower and was removed (see git history).
+template <typename T8, int K, int RowsTile, int kThreads>
+__device__ __forceinline__ void
+load_crosswise_direct(T8* tile, const T8* __restrict__ operand, int64_t rows,
+                      int64_t contract, int64_t ld, int tid, int64_t k_base,
+                      int64_t block_row) {
+    constexpr int kQuads = K / 4;    // 4-byte contract quads per tile
+    constexpr int kGroups = RowsTile / 16;
+    constexpr int kTChunks = kQuads * kGroups;  // 64B chunks per tile
+    // r0 is a multiple of 16 and p*ld preserves alignment whenever ld has
+    // it, so every run of a chunk shares one alignment verdict.
+    const bool run_aligned =
+        ((reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(operand) | ld) & 15) == 0;
+    for (int chunk = tid; chunk < kTChunks; chunk += kThreads) {
+        const int quad = chunk / kGroups;
+        const int rg = chunk % kGroups;
+        const int64_t r0 = block_row + rg * 16;
+        const bool rows_full = r0 + 15 < rows;
+        if (rows_full && run_aligned) {
+            const int64_t p0 = k_base + quad * 4;
+            uint4 v[4];
+#pragma unroll
+            for (int s = 0; s < 4; ++s) {
+                // Contract tail: a run past k carries zero bytes; they flow
+                // through the PRMT transpose like any other value.
+                if (p0 + s < contract)
+                    v[s] = *reinterpret_cast<const uint4*>(
+                        operand + (p0 + s) * ld + r0);
+                else
+                    v[s] = make_uint4(0u, 0u, 0u, 0u);
+            }
+            const unsigned* bytes = reinterpret_cast<const unsigned*>(v);
+#pragma unroll
+            for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
+                // word i = row r0+i's quad: byte i of each of the four runs
+                // [v0.b(i), v1.b(i), v2.b(i), v3.b(i)].
+                const unsigned nib = i & 3;
+                const unsigned sel = nib | ((nib + 4) << 4);
+                const unsigned w01 =
+                    __byte_perm(bytes[0 + (i >> 2)], bytes[4 + (i >> 2)], sel);
+                const unsigned w23 =
+                    __byte_perm(bytes[8 + (i >> 2)], bytes[12 + (i >> 2)], sel);
+                *reinterpret_cast<unsigned*>(tile_at<K>(tile, rg * 16 + i,
+                                                        quad * 4)) =
+                    __byte_perm(w01, w23, 0x5410u);
+            }
+        } else {
+            // Row-tail or misaligned chunk: byte-granular gather with
+            // per-row predication; contract-tail columns zero-fill.
+#pragma unroll
+            for (int s = 0; s < 4; ++s) {
+                const int col = quad * 4 + s;
+                if (k_base + col >= contract) {
+#pragma unroll
+                    for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i)
+                        *tile_at<K>(tile, rg * 16 + i, col) = T8(0.0f);
+                    continue;
+                }
+#pragma unroll
+                for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
+                    const int64_t r_idx = r0 + i;
+                    *tile_at<K>(tile, rg * 16 + i, col) =
+                        r_idx < rows
+                            ? operand[(k_base + col) * ld + r_idx]
+                            : T8(0.0f);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+}  // namespace fp8
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8/gemm/mainloop.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,336 @@
+#pragma once
+// Collective mainloop: shared-memory stage rings, the gmem->smem stage loads
+// (congruous cp.async / crosswise LDG+PRMT), the per-lane ldmatrix fragment
+// addressing and the software-pipelined mma.sync loop. The fragment
+// addressing scheme and the fast-loop peel rationale live in
+// docs/developer/cuda_kernels.md.
+
+#include <type_traits>
+
+#include "../../common/mma.cuh"
+#include "../common.h"
+#include "load.cuh"
+#include "policy.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace fp8 {
+
+template <typename Policy>
+struct Fp8CollectiveMainloop {
+    using Traits = typename Policy::Traits;
+    using LayoutA = typename Policy::LayoutTagA;
+    using LayoutB = typename Policy::LayoutTagB;
+    using Smem = Fp8GemmSmem<Traits, LayoutA, LayoutB>;
+    static constexpr bool kFastLoop = Policy::kFastLoop;
+    using T8 = std::conditional_t<Traits::kIsE5M2, __nv_fp8_e5m2, __nv_fp8_e4m3>;
+    static constexpr int kBlockM = Traits::kBlockM;
+    static constexpr int kBlockN = Traits::kBlockN;
+    static constexpr int kK = Traits::kK;
+    static constexpr int kStages = Traits::kStages;
+    static constexpr int kCtaThreads = Traits::kCtaThreads;
+    static constexpr bool kDirectA = Smem::kDirectA;
+    static constexpr bool kDirectB = Smem::kDirectB;
+    static_assert(kStages >= 1 && kStages <= 8,
+                  "FP8 GEMM stages must be in [1, 8]");
+    // CTA = (BlockM/WarpM) x (BlockN/WarpN) warps, each warp computing
+    // kMt x kNt m16n8k32 MMAs. Rings rotate kStages+1 buffers (see
+    // Fp8GemmSmem) — one __syncthreads per k-tile.
+    static constexpr int kMt = Traits::kWarpM / 16;  // 16-row MMA tiles per warp
+    static constexpr int kNt = Traits::kWarpN / 8;   // 8-col MMA tiles per warp
+    static constexpr int kSegs = kK / kMmaK;  // mma-sized k segments per tile
+    static constexpr int kARing = Smem::kRingDepth;
+    static constexpr int kBRing = Smem::kRingDepth;
+    static constexpr int kAStageBytes = kBlockM * kK;
+    static constexpr int kBStageBytes = kBlockN * kK;
+
+    T8* const a_base;
+    T8* const b_base;
+    const T8* const a;
+    const T8* const b;
+    const int64_t m, n, k, a_ld, b_ld;
+    const int tid;
+    const int64_t block_m, block_n;
+    const int warp_m, warp_n;
+    const int a_row0;  // + mt * 16 in the loop
+    const int b_row0;  // + nt * 8
+    const int64_t tile_count;
+    // Interior-CTA peel (kFastLoop instantiations only): whole-CTA,
+    // 16B-aligned, K without tail — the mainloop then runs a compile-time
+    // specialized copy with no per-chunk predication (measured +4.5..10% on
+    // the issue-bound small CTA; the 128x128 CTA regressed, so only the
+    // small CTA opts in). The verdict is uniform per CTA.
+    const bool fast_cta;
+
+    __device__ Fp8CollectiveMainloop(char* smem, const T8* a, const T8* b,
+                                     int64_t m, int64_t n, int64_t k,
+                                     int64_t a_ld, int64_t b_ld, int tid,
+                                     int2 block)
+        : a_base(reinterpret_cast<T8*>(smem)),
+          b_base(reinterpret_cast<T8*>(smem + kARing * kAStageBytes)),
+          a(a), b(b), m(m), n(n), k(k), a_ld(a_ld), b_ld(b_ld), tid(tid),
+          block_m(block.x), block_n(block.y),
+          warp_m((tid >> 5) / Traits::kWarpsN),
+          warp_n((tid >> 5) % Traits::kWarpsN),
+          a_row0(warp_m * Traits::kWarpM),
+          b_row0(warp_n * Traits::kWarpN),
+          tile_count((k + kK - 1) / kK),
+          fast_cta(kFastLoop && !kDirectA && !kDirectB &&
+                   ((int64_t)block.x * kBlockM + kBlockM <= m) &&
+                   ((int64_t)block.y * kBlockN + kBlockN <= n) &&
+                   ((reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(a) | (uint64_t)a_ld) & 15) == 0 &&
+                   ((reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(b) | (uint64_t)b_ld) & 15) == 0 &&
+                   (k % kK) == 0) {}
+
+    // Stage-slot helpers: rings rotate one slot per k-tile, so callers
+    // either compute the slot from the tile index (prologue, generic loop)
+    // or carry an advancing pointer (steady-state fast loop).
+    __device__ __forceinline__ T8* a_stage_of(int64_t tile) const {
+        return a_base + (size_t)(tile % kARing) * kAStageBytes;
+    }
+    __device__ __forceinline__ T8* b_stage_of(int64_t tile) const {
+        return b_base + (size_t)(tile % kBRing) * kBStageBytes;
+    }
+    // Asynchronous congruous loads for one k-tile: cp.async into the
+    // canonical rings; kFast selects the predication-free interior copy
+    // (fast_cta admits only congruous operands). Called after the
+    // post-compute barrier, alongside the commit.
+    template <bool kFast = false>
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void load_async(T8* a_stage, T8* b_stage,
+                                               int64_t k_base) const {
+        if constexpr (!kDirectA)
+            load_operand_tile<T8, kK, kBlockM, kCtaThreads, kFast>(
+                a_stage, a, m, k, a_ld, tid, k_base, block_m * kBlockM);
+        if constexpr (!kDirectB)
+            load_operand_tile<T8, kK, kBlockN, kCtaThreads, kFast>(
+                b_stage, b, n, k, b_ld, tid, k_base, block_n * kBlockN);
+    }
+    // Synchronous direct-crosswise loads for one k-tile. In the steady
+    // state this runs right after barrier 1, so the LDG latency and the
+    // PRMT transpose overlap the MMA phase instead of stalling the
+    // inter-barrier window.
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void load_direct(T8* a_stage, T8* b_stage,
+                                                int64_t k_base) const {
+        if constexpr (kDirectA)
+            load_crosswise_direct<T8, kK, kBlockM, kCtaThreads>(
+                a_stage, a, m, k, a_ld, tid, k_base, block_m * kBlockM);
+        if constexpr (kDirectB)
+            load_crosswise_direct<T8, kK, kBlockN, kCtaThreads>(
+                b_stage, b, n, k, b_ld, tid, k_base, block_n * kBlockN);
+    }
+
+    // Prime the pipeline: kStages committed groups, one per stage slot.
+    // The commit is unconditional — when K is shorter than the pipeline the
+    // skipped stages commit empty groups, so the group sequence stays
+    // tile-indexed and the steady-state wait count never needs a runtime
+    // dispatch.
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void prologue() const {
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int stage = 0; stage < kStages; ++stage) {
+            if (stage < tile_count) {
+                if (fast_cta)
+                    load_async<true>(a_stage_of(stage), b_stage_of(stage),
+                                     (int64_t)stage * kK);
+                else
+                    load_async(a_stage_of(stage), b_stage_of(stage),
+                               (int64_t)stage * kK);
+                load_direct(a_stage_of(stage), b_stage_of(stage),
+                            (int64_t)stage * kK);
+            }
+            astrai::cp_async_commit_group();
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Steady-state mainloop, compile-time specialized on kFast: the fast
+    // copy runs predication-free loads with loop-carried read/write
+    // pointers; the generic copy keeps full predication. kFastLoop=false
+    // instantiates only the generic copy.
+    template <bool kFast>
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void run_loop(float acc[kNt][kMt][4]) const {
+        const int lane = tid & 31;
+        // Fast-path write carries: one per congruous operand (crosswise
+        // operands get the empty no-op type), targeting the first
+        // prefetched tile (kStages). Steady-state read carries: the LDSM
+        // base of the current k-tile's stage with the lane offset folded
+        // in, advanced one stage per iteration with an equality wrap —
+        // replaces the per-k-tile (tile % ring) * stage_bytes
+        // recomputation (a UIMAD.WIDE magic-division ladder in SASS).
+        PrefetchCarry<!kDirectA, T8, kK, kBlockM, kCtaThreads> carry_a(
+            a_base, kARing, kAStageBytes, a, a_ld, block_m * kBlockM, tid,
+            kStages);
+        PrefetchCarry<!kDirectB, T8, kK, kBlockN, kCtaThreads> carry_b(
+            b_base, kBRing, kBStageBytes, b, b_ld, block_n * kBlockN, tid,
+            kStages);
+        const unsigned a_rd0 = __cvta_generic_to_shared(a_base) + a_lane_off(lane);
+        const unsigned b_rd0 =
+            __cvta_generic_to_shared(b_base) +
+            (kPairB ? b4_lane_off(lane) : b_lane_off(lane));
+        const unsigned a_rd_end = a_rd0 + (unsigned)(kARing * kAStageBytes);
+        const unsigned b_rd_end = b_rd0 + (unsigned)(kBRing * kBStageBytes);
+        unsigned a_rd = a_rd0, b_rd = b_rd0;
+        for (int64_t tile_index = 0; tile_index < tile_count; ++tile_index) {
+        // In the steady state exactly kStages-1 younger groups are in flight
+        // when this fires; the tail's unconditional (possibly empty)
+        // commits keep that invariant true for every iteration.
+        const bool prefetch = tile_index + kStages < tile_count;
+        astrai::cp_async_wait_group<kStages - 1>();
+        // Barrier 1: every thread's cp.async for this stage is complete
+        // before any thread reads tiles written by other threads.
+        __syncthreads();
+
+        // Direct chunks for tile i+kStages: issue LDG+PRMT+STS now so the
+        // global-load latency hides behind the MMA phase below.
+        if (prefetch)
+            load_direct(a_stage_of(tile_index + kStages),
+                        b_stage_of(tile_index + kStages),
+                        (tile_index + kStages) * kK);
+
+        const unsigned a_addr = a_rd;
+        const unsigned b_addr = b_rd;
+        // Per-k_seg base pair (cuBLAS's scheme): seg s lives at the seg-0
+        // base XOR (s<<5) — one LOP3 per extra seg per k-tile, never per
+        // fragment. Every LDSM below addresses [base + immediate].
+        unsigned a_seg[kSegs], b_seg[kSegs];
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int s = 0; s < kSegs; ++s) {
+            a_seg[s] = a_addr ^ (unsigned)(s * kSegXor);
+            b_seg[s] = b_addr ^ (unsigned)(s * kSegXor);
+        }
+
+        // kNt ldmatrix.x2 (B) + kMt ldmatrix.x4 (A) feed kMt*kNt*2 mma.sync
+        // per k_seg — 0.5 load instructions per MMA. B fragments
+        // double-buffer across k_segs; kPairB folds the two adjacent nt
+        // fragments of one pair into a single x4 (see b4_lane_off).
+        unsigned b_frag[2][kNt][2];
+        unsigned b_frag4[2][kNt / 2][4];
+        load_b_frags(b_frag[0][0], b_frag4[0][0], b_seg[0]);
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int k_seg = 0; k_seg < kSegs; ++k_seg) {
+            const int bcur = k_seg & 1, bnext = bcur ^ 1;
+            if (k_seg + 1 < kSegs)
+                load_b_frags(b_frag[bnext][0], b_frag4[bnext][0],
+                             b_seg[k_seg + 1]);
+        // Software-pipelined A fragments: the ldmatrix.x4 for row mt+1 is
+        // issued before the MMAs consuming row mt, so the LDS latency hides
+        // behind tensor-pipe work. Costs 4 extra registers.
+        unsigned a_frag[kMt + 1][4];
+        astrai::ldmatrix_x4_lane(a_frag[0], a_seg[k_seg]);
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int mt = 0; mt < kMt; ++mt) {
+            if (mt + 1 < kMt)
+                astrai::ldmatrix_x4_lane(a_frag[mt + 1],
+                                         a_seg[k_seg] + (mt + 1) * kMtStep);
+#pragma unroll
+            for (int nt = 0; nt < kNt; ++nt) {
+                const unsigned* bops =
+                    kPairB ? (b_frag4[bcur][nt >> 1] + (nt & 1) * 2)
+                           : b_frag[bcur][nt];
+                astrai::mma_sync<T8>(acc[nt][mt], a_frag[mt], bops,
+                                     acc[nt][mt]);
+            }
+        }
+        // Next tile's LDGSTS chunks inside the MMA phase: A's after the
+        // first k_seg's MMA batch, B's after the last.
+        if constexpr (kFast) {
+            if (k_seg == 0) carry_a.emit(prefetch);
+            if (k_seg == kSegs - 1) carry_b.emit(prefetch);
+        }
+        }
+        // Generic loop (no interleaved prefetch): the next tile's predicated
+        // loads run after the MMA phase.
+        if constexpr (!kFast) {
+            if (prefetch) {
+                load_async(a_stage_of(tile_index + kStages),
+                           b_stage_of(tile_index + kStages),
+                           (tile_index + kStages) * kK);
+            }
+        }
+        // Unconditional commit: empty in the tail, it pads the group
+        // sequence so the fixed wait above stays correct.
+        astrai::cp_async_commit_group();
+        a_rd += (unsigned)kAStageBytes;
+        if (a_rd == a_rd_end) a_rd = a_rd0;
+        b_rd += (unsigned)kBStageBytes;
+        if (b_rd == b_rd_end) b_rd = b_rd0;
+        if constexpr (kFast) {
+            carry_a.advance(kAStageBytes);
+            carry_b.advance(kBStageBytes);
+        }
+        }
+    }
+
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void accumulate(float acc[kNt][kMt][4]) const {
+        if constexpr (kFastLoop) {
+            if (fast_cta)
+                run_loop<true>(acc);
+            else
+                run_loop<false>(acc);
+        } else {
+            run_loop<false>(acc);
+        }
+    }
+
+  private:
+    // Per-lane ldmatrix fragment addressing (base-pair scheme, mirrored
+    // from the cuBLAS SASS; derivation in the design notes): one base
+    // register per operand per k_seg, every fragment offset an LDSM
+    // immediate — zero address arithmetic inside the MMA phase.
+    __device__ __forceinline__ unsigned a_lane_off(int lane) const {
+        const int r7 = lane & 7;          // row within the 8-row matrix
+        const int rh8 = (lane >> 3) & 1;  // +8 rows (A: lanes 8-15, 24-31)
+        const int rh16 = lane >> 4;       // +1 chunk (A: lanes 16-31)
+        constexpr int kChunks = kK / 16;
+        constexpr int kShift = 3 - log2_const<kChunks>::value;  // tile_at's shift
+        const unsigned lswz =
+            static_cast<unsigned>((r7 >> kShift) & (kChunks - 1));
+        // Stage-relative, loop-invariant per-lane base; A's fragment row
+        // carries the +8-row (rh8) and +1-chunk (rh16) halves.
+        return static_cast<unsigned>((a_row0 + rh8 * 8 + r7) * kK +
+                                     ((rh16 ^ lswz) << 4));
+    }
+    __device__ __forceinline__ unsigned b_lane_off(int lane) const {
+        const int r7 = lane & 7;
+        const int rh8 = (lane >> 3) & 1;  // +8 rows (B uses rh8 as its chunk half)
+        constexpr int kChunks = kK / 16;
+        constexpr int kShift = 3 - log2_const<kChunks>::value;
+        const unsigned lswz =
+            static_cast<unsigned>((r7 >> kShift) & (kChunks - 1));
+        return static_cast<unsigned>((b_row0 + r7) * kK + ((rh8 ^ lswz) << 4));
+    }
+    // x4-paired B loads: one ldmatrix.x4 feeds the two adjacent nt
+    // fragments. Lane contract: lanes 0-7 address rows n0..n7 chunk c,
+    // lanes 8-15 rows n0..n7 chunk c+1, lanes 16-23 rows n8..n15 chunk c,
+    // lanes 24-31 rows n8..n15 chunk c+1. The +8-row step never reaches
+    // the swizzle source bits for kK <= 64; kK=128 swizzles on row[2:0]
+    // where +8 flips bits, so that config keeps the x2 loads.
+    static constexpr unsigned kMtStep = 16 * kK;  // bytes per m-tile row step
+    static constexpr unsigned kNtStep = 8 * kK;   // bytes per n-tile row step
+    static constexpr unsigned kSegXor = 32;       // chunk-index +2 per k_seg
+    static constexpr bool kPairB = kK / 16 <= 4;
+    static_assert(!kPairB || kNt % 2 == 0, "B pairing needs even kNt");
+    static constexpr unsigned kPairStep = 16 * kK;  // bytes per nt-pair row step
+    __device__ __forceinline__ unsigned b4_lane_off(int lane) const {
+        return b_lane_off(lane) + (lane >> 4) * kPairStep / 2;
+    }
+
+    // One k_seg's B-fragment loads, shared by the initial fill and the
+    // double-buffer's next-seg fill. frag2/frag4 are the flat bases of one
+    // b_frag / b_frag4 buffer (the unused one is never touched).
+    __device__ __forceinline__ void
+    load_b_frags(unsigned* frag2, unsigned* frag4, unsigned seg_base) const {
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int p = 0; p < kNt / 2; ++p) {
+            if constexpr (kPairB) {
+                astrai::ldmatrix_x4_lane(frag4 + p * 4,
+                                         seg_base + p * kPairStep);
+            } else {
+                astrai::ldmatrix_x2_lane(frag2 + p * 4,
+                                         seg_base + p * 2 * kNtStep);
+                astrai::ldmatrix_x2_lane(frag2 + p * 4 + 2,
+                                         seg_base + (p * 2 + 1) * kNtStep);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+};
+
+}  // namespace fp8
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8/gemm/policy.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+#pragma once
+// Kernel policy layer: shared-memory budget, occupancy hint and the
+// single Policy type the kernel and collectives take (CUTLASS-style
+// consolidation of traits + layout tags + scheduling knobs).
+
+#include <type_traits>
+
+#include "../common.h"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace fp8 {
+
+// m16n8k32 (see astrai::mma_shape<fp8 type>::k in common/mma.cuh)
+constexpr int kMmaK = 32;
+
+// Layout-aware shared-memory budget and occupancy hint. Every operand ring
+// holds kStages+1 buffers: the load for tile i+kStages targets slot
+// (i-1)%(kStages+1) — already consumed — so neither load path needs a
+// post-compute barrier (one __syncthreads per k-tile; see the design notes
+// in docs/developer/cuda_kernels.md). The 48KB static watermark picks the
+// resident-CTA hint for __launch_bounds__.
+template <typename Traits, typename LayoutA, typename LayoutB>
+struct Fp8GemmSmem {
+    // Crosswise (direct-load) operands: A ColMajor storage, B RowMajor
+    // storage (B's tag is relative to the canonical [K][N]).
+    static constexpr bool kDirectA = std::is_same_v<LayoutA, ColMajor>;
+    static constexpr bool kDirectB = std::is_same_v<LayoutB, RowMajor>;
+    static constexpr int kRingDepth = Traits::kStages + 1;
+    static constexpr int kBytes =
+        kRingDepth * (Traits::kBlockM + Traits::kBlockN) * Traits::kK;
+    static constexpr int kMinCtas = kBytes <= 48 * 1024 ? 2 : 1;
+};
+
+template <FP8Format Fmt_, int BlockM_, int BlockN_, typename LayoutA_,
+          typename LayoutB_, int WarpM_, int WarpN_, int kK_, int Stages_,
+          int GroupRaster_, bool StreamOut_ = false, bool FastLoop_ = false>
+struct Fp8GemmPolicy {
+    using Traits =
+        Fp8GemmTraits<Fmt_, BlockM_, BlockN_, kK_, Stages_, WarpM_, WarpN_>;
+    using LayoutTagA = LayoutA_;
+    using LayoutTagB = LayoutB_;
+    static constexpr int kGroupRaster = GroupRaster_;
+    static constexpr bool kStreamOut = StreamOut_;
+    static constexpr bool kFastLoop = FastLoop_;
+    using Smem = Fp8GemmSmem<Traits, LayoutA_, LayoutB_>;
+    // Flattened for __launch_bounds__, which takes no dependent type names.
+    static constexpr int kCtaThreads = Traits::kCtaThreads;
+    static constexpr int kMinCtas = Smem::kMinCtas;
+    static constexpr int kSmemBytes = Smem::kBytes;
+};
+
+}  // namespace fp8
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8/gemm/scheduler.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#pragma once
+// Tile scheduler: the linear CTA id maps to (block_m, block_n) in grouped
+// (L2-friendly) raster — consecutive CTAs share one B column stripe — or
+// plain N-fastest raster (kRasterGroup=0, the measured best for dX's
+// crosswise-B layouts where grouping was neutral).
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace fp8 {
+
+template <int kRasterGroup>
+struct Fp8GemmTileScheduler {
+    static __device__ int2 tile(const uint3& block, const dim3& blocks) {
+        if constexpr (kRasterGroup > 0) {
+            constexpr int kGroupM = kRasterGroup;
+            const int bid = int(block.y) * int(blocks.x) + int(block.x);
+            const int group_first_m = (bid / (kGroupM * int(blocks.x))) * kGroupM;
+            const int group_rows =
+                min(int(blocks.y) - group_first_m, kGroupM);  // M-tail group is short
+            return int2{group_first_m + bid % group_rows,
+                        (bid % (kGroupM * int(blocks.x))) / group_rows};
+        } else {
+            return int2{int(block.y), int(block.x)};
+        }
+    }
+};
+
+}  // namespace fp8
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8/ops.cu

@@ -0,0 +1,307 @@
+// CUDA bindings for the stateless FP8 quantize/GEMM primitives.
+
+#include <ATen/cuda/CUDAContext.h>
+#include <c10/cuda/CUDAGuard.h>
+#include <torch/extension.h>
+
+#include <cstdint>
+#include <mutex>
+#include <unordered_map>
+
+#include "../common/device.cuh"
+#include "gemm.cuh"
+#include "quantize.cuh"
+
+using namespace astrai::fp8;
+
+namespace {
+
+void check_fp8_device(const torch::Tensor& tensor) {
+    static std::mutex mutex;
+    static std::unordered_map<int, bool> supported;
+    const int device = tensor.device().index();
+    {
+        std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mutex);
+        auto it = supported.find(device);
+        if (it != supported.end()) {
+            TORCH_CHECK(it->second, "FP8 MMA requires compute capability 8.9+");
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+    const auto* properties = at::cuda::getDeviceProperties(device);
+    const bool ok = astrai::sm_at_least(
+        properties->major, properties->minor, astrai::kMinSmForFp8Major,
+        astrai::kMinSmForFp8Minor);
+    {
+        std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mutex);
+        supported.emplace(device, ok);
+    }
+    TORCH_CHECK(ok, "FP8 MMA requires compute capability 8.9+");
+}
+
+void check_scale(const torch::Tensor& scale, const torch::Tensor& input) {
+    TORCH_CHECK(scale.is_cuda() && scale.device() == input.device() &&
+                    scale.scalar_type() == torch::kFloat32 && scale.numel() == 1,
+                "scale must be a CUDA float32 scalar on the input device");
+}
+
+// Inner-layout resolution for one GEMM operand. The user flag names the
+// math (0 = last two dims are [rows][contract], 1 = transposed); the
+// storage may independently be a col-major view (.t() of a contiguous
+// buffer), which folds into the returned dispatch flag at zero copy — the
+// kernel's LayoutA/LayoutB tags cover both storages. m/n/k derive from the
+// user flag only. Tensors whose inner dims are neither natural layout fall
+// back to .contiguous().
+bool resolve_operand(const torch::Tensor& t_in, bool flag, int64_t& ld,
+                     int64_t& batch_stride, torch::Tensor& storage) {
+    torch::Tensor t = t_in;
+    bool col_major = false;
+    if (t.stride(-1) != 1) {
+        if (t.stride(-2) == 1) {
+            col_major = true;
+        } else {
+            t = t.contiguous();
+        }
+    }
+    storage = t;
+    ld = col_major ? t.stride(-1) : t.stride(-2);
+    batch_stride = t.dim() == 3 ? t.stride(0) : 0;
+    return flag ^ col_major;
+}
+
+// Dtype dispatch over the unified quantize launcher.
+template <bool Tiled, FP8Format Fmt>
+void launch_for_dtype(const torch::Tensor& x, const FP8QuantizeParams& p,
+                      cudaStream_t stream) {
+    switch (x.scalar_type()) {
+    case torch::kHalf:
+        launch_fp8_quantize<Fmt, __half, Tiled>(p, stream);
+        break;
+    case torch::kFloat32:
+        launch_fp8_quantize<Fmt, float, Tiled>(p, stream);
+        break;
+    default:
+        launch_fp8_quantize<Fmt, __nv_bfloat16, Tiled>(p, stream);
+    }
+}
+
+template <bool Tiled>
+void launch_quantize_for(const torch::Tensor& x, const FP8QuantizeParams& p,
+                         bool e5m2, cudaStream_t stream) {
+    if (e5m2)
+        launch_for_dtype<Tiled, FP8Format::E5M2>(x, p, stream);
+    else
+        launch_for_dtype<Tiled, FP8Format::E4M3>(x, p, stream);
+}
+
+// Shared binding body for the two quantize entry points: RowMajor /
+// Transposed (single output) serve quantize(), Dual (both orientations from
+// one read) serves quantize_dual(). A ring tensor switches
+// on the in-kernel delayed-scaling fold: state layout
+// [hist n | scale | legacy | amax | done-as-int], and the returned amax is
+// the (self-cleaned) persistent slot. Without it, amax is reduced into a
+// fresh buffer armed by a driver memset — cheaper than the zeros() fill
+// kernel.
+py::object quantize_impl(torch::Tensor x, torch::Tensor scale, int64_t fmt,
+                         QuantLayout layout, py::object ring, int64_t hist_idx,
+                         double fp8_max, double pow2_margin) {
+    TORCH_CHECK(x.is_cuda(), "CUDA tensors required");
+    TORCH_CHECK(x.scalar_type() == torch::kBFloat16 ||
+                    x.scalar_type() == torch::kHalf ||
+                    x.scalar_type() == torch::kFloat32,
+                "x must be bf16, fp16 or fp32");
+    TORCH_CHECK(fmt == static_cast<int64_t>(FP8Format::E4M3) ||
+                    fmt == static_cast<int64_t>(FP8Format::E5M2),
+                "unsupported quantization type: expected E4M3 (0) or E5M2 (1)");
+    TORCH_CHECK(layout == QuantLayout::RowMajor || x.dim() >= 2,
+                "transposed quantize layouts need a 2D+ tensor");
+    check_scale(scale, x);
+    check_fp8_device(x);
+    const at::cuda::OptionalCUDAGuard guard(x.device());
+    auto stream = at::cuda::getCurrentCUDAStream();
+    auto input = x.contiguous();
+    auto out_opts = input.options().dtype(
+        fmt ? torch::kFloat8_e5m2 : torch::kFloat8_e4m3fn);
+    torch::Tensor amax;
+    float *ring_hist = nullptr, *ring_scale_out = nullptr;
+    unsigned int* ring_done = nullptr;
+    int ring_len = 0;
+    if (!ring.is_none()) {
+        auto st = ring.cast<torch::Tensor>();
+        TORCH_CHECK(st.is_cuda() && st.dim() == 1 &&
+                        st.scalar_type() == torch::kFloat32,
+                    "ring state must be a 1D float32 CUDA tensor");
+        const int64_t n = st.numel() - 4;
+        TORCH_CHECK(n > 0 && hist_idx >= 0 && hist_idx < n,
+                    "ring state too small or hist_idx out of range");
+        float* base = st.data_ptr<float>();
+        amax = st.narrow(0, n + 2, 1);
+        ring_hist = base;
+        ring_scale_out = base + n;
+        ring_done = reinterpret_cast<unsigned int*>(base + n + 3);
+        ring_len = static_cast<int>(n);
+    } else {
+        amax = torch::empty({1}, input.options().dtype(torch::kFloat32));
+        cudaMemsetAsync(amax.data_ptr(), 0, sizeof(float), stream.stream());
+    }
+
+    FP8QuantizeParams p;
+    p.input_ptr = input.data_ptr();
+    p.scale = scale.data_ptr<float>();
+    p.amax = amax.data_ptr<float>();
+    if (ring_hist) {
+        p.fold_ring = true;
+        p.hist = ring_hist;
+        p.scale_out = ring_scale_out;
+        p.done = ring_done;
+        p.hist_len = ring_len;
+        p.hist_idx = static_cast<int>(hist_idx);
+        p.fp8_max = static_cast<float>(fp8_max);
+        p.pow2_margin = static_cast<float>(pow2_margin);
+    }
+    p.total = static_cast<int>(input.numel());
+    p.out_layout = layout;
+    p.rows = static_cast<int>(input.size(-2));
+    p.cols = static_cast<int>(input.size(-1));
+    torch::Tensor output, output_t;
+    if (layout != QuantLayout::Transposed) {
+        output = torch::empty_like(input, out_opts);
+        p.output_ptr = output.data_ptr();
+    }
+    if (layout != QuantLayout::RowMajor) {
+        output_t = torch::empty({input.size(-1), input.size(-2)}, out_opts);
+        p.output_transposed_ptr = output_t.data_ptr();
+    }
+    const bool e5m2 = fmt == static_cast<int64_t>(FP8Format::E5M2);
+    if (layout == QuantLayout::RowMajor)
+        launch_quantize_for<false>(input, p, e5m2, stream.stream());
+    else
+        launch_quantize_for<true>(input, p, e5m2, stream.stream());
+    C10_CUDA_CHECK(cudaGetLastError());
+    if (layout == QuantLayout::Dual)
+        return py::make_tuple(output, output_t, amax);
+    return py::make_tuple(
+        layout == QuantLayout::Transposed ? output_t : output, amax);
+}
+
+}  // namespace
+
+// Single-orientation quantize binding: row-major x8, or its [cols][rows]
+// transpose when transposed is set — the K-contiguous operand orientation
+// NT GEMMs want. Returns (x8|x8T, amax).
+py::object quantize(torch::Tensor x, torch::Tensor scale, int64_t fmt,
+                    bool transposed, py::object ring, int64_t hist_idx,
+                    double fp8_max, double pow2_margin) {
+    const QuantLayout layout =
+        transposed ? QuantLayout::Transposed : QuantLayout::RowMajor;
+    return quantize_impl(x, scale, fmt, layout, ring, hist_idx, fp8_max,
+                         pow2_margin);
+}
+
+// Dual-orientation quantize binding: one read of x produces both the
+// row-major x8 and its transpose (plus amax), for tensors consumed by GEMMs
+// in both orientations (backward g). Returns (x8, x8T, amax).
+py::object quantize_dual(torch::Tensor x, torch::Tensor scale, int64_t fmt,
+                         py::object ring, int64_t hist_idx, double fp8_max,
+                         double pow2_margin) {
+    return quantize_impl(x, scale, fmt, QuantLayout::Dual, ring, hist_idx,
+                         fp8_max, pow2_margin);
+}
+
+torch::Tensor mm_fp8(torch::Tensor a, torch::Tensor b, torch::Tensor scale,
+                     bool trans_a, bool trans_b, py::object bias) {
+    TORCH_CHECK(a.is_cuda() && b.is_cuda(), "CUDA tensors required");
+    TORCH_CHECK(a.scalar_type() == torch::kFloat8_e4m3fn ||
+                    a.scalar_type() == torch::kFloat8_e5m2,
+                "a and b must be fp8");
+    TORCH_CHECK(a.scalar_type() == b.scalar_type(), "a and b must share format");
+    TORCH_CHECK((a.dim() == 2 || a.dim() == 3) &&
+                    (b.dim() == 2 || b.dim() == 3),
+                "a and b must be 2D or 3D (batched)");
+    TORCH_CHECK(a.device() == b.device(), "a and b must share device");
+    // Python None and an omitted argument both mean "no bias" — an undefined
+    // tensor below. (py::isinstance<torch::Tensor> is false for real tensors
+    // here — torch's caster registers no pybind type info — so validate by
+    // attempting the cast itself.)
+    torch::Tensor bias_t;
+    if (!bias.is_none()) {
+        try {
+            bias_t = bias.cast<torch::Tensor>();
+        } catch (const py::cast_error&) {
+            TORCH_CHECK(false, "bias must be a torch.Tensor or None");
+        }
+    }
+    check_scale(scale, a);
+    check_fp8_device(a);
+    const at::cuda::OptionalCUDAGuard guard(a.device());
+    auto stream = at::cuda::getCurrentCUDAStream();
+
+    // Batched operands follow matmul broadcast rules: 2D acts as a batch
+    // of 1; a size-1 batch broadcasts across the other side (stride 0).
+    const int64_t batch_a = a.dim() == 3 ? a.size(0) : 1;
+    const int64_t batch_b = b.dim() == 3 ? b.size(0) : 1;
+    TORCH_CHECK(batch_a == batch_b || batch_a == 1 || batch_b == 1,
+                "batch dim mismatch (got ", batch_a, " and ", batch_b, ")");
+    const int64_t batch = std::max(batch_a, batch_b);
+    TORCH_CHECK(batch <= 65535, "batch dim exceeds the grid.z launch limit");
+
+    torch::Tensor a_st, b_st;
+    int64_t a_ld, b_ld, a_bstride, b_bstride;
+    const bool tag_a = resolve_operand(a, trans_a, a_ld, a_bstride, a_st);
+    const bool tag_b = resolve_operand(b, trans_b, b_ld, b_bstride, b_st);
+    // GEMM dims from the user flags; storage layout never swaps them.
+    const int64_t m = trans_a ? a.size(-1) : a.size(-2);
+    const int64_t k = trans_a ? a.size(-2) : a.size(-1);
+    const int64_t n = trans_b ? b.size(-2) : b.size(-1);
+    TORCH_CHECK(k == (trans_b ? b.size(-1) : b.size(-2)), "inner dim mismatch");
+
+    const bool batched_out = a.dim() == 3 || b.dim() == 3;
+    torch::Tensor output =
+        batched_out
+            ? torch::empty({batch, m, n}, a.options().dtype(torch::kBFloat16))
+            : torch::empty({m, n}, a.options().dtype(torch::kBFloat16));
+    FP8Params p;
+    p.a_ptr = a_st.data_ptr();
+    p.b_ptr = b_st.data_ptr();
+    p.out_ptr = output.data_ptr();
+    p.scale = scale.data_ptr<float>();
+    p.m = static_cast<int>(m);
+    p.n = static_cast<int>(n);
+    p.k = static_cast<int>(k);
+    p.a_ld = static_cast<int>(a_ld);
+    p.b_ld = static_cast<int>(b_ld);
+    // Fused epilogue bias (bf16, broadcast over rows and batches). An
+    // undefined or 0-element tensor keeps the plain scaled output.
+    if (bias_t.defined() && bias_t.numel() > 0) {
+        TORCH_CHECK(bias_t.is_cuda() && bias_t.scalar_type() == torch::kBFloat16,
+                    "fp8 gemm bias must be a CUDA bf16 tensor");
+        TORCH_CHECK(bias_t.dim() == 1 && bias_t.size(0) == n,
+                    "fp8 gemm bias must be 1D of length n=", n);
+        TORCH_CHECK(bias_t.is_contiguous(), "fp8 gemm bias must be contiguous");
+        p.bias_ptr = bias_t.data_ptr();
+    }
+    p.batch = static_cast<int>(batch);
+    p.a_batch_stride = (batch_a == 1 && batch > 1) ? 0 : a_bstride;
+    p.b_batch_stride = (batch_b == 1 && batch > 1) ? 0 : b_bstride;
+    p.out_batch_stride = m * n;
+    if (a.scalar_type() == torch::kFloat8_e4m3fn)
+        gemm<FP8Format::E4M3>(p, stream.stream(), tag_a, tag_b);
+    else
+        gemm<FP8Format::E5M2>(p, stream.stream(), tag_a, tag_b);
+    C10_CUDA_CHECK(cudaGetLastError());
+    return output;
+}
+
+PYBIND11_MODULE(TORCH_EXTENSION_NAME, m) {
+    m.def("quantize", &quantize, py::arg("x"), py::arg("scale"),
+          py::arg("fmt"), py::arg("transposed") = false,
+          py::arg("ring") = py::none(), py::arg("hist_idx") = 0,
+          py::arg("fp8_max") = 448.0, py::arg("pow2_margin") = 1.0);
+    m.def("quantize_dual", &quantize_dual, py::arg("x"), py::arg("scale"),
+          py::arg("fmt"), py::arg("ring") = py::none(),
+          py::arg("hist_idx") = 0, py::arg("fp8_max") = 448.0,
+          py::arg("pow2_margin") = 1.0);
+    m.def("mm_fp8", &mm_fp8, py::arg("a"), py::arg("b"), py::arg("scale"),
+          py::arg("trans_a") = false, py::arg("trans_b") = false,
+          py::arg("bias") = py::none());
+}

csrc/kernels/fp8/quantize.cuh

@@ -0,0 +1,311 @@
+#pragma once
+// FP8 quantize device code — pure CUDA, no torch: kernels take the
+// FP8QuantizeParams POD, format and input type ride on template parameters,
+// and the launcher is shared by the torch binding and the C tests.
+
+#include <cuda_bf16.h>
+#include <cuda_fp16.h>
+#include <cuda_fp8.h>
+#include <cuda_runtime.h>
+#include <cstdint>
+
+#include "common.h"
+#include "../common/reduce.cuh"
+
+namespace astrai {
+namespace fp8 {
+
+// Input element type traits: one element -> float, the unpack of one
+// 16-byte load into kVecElems floats, and a native 2-element pair load.
+template <typename InT>
+struct quant_in_traits;
+
+template <>
+struct quant_in_traits<__nv_bfloat16> {
+    static constexpr int kVecElems = 8;
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ float to_float(__nv_bfloat16 v) {
+        return __bfloat162float(v);
+    }
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ void load_vec(const uint4& raw,
+                                                    float* f) {
+        const __nv_bfloat162* b2 =
+            reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat162*>(&raw);
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int j = 0; j < 4; ++j) {
+            const float2 p = __bfloat1622float2(b2[j]);
+            f[2 * j] = p.x;
+            f[2 * j + 1] = p.y;
+        }
+    }
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ void load_pair(const __nv_bfloat16* p,
+                                                     float* f) {
+        const float2 v = __bfloat1622float2(
+            *reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat162*>(p));
+        f[0] = v.x;
+        f[1] = v.y;
+    }
+};
+
+template <>
+struct quant_in_traits<__half> {
+    static constexpr int kVecElems = 8;
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ float to_float(__half v) {
+        return __half2float(v);
+    }
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ void load_vec(const uint4& raw,
+                                                    float* f) {
+        const __half2* h2 = reinterpret_cast<const __half2*>(&raw);
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int j = 0; j < 4; ++j) {
+            const float2 p = __half22float2(h2[j]);
+            f[2 * j] = p.x;
+            f[2 * j + 1] = p.y;
+        }
+    }
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ void load_pair(const __half* p,
+                                                     float* f) {
+        const float2 v =
+            __half22float2(*reinterpret_cast<const __half2*>(p));
+        f[0] = v.x;
+        f[1] = v.y;
+    }
+};
+
+template <>
+struct quant_in_traits<float> {
+    static constexpr int kVecElems = 4;
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ float to_float(float v) { return v; }
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ void load_vec(const uint4& raw,
+                                                    float* f) {
+        const unsigned* w = reinterpret_cast<const unsigned*>(&raw);
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int j = 0; j < 4; ++j) f[j] = __uint_as_float(w[j]);
+    }
+    static __device__ __forceinline__ void load_pair(const float* p,
+                                                     float* f) {
+        f[0] = p[0];
+        f[1] = p[1];
+    }
+};
+
+// One float -> one fp8 byte (round-nearest-even + satfinite).
+template <FP8Format Fmt>
+__device__ __forceinline__ uint8_t cvt_fp8(float v) {
+    if constexpr (Fmt == FP8Format::E5M2)
+        return __nv_fp8_e5m2(v).__x;
+    else
+        return __nv_fp8_e4m3(v).__x;
+}
+
+// One float pair -> one packed fp8x2 word (round-nearest-even + satfinite).
+template <FP8Format Fmt>
+__device__ __forceinline__ unsigned cvt_fp8x2(float a, float b) {
+    constexpr __nv_fp8_interpretation_t kFmt =
+        Fmt == FP8Format::E5M2 ? __NV_E5M2 : __NV_E4M3;
+    return static_cast<unsigned>(__nv_cvt_float2_to_fp8x2(
+        make_float2(a, b), __NV_SATFINITE, kFmt));
+}
+
+// Block-wide amax reduce -> one atomic per block: warp-reduce, park one
+// value per warp, thread 0 folds. kWarps must cover the block's warp count.
+// With p.fold_ring, the last-finishing block additionally folds the final
+// amax into the history window and publishes the next scale (atomicAdd
+// ticket + fences), re-zeroing the amax slot and the counter for the next
+// launch — the host-side delayed-scaling update chain disappears.
+template <int kWarps>
+__device__ __forceinline__ void publish_amax(const FP8QuantizeParams& p,
+                                             float v) {
+    v = warp_reduce_max(v);
+    __shared__ float slots[kWarps];
+    const int tid = threadIdx.y * blockDim.x + threadIdx.x;
+    if ((tid & 31) == 0) slots[tid >> 5] = v;
+    __syncthreads();
+    if (tid == 0) {
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int w = 1; w < kWarps; ++w) v = fmaxf(v, slots[w]);
+        atomic_max_float(p.amax, v);
+        if (!p.fold_ring) return;
+        __threadfence();
+        const unsigned int ticket = atomicAdd(p.done, 1u);
+        __threadfence();
+        if (ticket != gridDim.x - 1u) return;
+        p.hist[p.hist_idx] = *p.amax;
+        float peak = p.hist[0];
+        for (int i = 1; i < p.hist_len; ++i) peak = fmaxf(peak, p.hist[i]);
+        *p.scale_out = fmaxf(peak / p.fp8_max / p.pow2_margin, 1e-12f);
+        *p.amax = 0.0f;
+        *p.done = 0u;
+    }
+}
+
+// Elementwise quantize kernel (QuantLayout::RowMajor): vectorized 16B loads
+// -> fp8 stores, fused amax over raw values.
+template <FP8Format Fmt, typename InT>
+__global__ void fp8_quantize_kernel(FP8QuantizeParams p) {
+    const float mult = *p.scale;
+    const auto* x = static_cast<const InT*>(p.input_ptr);
+    uint8_t* x8 = static_cast<uint8_t*>(p.output_ptr);
+    float local_amax = 0.0f;
+    const int64_t stride = (int64_t)blockDim.x * gridDim.x;
+
+    // One 16B load -> kVecElems bytes per step. Torch allocations are >=16B
+    // aligned, so element 0 keeps the uint4 access natural; a misaligned
+    // base (odd storage offset view) falls to the scalar tail via
+    // total_vec = 0.
+    constexpr int kVecElems = quant_in_traits<InT>::kVecElems;
+    const bool aligned =
+        ((reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(x) |
+          reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(x8)) &
+         15) == 0;
+    const int64_t total_vec = aligned ? p.total / kVecElems : 0;
+    const uint4* xv = reinterpret_cast<const uint4*>(x);
+    for (int64_t i = blockIdx.x * blockDim.x + threadIdx.x; i < total_vec;
+         i += stride) {
+        float f[kVecElems];
+        quant_in_traits<InT>::load_vec(xv[i], f);
+        // One 32-bit word packs two fp8x2 pairs (4 elements).
+        unsigned packed[kVecElems / 4];
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int j = 0; j < kVecElems / 4; ++j) {
+            local_amax = fmaxf(
+                local_amax,
+                fmaxf(fmaxf(fabsf(f[4 * j]), fabsf(f[4 * j + 1])),
+                      fmaxf(fabsf(f[4 * j + 2]), fabsf(f[4 * j + 3]))));
+            const unsigned lo =
+                cvt_fp8x2<Fmt>(f[4 * j] * mult, f[4 * j + 1] * mult);
+            const unsigned hi =
+                cvt_fp8x2<Fmt>(f[4 * j + 2] * mult, f[4 * j + 3] * mult);
+            packed[j] = (lo & 0xffffu) | (hi << 16);
+        }
+        if constexpr (kVecElems == 8)
+            reinterpret_cast<uint2*>(x8)[i] = make_uint2(packed[0], packed[1]);
+        else
+            reinterpret_cast<unsigned*>(x8)[i] = packed[0];
+    }
+    // Scalar tail (and full fallback for misaligned bases).
+    for (int64_t i = total_vec * kVecElems + blockIdx.x * blockDim.x +
+                      threadIdx.x;
+         i < p.total; i += stride) {
+        const float v = quant_in_traits<InT>::to_float(x[i]);
+        local_amax = fmaxf(local_amax, fabsf(v));
+        x8[i] = cvt_fp8<Fmt>(v * mult);
+    }
+    if (p.amax) publish_amax<8>(p, local_amax);
+}
+
+// Tiled transpose quantize (QuantLayout::Transposed/Dual): reads the
+// [rows][cols] input
+// once and writes the fp8 bytes transposed ([cols][rows], so the contract
+// dim lands K-contiguous for NT GEMM operands) and, in mode 2, the row-major
+// copy too. 64x32 tiles, one native pair load per row (a full 128B warp
+// read); rows whose pair is unaligned or ragged (odd widths, misaligned
+// bases) fall back to element loads in place. Staging goes through a byte
+// tile whose pitch keeps the store stride coprime with the 32 banks.
+// (+25-35% over the former 32x32 scalar kernel on sub-4M tensors; ~5%
+// slower once DRAM-saturated — accepted for the single-kernel shape.)
+template <FP8Format Fmt, typename InT>
+__global__ void fp8_quantize_tiled_kernel(FP8QuantizeParams p) {
+    constexpr int kTileC = 64, kTileR = 32;
+    // 34B pitch: staging stride is 17 words (coprime with the 32 banks) so
+    // the pair-byte stores stay conflict-free, and the byte-wise consume
+    // reads still span distinct words.
+    __shared__ uint8_t tile[kTileC][kTileR + 2];
+    const float mult = *p.scale;
+    const auto* x = static_cast<const InT*>(p.input_ptr);
+    const int r0 = blockIdx.y * kTileR;
+    const int c0 = blockIdx.x * kTileC;
+    const int r = r0 + threadIdx.y * 4;
+    const int c = c0 + threadIdx.x * 2;  // cols even => the pair is in-bounds
+
+    uint8_t q[4][2];
+    float local_amax = 0.0f;
+    // Vectorize the pair when both elements are in-bounds and the native
+    // 2-element load is aligned; odd widths, misaligned bases and ragged
+    // edges fall back to element loads row by row.
+    constexpr int kPairAlign = 2 * (int)sizeof(InT);
+#pragma unroll
+    for (int j = 0; j < 4; ++j) {
+        q[j][0] = 0;
+        q[j][1] = 0;
+        if (r + j < p.rows && c < p.cols) {
+            const InT* a = x + (int64_t)(r + j) * p.cols + c;
+            if (c + 1 < p.cols &&
+                (reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(a) & (kPairAlign - 1)) == 0) {
+                float f[2];
+                quant_in_traits<InT>::load_pair(a, f);
+#pragma unroll
+                for (int k = 0; k < 2; ++k) {
+                    local_amax = fmaxf(local_amax, fabsf(f[k]));
+                    q[j][k] = cvt_fp8<Fmt>(f[k] * mult);
+                }
+            } else {
+                const float v0 = quant_in_traits<InT>::to_float(a[0]);
+                local_amax = fmaxf(local_amax, fabsf(v0));
+                q[j][0] = cvt_fp8<Fmt>(v0 * mult);
+                if (c + 1 < p.cols) {
+                    const float v1 = quant_in_traits<InT>::to_float(a[1]);
+                    local_amax = fmaxf(local_amax, fabsf(v1));
+                    q[j][1] = cvt_fp8<Fmt>(v1 * mult);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    if (p.out_layout == QuantLayout::Dual) {
+        uint8_t* out = static_cast<uint8_t*>(p.output_ptr);
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int j = 0; j < 4; ++j)
+            if (r + j < p.rows && c < p.cols) {
+                uint8_t* o = out + (int64_t)(r + j) * p.cols + c;
+                const int64_t off = (int64_t)(r + j) * p.cols + c;
+                if (c + 1 < p.cols && (off & 1) == 0)
+                    *reinterpret_cast<unsigned short*>(o) =
+                        (unsigned short)(q[j][0] | (q[j][1] << 8));
+                else {
+                    o[0] = q[j][0];
+                    if (c + 1 < p.cols) o[1] = q[j][1];
+                }
+            }
+    }
+#pragma unroll
+    for (int j = 0; j < 4; ++j)
+#pragma unroll
+        for (int k = 0; k < 2; ++k)
+            tile[threadIdx.x * 2 + k][threadIdx.y * 4 + j] = q[j][k];
+    __syncthreads();
+    // Transposed scatter: output element (c, r) lives at c * rows + r;
+    // threadIdx.x tracks r so each warp writes one contiguous run. tile is
+    // [col][row]; warp y walks 8 columns, threads read down one column.
+    uint8_t* out_t = static_cast<uint8_t*>(p.output_transposed_ptr);
+#pragma unroll
+    for (int i = 0; i < 8; ++i) {
+        const int oc = c0 + threadIdx.y * 8 + i;
+        if (oc < p.cols && r0 + threadIdx.x < p.rows)
+            out_t[(int64_t)oc * p.rows + r0 + threadIdx.x] =
+                tile[threadIdx.y * 8 + i][threadIdx.x];
+    }
+    if (p.amax) publish_amax<8>(p, local_amax);
+}
+
+// Unified quantize launcher: Tiled selects the transpose kernel
+// (QuantLayout::Transposed/Dual) over the vectorized elementwise one. The
+// transpose kernel vectorizes
+// pair loads in-kernel and falls back to scalar loads at unaligned/ragged
+// rows, so the host side picks only the grid.
+template <FP8Format Fmt, typename InT, bool Tiled = false>
+void launch_fp8_quantize(const FP8QuantizeParams& p, cudaStream_t stream) {
+    if constexpr (Tiled) {
+        const dim3 grid((p.cols + 63) / 64, (p.rows + 31) / 32);
+        if (grid.x == 0 || grid.y == 0) return;
+        fp8_quantize_tiled_kernel<Fmt, InT><<<grid, dim3(32, 8), 0, stream>>>(p);
+    } else {
+        constexpr int kThreads = 256;
+        constexpr int kVecElems = quant_in_traits<InT>::kVecElems;
+        // Grid-stride loops: any grid >= 1 is correct; one block per 256
+        // vectors plus the tail block covers tiny and misaligned tensors.
+        const int64_t blocks = 1 + p.total / (kVecElems * kThreads);
+        fp8_quantize_kernel<Fmt, InT><<<blocks, kThreads, 0, stream>>>(p);
+    }
+}
+
+}  // namespace fp8
+}  // namespace astrai

csrc/kernels/fp8_mm.cu

@@ -1,444 +0,0 @@
-// FP8 e4m3 matrix multiply via cuBLASLt (sm89 TN layout).
-//
-// cuBLASLt exposes fp8 kernels only for op(A)=T, op(B)=N on Ada; we exploit
-// the identity: row-major a[M,K] == A^T as col-major [K,M] (zero copy), and
-// row-major wT[N,K] == B as col-major [K,N] (zero copy). The col-major
-// result D[M,N] is C^T in row-major terms, so we transpose the output once.
-//
-// Inputs arrive pre-scaled fp8 e4m3 tensors; output is unscaled fp32.
-
-#include <torch/extension.h>
-#include <ATen/cuda/CUDAContext.h>
-#include <c10/cuda/CUDAGuard.h>
-#include <cublasLt.h>
-#include <cuda_fp8.h>
-#include <cstdint>
-#include <mutex>
-#include <unordered_map>
-
-static std::recursive_mutex g_mutex;
-
-static cublasLtHandle_t g_handle = nullptr;
-static cublasLtMatmulDesc_t g_desc = nullptr;
-static cublasLtMatrixLayout_t g_layout_a = nullptr;
-static cublasLtMatrixLayout_t g_layout_b = nullptr;
-static cublasLtMatrixLayout_t g_layout_c = nullptr;
-static cublasLtMatmulPreference_t g_pref = nullptr;
-static void* g_workspace = nullptr;
-static size_t g_ws_size = 0;
-
-struct ShapeKey {
-    int64_t m;
-    int64_t k;
-    int64_t n;
-    bool operator==(const ShapeKey& other) const {
-        return m == other.m && k == other.k && n == other.n;
-    }
-};
-
-struct ShapeKeyHash {
-    size_t operator()(const ShapeKey& s) const {
-        size_t h = std::hash<int64_t>()(s.m);
-        h ^= std::hash<int64_t>()(s.k) + 0x9e3779b9 + (h << 6) + (h >> 2);
-        h ^= std::hash<int64_t>()(s.n) + 0x9e3779b9 + (h << 6) + (h >> 2);
-        return h;
-    }
-};
-
-using AlgoCache = std::unordered_map<ShapeKey, cublasLtMatmulAlgo_t, ShapeKeyHash>;
-
-static void create_matmul_config(cublasLtMatmulDesc_t* desc,
-                                 cublasLtMatrixLayout_t* layout_a,
-                                 cublasLtMatrixLayout_t* layout_b,
-                                 cublasLtMatrixLayout_t* layout_c) {
-    cublasOperation_t ta = CUBLAS_OP_T, tb = CUBLAS_OP_N;
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatmulDescCreate(desc, CUBLAS_COMPUTE_32F, CUDA_R_32F) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatmulDescSetAttribute(
-                    *desc, CUBLASLT_MATMUL_DESC_TRANSA, &ta, sizeof(ta)) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatmulDescSetAttribute(
-                    *desc, CUBLASLT_MATMUL_DESC_TRANSB, &tb, sizeof(tb)) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatrixLayoutCreate(layout_a, CUDA_R_8F_E4M3, 1, 1, 1) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatrixLayoutCreate(layout_b, CUDA_R_8F_E4M3, 1, 1, 1) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatrixLayoutCreate(layout_c, CUDA_R_16BF, 1, 1, 1) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-}
-
-static void ensure_cublas_lt() {
-    std::lock_guard<std::recursive_mutex> lock(g_mutex);
-    if (g_handle) {
-        return;
-    }
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtCreate(&g_handle) == CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    create_matmul_config(&g_desc, &g_layout_a, &g_layout_b, &g_layout_c);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatmulPreferenceCreate(&g_pref) == CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    size_t ws = 16 * 1024 * 1024;
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatmulPreferenceSetAttribute(
-                   g_pref, CUBLASLT_MATMUL_PREF_MAX_WORKSPACE_BYTES, &ws, sizeof(ws)) ==
-               CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-}
-
-static cublasStatus_t get_algo_cached(int64_t m, int64_t k, int64_t n,
-                                      AlgoCache* cache,
-                                      cublasLtMatmulAlgo_t* algo);
-
-static void fp8_gemm_into(torch::Tensor lhs, torch::Tensor rhs, torch::Tensor out,
-                          int64_t m, int64_t k, int64_t n,
-                          const float* a_scale, const float* b_scale,
-                          cudaStream_t stream);
-
-static const float k_scale_one = 1.0f;
-
-static void set_layout(cublasLtMatrixLayout_t layout, int64_t rows, int64_t cols,
-                       int64_t ld) {
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatrixLayoutSetAttribute(layout, CUBLASLT_MATRIX_LAYOUT_ROWS,
-                                                 &rows, sizeof(rows)) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatrixLayoutSetAttribute(layout, CUBLASLT_MATRIX_LAYOUT_COLS,
-                                                 &cols, sizeof(cols)) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatrixLayoutSetAttribute(layout, CUBLASLT_MATRIX_LAYOUT_LD,
-                                                 &ld, sizeof(ld)) ==
-                CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-}
-
-torch::Tensor fp8_mm(torch::Tensor a, torch::Tensor b) {
-    TORCH_CHECK(a.is_cuda() && b.is_cuda(), "CUDA tensors required");
-    TORCH_CHECK(a.scalar_type() == torch::kFloat8_e4m3fn, "a must be float8_e4m3fn");
-    TORCH_CHECK(b.scalar_type() == torch::kFloat8_e4m3fn, "b must be float8_e4m3fn");
-    TORCH_CHECK(a.dim() == 2 && b.dim() == 2, "2D tensors required");
-    const at::cuda::OptionalCUDAGuard guard(a.device());
-    auto stream = at::cuda::getCurrentCUDAStream();
-
-    auto a_c = a.contiguous();
-    auto b_c = b.contiguous();
-    int64_t m = a_c.size(0), k = a_c.size(1), n = b_c.size(0);
-    TORCH_CHECK(b_c.size(1) == k, "inner dim mismatch");
-
-    auto buf = torch::empty({m, n}, a_c.options().dtype(torch::kBFloat16));
-    ensure_cublas_lt();
-    fp8_gemm_into(a_c, b_c, buf, m, k, n, &k_scale_one, &k_scale_one,
-                  stream.stream());
-    return buf;
-}
-
-
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Quantize: bf16 * scale_inv -> fp8, one atomicMax amax per kernel call.
-// amax_ptr must be zeroed before launch; float-bits atomicMax works because
-// |v| >= 0 has a monotonic IEEE bit pattern.
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-template <typename T8>
-__device__ __forceinline__ T8 cast_fp8(float v);
-
-template <>
-__device__ __forceinline__ __nv_fp8_e4m3 cast_fp8<__nv_fp8_e4m3>(float v) {
-    return __nv_fp8_e4m3(v);
-}
-
-template <>
-__device__ __forceinline__ __nv_fp8_e5m2 cast_fp8<__nv_fp8_e5m2>(float v) {
-    return __nv_fp8_e5m2(v);
-}
-
-template <typename T8>
-__global__ void quantize_kernel(const __nv_bfloat16* __restrict__ src,
-                                const float* __restrict__ scale_inv,
-                                T8* __restrict__ dst,
-                                float* __restrict__ amax_ptr, int64_t n) {
-    int64_t i = blockIdx.x * (int64_t)blockDim.x + threadIdx.x;
-    float amax = 0.f;
-    if (i < n) {
-        float raw = __bfloat162float(src[i]);
-        dst[i] = cast_fp8<T8>(raw * *scale_inv);
-        amax = fabsf(raw);
-    }
-    for (int off = 16; off; off >>= 1)
-        amax = fmaxf(amax, __shfl_xor_sync(0xffffffffu, amax, off));
-    __shared__ float sm[8];
-    if ((threadIdx.x & 31) == 0) sm[threadIdx.x >> 5] = amax;
-    __syncthreads();
-    if (threadIdx.x == 0) {
-        float m = 0.f;
-        for (int w = 0; w < blockDim.x / 32; ++w) m = fmaxf(m, sm[w]);
-        atomicMax(reinterpret_cast<unsigned*>(amax_ptr), __float_as_uint(m));
-    }
-}
-
-// Same but with a transpose (rows x cols bf16 row-major -> fp8 [cols, rows]).
-template <typename T8>
-__global__ void transpose_quantize_kernel(
-    const __nv_bfloat16* __restrict__ src, const float* __restrict__ scale_inv,
-    T8* __restrict__ dst, float* __restrict__ amax_ptr, int64_t rows,
-    int64_t cols) {
-    __shared__ T8 tile[32][33];
-    int64_t x = blockIdx.x * 32 + threadIdx.x;
-    int64_t y = blockIdx.y * 32 + threadIdx.y;
-    float amax = 0.f;
-    for (int j = 0; j < 32; j += 8) {
-        if (x < cols && y + j < rows) {
-            float raw = __bfloat162float(src[(y + j) * cols + x]);
-            tile[threadIdx.y + j][threadIdx.x] = cast_fp8<T8>(raw * *scale_inv);
-            amax = fmaxf(amax, fabsf(raw));
-        }
-    }
-    __syncthreads();
-
-    x = blockIdx.y * 32 + threadIdx.x;
-    y = blockIdx.x * 32 + threadIdx.y;
-    for (int j = 0; j < 32; j += 8) {
-        if (x < rows && y + j < cols) {
-            dst[(y + j) * rows + x] = tile[threadIdx.x][threadIdx.y + j];
-        }
-    }
-    for (int off = 16; off; off >>= 1)
-        amax = fmaxf(amax, __shfl_xor_sync(0xffffffffu, amax, off));
-    __shared__ float sm[8];
-    if ((threadIdx.x & 31) == 0) sm[threadIdx.x >> 5] = amax;
-    __syncthreads();
-    if (threadIdx.x == 0) {
-        float m = 0.f;
-        for (int w = 0; w < blockDim.x / 32; ++w) m = fmaxf(m, sm[w]);
-        atomicMax(reinterpret_cast<unsigned*>(amax_ptr), __float_as_uint(m));
-    }
-}
-
-__global__ void bias_add_bf16_kernel(
-    __nv_bfloat16* __restrict__ dst, const __nv_bfloat16* __restrict__ bias,
-    int64_t total, int64_t n) {
-    // GEMM and output use the same row-major [M,N] layout.
-    int64_t idx = blockIdx.x * (int64_t)blockDim.x + threadIdx.x;
-    if (idx >= total) return;
-    float v = __bfloat162float(dst[idx]);
-    dst[idx] = __float2bfloat16(v + __bfloat162float(bias[idx % n]));
-}
-
-static cublasStatus_t get_algo_cached(int64_t m, int64_t k, int64_t n,
-                                      AlgoCache* cache,
-                                      cublasLtMatmulAlgo_t* algo) {
-    std::lock_guard<std::recursive_mutex> lock(g_mutex);
-    ShapeKey key{m, k, n};
-    auto it = cache->find(key);
-    if (it != cache->end()) {
-        *algo = it->second;
-        return CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS;
-    }
-    cublasLtMatmulHeuristicResult_t heur;
-    int returned = 0;
-    cublasStatus_t st = cublasLtMatmulAlgoGetHeuristic(
-        g_handle, g_desc, g_layout_a, g_layout_b, g_layout_c, g_layout_c, g_pref, 1,
-        &heur, &returned);
-    if (st != CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS || returned == 0)
-        return CUBLAS_STATUS_NOT_SUPPORTED;
-    if (heur.workspaceSize > g_ws_size) {
-        if (g_workspace) cudaFree(g_workspace);
-        TORCH_CHECK(cudaMalloc(&g_workspace, heur.workspaceSize) == cudaSuccess);
-        g_ws_size = heur.workspaceSize;
-    }
-    cache->emplace(key, heur.algo);
-    *algo = heur.algo;
-    return CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS;
-}
-
-static void fp8_gemm_into(torch::Tensor lhs, torch::Tensor rhs, torch::Tensor out,
-                          int64_t m, int64_t k, int64_t n,
-                          const float* a_scale, const float* b_scale,
-                          cudaStream_t stream) {
-    std::lock_guard<std::recursive_mutex> lock(g_mutex);
-    set_layout(g_layout_a, k, n, k);  // param A = rhs (op=T -> [N,K])
-    set_layout(g_layout_b, k, m, k);  // param B = lhs (op=N -> [K,M])
-    set_layout(g_layout_c, n, m, n);  // col-major [N,M] == row-major [M,N]
-    // Per-tensor FP32 scales applied inside the GEMM:
-    // D = alpha * A_SCALE * B_SCALE * A * B (alpha = 1).
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatmulDescSetAttribute(
-                    g_desc, CUBLASLT_MATMUL_DESC_A_SCALE_POINTER, &a_scale,
-                    sizeof(a_scale)) == CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    TORCH_CHECK(cublasLtMatmulDescSetAttribute(
-                    g_desc, CUBLASLT_MATMUL_DESC_B_SCALE_POINTER, &b_scale,
-                    sizeof(b_scale)) == CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS);
-    float alpha = 1.0f, beta = 0.0f;
-    static AlgoCache cache;
-    cublasLtMatmulAlgo_t algo;
-    cublasStatus_t st = get_algo_cached(m, k, n, &cache, &algo);
-    TORCH_CHECK(st == CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS,
-                "cublasLtMatmulAlgoGetHeuristic failed: ", cublasLtGetStatusName(st));
-    st = cublasLtMatmul(g_handle, g_desc, &alpha, rhs.data_ptr(), g_layout_a,
-                        lhs.data_ptr(), g_layout_b, &beta, out.data_ptr(), g_layout_c,
-                        out.data_ptr(), g_layout_c, &algo, g_workspace, g_ws_size,
-                        stream);
-    TORCH_CHECK(st == CUBLAS_STATUS_SUCCESS,
-                "cublasLtMatmul failed: ", cublasLtGetStatusName(st));
-}
-
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Scaled FP8 linear forward: quantize x/w with per-tensor scales -> cublasLt
-// GEMM (scales applied inside) -> bias in-place -> bf16 [..., N].
-// sx/sw: f32 scale tensors (device scalars); sx_inv/sw_inv: 1/scale.
-// amax_x/amax_w: f32 buffers receiving max-abs of the quantized tensors.
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-torch::Tensor fp8_linear_forward_scaled(torch::Tensor x, torch::Tensor w,
-                                        torch::Tensor bias, torch::Tensor sx,
-                                        torch::Tensor sw, torch::Tensor sx_inv,
-                                        torch::Tensor sw_inv,
-                                        torch::Tensor amax_x,
-                                        torch::Tensor amax_w) {
-    TORCH_CHECK(x.is_cuda() && w.is_cuda(), "CUDA tensors required");
-    TORCH_CHECK(x.dtype() == torch::kBFloat16 && w.dtype() == torch::kBFloat16,
-                "x and w must be bf16");
-    const at::cuda::OptionalCUDAGuard guard(x.device());
-    auto stream = at::cuda::getCurrentCUDAStream();
-
-    auto x_c = x.reshape({-1, w.size(1)}).contiguous();
-    auto w_c = w.contiguous();
-    int64_t m = x_c.size(0), k = x_c.size(1), n = w_c.size(0);
-    TORCH_CHECK(w_c.size(1) == k, "inner dim mismatch");
-    ensure_cublas_lt();
-
-    const float* sx_ptr = sx.data_ptr<float>();
-    const float* sw_ptr = sw.data_ptr<float>();
-    const float* sxi_ptr = sx_inv.data_ptr<float>();
-    const float* swi_ptr = sw_inv.data_ptr<float>();
-    float* amax_x_ptr = amax_x.data_ptr<float>();
-    float* amax_w_ptr = amax_w.data_ptr<float>();
-    C10_CUDA_CHECK(cudaMemsetAsync(amax_x_ptr, 0, sizeof(float), stream.stream()));
-    C10_CUDA_CHECK(cudaMemsetAsync(amax_w_ptr, 0, sizeof(float), stream.stream()));
-
-    auto x8 = torch::empty({m, k}, x_c.options().dtype(torch::kFloat8_e4m3fn));
-    auto w8 = torch::empty({n, k}, w_c.options().dtype(torch::kFloat8_e4m3fn));
-    int64_t block = 256;
-    quantize_kernel<__nv_fp8_e4m3>
-        <<<(unsigned)((m * k + block - 1) / block), block, 0, stream.stream()>>>(
-            reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(x_c.data_ptr()), sxi_ptr,
-            reinterpret_cast<__nv_fp8_e4m3*>(x8.data_ptr()), amax_x_ptr, m * k);
-    quantize_kernel<__nv_fp8_e4m3>
-        <<<(unsigned)((n * k + block - 1) / block), block, 0, stream.stream()>>>(
-            reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(w_c.data_ptr()), swi_ptr,
-            reinterpret_cast<__nv_fp8_e4m3*>(w8.data_ptr()), amax_w_ptr, n * k);
-    C10_CUDA_CHECK(cudaGetLastError());
-
-    auto out = torch::empty({m, n}, x_c.options());
-    fp8_gemm_into(x8, w8, out, m, k, n, sw_ptr, sx_ptr, stream.stream());
-
-    if (bias.defined() && bias.numel() > 0) {
-        TORCH_CHECK(bias.scalar_type() == torch::kBFloat16 && bias.numel() == n,
-                    "bias must be bf16 with shape [N]");
-        bias_add_bf16_kernel<<<(unsigned)((m * n + block - 1) / block), block, 0, stream>>>(
-            reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat16*>(out.data_ptr()),
-            reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(bias.data_ptr()), m * n, n);
-        C10_CUDA_CHECK(cudaGetLastError());
-    }
-
-    std::vector<int64_t> shape(x.sizes().begin(), x.sizes().end() - 1);
-    shape.push_back(n);
-    return out.reshape(shape);
-}
-
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Scaled FP8 linear backward: dX = g @ W, dW = g^T @ X, dB = sum(g).
-// Scales: g uses sg (immediate), w/x reuse the forward scales.
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-std::tuple<torch::Tensor, torch::Tensor, torch::Tensor> fp8_linear_backward_scaled(
-    torch::Tensor g, torch::Tensor x, torch::Tensor w,
-    std::vector<int64_t> masks, torch::Tensor sg, torch::Tensor sw,
-    torch::Tensor sx, torch::Tensor sg_inv, torch::Tensor sw_inv,
-    torch::Tensor sx_inv, torch::Tensor amax_g) {
-    const at::cuda::OptionalCUDAGuard guard(g.device());
-    TORCH_CHECK(g.dtype() == torch::kBFloat16 && x.dtype() == torch::kBFloat16 &&
-                    w.dtype() == torch::kBFloat16,
-                "g, x, and w must be bf16");
-    auto stream = at::cuda::getCurrentCUDAStream();
-    auto g_c = g.reshape({-1, w.size(0)}).contiguous();
-    auto x_c = x.reshape({-1, x.size(-1)}).contiguous();
-    auto w_c = w.contiguous();
-    int64_t m = g_c.size(0);
-    int64_t n = w.size(0);
-    int64_t k = w.size(1);
-    TORCH_CHECK(x_c.size(0) == m && x_c.size(1) == k && g_c.size(1) == n,
-                "backward shape mismatch");
-
-    auto grad_input = torch::empty_like(x);
-    auto grad_weight = torch::empty_like(w);
-    auto grad_bias = torch::empty({0}, g_c.options().dtype(g.dtype()));
-    ensure_cublas_lt();
-
-    const float* sg_ptr = sg.data_ptr<float>();
-    const float* sw_ptr = sw.data_ptr<float>();
-    const float* sx_ptr = sx.data_ptr<float>();
-    const float* sgi_ptr = sg_inv.data_ptr<float>();
-    const float* swi_ptr = sw_inv.data_ptr<float>();
-    const float* sxi_ptr = sx_inv.data_ptr<float>();
-    float* amax_g_ptr = amax_g.data_ptr<float>();
-    C10_CUDA_CHECK(cudaMemsetAsync(amax_g_ptr, 0, sizeof(float), stream.stream()));
-
-    auto fp8_options = g_c.options().dtype(torch::kFloat8_e4m3fn);
-    auto g8 = torch::empty({m, n}, fp8_options);
-    auto gt8 = masks[1] ? torch::empty({n, m}, fp8_options) : torch::Tensor();
-    auto wt8 = masks[0] ? torch::empty({k, n}, fp8_options) : torch::Tensor();
-    auto xt8 = masks[1] ? torch::empty({k, m}, fp8_options) : torch::Tensor();
-    // w/x transpose-quantize amax goes to a scratch buffer, NOT amax_g: the
-    // gradient scale must only see the gradient's own max-abs.
-    auto amax_t = torch::zeros({1}, g_c.options().dtype(torch::kFloat32));
-
-    int64_t block = 256;
-    quantize_kernel<__nv_fp8_e4m3>
-        <<<(unsigned)((m * n + block - 1) / block), block, 0, stream.stream()>>>(
-            reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(g_c.data_ptr()), sgi_ptr,
-            reinterpret_cast<__nv_fp8_e4m3*>(g8.data_ptr()), amax_g_ptr, m * n);
-    dim3 threads(32, 8);
-    if (masks[0]) {
-        dim3 blocks((k + 31) / 32, (n + 31) / 32);
-        transpose_quantize_kernel<__nv_fp8_e4m3>
-            <<<blocks, threads, 0, stream.stream()>>>(
-                reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(w_c.data_ptr()), swi_ptr,
-                reinterpret_cast<__nv_fp8_e4m3*>(wt8.data_ptr()),
-                amax_t.data_ptr<float>(), n, k);
-        fp8_gemm_into(g8, wt8, grad_input.reshape({m, k}), m, n, k, sg_ptr,
-                      sw_ptr, stream.stream());
-    }
-    if (masks[1]) {
-        dim3 g_blocks((n + 31) / 32, (m + 31) / 32);
-        dim3 x_blocks((k + 31) / 32, (m + 31) / 32);
-        transpose_quantize_kernel<__nv_fp8_e4m3>
-            <<<g_blocks, threads, 0, stream.stream()>>>(
-                reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(g_c.data_ptr()), sgi_ptr,
-                reinterpret_cast<__nv_fp8_e4m3*>(gt8.data_ptr()),
-                amax_t.data_ptr<float>(), m, n);
-        transpose_quantize_kernel<__nv_fp8_e4m3>
-            <<<x_blocks, threads, 0, stream.stream()>>>(
-                reinterpret_cast<const __nv_bfloat16*>(x_c.data_ptr()), sxi_ptr,
-                reinterpret_cast<__nv_fp8_e4m3*>(xt8.data_ptr()),
-                amax_t.data_ptr<float>(), m, k);
-        fp8_gemm_into(gt8, xt8, grad_weight, n, m, k, sg_ptr, sx_ptr,
-                      stream.stream());
-    }
-    C10_CUDA_CHECK(cudaGetLastError());
-    if (masks[2]) {
-        grad_bias = g_c.sum(0).to(g.dtype());
-    }
-    return std::tuple<torch::Tensor, torch::Tensor, torch::Tensor>(
-        grad_input, grad_weight, grad_bias);
-}
-
-PYBIND11_MODULE(TORCH_EXTENSION_NAME, m) {
-    m.def("fp8_mm", &fp8_mm, py::arg("a"), py::arg("b"),
-          "FP8 e4m3 GEMM: a[M,K] x b[N,K] -> bf16[M,N] (pre-scaled inputs)");
-    m.def("fp8_linear_forward_scaled", &fp8_linear_forward_scaled,
-          py::arg("x"), py::arg("w"), py::arg("bias"), py::arg("sx"),
-          py::arg("sw"), py::arg("sx_inv"), py::arg("sw_inv"),
-          py::arg("amax_x"), py::arg("amax_w"),
-          "Scaled FP8 linear forward: quantize with per-tensor scales + "
-          "cublasLt GEMM (scales applied inside) + bias -> bf16");
-    m.def("fp8_linear_backward_scaled", &fp8_linear_backward_scaled,
-          py::arg("g"), py::arg("x"), py::arg("w"), py::arg("masks"),
-          py::arg("sg"), py::arg("sw"), py::arg("sx"), py::arg("sg_inv"),
-          py::arg("sw_inv"), py::arg("sx_inv"), py::arg("amax_g"),
-          "Scaled FP8 linear backward: dX = g*sw @ W, dW = (g*sx)^T @ X, "
-          "dB = sum(g)");
-}

csrc/tests/attn_paged_test.cu

@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 #include <cstring>
 #include <vector>
 #include "test_utils.cuh"
-#include "../kernels/attn_dispatchers.cuh"
+#include "../kernels/attention/dispatchers.cuh"
+
+using namespace astrai::attention;
 
 struct PagedDecodeDispatch { AttentionParams<bf16>& p; template<int H> void operator()() { dispatch_paged_decode<H>(p, 0); } };
 struct PagedPrefillDispatch { AttentionParams<bf16>& p; template<int H> void operator()() { dispatch_paged_prefill<H>(p, 0); } };
@@ -236,7 +238,7 @@ static int run_decode_test(int B, int Hq, int Hkv, int max_seq,
                             B, Hq, Hkv, HEAD_DIM, max_ctx, h_o_ref);
 
     // Kernel launch
-    AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+    AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
     p.batch = B; p.q_head = Hq; p.kv_head = Hkv;
     p.head_dim = HEAD_DIM;
     p.q_l_stride = Hq * HEAD_DIM; p.q_h_stride = HEAD_DIM; p.q_d_stride = 1;
@@ -371,7 +373,7 @@ static int run_decode_mask_test(int B, int Hq, int Hkv, int max_seq,
                             h_mask, max_sl,
                             B, Hq, Hkv, HEAD_DIM, max_ctx, h_o_ref);
 
-    AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+    AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
     p.batch = B; p.q_head = Hq; p.kv_head = Hkv;
     p.head_dim = HEAD_DIM;
     p.q_l_stride = Hq * HEAD_DIM; p.q_h_stride = HEAD_DIM; p.q_d_stride = 1;
@@ -507,7 +509,7 @@ static int run_prefill_test(int B, int Hq, int Hkv,
     int num_q_tiles = make_q_tile_mapping(q_lens, &d_qtb, &d_qti);
 
     // Kernel launch
-    AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+    AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
     p.batch = B; p.q_head = Hq; p.kv_head = Hkv;
     p.head_dim = HEAD_DIM;
     p.q_l_stride = Hq * HEAD_DIM; p.q_h_stride = HEAD_DIM; p.q_d_stride = 1;
@@ -649,7 +651,7 @@ static int run_prefill_mask_test(int Hq, int Hkv, int q_len, int seed) {
     int *d_qtb, *d_qti;
     int num_q_tiles = make_q_tile_mapping(q_lens, &d_qtb, &d_qti);
 
-    AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+    AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
     p.batch = B; p.q_head = Hq; p.kv_head = Hkv;
     p.head_dim = HEAD_DIM;
     p.q_l_stride = Hq * HEAD_DIM; p.q_h_stride = HEAD_DIM; p.q_d_stride = 1;
@@ -742,7 +744,7 @@ static void bench_decode(int B, int Hq, int Hkv, int seq_len) {
     for (int b = 0; b < B; b++) h_kvi[b + 1] = h_kvi[b] + seq_len;
     cudaMemcpy(d_kvi, h_kvi, sz_kvi, cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
 
-    AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+    AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
     p.batch = B; p.q_head = Hq; p.kv_head = Hkv;
     p.head_dim = HEAD_DIM;
     p.q_l_stride = Hq * HEAD_DIM; p.q_h_stride = HEAD_DIM; p.q_d_stride = 1;
@@ -823,7 +825,7 @@ static void bench_prefill(int B, int Hq, int Hkv, int q_len, int kv_len, int cau
     int *d_qtb, *d_qti;
     int num_q_tiles = make_q_tile_mapping(q_lens, &d_qtb, &d_qti);
 
-    AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+    AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
     p.batch = B; p.q_head = Hq; p.kv_head = Hkv;
     p.head_dim = HEAD_DIM;
     p.q_l_stride = Hq * HEAD_DIM; p.q_h_stride = HEAD_DIM; p.q_d_stride = 1;

csrc/tests/attn_test.cu

@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ nvcc -I csrc -arch=sm_89 -O3 \
 */
 
 #include "test_utils.cuh"
-#include "../kernels/attn_dispatchers.cuh"
+#include "../kernels/attention/dispatchers.cuh"
+
+using namespace astrai::attention;
 
 struct DecodeDispatch { AttentionParams<bf16>& p; template<int H> void operator()() { dispatch_decode<H>(p, 0); } };
 struct PrefillDispatch { AttentionParams<bf16>& p; template<int H> void operator()() { dispatch_prefill<H>(p, 0); } };
@@ -56,7 +58,7 @@ static int run_decode_test(int B, int Hq, int Hk, int sl, int D, int causal) {
     cudaMemcpy(dV,tmp,nKV*2,cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
     cudaMemcpy(dMask,hMask,B*sl,cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
 
-    AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+    AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
     p.batch=B; p.q_head=Hq; p.kv_head=Hk; p.q_len=1; p.kv_len=sl; p.head_dim=D;
     p.use_mask=0; p.causal_offset=causal?0:-1;
     p.scale=1.0f/sqrtf((float)D);
@@ -137,7 +139,7 @@ static void bench_decode() {
         cudaMemcpy(dV, tmp, nKV*2, cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
         delete[] tmp;
 
-        AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+        AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
         p.batch = B; p.q_head = Hq; p.kv_head = Hk; p.q_len = 1; p.kv_len = sl;
         p.head_dim = D; p.use_mask = 0; p.causal_offset = -1;
         p.scale = 1.0f / sqrtf((float)D);
@@ -184,7 +186,7 @@ static int run_prefill_test(int B, int Hq, int Hk, int ql, int kl, int D, int ca
     for (size_t i=0;i<nKV;i++) tmp[i]=f2bf(hV[i]);
     cudaMemcpy(dV,tmp,nKV*2,cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
 
-    AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+    AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
     p.batch=B; p.q_head=Hq; p.kv_head=Hk; p.q_len=ql; p.kv_len=kl; p.head_dim=D;
     p.use_mask=0; p.causal_offset=causal?0:-1;
     set_default_strides(p);
@@ -264,7 +266,7 @@ static void bench_prefill() {
         for (size_t i=0;i<nKV;i++) tmp[i]=f2bf(randf());
         cudaMemcpy(dV,tmp,nKV*2,cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
 
-        AttentionParams<bf16> p;
+        AttentionParams<bf16> p = {};
         p.batch=B; p.q_head=Hq; p.kv_head=Hk; p.q_len=ql; p.kv_len=kl; p.head_dim=D;
         p.use_mask=0; p.causal_offset=causal?0:-1;
         set_default_strides(p);

csrc/tests/fp8_test.cu

@@ -0,0 +1,344 @@
+/*
+FP8 family tests: single-warp MMA demo + full GEMM correctness.
+
+Part 1 exercises one bf16 -> fp8 -> mma.sync m16n8k32 instruction pair
+(sanity for astrai::mma_sync + the fragment layout contract).
+Part 2 checks launch_fp8_gemm across all four operand layouts, both K
+tiles, and ragged shapes against an fp32 CPU reference.
+
+nvcc -I csrc -arch=sm_89 -std=c++17 -O3 csrc/tests/fp8_test.cu -o /tmp/fp8_test \
+    && /tmp/fp8_test
+*/
+
+#include "test_utils.cuh"
+
+#include <cuda_fp8.h>
+#include <algorithm>
+#include <cmath>
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <cstdlib>
+#include <cuda_runtime.h>
+#include <type_traits>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "../kernels/common/mma.cuh"
+#include "../kernels/fp8/gemm.cuh"
+
+using namespace astrai::fp8;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Part 1: single-kernel BF16 -> FP8 MMA -> BF16 demo (m16n8k32)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+namespace {
+
+constexpr int kMmaM = 16;
+constexpr int kMmaN = 8;
+constexpr int kMmaK = 32;
+
+__device__ __forceinline__ unsigned pack_fp8x4(float x0, float x1, float x2,
+                                                float x3) {
+    __nv_fp8_e4m3 q0(x0);
+    __nv_fp8_e4m3 q1(x1);
+    __nv_fp8_e4m3 q2(x2);
+    __nv_fp8_e4m3 q3(x3);
+    return static_cast<unsigned>(q0.__x) |
+           (static_cast<unsigned>(q1.__x) << 8) |
+           (static_cast<unsigned>(q2.__x) << 16) |
+           (static_cast<unsigned>(q3.__x) << 24);
+}
+
+__device__ __forceinline__ unsigned load_quantize_fp8x4(
+    const bf16* src, float scale_inv) {
+    return pack_fp8x4(__bfloat162float(src[0]) * scale_inv,
+                      __bfloat162float(src[1]) * scale_inv,
+                      __bfloat162float(src[2]) * scale_inv,
+                      __bfloat162float(src[3]) * scale_inv);
+}
+
+__global__ void fused_bf16_fp8_mma_kernel(
+    const bf16* __restrict__ a, const bf16* __restrict__ b,
+    bf16* __restrict__ out, float scale_a, float scale_b) {
+    const int lane = threadIdx.x;
+    const int group = lane >> 2;
+    const int thread_in_group = lane & 3;
+    const int k0 = thread_in_group * 4;
+
+    // PTX m16n8k32 A fragment: two rows, two 16-column K partitions.
+    unsigned a_frag[4];
+    a_frag[0] = load_quantize_fp8x4(&a[group * kMmaK + k0], 1.0f / scale_a);
+    a_frag[1] =
+        load_quantize_fp8x4(&a[(group + 8) * kMmaK + k0], 1.0f / scale_a);
+    a_frag[2] =
+        load_quantize_fp8x4(&a[group * kMmaK + k0 + 16], 1.0f / scale_a);
+    a_frag[3] = load_quantize_fp8x4(&a[(group + 8) * kMmaK + k0 + 16],
+                                    1.0f / scale_a);
+
+    // B is supplied as row-major [N,K], equivalent to the col-major [K,N]
+    // operand required by the MMA instruction.
+    unsigned b_frag[2];
+    b_frag[0] = load_quantize_fp8x4(&b[group * kMmaK + k0], 1.0f / scale_b);
+    b_frag[1] =
+        load_quantize_fp8x4(&b[group * kMmaK + k0 + 16], 1.0f / scale_b);
+
+    float acc[4] = {0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f};
+    astrai::mma_sync<__nv_fp8_e4m3>(acc, a_frag, b_frag, acc);
+
+    const int col = thread_in_group * 2;
+    const float output_scale = scale_a * scale_b;
+    *reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat162*>(&out[group * kMmaN + col]) =
+        __floats2bfloat162_rn(acc[0] * output_scale, acc[1] * output_scale);
+    *reinterpret_cast<__nv_bfloat162*>(&out[(group + 8) * kMmaN + col]) =
+        __floats2bfloat162_rn(acc[2] * output_scale, acc[3] * output_scale);
+}
+
+static float quantize_e4m3(float value) {
+    return static_cast<float>(__nv_fp8_e4m3(value));
+}
+
+static bool test_single_mma() {
+    srand(0);
+    std::vector<float> a(kMmaM * kMmaK), b(kMmaN * kMmaK),
+        reference(kMmaM * kMmaN, 0.0f);
+    std::vector<bf16> a_bf16(kMmaM * kMmaK), b_bf16(kMmaN * kMmaK),
+        output(kMmaM * kMmaN);
+    for (float& value : a) value = randf() * 4.0f;
+    for (float& value : b) value = randf() * 4.0f;
+    for (int i = 0; i < kMmaM * kMmaK; ++i) {
+        a_bf16[i] = f2bf(a[i]);
+        a[i] = bf2f(a_bf16[i]);
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < kMmaN * kMmaK; ++i) {
+        b_bf16[i] = f2bf(b[i]);
+        b[i] = bf2f(b_bf16[i]);
+    }
+
+    const float amax = *std::max_element(
+        a.begin(), a.end(),
+        [](float x, float y) { return fabsf(x) < fabsf(y); });
+    const float bmax = *std::max_element(
+        b.begin(), b.end(),
+        [](float x, float y) { return fabsf(x) < fabsf(y); });
+    const float scale_a = fabsf(amax) / 448.0f;
+    const float scale_b = fabsf(bmax) / 448.0f;
+
+    for (int row = 0; row < kMmaM; ++row) {
+        for (int col = 0; col < kMmaN; ++col) {
+            float sum = 0.0f;
+            for (int k = 0; k < kMmaK; ++k) {
+                float qa = quantize_e4m3(a[row * kMmaK + k] / scale_a);
+                float qb = quantize_e4m3(b[col * kMmaK + k] / scale_b);
+                sum = fmaf(qa, qb, sum);
+            }
+            reference[row * kMmaN + col] = sum * scale_a * scale_b;
+        }
+    }
+
+    bf16 *d_a, *d_b, *d_out;
+    CUDA_CHECK(cudaMalloc(&d_a, a_bf16.size() * sizeof(bf16)));
+    CUDA_CHECK(cudaMalloc(&d_b, b_bf16.size() * sizeof(bf16)));
+    CUDA_CHECK(cudaMalloc(&d_out, output.size() * sizeof(bf16)));
+    CUDA_CHECK(cudaMemcpy(d_a, a_bf16.data(), a_bf16.size() * sizeof(bf16),
+                          cudaMemcpyHostToDevice));
+    CUDA_CHECK(cudaMemcpy(d_b, b_bf16.data(), b_bf16.size() * sizeof(bf16),
+                          cudaMemcpyHostToDevice));
+
+    fused_bf16_fp8_mma_kernel<<<1, 32>>>(d_a, d_b, d_out, scale_a, scale_b);
+    CUDA_CHECK(cudaDeviceSynchronize());
+    CUDA_CHECK(cudaMemcpy(output.data(), d_out, output.size() * sizeof(bf16),
+                          cudaMemcpyDeviceToHost));
+
+    float max_abs_error = 0.0f;
+    float max_rel_error = 0.0f;
+    for (int i = 0; i < kMmaM * kMmaN; ++i) {
+        float error = fabsf(bf2f(output[i]) - reference[i]);
+        max_abs_error = fmaxf(max_abs_error, error);
+        max_rel_error = fmaxf(
+            max_rel_error, error / fmaxf(fabsf(reference[i]), 1e-4f));
+    }
+    const bool pass = max_abs_error < 0.05f;
+    print_test_row("M=16 N=8 K=32 fused BF16->E4M3 MMA", max_abs_error,
+                   max_rel_error, pass);
+
+    cudaFree(d_a);
+    cudaFree(d_b);
+    cudaFree(d_out);
+    return pass;
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Part 2: GEMM correctness — layouts x K-tiles vs fp32 CPU reference
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// Naive fp32 reference on the GPU: same layout interpretation as the CPU
+// loop it replaces (O(m*n) to check instead of O(m*n*k) to compute).
+__global__ static void
+naive_gemm_ref(const __nv_fp8_e4m3* a, const __nv_fp8_e4m3* b, float* out,
+               int m, int n, int k, int a_ld, int b_ld, int a_rm, int b_rm) {
+    const int i = blockIdx.y * 32 + threadIdx.y;
+    const int j = blockIdx.x * 32 + threadIdx.x;
+    if (i >= m || j >= n) return;
+    float acc = 0.f;
+    for (int kk = 0; kk < k; ++kk) {
+        float av = a_rm ? (float)a[i * a_ld + kk] : (float)a[kk * a_ld + i];
+        float bv = b_rm ? (float)b[kk * b_ld + j] : (float)b[j * b_ld + kk];
+        acc += av * bv;
+    }
+    out[i * n + j] = acc;
+}
+
+// Big-CTA policies for the direct-layout cases: kK/Stages vary per case;
+// the fast interior loop follows the dual-congruous rule, grouped raster 8
+// matches the production dispatch.
+template <typename LA, typename LB>
+constexpr bool kCaseFast =
+    !std::is_same_v<LA, ColMajor> && !std::is_same_v<LB, RowMajor>;
+template <typename LA, typename LB, int kK, int Stages>
+using CasePolicy =
+    Fp8GemmPolicy<FP8Format::E4M3, 128, 128, LA, LB, 64, 32, kK, Stages, 8,
+                  false, kCaseFast<LA, LB>>;
+
+template <typename LA, typename LB, int kK, int Stages>
+static bool run_gemm_case(const float* ha, const float* hb, int m, int n,
+                          int k, int a_ld, int b_ld, int dispatch = 0) {
+    __nv_fp8_e4m3 *da, *db;
+    __nv_bfloat16* dout;
+    float* dscale;
+    cudaMalloc(&da, (size_t)m * k);
+    cudaMalloc(&db, (size_t)n * k);
+    cudaMalloc(&dout, (size_t)m * n * 2);
+    cudaMalloc(&dscale, 4);
+    float one = 1.0f;
+    cudaMemcpy(dscale, &one, 4, cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
+    // quantize inputs to e4m3 on host and upload byte-by-byte
+    std::vector<unsigned char> qa(m * k), qb(n * k);
+    for (int i = 0; i < m * k; ++i) {
+        __nv_fp8_e4m3 q(ha[i]);
+        qa[i] = *(unsigned char*)&q;
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < n * k; ++i) {
+        __nv_fp8_e4m3 q(hb[i]);
+        qb[i] = *(unsigned char*)&q;
+    }
+    cudaMemcpy(da, qa.data(), qa.size(), cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
+    cudaMemcpy(db, qb.data(), qb.size(), cudaMemcpyHostToDevice);
+
+    FP8Params p = {};
+    p.a_ptr = da;
+    p.b_ptr = db;
+    p.out_ptr = dout;
+    p.scale = dscale;
+    p.m = m;
+    p.n = n;
+    p.k = k;
+    p.a_ld = a_ld;
+    p.b_ld = b_ld;
+    float* d_ref;
+    cudaMalloc(&d_ref, (size_t)m * n * 4);
+    naive_gemm_ref<<<dim3((n + 31) / 32, (m + 31) / 32), dim3(32, 32)>>>(
+        da, db, d_ref, m, n, k, a_ld, b_ld,
+        !std::is_same_v<LA, ColMajor>, !std::is_same_v<LB, ColMajor>);
+    std::vector<float> href((size_t)m * n);
+    cudaMemcpy(href.data(), d_ref, href.size() * 4, cudaMemcpyDeviceToHost);
+    cudaFree(d_ref);
+
+    if (dispatch == 1)
+        // Production route, NN: the dual-N-contiguous problem has no
+        // dedicated instantiation — canonicalize_gemm swaps to the
+        // transposed <ColMajor, ColMajor> kernel with its out-transposed
+        // epilogue (see gemm.cuh).
+        gemm<FP8Format::E4M3>(p, 0, false, false);
+    else if (dispatch == 2)
+        // Production route, NT: exercises plan_gemm's small/narrow/big
+        // selection for this shape.
+        gemm<FP8Format::E4M3>(p, 0, false, true);
+    else
+        launch_policy<CasePolicy<LA, LB, kK, Stages>>(p, 0);
+    cudaError_t e = cudaDeviceSynchronize();
+    if (e != cudaSuccess) {
+        printf("  CUDA err: %s\n", cudaGetErrorString(e));
+        return false;
+    }
+    std::vector<unsigned short> hb16(m * n);
+    cudaMemcpy(hb16.data(), dout, (size_t)m * n * 2, cudaMemcpyDeviceToHost);
+    const float tol = 0.06f;
+    double max_rel = 0;
+    bool ok = true;
+    for (int i = 0; i < m && ok; ++i) {
+        for (int j = 0; j < n && ok; ++j) {
+            const float ref = href[(size_t)i * n + j];
+            float got =
+                __bfloat162float(__ushort_as_bfloat16(hb16[i * n + j]));
+            float err = fabsf(got - ref);
+            float rel = err / fmaxf(fabsf(ref), 0.5f);
+            if (rel > max_rel) max_rel = rel;
+            if (err > tol * fmaxf(fabsf(ref), 1.0f)) ok = false;
+        }
+    }
+    printf("  max_rel=%.4f %s\n", max_rel, ok ? "PASS" : "FAIL");
+    cudaFree(da);
+    cudaFree(db);
+    cudaFree(dout);
+    cudaFree(dscale);
+    return ok;
+}
+
+static bool test_gemm() {
+    struct {
+        int m, n, k;
+    } cfgs[] = {
+        {128, 128, 128}, {256, 128, 256}, {128, 256, 64},
+        {100, 130, 96},  {64, 64, 160},   {300, 200, 320},
+        {2048, 256, 512}, {1024, 1024, 512},
+    };
+    bool all = true;
+    for (auto& c : cfgs) {
+        float* ha = new float[c.m * c.k];
+        float* hb_rowmajor = new float[c.k * c.n];  // [K][N] for B RowMajor
+        float* hb_colmajor = new float[c.n * c.k];  // [N][K] for B ColMajor
+        for (int i = 0; i < c.m * c.k; ++i) ha[i] = randf();
+        for (int i = 0; i < c.k * c.n; ++i) hb_rowmajor[i] = randf();
+        for (int i = 0; i < c.k * c.n; ++i)
+            hb_colmajor[i / c.k * c.k + i % c.k] = hb_rowmajor[i];
+        float* ha_t = new float[c.k * c.m];  // [K][M] for A ColMajor
+        for (int i = 0; i < c.m; ++i)
+            for (int p = 0; p < c.k; ++p) ha_t[p * c.m + i] = ha[i * c.k + p];
+        printf("%dx%dx%d:\n", c.m, c.n, c.k);
+        printf(" NT K32:");
+        all &= run_gemm_case<RowMajor, ColMajor, 32, 3>(ha, hb_colmajor, c.m,
+                                                        c.n, c.k, c.k, c.k);
+        printf(" NT K64:");
+        all &= run_gemm_case<RowMajor, ColMajor, 64, 2>(ha, hb_colmajor, c.m,
+                                                        c.n, c.k, c.k, c.k);
+        printf(" NN swap:");
+        all &= run_gemm_case<RowMajor, RowMajor, 64, 2>(
+            ha, hb_rowmajor, c.m, c.n, c.k, c.k, c.n, /*dispatch=*/1);
+        printf(" NT disp:");
+        all &= run_gemm_case<RowMajor, ColMajor, 64, 2>(
+            ha, hb_colmajor, c.m, c.n, c.k, c.k, c.k, /*dispatch=*/2);
+        printf(" TN K32:");
+        all &= run_gemm_case<ColMajor, ColMajor, 32, 3>(ha_t, hb_colmajor, c.m,
+                                                        c.n, c.k, c.m, c.k);
+        printf(" TN K64:");
+        all &= run_gemm_case<ColMajor, ColMajor, 64, 2>(ha_t, hb_colmajor, c.m,
+                                                        c.n, c.k, c.m, c.k);
+        printf(" TT K64:");
+        all &= run_gemm_case<ColMajor, RowMajor, 64, 2>(ha_t, hb_rowmajor, c.m,
+                                                        c.n, c.k, c.m, c.n);
+        delete[] ha;
+        delete[] hb_rowmajor;
+        delete[] hb_colmajor;
+        delete[] ha_t;
+    }
+    return all;
+}
+
+}  // namespace
+
+int main() {
+    print_test_header();
+    bool ok = test_single_mma();
+    ok &= test_gemm();
+    printf(ok ? "All PASS\n" : "FAILURES\n");
+    return ok ? 0 : 1;
+}

docker-compose.yml

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 services:
   server:
+    image: astrai:latest
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
@@ -9,16 +10,18 @@ services:
         USER_GID: ${ASTRAI_GID:-1000}
     user: "${ASTRAI_UID:-1000}:${ASTRAI_GID:-1000}"
     ports:
-      - "8000:8000"
+      - "${SERVE_PORT:-8000}:${SERVE_CONTAINER_PORT:-8000}"
     volumes:
-      - ./params:/app/params:ro
+      - ${SERVE_PARAM_DIR:-./params}:/app/params:ro
+    environment:
+      - CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES
     command: python -m scripts.tools.server --port 8000 --device cuda
     deploy:
       resources:
         reservations:
           devices:
             - driver: nvidia
-              count: 1
+              count: all
               capabilities: [gpu]
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8000/health"]
@@ -29,6 +32,7 @@ services:
     restart: unless-stopped
 
   server-cpu:
+    image: astrai:latest
     profiles: [cpu]
     build:
       context: .
@@ -39,9 +43,9 @@ services:
         USER_GID: ${ASTRAI_GID:-1000}
     user: "${ASTRAI_UID:-1000}:${ASTRAI_GID:-1000}"
     ports:
-      - "8000:8000"
+      - "${SERVE_PORT:-8000}:${SERVE_CONTAINER_PORT:-8000}"
     volumes:
-      - ./params:/app/params:ro
+      - ${SERVE_PARAM_DIR:-./params}:/app/params:ro
     command: python -m scripts.tools.server --port 8000 --device cpu
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8000/health"]
@@ -52,6 +56,7 @@ services:
     restart: unless-stopped
 
   trainer:
+    image: astrai:latest
     profiles: [train]
     build:
       context: .
@@ -72,9 +77,8 @@ services:
       - BASE_MODEL=${BASE_MODEL:-/models/base}
       - CHECKPOINT_ROOT=/checkpoints
       - TRAIN_GPU_COUNT=${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT:-all}
+      - TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE=${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE:-auto}
       - CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES
-      - NCCL_P2P_DISABLE
-      - NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL
     entrypoint: ["bash", "/app/scripts/docker/train-entrypoint.sh"]
     ipc: ${TRAIN_IPC_MODE:-host}
     stop_grace_period: ${TRAIN_STOP_GRACE_PERIOD:-10m}

docs/README-zh-CN.md

@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ AstrAI 是一个覆盖模型构建、训练、评测与部署的端到端 Transf
 | **数据** | 声明式 JSON 预处理、可配置掩码与样本打包、二进制/JSONL 存储和流式数据集 |
 | **推理** | 连续批处理、分页 KV Cache、Radix 前缀缓存、流式生成，以及 Torch/CUDA/FlashAttention 后端 |
 | **服务** | 基于 FastAPI 的 OpenAI 与 Anthropic 聊天补全协议，支持 SSE 流式输出和工具调用 |
-| **评测** | Perplexity、MMLU、HumanEval、IFEval、IFD 和 ROUGE 评测工具 |
+| **评测** | Perplexity、MMLU、HumanEval、IFEval、IFD、ROUGE 和权重分析评测工具 |
 | **扩展** | 基于工厂与注册表扩展模型、数据集、训练策略、回调、内核和协议组件 |
 
 ### 快速上手
@@ -71,8 +71,9 @@ AstrAI 需要 Python 3.12+，并精确固定 PyTorch 版本为 `2.11.0`。训练
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/ViperEkura/AstrAI.git
 cd AstrAI
-pip install -e .                                          # 纯 PyTorch（不含 CUDA 内核）
+pip install -e .                                          # 检测到 nvcc + CUDA 时自动构建内核
-# CSRC_KERNELS=true pip install -e . --no-build-isolation  # 可选：融合 CUDA 内核加速
+# CSRC_KERNELS=false pip install -e .                     # 跳过内核（纯 PyTorch）
+# CSRC_KERNELS=true pip install -e . --no-build-isolation  # 强制构建融合 CUDA 内核
 # pip install -e ".[dev]"                                  # 可选：开发依赖（pytest, ruff）
 ```
 
@@ -242,6 +243,8 @@ SSE 流式格式、错误码和统计端点详见[推理文档](guides/inference
 | [数据流程](./developer/dataflow.md) | 数据管道、存储后端与数据集架构 |
 | [内部实现](./developer/internals.md) | 训练原理：损失公式、回调生命周期、KV Cache |
 | [CUDA 内核](./developer/cuda_kernels.md) | 自定义 CUDA 注意力内核与基准测试 |
+| [Docker 服务部署](./developer/docker-serving.md) | YAML 驱动的容器化服务（`serve.yaml`、`serve.sh`） |
+| [Docker 训练部署](./developer/docker-training.md) | YAML 驱动的容器化训练（`train.yaml`、`train.sh`） |
 
 ### 贡献
 

docs/developer/architecture.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 - [Class Diagram](#class-diagram) — Full Mermaid class diagram across 10+ namespaces
 - [Module Overview](#module-overview) — Component inventory per module
-- [Design Patterns](#design-patterns) — 15 documented patterns with classes
+- [Design Patterns](#design-patterns) — 16 documented patterns with classes
 - [Core Relationships](#core-relationships) — 11 key inter-component relationships
 
 ## Class Diagram
@@ -816,8 +816,8 @@ classDiagram
 
         class Executor {
             +AutoModel model
-            +AutoTokenizer tokenizer
             +PagePool kv_cache
+            +TaskCacheManager task_cache
             +InferenceWorkspace _workspace
             +Optional[str] device
             +Optional[torch.dtype] dtype
@@ -845,6 +845,7 @@ classDiagram
 
         class InferenceScheduler {
             +PagePool _cache
+            +TaskCacheManager _task_cache
             +Executor _executor
             +TaskManager _task_mgr
             +Event _stop_event
@@ -888,6 +889,24 @@ classDiagram
             +release(pages)
         }
 
+        class AllocationStrategy {
+            <<abstract>>
+            +alloc(state, prompt_ids) bool
+            +free(state)
+            +extend(state, pos) bool
+            +write_indices(state, prompt_ids)
+            +record_hashes(state, prompt_ids, start_logical_page)
+        }
+
+        class ContiguousStrategy {
+            +write_indices(state, prompt_ids)
+        }
+
+        class PagedStrategy {
+            -Allocator _alloc
+            -RadixCache _prefix
+        }
+
         class KVStorage {
             +int size
             +Tensor k_buffer
@@ -926,14 +945,21 @@ classDiagram
             +bool contiguous
             -KVStorage _storage
             -ReqToTokenPool _req_pool
-            -Allocator _alloc
+            -AllocationStrategy _strategy
-            -RadixCache _prefix
+            +strategy AllocationStrategy
+            +req_pool ReqToTokenPool
+            +bind_tasks(req_indices, seq_lens, workspace, device, start_pos, incremental) KVCache
+        }
+
+        class TaskCacheManager {
+            -PagePool _pool
+            -Dict _states
             +task_alloc(task_id, prompt_ids) bool
             +task_free(task_id)
             +task_extend(task_id, pos) bool
             +task_cached(task_id) int
             +task_record_hashes(task_id, prompt_ids, start_logical_page)
-            +bind_tasks(task_ids, workspace, device, start_pos) KVCache
+            +bind(task_ids, workspace) KVCache
         }
 
     class Task {
@@ -1316,17 +1342,22 @@ classDiagram
     PositionIdStrategy <|-- DocResetPositionId
     PositionIdStrategy <|-- ContinuousPositionId
     StoreWriter <|-- BinWriter
+    AllocationStrategy <|-- ContiguousStrategy
+    AllocationStrategy <|-- PagedStrategy
     RawRollout <|-- RolloutResult
     LaunchStrategy <|-- TorchrunStrategy
     LaunchStrategy <|-- LocalStrategy
     %% --- Composition (strong ownership, part destroyed with whole) ---
     PagePool *-- KVStorage
     PagePool *-- ReqToTokenPool
-    PagePool *-- Allocator
+    PagePool *-- AllocationStrategy
-    PagePool *-- RadixCache
+    PagedStrategy *-- Allocator
+    PagedStrategy *-- RadixCache
+    TaskCacheManager o-- PagePool
     RadixCache *-- RadixNode
     InferenceEngine *-- InferenceScheduler
     InferenceScheduler *-- PagePool
+    InferenceScheduler *-- TaskCacheManager
     InferenceScheduler *-- Executor
     Executor *-- InferenceWorkspace
     InferenceScheduler *-- TaskManager
@@ -1419,7 +1450,7 @@ classDiagram
     Task --> TaskStatus
     InferenceEngine --> AutoModel
     Executor --> AutoModel
-    Executor --> AutoTokenizer
+    Executor --> TaskCacheManager
     TaskManager --> AutoTokenizer
 
 ```
@@ -1436,8 +1467,9 @@ classDiagram
 | **astrai.model** | ModelFactory, AutoModel, AutoRegressiveLM, EmbeddingEncoder, DecoderBlock, GQA, MLA, MLP, DeepSeekMoE, AttnFactory, FFNFactory, RMSNorm, Linear, LoRAConfig, LoRALinear, RotaryEmbedding, Embedding | Neural network model |
 | **astrai.tokenize** | AutoTokenizer, ChatTemplate | Tokenizer and chat template |
 | **astrai.trainer** | Trainer, TrainContext, TrainContextBuilder, BaseStrategy–GRPOStrategy, StrategyFactory, BaseScheduler–WSDScheduler, SchedulerFactory, TrainCallback(Protocol)–MetricCallback, CallbackFactory, RawRollout, RolloutResult, BaseRewardModel, RolloutGenerator, RolloutRunner | Training workflow |
-| **astrai.inference** | InferenceEngine, InferenceScheduler, Executor, InferenceWorkspace, PagePool, KVStorage, ReqToTokenPool, KVCache, Allocator, RadixCache, Task, TaskManager, TaskStatus, StreamDecoder, GenerateResult, BaseSamplingStrategy–SamplingPipeline, FrequencyPenaltyStrategy, ProtocolHandler, ResponseBuilder, OpenAIResponseBuilder, AnthropicResponseBuilder, StopChecker, GenContext, StopInfo, ChatMessage, FunctionDef, ToolDef, ChatCompletionRequest, AnthropicMessage, MessagesRequest, BaseToolParser, ToolParserFactory, SimpleJsonToolParser | Inference service |
+| **astrai.inference** | InferenceEngine, InferenceScheduler, Executor, InferenceWorkspace, PagePool, TaskCacheManager, KVStorage, ReqToTokenPool, KVCache, Allocator, RadixCache, AllocationStrategy, ContiguousStrategy, PagedStrategy, Task, TaskManager, TaskStatus, StreamDecoder, GenerateResult, BaseSamplingStrategy–SamplingPipeline, FrequencyPenaltyStrategy, ProtocolHandler, ResponseBuilder, OpenAIResponseBuilder, AnthropicResponseBuilder, StopChecker, GenContext, StopInfo, ChatMessage, FunctionDef, ToolDef, ChatCompletionRequest, AnthropicMessage, MessagesRequest, BaseToolParser, ToolParserFactory, SimpleJsonToolParser | Inference service |
-| **astrai.extension** | `backend` policy package, `ops` kernel-wrapper package, AttentionBackend, TorchNativeBackend, CudaBackend, FlashAttnBackend, attention, attn_backend, ATTN_BACKEND, apply_rotary_emb, is_available | Stable API over attention/rotary execution policy and optional CUDA kernels |
+| **astrai.extension** | `backend` policy package, `ops` kernel-wrapper package, `fp8.py` FP8 strategy layer, AttentionBackend, TorchNativeBackend, CudaBackend, FlashAttnBackend, attention, attn_backend, ATTN_BACKEND, apply_rotary_emb, is_available | Stable API over attention/rotary/FP8 execution policy and optional CUDA kernels |
+| **astrai.optim** | OptimizerFactory, MuonAdamW, NoraNadamW, ManoAdamW, composite_step/composite_zero_grad/composite_state_dict, partition_optimizer_parameters | Built-in optimizers (`muon_adamw` / `nora_nadamw` / `mano_adamw`) with shared composite-optimizer helpers |
 | **astrai.parallel** | spawn_parallel_fn, setup_parallel, get_rank/get_world_size/get_current_device, only_on_rank, LaunchStrategy, TorchrunStrategy, LocalStrategy, BaseExecutor, ExecutorFactory, NoneExecutor, DDPExecutor, FSDPExecutor, GradientState, AccumOptimizer, AccumScheduler | Distributed parallel & gradient accumulation |
 | **astrai.factory** | BaseFactory | Component registration |
 | **astrai.protocols** | OptimizerProtocol, SchedulerProtocol | Structural subtyping for optimizer/scheduler wrappers |
@@ -1461,6 +1493,7 @@ classDiagram
 | **Storage** | `Store`, `MmapStore`, `JsonlStore` | Format-agnostic data access with multi-segment support |
 | **Producer-Consumer** | `InferenceScheduler`, `Task`, queues | Continuous batching |
 | **Model Registry** | `ModelFactory`, `AutoRegressiveLM`, `EmbeddingEncoder` | Model-type dynamic loading |
+| **Optimizer Routing** | `OptimizerFactory`, `MuonAdamW`, `NoraNadamW`, `ManoAdamW` | Route parameter groups (matrices vs. embeddings/heads/norms) through different optimizers |
 
 ## Core Relationships
 
@@ -1476,4 +1509,4 @@ classDiagram
 10. **AutoModel**: `from_pretrained()` loads `config.json` + `model.safetensors`, `_disable_random_init` replaces `nn.init.*` with no-ops
 11. **Protocols**: `OptimizerProtocol` / `SchedulerProtocol` — structural subtyping for `AccumOptimizer` / `AccumScheduler` wrappers
 
-> Document Update Time: 2026-08-16
+> Document Update Time: 2026-08-29

docs/developer/cuda_kernels.md

@@ -1,23 +1,24 @@
 # CUDA Kernels
 
-AstrAI includes optional custom CUDA kernels for attention and rotary embedding. These are built when `nvcc` is available and CUDA is detected, and are dispatched via the `CudaBackend` attention backend or auto-dispatched for rotary.
+AstrAI includes optional custom CUDA kernels for attention, rotary embedding, and FP8 GEMM. These are built when `nvcc` is available and CUDA is detected, and are dispatched via the `CudaBackend` attention backend, auto-dispatched for rotary, or invoked through the FP8 linear primitives.
 
 ## Overview
 
 | Kernel | File | Description |
 |--------|------|-------------|
-| `attn_decode` | `attn_decode.cu` | GQA decode attention (split-KV) |
+| `attn_decode` | `attention/decode.cu` | GQA decode attention (split-KV) |
-| `attn_prefill` | `attn_prefill.cu` | GQA prefill attention (split-Q) |
+| `attn_prefill` | `attention/prefill.cu` | GQA prefill attention (split-Q) |
-| `attn_paged_decode` | `attn_paged_decode.cu` | Paged KV cache decode attention |
+| `attn_paged_decode` | `attention/paged_decode.cu` | Paged KV cache decode attention |
-| `attn_paged_prefill` | `attn_paged_prefill.cu` | Paged KV cache prefill attention (ragged batch) |
+| `attn_paged_prefill` | `attention/paged_prefill.cu` | Paged KV cache prefill attention (ragged batch) |
-| `rotary_emb` | `rotary_emb.cu` | Fused rotary embedding (cos/sin lookup + rotation) |
+| `rotary_emb` | `rotary/rotary_emb.cu` | Fused rotary embedding (cos/sin lookup + rotation) |
+| `fp8_ops` | `fp8/ops.cu` | FP8 quantization + tensor-core GEMM (sm_89+) |
 
 Additionally, optimized `.cuh` variants with tensor-core MMA (Matrix Multiply-Accumulate) exist:
 
 | Variant | File | Optimization |
 |---------|------|--------------|
-| Split-KV MMA decode | `attn_decode_split_kv_mma.cuh` | Split KV across warps + MMA (sm_80+) |
+| Split-KV MMA decode | `attention/decode_split_kv_mma.cuh` | Split KV across warps + MMA (sm_80+) |
-| Split-Q MMA prefill | `attn_prefill_split_q_mma.cuh` | Split Q across warps + MMA (sm_80+) |
+| Split-Q MMA prefill | `attention/prefill_split_q_mma.cuh` | Split Q across warps + MMA (sm_80+) |
 
 > The paged and non-paged paths share one kernel body. Prefill is templated on
 > an independent Q schedule (`DenseQSchedule` / `PackedQSchedule`) and KV
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ Additionally, optimized `.cuh` variants with tensor-core MMA (Matrix Multiply-Ac
 
 ### Rotary Embedding Kernel
 
-The `rotary_emb` kernel (`csrc/kernels/rotary_emb.cu`) fuses cos/sin lookup and rotation into a single kernel:
+The `rotary_emb` kernel (`csrc/kernels/rotary/rotary_emb.cu`) fuses cos/sin lookup and rotation into a single kernel:
 
 - One thread per (head, dim-pair), vectorized `__nv_bfloat162` load/store
 - f32 cos/sin input, bf16 compute and output
@@ -36,6 +37,104 @@ The `rotary_emb` kernel (`csrc/kernels/rotary_emb.cu`) fuses cos/sin lookup and
 
 Standalone benchmark vs torch complex-multiply (48 calls = 24 layers × q+k): 6-9x faster, max diff 0 (decode) to 3e-2 (large prefill, bf16).
 
+### FP8 GEMM / Linear Kernel
+
+The `fp8_ops` family (`csrc/kernels/fp8/`) accelerates bf16 linear layers by
+quantizing to FP8 and running tensor-core GEMMs (**requires sm_89+**; fp8
+`mma.sync.m16n8k32` only exists on Ada/Hopper). Same three-layer style as
+attention; the GEMM device code is split humming/CUTLASS-style into one
+layered directory:
+
+| File | Role |
+|------|------|
+| `fp8/common.h` | `FP8Format` enum (E4M3/E5M2), `Fp8GemmTraits<Fmt, BlockM, BlockN, K, Stages>`, `FP8Params` / `FP8QuantizeParams` PODs, layout tags — no torch |
+| `fp8/quantize.cuh` | pure-CUDA device code: vectorized `fp8_quantize_kernel` + 32×32-tile transpose kernel (out_layout 0/1/2), `quant_in_traits<InT>` unpack — no torch |
+| `fp8/gemm/policy.cuh` | smem budget / occupancy hint (`Fp8GemmSmem`) + `Fp8GemmPolicy` (traits + layouts + knobs — the kernel's single template parameter) |
+| `fp8/gemm/load.cuh` | operand loaders: swizzle (`tile_at`), congruous cp.async (predicated + interior), `PrefetchCarry`, crosswise LDG+PRMT direct load |
+| `fp8/gemm/scheduler.cuh` | CTA id → (block_m, block_n) grouped/plain raster |
+| `fp8/gemm/mainloop.cuh` | `Fp8CollectiveMainloop`: stage rings, stage loads, fragment addressing, pipelined mma.sync loop |
+| `fp8/gemm/epilogue.cuh` | `Fp8CollectiveEpilogue`: fused bias + bf16 smem scatter + coalesced copy-out |
+| `fp8/gemm.cuh` | umbrella: `fp8_gemm_kernel<Policy>` orchestrator + host planning (`plan_gemm` / `launch_plan`; 64×64 / 128×64 / 128×128 CTA) + entry `gemm<Fmt>(params, stream, trans_a, trans_b)` = `canonicalize_gemm` → `plan_gemm` → `launch_plan` |
+| `fp8/ops.cu` | binding only: `check_fp8_device` (sm_89+), param packing, launch dispatch, pybind → module `fp8_ops` |
+
+Scale semantics: `quantize` takes the quantization *multiplier*; the
+strategy layer passes `scale.reciprocal()` and the kernel multiplies by it.
+`mm_fp8` takes the combined dequant scale (`sa * sb`). `amax` is always
+returned in the original input domain.
+
+Python layer (two levels): `astrai/extension/ops/fp8.py` provides stateless
+primitives (`fp8_quantize` / `fp8_gemm`) via `torch.library.custom_op`, with
+plain `quantize` / `mm_fp8` wrappers, and `astrai/extension/fp8.py` is the
+strategy layer (`fp8_autocast`, delayed / dynamic scaling recipes,
+`fp8_linear_forward/backward` wiring `aten::linear` on CUDA). See the FP8
+section in `AGENTS.md` for full detail.
+
+#### FP8 GEMM design notes
+
+The load-bearing invariants behind the kernel code (all measurements on
+L20/sm_89 unless noted):
+
+**Swizzle.** Staging tiles are flat `[rows * kK]`; `tile_at` XORs the 16B
+chunk index with row bits at `[3, 3+log2(kChunks))` so a warp's ldmatrix
+fragment load (8 consecutive rows × 16B) hits all 32 banks exactly once
+(the unswizzled row word-stride is `kK/4` words, so rows `r` and
+`r + 8/kChunks` collide mod 32). Chunks stay contiguous, so cp.async
+staging is unaffected.
+
+**Fragment addressing (base-pair scheme).** One base register per operand
+per k_seg, every fragment offset an LDSM immediate. The closure works
+because the XOR swizzle's source bits come only from the lane's
+row-within-matrix `r7`: the 8/16-row fragment steps never reach them, so
+`addr(s, mt) = lane_base + mt*(16*kK) ^ (s<<5)` for A and
+`addr(s, nt) = lane_base + nt*(8*kK) ^ (s<<5)` for B. This replaced
+runtime offset tables that spilled at 131 registers (~55 of 146 hot-loop
+instructions were address math; cuBLAS's inner loop has ~0). Steady-state
+read pointers advance one stage per iteration with an equality wrap,
+replacing the per-k-tile `(tile % ring) * stage_bytes` recomputation
+(UIMAD.WIDE magic-division ladder).
+
+**Pipeline depth and barriers.** Every operand ring holds `kStages+1`
+buffers: the load for tile `i+kStages` targets slot `(i-1)%(kStages+1)`,
+which compute(i-1) finished reading before this iteration's barrier — no
+post-compute barrier, one `__syncthreads` per k-tile. Prologue and tail
+commits are unconditional so the group sequence stays tile-indexed and the
+fixed `wait_group<kStages-1>` is iteration-invariant (a runtime
+wait-count dispatch ladder cost 16 instructions/k-tile). A lean
+`kStages`-deep ring trading the barrier for a 4th resident CTA measured
++5..9% slower at 1280³ and was removed.
+
+**Crosswise loads.** Crosswise operands (A `[K][M]` / B `[N][K]` storage)
+cannot cp.async into the canonical tile; they take the direct LDG.128×4 +
+in-register PRMT transpose + STS.32 path. A staged variant (cp.async into
+K-major staging + per-tile smem→smem transpose) measured 15-20% slower
+across every probed shape including DRAM-streaming B (git history 5745c2f).
+
+**Fast-loop peel.** When both operands are congruous, the whole CTA is
+interior, base|ld is 16B-aligned and K has no tail, the mainloop switches
+to a predication-free copy with loop-carried prefetch state: +4.5..10% on
+the issue-bound 64×64 CTA (256³..1024³), −3% on the 128×128 CTA, so only
+the small CTA opts in.
+
+**Launch planning crossovers** (L20, TFLOPS, big vs alternative):
+crosswise problems keep the 64×64 s3 CTA below ~1.5 waves of 128×128
+tiles (M=256: 129.7 vs 113.1; 1024³: 107.2 vs 94.8; the big CTA wins from
+M=640/1536³ on). Dual-congruous wave band picks narrow vs big by
+`ceil(tiles/sm) * T_tile` with `T_narrow ≈ 0.53 * T_big` (M=384: 134.3 vs
+114.4 narrow wins; M=1024: 202.5 vs 178.8 big wins). Sub-wave: narrow
+wins past ~3/8 of a wave (1024³ 174 vs 131T), the big CTA's operand reuse
+wins past ~5/8 (forcing 64×64 there cost 2048³ 123→171T). Non-128-divisible
+shapes with 64-divisibility take the 64×64 CTA (edge tiles otherwise drag
+the single wave; 1088³: 76 vs 93T). Persistent schedules (static
+round-robin and atomic ticket) both measured worse on L20 (−4..−8%; the
+ticket variant recovers L2 locality but its loop-head barrier costs what
+the CTA-restart overlap saves).
+
+**NN swap.** The dual-N-contiguous problem runs as its transpose
+`E = B^T @ A^T` over swapped operands with an out-transposed epilogue
+scatter (CUTLASS-sm90 `is_swapAB`): one instantiation fewer per tile
+config, at the cost of a scalar-store scatter on a path no LLM-linear
+operand pair hits.
+
 ## Build System
 
 ### Auto-detection
@@ -66,10 +165,19 @@ cmake --build build/cmake -j 16
 
 ### Architecture flags
 
-`setup.py` passes the GPU compute capability to CMake via `ASTRAI_CUDA_ARCH` (default `89`, i.e. sm_89 / L20):
+`setup.py` passes the GPU compute capability to CMake via `ASTRAI_CUDA_ARCH`. When
+unset, `setup.py` auto-detects the real GPU capability through
+`torch.cuda.get_device_capability()`; the CMake fallback default is `80` (sm_80):
 
-- **sm_80+** (Ampere and later): enables tensor-core MMA path (`mma.sync.m16n8k16.bf16`)
+- **sm_80+** (Ampere and later): enables the tensor-core MMA path
-- **Below sm_80**: adds `-DASTRAI_NO_MMA` to disable the MMA path at compile time
+  (`mma.sync.m16n8k16.bf16` for bf16 attention, `mma.sync.m16n8k32` for FP8).
+- **sm_89+**: required for the FP8 family (`fp8_ops`) — FP8 tensor-core
+  instructions only exist on Ada/Hopper and newer. On older architectures,
+  CMake emits a warning and skips the `fp8_ops` target so the remaining CUDA
+  kernels still build successfully.
+- **`-DASTRAI_NO_MMA`** is a manual escape hatch only — the build never defines
+  it automatically. To disable the MMA path, add it to `NVCC_FLAGS` yourself;
+  all supported build targets are sm_80+.
 
 ### Build configuration
 
@@ -80,7 +188,7 @@ NVCC_FLAGS = -O3 --expt-relaxed-constexpr --use_fast_math
              --ptxas-options=-O3,-v --extra-device-vectorization --threads=16
 ```
 
-Each kernel in `astrai/extension/lib` is compiled as an independent pybind11 module (one `.so` per kernel, named `<kernel>.cpython-*-x86_64-linux-gnu.so`). CMake builds all five kernel targets in parallel via `cmake --build -j N`.
+Each kernel in `astrai/extension/lib` is compiled as an independent pybind11 module (one `.so` per kernel, named `<kernel>.cpython-*-x86_64-linux-gnu.so`). CMake builds all registered kernel targets in parallel via `cmake --build -j N` (the five base targets always; `fp8_ops` additionally on sm_89+). The target list is the **single source of truth**: `KERNEL_NAMES` and the parallel `KERNEL_SRCS` list in `csrc/CMakeLists.txt`; `astrai/extension/loader.py` auto-discovers the compiled `.so` files.
 
 ## Python Extension Architecture
 
@@ -93,7 +201,9 @@ astrai/extension/
 ├── loader.py               # Optional compiled-module discovery and loading
 ├── ops/
 │   ├── attention.py        # Stateless attention kernel wrappers
-│   └── rotary.py           # Stateless rotary kernel wrapper
+│   ├── rotary.py           # Stateless rotary kernel wrapper
+│   └── fp8.py              # Stateless FP8 primitives (custom_op)
+├── fp8.py                  # FP8 strategy layer (fp8_autocast, recipes)
 └── backend/
     ├── attention.py        # Backend selection, KV cache I/O, and fallback
     └── rotary.py           # Per-call CUDA/torch rotary dispatch
@@ -195,7 +305,7 @@ cycle belong under `TYPE_CHECKING`.
 
 - **`AttentionBackend`** (ABC): `fwd_decode` / `fwd_prefill` abstract methods, `forward` dispatches by q_len
 - **`CudaBackend`**: CUDA kernel dispatch — decode via `attn_paged_decode` (page_size=1), prefill via `attn_paged_prefill` (ragged batch, `qo_indptr` + `kv_indptr`). Default on GPU.
-- **`FlashAttnBackend`**: Optional flash-attn dispatch with `flash_attn_with_kvcache` fast path.
+- **`FlashAttnBackend`**: Optional flash-attn dispatch via `flash_attn_varlen_func` over gathered flat K/V.
 - **`TorchNativeBackend`**: SDPA with indirect KV cache gather (always-available fallback)
 
 Default priority: cuda > flash > torch. Set ``ASTR_BACKEND=cuda|torch_native|flash``
@@ -212,9 +322,14 @@ with attn_backend(ATTN_BACKEND.CUDA):
 
 The `attention(...)` policy entry point falls back to `FlashAttnBackend` (when
 flash-attn is installed and supports the call) or `TorchNativeBackend` when the
-automatically selected CUDA backend cannot handle an input. An explicit
+automatically selected CUDA backend cannot handle an input. Resolution
-`ASTR_BACKEND` or `attn_backend(...)` selection is strict and raises instead of
+precedence is: explicit `attn_backend(...)` context > `ASTR_BACKEND` env >
-silently switching implementations.
+default. An explicit `attn_backend(...)` selection is strict and raises instead
+of silently switching implementations; the env override (and the implicit
+default) fall back to the first compatible backend when incapable. Training
+calls (`fwd=None`, no KV cache) resolve by capability: the CUDA cache kernels
+cannot run without a cache, so they fall back to flash (mask-free/causal calls
+only) and finally to torch SDPA.
 
 ### Rotary Backend
 
@@ -259,19 +374,26 @@ q_tile_to_batch = [0, 0, 1, 2, 2, 2]
 q_tile_to_index = [0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 2]
 ```
 
-Paged prefill launches:
+Paged prefill launches (MMA path, GQA head packing):
 
 ```text
-grid.x = num_q_tiles  # 6, exactly the valid ragged work items
+grid.x = num_q_tiles * HB   # HB = min(G, WARPS): q heads packed per block
-grid.y = q_heads
+grid.y = kv_heads * ceil(G / HB)
 grid.z = 1
 ```
 
-Each block resolves its request and request-local tile in O(1):
+The tensor-core prefill kernel packs `HB = min(G, WARPS)` query heads of one
+kv-head group into a block, so K/V tiles stream once per block instead of once
+per q head (~HB× less global K/V traffic). Warp `w` handles head slot `w / WPH`
+and 16-row chunk `w % WPH`, where `WPH = WARPS / HB`; `G = q_heads / kv_heads`
+and `G = 1` (MHA) degenerates to the historical one-head-per-block layout.
+Each host Q tile (64 rows, `Q_TILE_ROWS`) splits into `HB` packed blocks along
+`grid.x`. Each block resolves its request and request-local row range in O(1):
 
 ```cpp
-batch = q_tile_to_batch[blockIdx.x];
+host_tile = blockIdx.x / HB;
-q_tile = q_tile_to_index[blockIdx.x];
+batch = q_tile_to_batch[host_tile];
+row_base = q_tile_to_index[host_tile] * 64 + (blockIdx.x % HB) * (64 / HB);
 ```
 
 The kernel then uses `qo_indptr[batch]` for the packed Q base and adjacent
@@ -293,6 +415,7 @@ nvcc -I csrc -arch=sm_89 -O3 --use_fast_math \
 Test files:
 - `attn_test.cu` — decode + prefill kernels (correctness tables + benchmarks)
 - `attn_paged_test.cu` — paged decode/prefill kernels
+- `fp8_test.cu` — single-warp bf16→fp8→mma.sync sanity check + full FP8 GEMM correctness (sm_89)
 
 ## Benchmarks
 
@@ -315,29 +438,48 @@ nvcc -I csrc -arch=sm_89 -O3 --use_fast_math \
 
 ```
 csrc/
-├── CMakeLists.txt        # CMake build: 5 kernel targets, torch/pybind11 linking
+├── CMakeLists.txt                    # CMake build: kernel registry (KERNEL_NAMES / KERNEL_SRCS), torch/pybind11 linking
 ├── kernels/
-│   ├── attn_common.h     # Unified attention params (contig + paged modes)
+│   ├── common/                       # cross-family pure-CUDA helpers (no torch)
-│   ├── attn_decode.cu    # Basic decode kernel (registered)
+│   │   ├── device.cuh                #   sm_at_least(), kMinSmForFp8* constants
-│   ├── attn_prefill.cu   # Basic prefill kernel (registered)
+│   │   ├── mma.cuh                   #   shared mma_sync<InT> + mma_shape<InT> (bf16 m16n8k16 / fp8 m16n8k32) + ldmatrix_x2/x4<T>
-│   ├── attn_paged_decode.cu             # Paged decode kernel (registered)
+│   │   ├── cp_async.cuh              #   cp.async 16B primitives (predicated copy, commit/wait groups)
-│   ├── attn_paged_prefill.cu            # Paged prefill kernel (registered)
+│   │   └── reduce.cuh                #   warp_reduce_max, atomic_max_float
-│   ├── rotary_emb.cu                    # Fused rotary embedding kernel (registered)
+│   ├── attention/                    # attention family (module names keep the attn_* prefix)
-│   ├── attn_decode_split_kv.cuh         # Split-KV variant (contig + paged via KVSource)
+│   │   ├── common.h                  #   AttentionParams POD, TensorLayout enum (BHLD/BLHD)
-│   ├── attn_decode_split_kv_mma.cuh     # Split-KV + MMA variant (contig + paged)
+│   │   ├── warp_utils.cuh            #   warp reduction helpers
-│   ├── attn_prefill_split_q.cuh         # Split-Q variant (contig + paged via KVSource)
+│   │   ├── layout_policies.cuh       #   KV addressing policies: DenseQSchedule/PackedQSchedule, ContigKV/PagedKV
-│   ├── attn_prefill_split_q_mma.cuh     # Split-Q + MMA variant (contig + paged)
+│   │   ├── mma_utils.cuh             #   ldmatrix/pack helpers + online-softmax (bf16 mma via common/mma.cuh)
-│   ├── attn_layout_policies.cuh          # Q schedules and KVSource policies
+│   │   ├── entry_utils.cuh           #   torch binding helpers: DISPATCH_HEAD_DIM, pack_*_params
-│   ├── attn_dispatchers.cuh             # Kernel dispatch macros + KV-templated launchers
+│   │   ├── dispatchers.cuh           #   pure-CUDA launchers: dispatch_decode/prefill (+paged), split-K math
-│   ├── attn_entry_utils.cuh             # Entry point helpers
+│   │   ├── decode_split_kv.cuh       #   decode kernel, scalar (split-KV)
-│   ├── attn_mma_utils.cuh               # MMA utilities
+│   │   ├── decode_split_kv_mma.cuh   #   decode kernel, MMA + split-K
-│   └── attn_warp_utils.cuh              # Warp-level utilities
+│   │   ├── prefill_split_q.cuh       #   prefill kernel, scalar (split-Q)
+│   │   ├── prefill_split_q_mma.cuh   #   prefill kernel, MMA (split-Q, GQA head packing, packed/ragged Q schedule)
+│   │   ├── decode.cu                 #   → module attn_decode
+│   │   ├── prefill.cu                #   → module attn_prefill
+│   │   ├── paged_decode.cu           #   → module attn_paged_decode
+│   │   └── paged_prefill.cu          #   → module attn_paged_prefill
+│   ├── rotary/
+│   │   └── rotary_emb.cu             # rotary embedding (kernel + binding in one file) → module rotary_emb
+│   └── fp8/                          # FP8 family (module name fp8_ops)
+│       ├── common.h                  #   FP8Format enum, Fp8GemmTraits, FP8Params / FP8QuantizeParams PODs, layout tags (no torch)
+│       ├── quantize.cuh              #   quantize kernels: vectorized + 32×32-tile transpose (out_layout 0/1/2) (no torch)
+│       ├── gemm.cuh                  #   GEMM umbrella: kernel orchestrator + host launch planning (no torch)
+│       ├── gemm/                     #   GEMM device layers (humming/CUTLASS-style split)
+│       │   ├── policy.cuh            #     smem budget / occupancy hint + Fp8GemmPolicy
+│       │   ├── load.cuh              #     operand loaders (swizzle, congruous cp.async, crosswise direct)
+│       │   ├── scheduler.cuh         #     grouped/plain raster mapping
+│       │   ├── mainloop.cuh          #     stage rings + pipelined mma.sync mainloop
+│       │   └── epilogue.cuh          #     fused bias + bf16 scatter + copy-out
+│       └── ops.cu                    #   binding only: validation, param packing, launch dispatch, pybind
 └── tests/
-    ├── test_utils.cuh           # Shared test utilities
+    ├── test_utils.cuh                # Shared test utilities (now_ms, f2bf, bf2f, randf)
-    ├── attn_test.cu             # Decode + prefill kernels
+    ├── attn_test.cu                  # Decode + prefill kernels
-    └── attn_paged_test.cu       # Paged decode/prefill kernels
+    ├── attn_paged_test.cu            # Paged decode/prefill kernels
+    └── fp8_test.cu                   # MMA demo + GEMM correctness across layouts/K tiles/ragged shapes
 ```
 
 Compiled `.so` files are placed in `astrai/extension/lib/`, separate from Python source files.
 
-> Document Update Time: 2026-08-16
+> Document Update Time: 2026-08-29

docs/developer/docker-serving.md

@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+# Containerized Serving Deployment
+
+AstrAI uses one serving YAML as the declaration for both host-side container
+runtime settings and in-container server settings. `scripts/serve.sh` wraps the
+Compose commands so preflight validation and container lifecycle stay
+consistent with the trainer.
+
+## Architecture
+
+```text
+serve.yaml
+  ├── runtime                parsed on the host before Docker starts
+  └── server                 parsed by server.py inside the container
+        │
+scripts/serve.sh             preflight, Compose wrapper, lifecycle
+  └── docker-compose.yml     GPU passthrough, mounts, image, port mapping
+        └── server.py --config /run/astrai/serve.yaml
+```
+
+`scripts/docker/serve_runtime.py` reads `runtime:` plus the two container-side
+values Compose needs (`server.port` for the port mapping, `server.device` for
+the preflight GPU check). `scripts/tools/server.py --config` reads `server:`.
+Explicit CLI arguments to `server.py` override `server:` YAML values.
+
+## Runtime Schema
+
+```yaml
+runtime:
+  job_name: serve
+  port: 8000
+  paths:
+    param: ./params
+  gpu:
+    enabled: true  # false → cpu profile (server-cpu service)
+    devices: all   # all | [0]
+  container:
+    cuda_tag: cu128
+  # environment:
+  #   TOKENIZERS_PARALLELISM: "false"
+
+server:
+  host: 0.0.0.0
+  port: 8000
+  device: cuda      # cuda | cpu
+  dtype: bfloat16   # bfloat16 | float16 | float32
+  max_batch_size: 16
+  max_seq_len: null # falls back to model config
+```
+
+- Relative paths resolve from the YAML file's directory, not the current shell.
+- `runtime.port` is the host publish port; `server.port` is the port the
+  container listens on. The Compose mapping is
+  `${SERVE_PORT}:${SERVE_CONTAINER_PORT}`.
+- `runtime.gpu.enabled: true` (default) selects the `server` service with an
+  NVIDIA device reservation; `false` selects `server-cpu` (no GPU passthrough).
+  When disabled, `server.device` must be `cpu`.
+- `runtime.gpu.devices` is `all` (default) or a single-device list such as `[0]`;
+  the list becomes `CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES`. Compose passes `count: all`; the
+  env var performs the only filtering.
+- `environment` values are explicitly passed to the serving container. Keep
+  host-specific settings here; they are not universal defaults.
+- `server.device` must agree with `runtime.gpu.enabled`; `preflight` enforces it.
+
+## Fixed Container Paths
+
+| Runtime path | Container path | Access |
+|---|---|---|
+| `runtime.paths.param` | `/app/params` | read-only |
+| the selected YAML | `/run/astrai/serve.yaml` | read-only |
+
+`server.param_path` is optional: the server default is
+`project_root/params`, which is exactly `/app/params` inside the container
+(the working directory is `/app`). Set it explicitly only when serving from a
+different location; in Docker it must be a container path.
+
+## Operations
+
+The config argument defaults to `./serve.yaml`:
+
+```bash
+bash scripts/serve.sh init [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/serve.sh preflight [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/serve.sh up [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/serve.sh run [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/serve.sh down [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/serve.sh restart [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/serve.sh logs [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/serve.sh status [CONFIG]
+```
+
+`preflight` validates Docker, the model directory
+(`config.json` + `model.safetensors`), GPU/device consistency, and the
+rendered Compose configuration. `up` starts the container detached; `run`
+keeps it in the foreground. Both reuse the existing image; run
+`bash scripts/serve.sh build [CONFIG]` after code changes. The wrapper manages a fixed container name
+(`astrai-server` or `astrai-server-<job_name>`); the plain
+`docker compose up -d` / `docker compose --profile cpu up -d` path keeps
+working with defaults (port 8000, `./params`).
+
+## Hard Rules
+
+1. Keep Docker settings in `runtime` and server settings in `server`.
+2. Filter GPUs once: Compose passes `count: all`; a `devices`
+   list becomes `CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES`.
+3. `runtime.gpu.enabled: false` requires `server.device: cpu`.
+4. In Docker, `server.port` must match the published container port (default
+   `8000`); change `runtime.port` to publish on a different host port.
+5. The image user is built with the host UID/GID so the mounted model
+   directory stays readable.
+
+> Document Update Time: 2026-08-22

docs/developer/docker-training.md

@@ -1,57 +1,204 @@
 # Containerized Training Deployment
 
-Rules for running AstrAI distributed training in containers, distilled from real deployment failures. Read before touching `Dockerfile`, `docker-compose.yml`, `scripts/train.sh`, `train-entrypoint.sh`. AGENTS.md mirrors this locally; this file is the committed version.
+AstrAI uses one training YAML as the declaration for both host-side container
+runtime settings and in-container training settings. Do not invoke the trainer
+with raw `docker compose up`; use `scripts/train.sh` so preflight validation,
+checkpoint recovery, and graceful shutdown remain active.
 
 ## Architecture
 
-```
+```text
-scripts/train.sh           host-side CLI: env loading, preflight, compose wrapper, lifecycle
+train.yaml
-  └── docker-compose.yml   GPU passthrough, mounts, in-container env vars, entrypoint
+  ├── runtime                parsed on the host before Docker starts
-        └── train-entrypoint.sh   GPU-count resolution, parallel-mode selection, auto-resume
+  └── model/data/...         parsed by train.py inside the container
+        │
+scripts/train.sh             preflight, Compose wrapper, lifecycle, timer
+  └── docker-compose.yml     GPU passthrough, mounts, image, container limits
+        └── scripts/docker/train-entrypoint.sh   process count, parallel mode, auto-resume
               └── train.py --config /run/astrai/train.yaml
 ```
 
-| Layer | Responsible for | NOT responsible for |
+The two parsers deliberately own different sections. `scripts/docker/train_runtime.py`
-|-------|-----------------|---------------------|
+reads only `runtime`; `scripts/tools/train.py` reads only
-| `train.sh` | host paths, `.env.train`, preflight, lifecycle | training args, GPU selection, parallel mode |
+`model/data/parallel/training/ckpt/log`. Explicit trainer arguments after `--`
-| compose | GPU passthrough, mounts, in-container env (NCCL) | training args (beyond `TRAIN_*` forwarding) |
+override training YAML values.
-| entrypoint | `--ckpt_dir/--nprocs/--parallel_mode/--param_path`, resume | hyperparameters (YAML/CLI) |
-| `train.yaml` | hyperparameters (`_merge_yaml_into_kwargs`, CLI wins) | container paths, process count |
 
-## Path Conventions
+## Runtime Schema
 
-| Host var | Container | Perm | Purpose |
+```yaml
-|---|---|---|---|
+runtime:
-| `TRAIN_DATA_DIR` | `/data` | ro | dataset (`data_root_path` must be `/data`) |
+  job_name: astrai-train
-| `TRAIN_MODEL_DIR` | `/models/base` | ro | base model (`config.json` + `model.safetensors`) |
+  paths:
-| `TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR` | `/checkpoints` | rw | checkpoint root, per-`TRAIN_JOB_NAME` subdirs |
+    data: ./data
-| `TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE` | `/run/astrai/train.yaml` | ro | training YAML (mounted only on `start`) |
+    model: ./params
-| code | `/app` | image | **not a mount**; rebuild image for code changes |
+    checkpoints: ./checkpoints
+  gpu:
+    devices: all
+    parallel_mode: auto  # one GPU: none; multiple GPUs: ddp
+  container:
+    cuda_tag: cu128
+    ipc: host
+    stop_grace_period: 10m
+    stop_timeout_seconds: 600
+    checkpoint_keep_last: 5
+    # max_duration_hours: 12
+  # Optional; entries are passed verbatim into the trainer container
+  # (see "Per-Job Environment"):
+  # environment:
+  #   ASTR_LOG_LEVEL: DEBUG
+  #   ASTR_BACKEND: torch_native
+```
 
-## Hard Rules
+- Relative paths resolve from the YAML file's directory, not the current shell.
+- `devices` is either `all` or a non-empty physical GPU index list. Compose
+  passes all GPUs once; `CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES` performs the only filtering.
+- The process count is derived from `devices`. With `all`, the entrypoint uses
+  `torch.cuda.device_count()` after Docker starts.
+- `parallel_mode: auto` selects `none` for one GPU and `ddp` for multiple GPUs.
+  Use `fsdp` explicitly when model sharding is required.
+- To select specific physical GPUs, replace `all` with a list such as
+  `devices: [0, 1]`.
+- `environment` entries apply only to the job defined by this YAML file, not to
+  the host or to other jobs. Keep the section omitted unless this job's GPU
+  selection needs it; see [Per-Job Environment](#per-job-environment).
+- `max_duration_hours` starts a detached host timer that calls the same graceful
+  `stop` command. A manual stop cancels the timer.
 
-1. **Filter GPUs once**: compose passes the full physical set (`count: all`); `CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES` filters inside by physical index. Never `count: N` + physical indices (double filter leaves 1 card → `device_id out of range`).
+## Per-Job Environment
-2. **In-container UID = host UID**: Dockerfile builds the user via `USER_UID/USER_GID` args; `train.sh` injects `ASTRAI_UID/GID` (bash `UID` is readonly). compose `user:` alone does not create the /etc/passwd entry — torch's `getpass.getuser()` then dies with `uid not found`.
+
-3. **In-container env vars are explicit**: `.env.train` (`--env-file`) is only compose's interpolation dictionary — never reaches the container. A var arrives only via a value-less `environment` entry (`- VAR`, read from the calling process env).
+`runtime.environment` is scoped to one job. `start` passes only the entries of
-4. **NCCL hang workaround** (this host): `NCCL_P2P_DISABLE=1` + `NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL=0` must be in-container.
+the config file it was given, so a variable reaches exactly the GPUs declared
-5. **Checkpoint complete =** `meta.json + config.json + model.safetensors + optimizer.pt + scheduler.pt`; `start` auto-resumes the latest complete one.
+in that file's `runtime.gpu.devices` and nothing else. Two jobs on the same
-6. **tqdm is silent without a TTY**: add `disable=False` in `astrai/trainer/train_callback.py`; `metric.jsonl` (per step) works as progress evidence regardless.
+machine can therefore differ: a job whose GPUs have working peer-to-peer keeps
+the section omitted, a job whose GPUs cross broken PCIe/NVLink paths declares
+the NCCL workarounds, and a job on an NVSwitch fabric can pin the NVLink fast
+path on.
+
+Because of that scoping, the effective pattern is one YAML per GPU group
+rather than one shared YAML that gets edited whenever the device list changes:
+
+```yaml
+# train-local.yaml: GPUs with working peer-to-peer; nothing to declare
+runtime:
+  gpu:
+    devices: [0, 1]
+
+# train-cross-pcie.yaml: this GPU set crosses broken paths, so only this job
+# declares the workarounds (confirm first; see docs/guides/distributed.md)
+runtime:
+  gpu:
+    devices: [4, 5, 6, 7]
+  environment:
+    NCCL_P2P_DISABLE: "1"
+    NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL: "0"
+```
+
+The same mechanism carries positive tuning, not just workarounds. On an
+NVSwitch node (Hopper-class GPUs with fabric manager running), NVLink SHARP
+multicast (NVLS) is the fast allreduce path and NCCL enables it automatically
+where supported. A job may pin it on explicitly and raise channel parallelism
+when benchmarks show the NVLink bandwidth is underused:
+
+```yaml
+# train-nvlink.yaml: NVSwitch node; keep the disables OUT and pin the fast
+# path on instead (verify support with NCCL_DEBUG=INFO first)
+runtime:
+  gpu:
+    devices: [0, 1, 2, 3]
+  environment:
+    NCCL_NVLS_ENABLE: "1"
+    NCCL_MIN_NCHANNELS: "8"
+    # NCCL_ALGO: NVLS   # force one algorithm; unsupported values fail loudly
+```
+
+NVLS requires NVSwitch multicast support; on plain NVLink bridges or PCIe-only
+sets, keep the section omitted and let NCCL pick Ring/Tree with P2P. Newer
+drivers list the actual interconnect and NVLS support directly in
+`nvidia-smi topo -m`, so check that before assuming.
+
+Confirm a variable is needed before adding it, and only in the YAML of the job
+that hits the problem:
+
+```bash
+nvidia-smi topo -m    # check P2P support between exactly the selected GPUs
+NCCL_DEBUG=INFO       # confirm NCCL transport errors before disabling them
+```
+
+See `docs/guides/distributed.md` for what each troubleshooting variable
+disables. The two directions are mutually exclusive: `NCCL_P2P_DISABLE` and
+`NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL` remove bandwidth and must never appear in the same
+environment as the NVLink entries above.
+
+Semantics:
+
+- Values must be scalars and are rendered with `str()`, so quote them
+  explicitly (`"1"`, `"0"`) instead of relying on YAML booleans or numbers.
+- A `null` value exports the name with an empty value.
+- This section is the only path for extra host variables into the trainer
+  container; variables exported in the host shell do not pass through Compose.
+
+## Fixed Container Paths
+
+| Runtime path | Container path | Access |
+|---|---|---|
+| `runtime.paths.data` | `/data` | read-only |
+| `runtime.paths.model` | `/models/base` | read-only |
+| `runtime.paths.checkpoints` | `/checkpoints` | read-write |
+| the selected YAML | `/run/astrai/train.yaml` | read-only |
+
+Training configuration must therefore use `data_root_path: /data`. The source
+code is baked into `/app`; `start` reuses the existing image, so run
+`bash scripts/train.sh build [CONFIG]` after code changes.
 
 ## Operations
 
+The config argument defaults to `./train.yaml`:
+
 ```bash
-bash scripts/train.sh init        # first run: dirs + .env.train (edit per machine)
+bash scripts/train.sh init [CONFIG]
-bash scripts/train.sh preflight   # validate Docker/paths/GPU/model/YAML/compose
+bash scripts/train.sh preflight [CONFIG]
-bash scripts/train.sh start       # build + start in background (auto-resume)
+bash scripts/train.sh start [CONFIG]
-bash scripts/train.sh start --foreground -- --dry-run   # print plan only
+bash scripts/train.sh start [CONFIG] --foreground -- --dry-run
-bash scripts/train.sh logs | status | stop | restart
+bash scripts/train.sh logs [CONFIG]
-bash scripts/train.sh clean --keep 5   # prune old checkpoints (--force to delete)
+bash scripts/train.sh status [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/train.sh stop [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/train.sh restart [CONFIG]
+bash scripts/train.sh clean [CONFIG] --keep 5
+bash scripts/train.sh clean [CONFIG] --keep 5 --force
 ```
 
-## Files
+`init` creates the declared runtime directories but does not generate or mutate
+the YAML. `preflight` validates Docker, paths, base model files, checkpoint
+writability, GPU configuration, and rendered Compose configuration.
 
-- `docker-compose.yml` — trainer service: `count: all`, `ASTRAI_UID/GID` build args + `user:`, env whitelist, mounts
+## Checkpoint Recovery
-- `Dockerfile` — production stage builds user from `USER_UID/USER_GID`; `ENV HOME=/home/astrai`; `USER astrai`
+
-- `scripts/train.sh` — `load_env` filters `UID=` lines (readonly var); `compose()` injects `ASTRAI_UID/GID`
+Checkpoints are stored below
-- `scripts/docker/train-entrypoint.sh` — GPU-count resolution, parallel mode, resume
+`runtime.paths.checkpoints/<job_name>/epoch_<N>_step_<N>`. A checkpoint is
-- `.env.train`, `train.yaml` — host-specific; templates from `scripts/train.sh init`; scientific-notation floats (`2e-5`) parse correctly since train.py uses the YAML 1.2 float schema
+complete only when it contains:
+
+```text
+meta.json
+config.json
+model.safetensors
+optimizer.pt
+scheduler.pt
+```
+
+`start` resumes the latest complete checkpoint and ignores partial writes. If no
+complete checkpoint exists, `/models/base/config.json` and
+`/models/base/model.safetensors` are required. `stop` sends `SIGTERM`; the
+trainer finishes at a batch boundary and saves an emergency checkpoint before
+the Docker timeout expires.
+
+## Hard Rules
+
+1. Keep Docker settings in `runtime` and trainer settings in the remaining YAML sections.
+2. Filter GPUs once: Compose passes `count: all`; `devices` becomes `CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES`.
+3. Do not force DDP for a model that requires FSDP; declare the mode explicitly.
+4. Do not use `kill -9` for routine shutdown; use `scripts/train.sh stop CONFIG`.
+5. The image user is built with the host UID/GID so mounted checkpoints retain usable ownership.
+6. Scope `runtime.environment` to the job YAML that needs it; do not copy NCCL
+   workarounds into every config.
+
+> Document Update Time: 2026-08-29

docs/developer/internals.md

@@ -185,10 +185,10 @@ The extension package separates mechanism from policy:
 Attention computation is decoupled from the model via `AttentionBackend` ABC (`astrai/extension/backend/attention.py`):
 
 - **`CudaBackend`** (default when supported): decode path uses `attn_paged_decode` with `page_size=1` (the `req_to_token` table serves as the page table, each token slot is a single-token "page"); prefill path uses the ragged-batch `attn_paged_prefill` (addresses each request via `qo_indptr` + `kv_indptr` directly against the flat pool).
-- **`FlashAttnBackend`**: optional flash-attn dispatch with `flash_attn_with_kvcache` fast path for contiguous cache; falls back to KV gather + `flash_attn_func`.
+- **`FlashAttnBackend`**: optional flash-attn dispatch; inference paths gather flat K/V from the pool via `req_to_token` and call `flash_attn_varlen_func` over the ragged batch (fp16/bf16 only); dense mask-free training calls use `flash_attn_func`.
 - **`TorchNativeBackend`** (always-available fallback): writes K/V to cache, gathers via `req_to_token` indirect indexing, calls `F.scaled_dot_product_attention`.
 - The `attention(...)` entry point uses cuda > flash > torch priority and chooses another compatible backend when an automatically selected backend cannot handle a call.
-- `ASTR_BACKEND=cuda|torch_native|flash` and `attn_backend(...)` are explicit selections; incompatible calls raise instead of silently changing backend.
+- Resolution precedence is: explicit `attn_backend(...)` context > `ASTR_BACKEND` env > default. An explicit `attn_backend(...)` selection is strict (incompatible calls raise); `ASTR_BACKEND` is a default-level override that falls back to a compatible backend when incapable. Training calls (`fwd=None`, no KV cache) resolve by capability: the CUDA cache kernels cannot run without a cache, so they fall back to flash (mask-free/causal calls only) and finally to torch SDPA.
 
 Rotary embedding is applied via `apply_rotary_emb` in `astrai/extension/backend/rotary.py`, which auto-dispatches to the fused CUDA kernel (`rotary_emb.cu`) during inference or torch complex multiply during training (for autograd compatibility). Both attention backends share the same rotary dispatch.
 

docs/get-started.md

@@ -26,17 +26,24 @@ This guide walks you through installing AstrAI, downloading a model, running inf
 git clone https://github.com/ViperEkura/AstrAI.git
 cd AstrAI
 
-# Basic install (pure PyTorch, no custom CUDA kernels)
+# Kernels auto-build when nvcc + CUDA are detected; skip with CSRC_KERNELS=false
 pip install -e .
 
-# With CUDA kernels (optional, for fused attention and rotary embedding)
+# Force the CUDA kernel build (fused attention, rotary embedding, FP8 GEMM)
 # CSRC_KERNELS=true pip install -e . --no-build-isolation
 
 # With dev dependencies (pytest, ruff)
 # pip install -e ".[dev]"
 ```
 
-> **CUDA kernels** are opt-in at build time (`CSRC_KERNELS=true`). Once built, `CudaBackend` is the default attention backend on GPU (cuda > flash > torch priority). Override via `ASTR_BACKEND` env var or `attn_backend()` context manager. Fused rotary embedding kernel is auto-dispatched when available. Skip for CPU-only usage.
+> **CUDA kernels** build automatically when `nvcc` is on `PATH` and
+> `torch.cuda.is_available()` returns `True`; set `CSRC_KERNELS=false` to skip
+> them, or `CSRC_KERNELS=true` to force them (required when building in an
+> isolated environment with `--no-build-isolation`). Once built, `CudaBackend`
+> is the default attention backend on GPU (cuda > flash > torch priority).
+> Override via `ASTR_BACKEND` env var or `attn_backend()` context manager.
+> Fused rotary embedding kernel is auto-dispatched when available. Skip for
+> CPU-only usage.
 
 ## 2. Download Model Weights
 
@@ -58,6 +65,14 @@ The model directory contains:
 - `model.safetensors` — model weights
 - `tokenizer.json` + `tokenizer_config.json` — tokenizer files (including chat template)
 
+External HuggingFace checkpoints of the LLaMA layout (e.g. `meta-llama/...`,
+`mistralai/...`, `Qwen/Qwen2-...`) can be loaded directly: `AutoModel.from_pretrained`
+auto-detects HF `model_type` / key names (`input_layernorm`, `gate_proj`, MoE
+`experts.<j>` ...) and converts config and weights in place. Dense and MoE
+(Mixtral / DeepSeek-V3 layout) FFNs are supported; MLA attention
+(DeepSeek-V2/V3) and biased projections (`attention_bias`) are not. Pass
+`weights_format="astrai"` to skip conversion, or `"hf"` to force it.
+
 ## 3. Run Inference
 
 ### Interactive Chat (Simplest)
@@ -175,8 +190,9 @@ python scripts/tools/train.py \
 
 ```bash
 export CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=0,1,2,3
-export NCCL_P2P_DISABLE=1
+# Only if this host's NCCL transport is broken; see docs/guides/distributed.md:
-export NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL=0
+# export NCCL_P2P_DISABLE=1
+# export NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL=0
 
 python scripts/tools/train.py \
     --train_type=seq \
@@ -250,5 +266,7 @@ docker compose up -d
 | Multi-GPU DDP / FSDP | [Distributed Guide](guides/distributed.md) |
 | System architecture | [Architecture](developer/architecture.md) |
 | Data pipeline internals | [Data Flow](developer/dataflow.md) |
+| YAML-driven containerized serving | [Docker Serving](developer/docker-serving.md) |
+| YAML-driven containerized training | [Docker Training](developer/docker-training.md) |
 
-> Document Update Time: 2026-07-31
+> Document Update Time: 2026-08-22

docs/guides/inference.md

@@ -54,7 +54,12 @@ KVCache
   ├── out_cache_loc          [batch, seq_len] — write indices for this forward
   ├── max_len                int — max(seq_lens), avoids GPU sync in decode
   ├── kv_indptr              [batch + 1] int32 — prefix sum of seq_lens, precomputed once per step
-  └── qo_indptr              [batch + 1] int32 — prefix sum of per-request q_lens (prefill), precomputed once per step
+  ├── qo_indptr              [batch + 1] int32 — prefix sum of per-request q_lens (prefill), precomputed once per step
+  ├── q_tile_to_batch        [num_q_tiles] int32 — prefill: Q tile → request (precomputed once per step)
+  ├── q_tile_to_index        [num_q_tiles] int32 — prefill: Q tile → request-local tile index
+  ├── decode_o_part          [batch, n_heads, head_dim] — decode split-K partial output buffer
+  ├── decode_ml_part         [batch, n_heads] — decode split-K partial max/logsum buffer
+  └── decode_out             [batch, n_heads, head_dim] — decode output accumulator
 ```
 
 Attention layers do raw buffer indexing: `k_buffer[layer_id, out_cache_loc] = k` to write, `k_buffer[layer_id, indices]` to gather.
@@ -80,7 +85,9 @@ AttentionBackend (ABC)
 
 Default priority is cuda > flash > torch. Automatic selection may choose a
 compatible fallback for a particular call. Set
-`ASTR_BACKEND=cuda|torch_native|flash` to require one backend process-wide.
+`ASTR_BACKEND=cuda|torch_native|flash` to override the default process-wide;
+an explicit `attn_backend(...)` context still takes precedence over the env
+override.
 
 Select via context manager (mirrors `torch.nn.attention.sdpa_kernel`):
 
@@ -94,7 +101,7 @@ with attn_backend(ATTN_BACKEND.CUDA):
 Environment and context selections are strict: if the selected backend cannot
 handle the call, inference raises an error rather than silently switching.
 
-`CudaBackend` decode path: writes K/V to cache, then calls `attn_paged_decode` with `page_size=1` — the `req_to_token` table serves directly as the page table, each token slot is a single-token "page". No explicit K/V gather needed.
+`CudaBackend` decode path: writes K/V via `new_k`/`new_v` while calling `attn_paged_decode` — the `req_to_token` table serves directly as the page table (conceptually a single-token "page" per slot, i.e. `page_size=1`; the op itself takes no `page_size` argument). No explicit K/V gather needed.
 
 `CudaBackend` prefill path: writes K/V, then calls `attn_paged_prefill` — a ragged-batch (paged) prefill kernel that reads K/V directly from the flat pool via `req_to_token`, addressing each request's `q_len`/`kv_len` through `qo_indptr` and `kv_indptr`. No explicit K/V gather needed.
 
@@ -171,6 +178,31 @@ InferenceEngine
 
 `GenerateResult` uses `Condition` for non-streaming (`wait_completion()`) and `Event` for streaming (`wait()`). Stream callback is `cb(token)`.
 
+## Launching the Server
+
+`scripts/tools/server.py` accepts every option as a CLI flag or from a YAML
+config file (`--config serve.yaml`); explicit CLI flags override YAML values.
+The YAML `server:` section mirrors the flags:
+
+```yaml
+server:
+  host: 0.0.0.0
+  port: 8000
+  device: cuda
+  dtype: bfloat16
+  max_batch_size: 16
+  max_seq_len: null
+```
+
+```bash
+python scripts/tools/server.py --config serve.yaml
+python scripts/tools/server.py --config serve.yaml --port 9000  # CLI wins
+```
+
+In Docker, `scripts/serve.sh` drives the same YAML (a `runtime:` section
+controls ports/GPU/mounts); see
+[Docker Serving](../developer/docker-serving.md).
+
 ## HTTP API
 
 ```
@@ -228,14 +260,18 @@ The HTTP protocols and direct engine API have distinct request models and defaul
 | `max_tokens` | Optional[int] | 2048 | Max generation length |
 | `stream` | Optional[bool] | False | Stream output |
 | `stop` | Optional[Union[str, List[str]]] | None | Stop sequences |
-| `n` | Optional[int] | 1 | Number of choices requested |
+| `n` | Optional[int] | 1 | Accepted for API compatibility, **ignored** (always returns a single choice) |
-| `presence_penalty` | Optional[float] | 0.0 | Presence penalty (-2.0 to 2.0) |
+| `presence_penalty` | Optional[float] | 0.0 | Accepted for API compatibility, **ignored** |
 | `frequency_penalty` | Optional[float] | 0.0 | Frequency penalty (-2.0 to 2.0) |
-| `logit_bias` | Optional[Dict[int, float]] | None | Per-token logit bias |
+| `logit_bias` | Optional[Dict[int, float]] | None | Accepted for API compatibility, **ignored** |
-| `user` | Optional[str] | None | End-user identifier |
+| `user` | Optional[str] | None | Accepted for API compatibility, **ignored** |
 | `tools` | Optional[List[ToolDef]] | None | Tool definitions for function calling |
 | `tool_choice` | Optional[Union[str, Dict[str, Any]]] | `"auto"` | Tool selection mode or explicit tool choice |
 
+> `n`, `presence_penalty`, `logit_bias`, and `user` are validated by the request
+> model but ignored by the server (a warning is logged when a non-default value
+> is supplied).
+
 **Anthropic** (`MessagesRequest`):
 
 | Param | Type | Default | Description |
@@ -346,4 +382,4 @@ async for token in engine.generate_async("Hello", ...):    # -> AsyncGenerator[s
     print(token)
 ```
 
-> Document Update Time: 2026-08-16
+> Document Update Time: 2026-08-22

docs/guides/params.md

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 |-----------|-------------|---------|
 | `--warmup_ratio` | Fraction of total steps used for LR warmup | 0.05 |
 | `--max_lr` | Maximum learning rate (cosine decay after warmup) | 3e-4 |
-| `--max_grad_norm` | Maximum gradient norm for clipping; the current CLI requires a positive number | 1.0 |
+| `--max_grad_norm` | Maximum gradient norm for clipping; `TrainConfig` validates it as positive (or `None`) | 1.0 |
 
 ### Optimizer
 
@@ -203,6 +203,7 @@ nohup python scripts/tools/train.py \
 
 | Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
 |-----------|------|---------|-------------|
+| `--config`, `-c` | path | `None` | Serving YAML config. CLI flags override YAML values |
 | `--host` | str | `0.0.0.0` | Host address |
 | `--port` | int | `8000` | Port number |
 | `--param_path` | path | `project_root/params` | Path to model parameters |
@@ -217,6 +218,22 @@ Usage:
 python scripts/tools/server.py --param_path ./params --device cuda --dtype bfloat16
 ```
 
+YAML config (a `server:` section; explicit CLI flags override YAML values):
+```bash
+python scripts/tools/server.py --config serve.yaml
+```
+```yaml
+server:
+  host: 0.0.0.0
+  port: 8000
+  device: cuda
+  dtype: bfloat16
+  max_batch_size: 16
+  max_seq_len: null
+```
+`serve.yaml` also carries a `runtime:` section for the Docker wrapper; see
+[Docker Serving](../developer/docker-serving.md).
+
 See [Inference Guide](inference.md) for HTTP API documentation.
 
 ## Generate (`generate.py`)
@@ -264,4 +281,4 @@ See [Preprocessing Guide](preprocessing.md) for config file format and examples.
 
 ---
 
-> Document Update Time: 2026-07-20
+> Document Update Time: 2026-08-22

pyproject.toml

@@ -31,12 +31,15 @@ classifiers = [
 urls = { Homepage = "https://github.com/ViperEkura/AstrAI" }
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
-dev = ["pytest==9.0.2", "ruff", "httpx2"]
+dev = ["pytest==9.0.2", "ruff", "httpx"]
 flash = ["flash-attn>=2.6"]
 
 [tool.setuptools.packages.find]
 where = ["."]
 
+[tool.setuptools.package-data]
+"astrai.extension.lib" = ["*.so"]
+
 [tool.setuptools.dynamic]
 version = { attr = "astrai.__version__" }
 

scripts/docker/serve_runtime.py

@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+"""Parse the host-side runtime section of a serving configuration.
+
+The Compose wrapper needs a few container-side values on the host as well:
+``server.port`` (the port the container listens on) and ``server.device``
+(used by the preflight GPU consistency check). Everything else under
+``server:`` is owned by ``scripts/tools/server.py --config`` inside the
+container.
+"""
+
+import argparse
+import re
+import shlex
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import yaml
+
+ENV_NAME = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$")
+
+
+def _mapping(value, name: str) -> dict:
+    if value is None:
+        return {}
+    if not isinstance(value, dict):
+        raise ValueError(f"{name} must be a mapping")
+    return value
+
+
+def _path(value, name: str, config_dir: Path) -> str:
+    if not isinstance(value, str) or not value.strip():
+        raise ValueError(f"runtime.paths.{name} is required")
+    path = Path(value).expanduser()
+    if not path.is_absolute():
+        path = config_dir / path
+    return str(path.resolve())
+
+
+def _port(value, name: str) -> int:
+    if isinstance(value, bool) or not isinstance(value, int):
+        raise ValueError(f"{name} must be an integer")
+    if not 1 <= value <= 65535:
+        raise ValueError(f"{name} must be between 1 and 65535")
+    return value
+
+
+def load_runtime(config_path: str) -> dict[str, str]:
+    path = Path(config_path).resolve()
+    with path.open(encoding="utf-8") as file:
+        config = yaml.safe_load(file) or {}
+    if not isinstance(config, dict):
+        raise ValueError("serving configuration must be a mapping")
+
+    runtime = _mapping(config.get("runtime"), "runtime")
+    if not runtime:
+        raise ValueError("top-level runtime section is required")
+    paths = _mapping(runtime.get("paths"), "paths")
+    gpu = _mapping(runtime.get("gpu"), "gpu")
+    container = _mapping(runtime.get("container"), "container")
+    environment = _mapping(runtime.get("environment"), "environment")
+    server = _mapping(config.get("server"), "server")
+
+    job_name = runtime.get("job_name", "")
+    if job_name and not isinstance(job_name, str):
+        raise ValueError("runtime.job_name must be a string")
+    if job_name and not re.fullmatch(r"[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*", job_name):
+        raise ValueError(
+            "runtime.job_name must use letters, numbers, dot, underscore, or dash"
+        )
+
+    port = _port(runtime.get("port", 8000), "runtime.port")
+    container_port = _port(server.get("port", 8000), "server.port")
+
+    device = server.get("device", "cuda")
+    if not isinstance(device, str) or not device.strip():
+        raise ValueError("server.device must be a string")
+
+    gpu_enabled = gpu.get("enabled", True)
+    if not isinstance(gpu_enabled, bool):
+        raise ValueError("runtime.gpu.enabled must be a boolean")
+
+    devices = gpu.get("devices", "all")
+    visible_devices = None
+    if gpu_enabled:
+        if devices == "all":
+            pass
+        elif isinstance(devices, list) and len(devices) == 1:
+            text = str(devices[0])
+            if not text.isdigit():
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "runtime.gpu.devices entries must be non-negative integers"
+                )
+            visible_devices = text
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(
+                "runtime.gpu.devices must be 'all' or a single-device list such as [0]"
+            )
+    else:
+        if devices != "all":
+            raise ValueError(
+                "runtime.gpu.devices is ignored when runtime.gpu.enabled is false"
+            )
+        if device != "cpu":
+            raise ValueError(
+                "server.device must be 'cpu' when runtime.gpu.enabled is false"
+            )
+
+    values = {
+        "SERVE_JOB_NAME": job_name,
+        "SERVE_PORT": str(port),
+        "SERVE_CONTAINER_PORT": str(container_port),
+        "SERVE_PARAM_DIR": _path(paths.get("param", "./params"), "param", path.parent),
+        "SERVE_GPU_ENABLED": "true" if gpu_enabled else "false",
+        "SERVE_DEVICE": device,
+        "CUDA_TAG": str(container.get("cuda_tag", "cu128")),
+    }
+    if visible_devices is not None:
+        values["CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"] = visible_devices
+
+    for name, value in environment.items():
+        if not isinstance(name, str) or not ENV_NAME.fullmatch(name):
+            raise ValueError(f"invalid runtime.environment name: {name!r}")
+        if value is not None and not isinstance(value, (str, int, float, bool)):
+            raise ValueError(f"runtime.environment.{name} must be a scalar")
+    values["environment"] = environment
+    return values
+
+
+def shell_exports(runtime: dict[str, str]) -> str:
+    return "\n".join(
+        f"export {name}={shlex.quote(value)}"
+        for name, value in runtime.items()
+        if name != "environment"
+    )
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    parser.add_argument("command", choices=("exports", "environment"))
+    parser.add_argument("config")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    try:
+        runtime = load_runtime(args.config)
+    except (OSError, ValueError, yaml.YAMLError) as exc:
+        parser.error(str(exc))
+
+    if args.command == "exports":
+        print(shell_exports(runtime))
+        return
+    for name, value in runtime["environment"].items():
+        rendered = "" if value is None else str(value)
+        print(f"{name}={rendered}", end="\0")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

scripts/docker/train-entrypoint.sh

@@ -10,12 +10,27 @@ CHECKPOINT_DIR="${CHECKPOINT_ROOT}/${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
 BASE_MODEL="${BASE_MODEL:-/models/base}"
 TRAIN_CONFIG="${TRAIN_CONFIG:-}"
 TRAIN_GPU_COUNT="${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT:-all}"
+TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE="${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE:-auto}"
 
 validate_job_name "${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
 if [[ "${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}" == "all" ]]; then
     TRAIN_GPU_COUNT="$(python -c 'import torch; print(torch.cuda.device_count())')"
 fi
 [[ "${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]*$ ]] || die "No visible GPU found"
+if [[ "${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE}" == "auto" ]]; then
+    if (( TRAIN_GPU_COUNT > 1 )); then
+        TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE=ddp
+    else
+        TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE=none
+    fi
+fi
+[[ "${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE}" =~ ^(none|ddp|fsdp)$ ]] || die "Invalid parallel mode: ${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE}"
+if [[ "${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE}" == "none" ]] && (( TRAIN_GPU_COUNT != 1 )); then
+    die "Parallel mode none requires exactly one GPU"
+fi
+if [[ "${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE}" != "none" ]] && (( TRAIN_GPU_COUNT < 2 )); then
+    die "Parallel mode ${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE} requires at least two GPUs"
+fi
 if [[ -n "${TRAIN_CONFIG}" ]]; then
     [[ -f "${TRAIN_CONFIG}" ]] || die "Training config not found: ${TRAIN_CONFIG}"
 fi
@@ -36,11 +51,7 @@ if [[ -n "${TRAIN_CONFIG}" ]]; then
     train_args+=(--config "${TRAIN_CONFIG}")
 fi
 
-if (( TRAIN_GPU_COUNT > 1 )); then
+train_args+=(--parallel_mode "${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE}")
-    train_args+=(--parallel_mode ddp)
-else
-    train_args+=(--parallel_mode none)
-fi
 
 if [[ -n "${latest_checkpoint}" ]]; then
     log_info "Resuming ${TRAIN_JOB_NAME} from ${latest_checkpoint}"
@@ -52,7 +63,7 @@ else
     train_args+=(--param_path "${BASE_MODEL}")
 fi
 
-log_info "GPUs=${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}, checkpoints=${CHECKPOINT_DIR}"
+log_info "GPUs=${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}, parallel=${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE}, checkpoints=${CHECKPOINT_DIR}"
 
 # Replace the shell so the container init forwards SIGTERM to the trainer.
 exec "${train_args[@]}" "$@"

scripts/docker/train_runtime.py

@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+"""Parse the host-side runtime section of a training configuration."""
+
+import argparse
+import math
+import re
+import shlex
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import yaml
+
+ENV_NAME = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$")
+PARALLEL_MODES = {"auto", "none", "ddp", "fsdp"}
+
+
+def _mapping(value, name: str) -> dict:
+    if value is None:
+        return {}
+    if not isinstance(value, dict):
+        raise ValueError(f"runtime.{name} must be a mapping")
+    return value
+
+
+def _path(value, name: str, config_dir: Path) -> str:
+    if not isinstance(value, str) or not value.strip():
+        raise ValueError(f"runtime.paths.{name} is required")
+    path = Path(value).expanduser()
+    if not path.is_absolute():
+        path = config_dir / path
+    return str(path.resolve())
+
+
+def load_runtime(config_path: str) -> dict[str, str]:
+    path = Path(config_path).resolve()
+    with path.open(encoding="utf-8") as file:
+        config = yaml.safe_load(file) or {}
+    if not isinstance(config, dict):
+        raise ValueError("training configuration must be a mapping")
+
+    runtime = _mapping(config.get("runtime"), "runtime")
+    if not runtime:
+        raise ValueError("top-level runtime section is required")
+    paths = _mapping(runtime.get("paths"), "paths")
+    gpu = _mapping(runtime.get("gpu"), "gpu")
+    container = _mapping(runtime.get("container"), "container")
+    environment = _mapping(runtime.get("environment"), "environment")
+
+    job_name = runtime.get("job_name")
+    if not isinstance(job_name, str) or not re.fullmatch(
+        r"[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*", job_name
+    ):
+        raise ValueError(
+            "runtime.job_name must use letters, numbers, dot, underscore, or dash"
+        )
+
+    devices = gpu.get("devices", "all")
+    visible_devices = None
+    if devices == "all":
+        gpu_count = "all"
+    elif isinstance(devices, list) and devices:
+        normalized = []
+        for device in devices:
+            text = str(device)
+            if not text.isdigit():
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "runtime.gpu.devices entries must be non-negative integers"
+                )
+            normalized.append(text)
+        if len(set(normalized)) != len(normalized):
+            raise ValueError("runtime.gpu.devices must not contain duplicates")
+        gpu_count = str(len(normalized))
+        visible_devices = ",".join(normalized)
+    else:
+        raise ValueError("runtime.gpu.devices must be 'all' or a non-empty list")
+
+    parallel_mode = str(gpu.get("parallel_mode", "auto"))
+    if parallel_mode not in PARALLEL_MODES:
+        raise ValueError("runtime.gpu.parallel_mode must be auto, none, ddp, or fsdp")
+    if gpu_count != "all":
+        count = int(gpu_count)
+        if parallel_mode == "none" and count != 1:
+            raise ValueError("parallel_mode none requires exactly one GPU")
+        if parallel_mode in {"ddp", "fsdp"} and count < 2:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"parallel_mode {parallel_mode} requires at least two GPUs"
+            )
+
+    max_hours = container.get("max_duration_hours", 0)
+    try:
+        max_seconds = math.ceil(float(max_hours) * 3600) if max_hours else 0
+    except (TypeError, ValueError) as exc:
+        raise ValueError(
+            "runtime.container.max_duration_hours must be a number"
+        ) from exc
+    if max_seconds < 0:
+        raise ValueError("runtime.container.max_duration_hours must not be negative")
+
+    values = {
+        "TRAIN_JOB_NAME": job_name,
+        "TRAIN_DATA_DIR": _path(paths.get("data"), "data", path.parent),
+        "TRAIN_MODEL_DIR": _path(paths.get("model"), "model", path.parent),
+        "TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR": _path(
+            paths.get("checkpoints"), "checkpoints", path.parent
+        ),
+        "TRAIN_GPU_COUNT": gpu_count,
+        "TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE": parallel_mode,
+        "CUDA_TAG": str(container.get("cuda_tag", "cu128")),
+        "TRAIN_IPC_MODE": str(container.get("ipc", "host")),
+        "TRAIN_STOP_GRACE_PERIOD": str(container.get("stop_grace_period", "10m")),
+        "TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT": str(container.get("stop_timeout_seconds", 600)),
+        "CHECKPOINT_KEEP_LAST": str(container.get("checkpoint_keep_last", 5)),
+        "TRAIN_MAX_DURATION_SECONDS": str(max_seconds),
+    }
+    if visible_devices is not None:
+        values["CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"] = visible_devices
+
+    for name, value in environment.items():
+        if not isinstance(name, str) or not ENV_NAME.fullmatch(name):
+            raise ValueError(f"invalid runtime.environment name: {name!r}")
+        if value is not None and not isinstance(value, (str, int, float, bool)):
+            raise ValueError(f"runtime.environment.{name} must be a scalar")
+    values["environment"] = environment
+    return values
+
+
+def shell_exports(runtime: dict[str, str]) -> str:
+    return "\n".join(
+        f"export {name}={shlex.quote(value)}"
+        for name, value in runtime.items()
+        if name != "environment"
+    )
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    parser.add_argument("command", choices=("exports", "environment"))
+    parser.add_argument("config")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    try:
+        runtime = load_runtime(args.config)
+    except (OSError, ValueError, yaml.YAMLError) as exc:
+        parser.error(str(exc))
+
+    if args.command == "exports":
+        print(shell_exports(runtime))
+        return
+    for name, value in runtime["environment"].items():
+        rendered = "" if value is None else str(value)
+        print(f"{name}={rendered}", end="\0")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

scripts/serve.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+source "${ROOT_DIR}/scripts/docker/lib/train-common.sh"
+
+COMPOSE_BASE=(
+    docker compose
+    --project-directory "${ROOT_DIR}"
+    --file "${ROOT_DIR}/docker-compose.yml"
+)
+
+usage() {
+    cat <<'EOF'
+Usage: scripts/serve.sh <command> [CONFIG] [options]
+
+CONFIG defaults to ./serve.yaml. The same file declares host runtime settings
+under `runtime:` and server settings under `server:`.
+
+Commands:
+  init [CONFIG]                     Create the model directory
+  preflight [CONFIG]                Validate Docker, paths, GPU, and Compose
+  build [CONFIG]                    Build the serving image
+  up [CONFIG]                       Start the server container (detached)
+  run [CONFIG]                      Start the server container (foreground)
+  down [CONFIG]                     Stop and remove the server container
+  restart [CONFIG]                  Down, then up
+  logs [CONFIG]                     Follow server logs
+  status [CONFIG]                   Show container status
+EOF
+}
+
+resolve_path() {
+    if [[ "$1" = /* ]]; then
+        printf '%s\n' "$1"
+    else
+        printf '%s/%s\n' "${ROOT_DIR}" "${1#./}"
+    fi
+}
+
+load_config() {
+    CONFIG_FILE="$(resolve_path "$1")"
+    [[ -f "${CONFIG_FILE}" ]] || die "Serving config not found: ${CONFIG_FILE}"
+    require_command python3
+    python3 -c 'import yaml' >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
+        die "PyYAML is required on the host (install python3-yaml)"
+
+    local exports
+    exports="$(python3 "${ROOT_DIR}/scripts/docker/serve_runtime.py" exports "${CONFIG_FILE}")" ||
+        die "Failed to load runtime configuration"
+    eval "${exports}"
+    if [[ -n "${SERVE_JOB_NAME}" ]]; then
+        validate_job_name "${SERVE_JOB_NAME}"
+    fi
+}
+
+compose() {
+    if [[ -n "${CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-}" ]]; then
+        ASTRAI_UID="$(id -u)" ASTRAI_GID="$(id -g)" "${COMPOSE_BASE[@]}" "$@"
+    else
+        ASTRAI_UID="$(id -u)" ASTRAI_GID="$(id -g)" \
+            env -u CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES "${COMPOSE_BASE[@]}" "$@"
+    fi
+}
+
+container_name() {
+    if [[ -n "${SERVE_JOB_NAME}" ]]; then
+        printf 'astrai-server-%s\n' "${SERVE_JOB_NAME}"
+    else
+        printf 'astrai-server\n'
+    fi
+}
+
+service_name() {
+    if [[ "${SERVE_GPU_ENABLED:-true}" == "false" ]]; then
+        printf 'server-cpu\n'
+    else
+        printf 'server\n'
+    fi
+}
+
+set_profile_args() {
+    PROFILE_ARGS=()
+    if [[ "${SERVE_GPU_ENABLED:-true}" == "false" ]]; then
+        PROFILE_ARGS=(--profile cpu)
+    fi
+}
+
+init_environment() {
+    mkdir -p "${SERVE_PARAM_DIR}"
+    log_info "Model: ${SERVE_PARAM_DIR}"
+}
+
+preflight() {
+    require_command docker
+    docker info >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "Docker daemon is unavailable"
+    [[ -d "${SERVE_PARAM_DIR}" ]] || die "Model directory not found: ${SERVE_PARAM_DIR}"
+    [[ -s "${SERVE_PARAM_DIR}/config.json" ]] ||
+        die "Model config not found: ${SERVE_PARAM_DIR}/config.json"
+    [[ -s "${SERVE_PARAM_DIR}/model.safetensors" ]] ||
+        die "Model weights not found: ${SERVE_PARAM_DIR}/model.safetensors"
+
+    if [[ "${SERVE_GPU_ENABLED}" == "false" ]] && [[ "${SERVE_DEVICE}" != "cpu" ]]; then
+        die "runtime.gpu.enabled is false but server.device is '${SERVE_DEVICE}'; use server.device: cpu"
+    fi
+
+    compose config --quiet
+    log_info "Preflight passed (service: $(service_name), device: ${SERVE_DEVICE})"
+}
+
+runtime_environment_args() {
+    RUNTIME_ENV_ARGS=()
+    local pair
+    while IFS= read -r -d '' pair; do
+        RUNTIME_ENV_ARGS+=(--env "${pair}")
+    done < <(python3 "${ROOT_DIR}/scripts/docker/serve_runtime.py" environment "${CONFIG_FILE}")
+}
+
+start_server() {
+    local foreground="$1"
+    shift
+    local container running
+    local -a run_options
+    preflight
+    runtime_environment_args
+    set_profile_args
+    container="$(container_name)"
+    running="$(docker inspect --format '{{.State.Running}}' "${container}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+    [[ "${running}" != "true" ]] || die "Server is already running: ${container}"
+    docker rm "${container}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+    run_options=(
+        --volume "${CONFIG_FILE}:/run/astrai/serve.yaml:ro"
+        "${RUNTIME_ENV_ARGS[@]}"
+    )
+    if [[ "${foreground}" == "true" ]]; then
+        compose "${PROFILE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --service-ports \
+            "${run_options[@]}" "$(service_name)" \
+            python -m scripts.tools.server --config /run/astrai/serve.yaml "$@"
+    else
+        compose "${PROFILE_ARGS[@]}" run -d --service-ports \
+            --name "${container}" "${run_options[@]}" "$(service_name)" \
+            python -m scripts.tools.server --config /run/astrai/serve.yaml "$@"
+        log_info "Server started; run scripts/serve.sh logs ${CONFIG_FILE} to follow it"
+    fi
+}
+
+stop_server() {
+    local container
+    container="$(container_name)"
+    docker stop --timeout 30 "${container}" >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
+        log_warn "Server container is not running"
+    docker rm "${container}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+}
+
+show_status() {
+    docker ps -a --filter "name=^/$(container_name)$"
+}
+
+main() {
+    local command="${1:-}" config="${SERVE_CONFIG_FILE:-${ROOT_DIR}/serve.yaml}"
+    [[ -n "${command}" ]] || { usage; exit 1; }
+    shift || true
+
+    if [[ "${command}" =~ ^(help|-h|--help)$ ]]; then
+        usage
+        return
+    fi
+
+    if [[ $# -gt 0 && "$1" != --* ]]; then
+        config="$1"
+        shift
+    fi
+    load_config "${config}"
+
+    case "${command}" in
+        init) init_environment ;;
+        preflight) preflight ;;
+        build)
+            set_profile_args
+            preflight
+            compose "${PROFILE_ARGS[@]}" build "$(service_name)"
+            ;;
+        up) start_server false "$@" ;;
+        run) start_server true "$@" ;;
+        down) stop_server ;;
+        restart) stop_server; start_server false ;;
+        logs) docker logs -f --tail "${SERVE_LOG_TAIL:-200}" "$(container_name)" ;;
+        status) show_status ;;
+        *) die "Unknown command: ${command}" ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+main "$@"

scripts/tools/benchmark.py

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from astrai.inference.engine import InferenceEngine
 from astrai.inference.runtime.graph import CudaGraphContext
 from astrai.inference.workspace import InferenceWorkspace
 from astrai.model import AutoModel, AutoRegressiveLM
+from astrai.serialization import adapt_config
 from astrai.tokenize import AutoTokenizer
 
 _DTYPES = ["bfloat16", "float16", "float32"]
@@ -478,7 +479,9 @@ def benchmark_command(
     if ckpt is not None:
         click.echo(f"Loading model from {ckpt} ...")
         config = ConfigFactory.load(
-            json.loads((Path(ckpt) / "config.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8-sig"))
+            adapt_config(
+                json.loads((Path(ckpt) / "config.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8-sig"))
+            )
         )
         model = AutoModel.from_pretrained(ckpt)
     else:

scripts/tools/server.py

@@ -2,16 +2,105 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 import click
 import torch
+import yaml
+from click.core import ParameterSource
 
 from astrai.inference import run_server
 
 _DTYPES = ["bfloat16", "float16", "float32"]
+_SERVER_KEYS = (
+    "host",
+    "port",
+    "reload",
+    "param_path",
+    "device",
+    "dtype",
+    "max_batch_size",
+    "max_seq_len",
+)
+
+
+def _merge_yaml_into_kwargs(
+    config_path: str,
+    passed_kwargs: dict,
+    explicit_keys: set[str] | None = None,
+) -> dict:
+    """Merge Click defaults, YAML server values, then explicit CLI values."""
+    with open(config_path, encoding="utf-8") as file:
+        config = yaml.safe_load(file) or {}
+    if not isinstance(config, dict):
+        raise click.UsageError(f"Serving config must be a mapping: {config_path}")
+    server = config.get("server") or {}
+    if not isinstance(server, dict):
+        raise click.UsageError("top-level server section must be a mapping")
+
+    unknown = sorted(set(server) - set(_SERVER_KEYS))
+    if unknown:
+        click.echo(
+            f"Warning: ignoring unknown server config keys: {', '.join(unknown)}",
+            err=True,
+        )
+
+    merged = dict(passed_kwargs)
+    merged.update({key: server[key] for key in _SERVER_KEYS if key in server})
+    if explicit_keys is None:
+        explicit_keys = set(passed_kwargs)
+    for key in explicit_keys:
+        if key in passed_kwargs:
+            merged[key] = passed_kwargs[key]
+    return merged
+
+
+def _as_int(value, name: str) -> int | None:
+    if value is None:
+        return None
+    if isinstance(value, bool):
+        raise click.UsageError(f"{name} must be an integer")
+    try:
+        return int(value)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        raise click.UsageError(f"{name} must be an integer, got {value!r}") from None
+
+
+def _resolve_server_config(
+    config_path: str,
+    passed_kwargs: dict,
+    explicit_keys: set[str] | None = None,
+) -> dict:
+    """Merge YAML values, then coerce and validate the resolved settings.
+
+    ``explicit_keys`` are CLI flags that win over YAML; when None, YAML values
+    win over Click defaults.
+    """
+    merged = _merge_yaml_into_kwargs(config_path, passed_kwargs, explicit_keys or set())
+    resolved = dict(merged)
+    resolved["port"] = _as_int(resolved["port"], "server.port") or 8000
+    resolved["max_batch_size"] = (
+        _as_int(resolved["max_batch_size"], "server.max_batch_size") or 16
+    )
+    resolved["max_seq_len"] = _as_int(resolved["max_seq_len"], "server.max_seq_len")
+    resolved["reload"] = bool(resolved["reload"])
+    if resolved["dtype"] not in _DTYPES:
+        raise click.UsageError(
+            f"server.dtype must be one of {', '.join(_DTYPES)}, got {resolved['dtype']!r}"
+        )
+    return resolved
 
 
 @click.command(name="serve", help="Launch inference server (OpenAI-compatible API).")
+@click.option(
+    "--config",
+    "-c",
+    "config_path",
+    type=click.Path(exists=True, dir_okay=False),
+    default=None,
+    help="Serving YAML config. CLI flags override YAML values.",
+)
 @click.option("--host", default="0.0.0.0", help="Host address.")
 @click.option("--port", type=int, default=8000, help="Port number.")
-@click.option("--reload", is_flag=True, help="Enable auto-reload for development.")
+@click.option(
+    "--reload", is_flag=True, default=False, help="Enable auto-reload for development."
+)
 @click.option(
     "--param_path",
     type=click.Path(exists=True),
@@ -37,10 +126,47 @@ _DTYPES = ["bfloat16", "float16", "float32"]
     default=None,
     help="Maximum sequence length (KV cache size + prompt truncation). Uses model config if not set.",
 )
+@click.pass_context
 def server_command(
-    host, port, reload, param_path, device, dtype, max_batch_size, max_seq_len
+    ctx,
+    config_path,
+    host,
+    port,
+    reload,
+    param_path,
+    device,
+    dtype,
+    max_batch_size,
+    max_seq_len,
 ):
     """Launch inference server (OpenAI-compatible API)."""
+    if config_path:
+        passed_kwargs = {
+            "host": host,
+            "port": port,
+            "reload": reload,
+            "param_path": param_path,
+            "device": device,
+            "dtype": dtype,
+            "max_batch_size": max_batch_size,
+            "max_seq_len": max_seq_len,
+        }
+        explicit_keys = {
+            key
+            for key in passed_kwargs
+            if ctx.get_parameter_source(key) is ParameterSource.COMMANDLINE
+        }
+        resolved = _resolve_server_config(config_path, passed_kwargs, explicit_keys)
+        host = resolved["host"]
+        port = resolved["port"]
+        reload = resolved["reload"]
+        param_path = resolved["param_path"]
+        device = resolved["device"]
+        dtype = resolved["dtype"]
+        max_batch_size = resolved["max_batch_size"]
+        max_seq_len = resolved["max_seq_len"]
+        click.echo(f"Config: {config_path}")
+
     dtype_map = {
         "bfloat16": torch.bfloat16,
         "float16": torch.float16,

scripts/tools/train.py

@@ -11,6 +11,12 @@ from click.core import ParameterSource
 from torch import optim
 
 from astrai.config import AutoRegressiveLMConfig, TrainConfig
+from astrai.config.train_config import (
+    BACKENDS,
+    PARALLEL_MODES,
+    START_METHODS,
+    TRAIN_TYPES,
+)
 from astrai.dataset import DatasetFactory, dpo_collate_fn, grpo_collate_fn
 from astrai.model import AutoRegressiveLM
 from astrai.model.components.decoder_block import DecoderBlock
@@ -92,12 +98,12 @@ def _merge_yaml_into_kwargs(
     return merged
 
 
-_TRAIN_TYPE = ["seq", "sft", "dpo", "grpo", "online_grpo", "online_dpo"]
+_TRAIN_TYPE = sorted(TRAIN_TYPES)
-_PARALLEL = ["none", "ddp", "fsdp"]
+_PARALLEL = sorted(PARALLEL_MODES)
 _SCHEDULES = ["cosine", "sgdr", "wsd"]
 _OPTIMIZERS = OptimizerFactory.list_registered()
-_BACKENDS = ["nccl", "gloo"]
+_BACKENDS = sorted(BACKENDS)
-_START_METHODS = ["spawn", "fork", "forkserver"]
+_START_METHODS = sorted(START_METHODS)
 
 
 @click.command(
@@ -651,17 +657,10 @@ def train(
     decay_steps: int,
     **kwargs,
 ):
-    if train_type not in [
+    if train_type not in _TRAIN_TYPE:
-        "seq",
-        "sft",
-        "dpo",
-        "grpo",
-        "online_grpo",
-        "online_dpo",
-    ]:
         raise ValueError(
             f"Invalid train_type '{train_type}'. "
-            f"Must be one of: seq, sft, dpo, grpo, online_grpo, online_dpo"
+            f"Must be one of: {', '.join(_TRAIN_TYPE)}"
         )
     if not os.path.exists(param_path):
         raise FileNotFoundError(f"Model directory not found: {param_path}")
@@ -837,7 +836,7 @@ def train(
         gradient_checkpointing_modules=grad_ckpt_modules,
         compile_mode=compile_mode,
         executor_kwargs=executor_kwargs,
-        extra_kwargs=strategy_kwargs,
+        strategy_kwargs=strategy_kwargs,
         neftune_alpha=neftune_alpha,
         collate_fn=collate_fn,
         rollout_interval=rollout_interval,

scripts/train.sh

@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ set -euo pipefail
 ROOT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
 source "${ROOT_DIR}/scripts/docker/lib/train-common.sh"
 
-ENV_FILE="${TRAIN_ENV_FILE:-${ROOT_DIR}/.env.train}"
 COMPOSE_BASE=(
     docker compose
     --project-directory "${ROOT_DIR}"
@@ -14,50 +13,28 @@ COMPOSE_BASE=(
 
 usage() {
     cat <<'EOF'
-Usage: scripts/train.sh <command> [options]
+Usage: scripts/train.sh <command> [CONFIG] [options]
+
+CONFIG defaults to ./train.yaml. The same file declares host runtime settings
+under `runtime:` and trainer settings under model/data/parallel/training/ckpt/log.
 
 Commands:
-  init                 Create local directories and .env.train
+  init [CONFIG]                     Create runtime directories
-  preflight            Validate Docker, paths, GPU settings, and Compose
+  preflight [CONFIG]                Validate Docker, paths, GPUs, and Compose
-  build                Build the trainer image
+  build [CONFIG]                    Build the trainer image
-  start [--foreground] [-- ARGS...] Start or resume training
+  start [CONFIG] [--foreground] [-- ARGS...]
-  stop                 Gracefully stop and checkpoint training
+                                    Start or resume training
-  restart              Stop, then start training
+  stop [CONFIG]                     Gracefully stop and checkpoint training
-  logs                 Follow trainer logs
+  restart [CONFIG]                  Stop, then start training
-  status               Show container and latest checkpoint status
+  logs [CONFIG]                     Follow trainer logs
-  latest               Print the latest complete checkpoint path
+  status [CONFIG]                   Show container and checkpoint status
-  list                 List all complete checkpoints
+  latest [CONFIG]                   Print the latest complete checkpoint
-  clean [--keep N]     Preview old checkpoint removal
+  list [CONFIG]                     List complete checkpoints
-  clean --force        Remove old checkpoints after previewing
+  clean [CONFIG] [--keep N] [--force]
-
+                                    Preview or remove old checkpoints
-Environment:
-  TRAIN_ENV_FILE       Env file path (default: .env.train)
-  TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE    Optional host YAML mounted only when the job starts
-
-Training arguments come from an externally mounted TRAIN_CONFIG or ARGS passed
-after --. The image does not contain experiment configuration.
 EOF
 }
 
-load_env() {
-    if [[ -f "${ENV_FILE}" ]]; then
-        set -a
-        # UID/GID are readonly in bash; compose gets them via ASTRAI_UID/GID in compose()
-        # shellcheck disable=SC1090
-        source <(grep -v -E '^[[:space:]]*(UID|GID)=' "${ENV_FILE}")
-        set +a
-    fi
-
-    TRAIN_JOB_NAME="${TRAIN_JOB_NAME:-astrai-train}"
-    TRAIN_DATA_DIR="${TRAIN_DATA_DIR:-./data}"
-    TRAIN_MODEL_DIR="${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR:-./params}"
-    TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR="${TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR:-./checkpoints}"
-    TRAIN_GPU_COUNT="${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT:-all}"
-    TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT="${TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT:-600}"
-
-    validate_job_name "${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
-}
-
 resolve_path() {
     if [[ "$1" = /* ]]; then
         printf '%s\n' "$1"
@@ -66,142 +43,152 @@ resolve_path() {
     fi
 }
 
-checkpoint_dir() {
+load_config() {
-    printf '%s/%s\n' "$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR}")" "${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
+    CONFIG_FILE="$(resolve_path "$1")"
+    [[ -f "${CONFIG_FILE}" ]] || die "Training config not found: ${CONFIG_FILE}"
+    require_command python3
+    python3 -c 'import yaml' >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
+        die "PyYAML is required on the host (install python3-yaml)"
+
+    local exports
+    exports="$(python3 "${ROOT_DIR}/scripts/docker/train_runtime.py" exports "${CONFIG_FILE}")" ||
+        die "Failed to load runtime configuration"
+    eval "${exports}"
+    validate_job_name "${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
 }
 
 compose() {
-    local -a command=("${COMPOSE_BASE[@]}")
+    if [[ -n "${CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-}" ]]; then
-
+        ASTRAI_UID="$(id -u)" ASTRAI_GID="$(id -g)" "${COMPOSE_BASE[@]}" "$@"
-    if [[ -f "${ENV_FILE}" ]]; then
+    else
-        command+=(--env-file "${ENV_FILE}")
+        ASTRAI_UID="$(id -u)" ASTRAI_GID="$(id -g)" \
+            env -u CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES "${COMPOSE_BASE[@]}" "$@"
     fi
+}
 
-    # Inject the host user into compose so container processes share the
+checkpoint_dir() {
-    # checkpoint directory ownership (bash UID/GID are readonly).
+    printf '%s/%s\n' "${TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR}" "${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
-    ASTRAI_UID="$(id -u)" ASTRAI_GID="$(id -g)" "${command[@]}" "$@"
+}
+
+container_name() {
+    printf 'astrai-trainer-%s\n' "${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
+}
+
+timer_pid_file() {
+    printf '/tmp/astrai-timer-%s.pid\n' "${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
+}
+
+timer_log_file() {
+    printf '/tmp/astrai-timer-%s.log\n' "${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
+}
+
+cancel_timer() {
+    local pid_file pid
+    pid_file="$(timer_pid_file)"
+    [[ -f "${pid_file}" ]] || return 0
+    pid="$(<"${pid_file}")"
+    if [[ "${pid}" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]*$ ]] && kill -0 "${pid}" 2>/dev/null; then
+        kill "${pid}" 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+    rm -f -- "${pid_file}"
+}
+
+schedule_timer() {
+    (( TRAIN_MAX_DURATION_SECONDS > 0 )) || return 0
+    cancel_timer
+    local pid_file log_file
+    pid_file="$(timer_pid_file)"
+    log_file="$(timer_log_file)"
+    (
+        sleep "${TRAIN_MAX_DURATION_SECONDS}"
+        "${ROOT_DIR}/scripts/train.sh" stop "${CONFIG_FILE}" --from-timer
+    ) >"${log_file}" 2>&1 &
+    printf '%s\n' "$!" >"${pid_file}"
+    log_info "Automatic stop scheduled in ${TRAIN_MAX_DURATION_SECONDS}s"
 }
 
 init_environment() {
-    local data_dir model_dir checkpoints_dir
+    mkdir -p "${TRAIN_DATA_DIR}" "${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR}" "${TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR}"
-
+    log_info "Data: ${TRAIN_DATA_DIR}"
-    data_dir="$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_DATA_DIR}")"
+    log_info "Model: ${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR}"
-    model_dir="$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR}")"
+    log_info "Checkpoints: ${TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR}"
-    checkpoints_dir="$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR}")"
-    mkdir -p "${data_dir}" "${model_dir}" "${checkpoints_dir}"
-
-    if [[ ! -f "${ENV_FILE}" ]]; then
-        cat >"${ENV_FILE}" <<'EOF'
-TRAIN_JOB_NAME=astrai-train
-TRAIN_DATA_DIR=./data
-TRAIN_MODEL_DIR=./params
-TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR=./checkpoints
-TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE=
-TRAIN_GPU_COUNT=all
-# CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=0,1
-CUDA_TAG=cu128
-TRAIN_IPC_MODE=host
-TRAIN_STOP_GRACE_PERIOD=10m
-TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT=600
-CHECKPOINT_KEEP_LAST=5
-EOF
-        log_info "Created ${ENV_FILE}"
-    else
-        log_info "Keeping existing ${ENV_FILE}"
-    fi
-    log_info "Data: ${data_dir}"
-    log_info "Model: ${model_dir}"
-    log_info "Checkpoints: ${checkpoints_dir}"
 }
 
 preflight() {
-    local data_dir model_dir checkpoints_dir config_file latest visible_count
+    local latest visible_count
-
     require_command docker
     docker info >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "Docker daemon is unavailable"
-    [[ "${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}" == "all" || "${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]*$ ]] ||
+    [[ -d "${TRAIN_DATA_DIR}" ]] || die "Training data directory not found: ${TRAIN_DATA_DIR}"
-        die "TRAIN_GPU_COUNT must be 'all' or a positive integer"
+    mkdir -p "$(checkpoint_dir)"
+    [[ -w "$(checkpoint_dir)" ]] || die "Checkpoint directory is not writable: $(checkpoint_dir)"
 
-    data_dir="$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_DATA_DIR}")"
+    latest="$(find_latest_checkpoint "$(checkpoint_dir)" || true)"
-    model_dir="$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR}")"
-    checkpoints_dir="$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_CHECKPOINT_DIR}")"
-    [[ -d "${data_dir}" ]] || die "Training data directory not found: ${data_dir}"
-    mkdir -p "${checkpoints_dir}/${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
-    [[ -w "${checkpoints_dir}/${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}" ]] || die "Checkpoint directory is not writable"
-
-    if [[ -n "${TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE:-}" ]]; then
-        config_file="$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE}")"
-        [[ -f "${config_file}" ]] || die "Training config not found: ${config_file}"
-    fi
-
-    latest="$(find_latest_checkpoint "${checkpoints_dir}/${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}" || true)"
     if [[ -z "${latest}" ]]; then
-        [[ -s "${model_dir}/config.json" ]] || die "Model config not found: ${model_dir}/config.json"
+        [[ -s "${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR}/config.json" ]] ||
-        [[ -s "${model_dir}/model.safetensors" ]] || die "Model weights not found: ${model_dir}/model.safetensors"
+            die "Model config not found: ${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR}/config.json"
+        [[ -s "${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR}/model.safetensors" ]] ||
+            die "Model weights not found: ${TRAIN_MODEL_DIR}/model.safetensors"
     else
         log_info "Resume candidate: ${latest}"
     fi
 
-    if [[ -n "${CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES:-}" && "${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}" != "all" ]]; then
+    if [[ -n "${CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES}" ]]; then
         IFS=',' read -r -a visible_gpus <<<"${CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES}"
         visible_count="${#visible_gpus[@]}"
         (( visible_count == TRAIN_GPU_COUNT )) ||
-            die "TRAIN_GPU_COUNT=${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}, but CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES exposes ${visible_count} GPU(s)"
+            die "Configured GPU count and visible device list disagree"
     fi
 
     compose config --quiet
-    log_info "Preflight passed for ${TRAIN_JOB_NAME} (GPU request: ${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT})"
+    log_info "Preflight passed for ${TRAIN_JOB_NAME} (GPU request: ${TRAIN_GPU_COUNT}, parallel: ${TRAIN_PARALLEL_MODE})"
+}
+
+runtime_environment_args() {
+    RUNTIME_ENV_ARGS=()
+    local pair
+    while IFS= read -r -d '' pair; do
+        RUNTIME_ENV_ARGS+=(--env "${pair}")
+    done < <(python3 "${ROOT_DIR}/scripts/docker/train_runtime.py" environment "${CONFIG_FILE}")
 }
 
 start_training() {
     local foreground="$1"
-    local config_file container running
-    local -a run_options=()
     shift
-
+    local container running
+    local -a run_options
     preflight
-    if [[ -n "${TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE:-}" ]]; then
+    runtime_environment_args
-        config_file="$(resolve_path "${TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE}")"
+    container="$(container_name)"
-        run_options+=(
-            --volume "${config_file}:/run/astrai/train.yaml:ro"
-            --env TRAIN_CONFIG=/run/astrai/train.yaml
-        )
-    elif [[ -z "${TRAIN_CONFIG:-}" && $# -eq 0 ]]; then
-        die "Set TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE or pass complete trainer arguments after --"
-    fi
-
-    container="astrai-trainer-${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
     running="$(docker inspect --format '{{.State.Running}}' "${container}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
     [[ "${running}" != "true" ]] || die "Trainer is already running: ${container}"
     docker rm "${container}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+    run_options=(
+        --volume "${CONFIG_FILE}:/run/astrai/train.yaml:ro"
+        --env TRAIN_CONFIG=/run/astrai/train.yaml
+        "${RUNTIME_ENV_ARGS[@]}"
+    )
     if [[ "${foreground}" == "true" ]]; then
-        compose run --build --rm "${run_options[@]}" trainer "$@"
+        compose run --rm "${run_options[@]}" trainer "$@"
     else
-        compose run -d --build --name "${container}" \
+        compose run -d --name "${container}" "${run_options[@]}" trainer "$@"
-            "${run_options[@]}" trainer "$@"
+        schedule_timer
-        log_info "Training started; run scripts/train.sh logs to follow it"
+        log_info "Training started; run scripts/train.sh logs ${CONFIG_FILE} to follow it"
     fi
 }
 
 stop_training() {
+    local from_timer="$1"
+    [[ "${from_timer}" == "true" ]] || cancel_timer
     log_info "Stopping trainer with ${TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT}s grace period"
-    docker stop --timeout "${TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT}" "astrai-trainer-${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}" >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
+    docker stop --timeout "${TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT}" "$(container_name)" >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
         log_warn "Trainer container is not running"
-}
+    [[ "${from_timer}" != "true" ]] || rm -f -- "$(timer_pid_file)"
-
-restart_training() {
-    local container="astrai-trainer-${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
-
-    docker inspect "${container}" >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
-        die "Trainer container not found; use start with a config or CLI arguments first"
-    log_info "Restarting trainer with ${TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT}s grace period"
-    docker restart --timeout "${TRAIN_STOP_TIMEOUT}" "${container}" >/dev/null
 }
 
 show_status() {
     local latest
-
+    docker ps -a --filter "name=^/$(container_name)$"
-    docker ps -a --filter "name=^/astrai-trainer-${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}$"
     latest="$(find_latest_checkpoint "$(checkpoint_dir)" || true)"
     if [[ -n "${latest}" ]]; then
         log_info "Latest checkpoint: ${latest}"
@@ -213,7 +200,6 @@ show_status() {
 clean_checkpoints() {
     local keep="$1" force="$2" dir count remove_count index path
     local -a checkpoints=()
-
     [[ "${keep}" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]*$ ]] || die "--keep must be a positive integer"
     dir="$(checkpoint_dir)"
     while IFS= read -r line; do
@@ -226,7 +212,6 @@ clean_checkpoints() {
         log_info "Nothing to clean; ${count} complete checkpoint(s), keeping ${keep}"
         return
     fi
-
     for ((index = 0; index < remove_count; index++)); do
         path="${checkpoints[index]}"
         if [[ "${force}" == "true" ]]; then
@@ -240,57 +225,49 @@ clean_checkpoints() {
 }
 
 main() {
-    local command="${1:-}" foreground=false keep="${CHECKPOINT_KEEP_LAST:-5}" force=false
+    local command="${1:-}" config="${TRAIN_CONFIG_FILE:-${ROOT_DIR}/train.yaml}"
+    local foreground=false keep force=false from_timer=false
     local -a train_args=()
     [[ -n "${command}" ]] || { usage; exit 1; }
     shift || true
-    load_env
+
+    if [[ "${command}" =~ ^(help|-h|--help)$ ]]; then
+        usage
+        return
+    fi
+
+    if [[ $# -gt 0 && "$1" != --* ]]; then
+        config="$1"
+        shift
+    fi
+    load_config "${config}"
+    keep="${CHECKPOINT_KEEP_LAST}"
 
     case "${command}" in
-        init)
+        init) init_environment ;;
-            init_environment
+        preflight) preflight ;;
-            ;;
+        build) preflight; compose build trainer ;;
-        preflight)
-            preflight
-            ;;
-        build)
-            preflight
-            compose build trainer
-            ;;
         start)
             while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
                 case "$1" in
-                    --foreground)
+                    --foreground) foreground=true; shift ;;
-                        foreground=true
+                    --) shift; train_args=("$@"); break ;;
-                        shift
+                    *) die "Unknown start option: $1 (put trainer arguments after --)" ;;
-                        ;;
-                    --)
-                        shift
-                        train_args=("$@")
-                        break
-                        ;;
-                    *)
-                        die "Unknown start option: $1 (put trainer arguments after --)"
-                        ;;
                 esac
             done
             start_training "${foreground}" "${train_args[@]}"
             ;;
         stop)
-            stop_training
+            [[ "${1:-}" != "--from-timer" ]] || from_timer=true
+            stop_training "${from_timer}"
             ;;
         restart)
-            restart_training
+            stop_training false
-            ;;
+            start_training false
-        logs)
-            docker logs -f --tail "${TRAIN_LOG_TAIL:-200}" "astrai-trainer-${TRAIN_JOB_NAME}"
-            ;;
-        status)
-            show_status
-            ;;
-        latest)
-            find_latest_checkpoint "$(checkpoint_dir)" || die "No complete checkpoint found"
             ;;
+        logs) docker logs -f --tail "${TRAIN_LOG_TAIL:-200}" "$(container_name)" ;;
+        status) show_status ;;
+        latest) find_latest_checkpoint "$(checkpoint_dir)" || die "No complete checkpoint found" ;;
         list)
             list_complete_checkpoints "$(checkpoint_dir)" | while read -r _epoch _step path; do
                 printf '%s\n' "${path}"
@@ -299,28 +276,14 @@ main() {
         clean)
             while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
                 case "$1" in
-                    --keep)
+                    --keep) [[ $# -ge 2 ]] || die "--keep requires a value"; keep="$2"; shift 2 ;;
-                        [[ $# -ge 2 ]] || die "--keep requires a value"
+                    --force) force=true; shift ;;
-                        keep="$2"
+                    *) die "Unknown clean option: $1" ;;
-                        shift 2
-                        ;;
-                    --force)
-                        force=true
-                        shift
-                        ;;
-                    *)
-                        die "Unknown clean option: $1"
-                        ;;
                 esac
             done
             clean_checkpoints "${keep}" "${force}"
             ;;
-        help|-h|--help)
+        *) die "Unknown command: ${command}" ;;
-            usage
-            ;;
-        *)
-            die "Unknown command: ${command}"
-            ;;
     esac
 }
 

setup.py

@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ import warnings
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from setuptools import setup
+from setuptools.command.build import build as _build
 from setuptools.command.build_ext import build_ext as _build_ext
+from setuptools.command.editable_wheel import editable_wheel as _editable_wheel
 
 sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent))
 os.makedirs("astrai/extension/lib", exist_ok=True)
@@ -78,7 +80,7 @@ class _CMakeBuildExt(_build_ext):
         if cmake is None:
             raise RuntimeError("cmake not found on PATH; install it to build kernels")
 
-        parallel = os.environ.get("BUILD_PARALLEL", "16")
+        parallel = os.environ.get("BUILD_PARALLEL", "4")
         cfg = [
             cmake,
             "-S",
@@ -93,10 +95,40 @@ class _CMakeBuildExt(_build_ext):
         if not arch:
             arch = _detect_cuda_arch()
         if arch:
+            try:
+                if int(str(arch)) < 89:
+                    warnings.warn(
+                        f"FP8 operator disabled: CUDA compute capability {arch} "
+                        "requires 89 or newer.",
+                        stacklevel=2,
+                    )
+            except ValueError:
+                warnings.warn(
+                    f"Could not parse ASTRAI_CUDA_ARCH={arch!r}; "
+                    "FP8 capability will be decided by CMake.",
+                    stacklevel=2,
+                )
             cfg.append(f"-DASTRAI_CUDA_ARCH={arch}")
         subprocess.run(cfg, check=True)
         subprocess.run([cmake, "--build", str(build_dir), "-j", parallel], check=True)
 
+        # After compilation finishes, verify mandatory CUDA kernels to confirm build succeeded.
+        # CMake may report partial‑target success even if some architecture‑specific kernels are skipped.
+        # Prevent editable install from reporting success when critical kernel shared objects are missing.
+        lib_dir = src / "astrai" / "extension" / "lib"
+        required = (
+            "attn_decode",
+            "attn_prefill",
+            "attn_paged_decode",
+            "attn_paged_prefill",
+            "rotary_emb",
+        )
+        missing = [name for name in required if not any(lib_dir.glob(f"{name}.*.so"))]
+        if missing:
+            raise RuntimeError(
+                "CUDA build completed without some required kernel modules!"
+            )
+
 
 def _cuda_toolkit_version():
     import shutil
@@ -148,6 +180,24 @@ class _NullBuildExt(_build_ext):
         pass
 
 
+class _Build(_build):
+    """Run the CMake kernel build as part of setuptools' build lifecycle."""
+
+    def run(self):
+        if _should_build():
+            self.run_command("build_ext")
+        super().run()
+
+
+class _EditableWheel(_editable_wheel):
+    """Run the CMake kernel build for PEP 660 editable installations."""
+
+    def run(self):
+        if _should_build():
+            self.run_command("build_ext")
+        super().run()
+
+
 cmdclass = {}
 
 if _should_build():
@@ -155,4 +205,10 @@ if _should_build():
 else:
     cmdclass["build_ext"] = _NullBuildExt
 
-setup(ext_modules=[], cmdclass=cmdclass)
+cmdclass["build"] = _Build
+cmdclass["editable_wheel"] = _EditableWheel
+
+setup(
+    ext_modules=[],
+    cmdclass=cmdclass,
+)

tests/conftest.py

@@ -1,21 +1,31 @@
 import json
 import os
-import shutil
-import tempfile
 
 import pytest
 import torch
-from tokenizers import Tokenizer, models, pre_tokenizers, trainers
 
 from astrai.extension import KERNEL_NAMES, is_available
 from astrai.model.transformer import AutoRegressiveLM
-from astrai.tokenize import AutoTokenizer
+from tests.helpers import (
-from tests.helpers import TINY_CONFIG, RandomTokenDataset, make_tiny_config
+    TINY_CONFIG,
+    RandomTokenDataset,
+    build_test_tokenizer,
+    make_tiny_config,
+)
 
 CUDA_AVAIL = torch.cuda.is_available()
 KERNEL_AVAIL = CUDA_AVAIL and all(is_available(k) for k in KERNEL_NAMES)
+FP8_AVAIL = (
+    CUDA_AVAIL
+    and is_available("fp8_ops")
+    and torch.cuda.get_device_capability() >= (8, 9)
+)
 skip_no_cuda = pytest.mark.skipif(not CUDA_AVAIL, reason="CUDA not available")
 skip_no_kernel = pytest.mark.skipif(not KERNEL_AVAIL, reason="CUDA kernels not built")
+skip_no_fp8 = pytest.mark.skipif(
+    not FP8_AVAIL,
+    reason="fused FP8 MMA requires a built kernel and compute capability 8.9+",
+)
 
 
 def pytest_configure(config):
@@ -30,18 +40,9 @@ def device():
     return "cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu"
 
 
-def create_test_tokenizer(vocab_size: int = 1000) -> AutoTokenizer:
+def create_test_tokenizer(vocab_size: int = 1000):
     """Create a simple tokenizer for testing purposes."""
-    tokenizer = Tokenizer(models.BPE())
+    return build_test_tokenizer(vocab_size)
-    tokenizer.pre_tokenizer = pre_tokenizers.ByteLevel()
-    trainer = trainers.BpeTrainer(
-        vocab_size=vocab_size, min_frequency=1, special_tokens=["<unk>", "<pad>"]
-    )
-    tokenizer.train_from_iterator([chr(i) for i in range(256)], trainer)
-    auto_tokenizer = AutoTokenizer()
-    auto_tokenizer._tokenizer = tokenizer
-    auto_tokenizer._special_token_map = {"unk_token": "<unk>", "pad_token": "<pad>"}
-    return auto_tokenizer
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
@@ -50,33 +51,36 @@ def test_tokenizer():
     return create_test_tokenizer()
 
 
-@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+@pytest.fixture
 def test_model(device):
-    """Session-scoped small AutoRegressiveLM model, created once."""
+    """Function-scoped small AutoRegressiveLM model, isolated per test."""
     config = make_tiny_config()
     model = AutoRegressiveLM(config).to(device=device)
     return {"model": model, "device": device, "config": config}
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def base_test_env(test_model, test_tokenizer):
+def temp_dir(tmp_path):
+    """Function-scoped temporary directory, cleaned up by pytest."""
+    return str(tmp_path)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def base_test_env(test_model, test_tokenizer, temp_dir):
     """Function-scoped test environment with isolated temp directory."""
-    test_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+    config_path = os.path.join(temp_dir, "config.json")
-    config_path = os.path.join(test_dir, "config.json")
     with open(config_path, "w") as f:
         json.dump(TINY_CONFIG, f)
 
-    yield {
+    return {
         "device": test_model["device"],
-        "test_dir": str(test_dir),
+        "test_dir": temp_dir,
         "config_path": config_path,
         "transformer_config": test_model["config"],
         "model": test_model["model"],
         "tokenizer": test_tokenizer,
     }
 
-    shutil.rmtree(test_dir)
-
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def random_dataset():

tests/data/conftest.py

@@ -1,21 +1,14 @@
 import json
 import os
-import tempfile
 
 import pytest
-from tokenizers import Tokenizer, models, pre_tokenizers, trainers
 
-from astrai.config.preprocess_config import (
-    InputConfig,
-    PipelineConfig,
-    ProcessingConfig,
-)
 from astrai.preprocessing.builder import (
     MultiOutputMaskBuilder,
     SectionedMaskBuilder,
     SingleOutputMaskBuilder,
 )
-from astrai.tokenize import AutoTokenizer
+from tests.helpers import build_test_tokenizer
 
 _SPECIAL_TOKENS_CONFIG = {
     "bos_token": "<|begin_of_sentence|>",
@@ -41,55 +34,42 @@ _CHAT_TEMPLATE = (
     "{% if add_generation_prompt %}<|im_start|>assistant\n{% endif %}"
 )
 
-_CHAT_SECTIONS = [{"field": "messages", "action": "$role", "template": True}]
 
-_INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS = [
+_CHAT_TOKENIZER_DATA = [
-    {"field": "prompt", "action": "mask", "add_special_tokens": True},
+    "hello world",
-    {"field": "response", "action": "train"},
+    "Hi there!",
+    "You are helpful.",
+    "What is 2+2?",
+    "Tell me a story about dragons and knights.",
+    "Sure, here is a tale.",
+    "Translate to French: Hello",
+    "Bonjour",
+    "Artificial Intelligence is a field of computer science.",
+    "system",
+    "user",
+    "assistant",
+    "<|im_start|>",
+    "<|im_end|>",
+    *[chr(i) for i in range(32, 127)],
 ]
 
-_TEXT_SECTIONS = [{"field": "text", "action": "train"}]
+_CHAT_TOKENIZER_MAP = {
-
+    "bos_token": "<|begin_of_sentence|>",
-_GRPO_RESPONSE_SECTIONS = [{"field": "responses", "action": "train"}]
+    "eos_token": "<|end_of_sentence|>",
+    "pad_token": "<|_pad_|>",
+    "unk_token": "<|_unk_|>",
+}
 
 
 def _build_chat_tokenizer():
-    tok = Tokenizer(models.BPE())
+    return build_test_tokenizer(
-    tok.pre_tokenizer = pre_tokenizers.ByteLevel(add_prefix_space=False)
-    tr = trainers.BpeTrainer(
         vocab_size=512,
-        min_frequency=1,
         special_tokens=_SPECIAL_TOKENS,
+        special_token_map=_CHAT_TOKENIZER_MAP,
+        add_prefix_space=False,
+        train_data=_CHAT_TOKENIZER_DATA,
+        chat_template=_CHAT_TEMPLATE,
     )
-    train_data = [
-        "hello world",
-        "Hi there!",
-        "You are helpful.",
-        "What is 2+2?",
-        "Tell me a story about dragons and knights.",
-        "Sure, here is a tale.",
-        "Translate to French: Hello",
-        "Bonjour",
-        "Artificial Intelligence is a field of computer science.",
-        "system",
-        "user",
-        "assistant",
-        "<|im_start|>",
-        "<|im_end|>",
-        *[chr(i) for i in range(32, 127)],
-    ]
-    tok.train_from_iterator(train_data, tr)
-
-    auto_tok = AutoTokenizer()
-    auto_tok._tokenizer = tok
-    auto_tok._special_token_map = {
-        "bos_token": "<|begin_of_sentence|>",
-        "eos_token": "<|end_of_sentence|>",
-        "pad_token": "<|_pad_|>",
-        "unk_token": "<|_unk_|>",
-    }
-    auto_tok.set_chat_template(_CHAT_TEMPLATE)
-    return auto_tok
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
@@ -97,116 +77,11 @@ def chat_tokenizer():
     return _build_chat_tokenizer()
 
 
-@pytest.fixture
+def _write_tokenizer_dir(dir_path, tokenizer, tokenizer_config):
-def temp_dir():
+    """Persist a tokenizer plus ``tokenizer_config.json`` into *dir_path*."""
-    d = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+    tokenizer._tokenizer.save(os.path.join(dir_path, "tokenizer.json"))
-    yield d
+    with open(os.path.join(dir_path, "tokenizer_config.json"), "w") as f:
-    import shutil
+        json.dump(tokenizer_config, f)
-
-    shutil.rmtree(d, ignore_errors=True)
-
-
-def make_chat_config():
-    return PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_CHAT_SECTIONS),
-        mask={"system": "mask", "user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
-        mask_default="mask",
-        preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
-    )
-
-
-def make_instruction_config():
-    return PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
-        mask={"prompt": "mask", "response": "train"},
-        mask_default="mask",
-        preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
-    )
-
-
-def make_text_config():
-    return PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_TEXT_SECTIONS),
-        preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(
-            max_seq_len=2048, min_chars=1, max_chars=2_000_000
-        ),
-    )
-
-
-def make_dpo_chat_config():
-    return PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(
-            sources={
-                "chosen": {
-                    "sections": [
-                        {"field": "chosen", "action": "$role", "template": True}
-                    ]
-                },
-                "rejected": {
-                    "sections": [
-                        {"field": "rejected", "action": "$role", "template": True}
-                    ]
-                },
-            }
-        ),
-        mask={"user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
-        mask_default="mask",
-        preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
-    )
-
-
-def make_grpo_config():
-    return PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(
-            sources={
-                "prompts": {
-                    "sections": [
-                        {"field": "prompt", "action": "mask", "template": True}
-                    ]
-                },
-                "responses": {
-                    "sections": _GRPO_RESPONSE_SECTIONS,
-                    "list_field": True,
-                    "mask_key": "masks",
-                },
-                "rewards": {
-                    "sections": [{"field": "rewards", "action": "value"}],
-                },
-            }
-        ),
-        mask={"user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
-        mask_default="mask",
-        preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
-    )
-
-
-def make_grpo_no_template_config():
-    return PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(
-            sources={
-                "prompts": {
-                    "sections": [
-                        {
-                            "field": "prompt",
-                            "action": "mask",
-                            "add_special_tokens": True,
-                        }
-                    ]
-                },
-                "responses": {
-                    "sections": _GRPO_RESPONSE_SECTIONS,
-                    "list_field": True,
-                    "mask_key": "masks",
-                },
-                "rewards": {
-                    "sections": [{"field": "rewards", "action": "value"}],
-                },
-            }
-        ),
-        mask={"user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
-        mask_default="mask",
-        preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
-    )
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
@@ -228,11 +103,11 @@ def multi_builder():
 def tokenizer_dir(temp_dir, test_tokenizer):
     d = os.path.join(temp_dir, "tok")
     os.makedirs(d, exist_ok=True)
-    test_tokenizer._tokenizer.save(os.path.join(d, "tokenizer.json"))
+    _write_tokenizer_dir(
-    with open(os.path.join(d, "tokenizer_config.json"), "w") as f:
+        d,
-        json.dump(
+        test_tokenizer,
-            {"special_tokens": {"pad_token": "<|_pad_|>", "unk_token": "<|_unk_|>"}}, f
+        {"special_tokens": {"pad_token": "<|_pad_|>", "unk_token": "<|_unk_|>"}},
-        )
+    )
     return d
 
 
@@ -240,10 +115,9 @@ def tokenizer_dir(temp_dir, test_tokenizer):
 def chat_tokenizer_dir(temp_dir, chat_tokenizer):
     d = os.path.join(temp_dir, "tok")
     os.makedirs(d, exist_ok=True)
-    chat_tokenizer._tokenizer.save(os.path.join(d, "tokenizer.json"))
+    _write_tokenizer_dir(
-    with open(os.path.join(d, "tokenizer_config.json"), "w") as f:
+        d,
-        json.dump(
+        chat_tokenizer,
-            {"special_tokens": _SPECIAL_TOKENS_CONFIG, "chat_template": _CHAT_TEMPLATE},
+        {"special_tokens": _SPECIAL_TOKENS_CONFIG, "chat_template": _CHAT_TEMPLATE},
-            f,
+    )
-        )
     return d

tests/data/factories.py

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+"""Test data builders for preprocessing and dataset scenarios."""
+
+from astrai.config.preprocess_config import (
+    InputConfig,
+    PipelineConfig,
+    ProcessingConfig,
+)
+
+CHAT_SECTIONS = [{"field": "messages", "action": "$role", "template": True}]
+INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS = [
+    {"field": "prompt", "action": "mask", "add_special_tokens": True},
+    {"field": "response", "action": "train"},
+]
+TEXT_SECTIONS = [{"field": "text", "action": "train"}]
+GRPO_RESPONSE_SECTIONS = [{"field": "responses", "action": "train"}]
+
+
+def make_pipeline_config(sections, *, mask=None, preprocessing=None, sources=None):
+    """Build a pipeline config with the common test defaults."""
+    return PipelineConfig(
+        input=InputConfig(sections=sections, sources=sources),
+        mask={} if mask is None else mask,
+        mask_default="mask",
+        preprocessing=preprocessing or ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
+    )
+
+
+def make_chat_config():
+    return make_pipeline_config(
+        CHAT_SECTIONS,
+        mask={"system": "mask", "user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
+    )
+
+
+def make_instruction_config():
+    return make_pipeline_config(
+        INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS,
+        mask={"prompt": "mask", "response": "train"},
+    )
+
+
+def make_text_config():
+    return make_pipeline_config(
+        TEXT_SECTIONS,
+        preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(
+            max_seq_len=2048, min_chars=1, max_chars=2_000_000
+        ),
+    )
+
+
+def make_dpo_chat_config():
+    sources = {
+        name: {"sections": [{"field": name, "action": "$role", "template": True}]}
+        for name in ("chosen", "rejected")
+    }
+    return make_pipeline_config(
+        None,
+        mask={"user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
+        sources=sources,
+    )
+
+
+def make_grpo_config(*, template=True):
+    prompt_section = {"field": "prompt", "action": "mask"}
+    if template:
+        prompt_section["template"] = True
+    else:
+        prompt_section["add_special_tokens"] = True
+    sources = {
+        "prompts": {"sections": [prompt_section]},
+        "responses": {
+            "sections": GRPO_RESPONSE_SECTIONS,
+            "list_field": True,
+            "mask_key": "masks",
+        },
+        "rewards": {"sections": [{"field": "rewards", "action": "value"}]},
+    }
+    return make_pipeline_config(
+        None,
+        mask={"user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
+        sources=sources,
+    )
+
+
+def make_grpo_no_template_config():
+    return make_grpo_config(template=False)

tests/data/test_dataset.py

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ from astrai.serialization import (
     load_bin,
     save_bin,
 )
-from tests.data.conftest import make_grpo_no_template_config
+from tests.data.factories import make_grpo_config
 
 
 def _rand_seq(length, vocab=1000):
@@ -797,7 +797,7 @@ def test_grpo_builder_preserves_response_boundaries(base_test_env):
     _save_test_tokenizer(base_test_env["test_dir"], tokenizer)
 
     builder = SectionedMaskBuilder()
-    config = make_grpo_no_template_config()
+    config = make_grpo_config(template=False)
     config.preprocessing.max_seq_len = 128
 
     item = {

tests/data/test_preprocess_builder.py

@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@ from astrai.preprocessing.builder import (
     SectionedMaskBuilder,
     SingleOutputMaskBuilder,
 )
-from tests.data.conftest import (
+from tests.data.factories import (
-    _CHAT_SECTIONS,
+    CHAT_SECTIONS,
-    _INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS,
+    INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS,
-    _TEXT_SECTIONS,
+    TEXT_SECTIONS,
     make_chat_config,
     make_dpo_chat_config,
     make_grpo_config,
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ def test_chat_uniform_masking(
     mask_rules, mask_default, expect_nonzero, chat_tokenizer, builder
 ):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_CHAT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=CHAT_SECTIONS),
         mask=mask_rules,
         mask_default=mask_default,
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ def test_chat_empty_messages(chat_tokenizer, builder):
 
 def test_chat_domain_extraction(chat_tokenizer, builder):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_CHAT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=CHAT_SECTIONS),
         mask={"assistant": "train"},
         mask_default="mask",
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ def test_chat_domain_extraction(chat_tokenizer, builder):
 
 def test_chat_truncation(chat_tokenizer, builder):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_CHAT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=CHAT_SECTIONS),
         mask={"assistant": "train"},
         mask_default="mask",
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=10),
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ def test_text_empty(test_tokenizer, builder):
 
 def test_text_too_short(test_tokenizer, builder):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_TEXT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=TEXT_SECTIONS),
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(min_chars=100),
     )
     assert builder.build({"text": "short"}, config, test_tokenizer) is None
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ def test_text_too_short(test_tokenizer, builder):
 
 def test_text_truncation(test_tokenizer, builder):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_TEXT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=TEXT_SECTIONS),
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=3, min_chars=1),
     )
     item = {"text": "This is a very long text that should be truncated"}
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ def test_text_truncation(test_tokenizer, builder):
 
 def test_sectioned_chat(chat_tokenizer, builder):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_CHAT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=CHAT_SECTIONS),
         mask={"system": "mask", "user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
         mask_default="mask",
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ def test_sectioned_chat(chat_tokenizer, builder):
 
 def test_sectioned_instruction(test_tokenizer, builder):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048, min_chars=0),
     )
     item = {"prompt": "Q: Why?", "response": "A: Because."}
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ def test_sectioned_instruction(test_tokenizer, builder):
 
 def test_sectioned_text(test_tokenizer, builder):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_TEXT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=TEXT_SECTIONS),
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048, min_chars=1),
     )
     item = {"text": "Hello world, this is a test."}
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ def test_sectioned_text(test_tokenizer, builder):
 
 def test_sectioned_text_too_short(test_tokenizer, builder):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_TEXT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=TEXT_SECTIONS),
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048, min_chars=100),
     )
     assert builder.build({"text": "short"}, config, test_tokenizer) is None

tests/data/test_preprocess_config.py

@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ from astrai.config.preprocess_config import (
     InputConfig,
     PipelineConfig,
 )
-from tests.data.conftest import (
+from tests.data.factories import (
-    _INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS,
+    INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS,
-    _TEXT_SECTIONS,
+    TEXT_SECTIONS,
     make_dpo_chat_config,
 )
 
@@ -43,26 +43,26 @@ def test_from_dict_flat():
 
 def test_to_dict_roundtrip():
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
         mask={"prompt": "mask", "response": "train"},
         mask_default="mask",
     )
     d = config.to_dict()
     config2 = PipelineConfig.from_dict(d)
-    assert config2.input.sections == _INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS
+    assert config2.input.sections == INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS
     assert config2.mask == {"prompt": "mask", "response": "train"}
 
 
 def test_to_file_from_file(temp_dir):
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_TEXT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=TEXT_SECTIONS),
         mask={"text": "train"},
         mask_default="mask",
     )
     path = os.path.join(temp_dir, "config.json")
     config.to_file(path)
     loaded = PipelineConfig.from_file(path)
-    assert loaded.input.sections == _TEXT_SECTIONS
+    assert loaded.input.sections == TEXT_SECTIONS
     assert loaded.mask == {"text": "train"}
 
 

tests/data/test_preprocess_pipeline.py

@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@ from astrai.config.preprocess_config import (
 )
 from astrai.preprocessing.packing import PackingStrategyFactory
 from astrai.preprocessing.pipeline import Pipeline, filter_by_length
-from tests.data.conftest import (
+from tests.data.factories import (
-    _CHAT_SECTIONS,
+    CHAT_SECTIONS,
-    _INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS,
+    INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS,
-    _TEXT_SECTIONS,
+    TEXT_SECTIONS,
     make_dpo_chat_config,
     make_grpo_no_template_config,
 )
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ def test_full_chat_pipeline(temp_dir, chat_tokenizer_dir):
         )
 
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_CHAT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=CHAT_SECTIONS),
         mask={"system": "mask", "user": "mask", "assistant": "train"},
         mask_default="mask",
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ def test_full_text_pipeline(temp_dir, tokenizer_dir):
         )
 
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_TEXT_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=TEXT_SECTIONS),
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048, min_chars=10),
         output=OutputConfig(storage_format="bin"),
     )
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ def test_full_instruction_pipeline(temp_dir, tokenizer_dir):
         )
 
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
         mask={"prompt": "mask", "response": "train"},
         mask_default="mask",
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ def test_dtype_override(temp_dir, tokenizer_dir):
         f.write(json.dumps({"prompt": "Q", "response": "A"}) + "\n")
 
     config = PipelineConfig(
-        input=InputConfig(sections=_INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
+        input=InputConfig(sections=INSTRUCTION_SECTIONS),
         mask={"prompt": "mask", "response": "train"},
         mask_default="mask",
         preprocessing=ProcessingConfig(max_seq_len=2048),

tests/extension/conftest.py

@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import torch
 
 from astrai.config.model_config import AutoRegressiveLMConfig
 from astrai.model.transformer import AutoRegressiveLM
-from tests.conftest import skip_no_kernel  # noqa: F401 re-export for test modules
 
 D = 64
 CFG = dict(

tests/extension/test_backend.py

@@ -2,20 +2,33 @@
 
 These tests do not require CUDA — they only check that the active
 backend is correctly set and restored.
+
+Resolution precedence under test: explicit ``attn_backend(...)``
+context > ``ASTR_BACKEND`` env override > implicit default.  Training
+calls (``fwd=None``, no KV cache) resolve by capability: the CUDA cache
+kernels cannot run without a cache, so they fall back to flash (mask-free
+calls only) and finally to torch SDPA.
 """
 
+import importlib
+
 import pytest
+import torch
 
 from astrai.extension import (
     ATTN_BACKEND,
+    AttentionBackend,
     AttentionBackendFactory,
     CudaBackend,
     FlashAttnBackend,
     TorchNativeBackend,
+    attention,
     attn_backend,
     get_backend,
 )
 
+_attn_module = importlib.import_module("astrai.extension.backend.attention")
+
 
 def test_default_backend_resolves_to_available():
     """Default backend is the first available in cuda > flash > torch order."""
@@ -23,6 +36,10 @@ def test_default_backend_resolves_to_available():
     assert isinstance(backend, (CudaBackend, FlashAttnBackend, TorchNativeBackend))
 
 
+def test_default_backend_is_cached_singleton():
+    assert get_backend() is get_backend()
+
+
 def test_attn_backend_context_with_enum():
     default = get_backend()
     with attn_backend(ATTN_BACKEND.CUDA):
@@ -44,11 +61,120 @@ def test_backend_can_read_only_context_selection():
     assert get_backend(use_default=False) is None
 
 
-def test_environment_backend_overrides_context(monkeypatch):
+def test_context_beats_environment_backend(monkeypatch):
+    """An explicit attn_backend() context wins over ASTR_BACKEND."""
     monkeypatch.setenv("ASTR_BACKEND", "torch_native")
     with attn_backend("cuda"):
-        assert type(get_backend()).__name__ == "TorchNativeBackend"
+        assert isinstance(get_backend(), CudaBackend)
-        assert type(get_backend(use_default=False)).__name__ == "TorchNativeBackend"
+        assert isinstance(get_backend(use_default=False), CudaBackend)
+
+
+def test_environment_backend_used_without_context(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("ASTR_BACKEND", "torch_native")
+    assert isinstance(get_backend(), TorchNativeBackend)
+    assert isinstance(get_backend(use_default=False), TorchNativeBackend)
+
+
+def test_explicit_backend_mismatch_raises(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.delenv("ASTR_BACKEND", raising=False)
+    q = torch.zeros(1, 2, 4, 8, dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match="Explicitly-set backend"):
+        with attn_backend("cuda"):
+            attention(q, q, q)  # cuda + no KV cache -> cannot handle
+
+
+def test_implicit_backend_falls_back_when_incapable(monkeypatch):
+    """An implicit (env) backend that cannot run the call falls back."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv("ASTR_BACKEND", "cuda")
+    q = torch.zeros(1, 2, 4, 8, dtype=torch.float32)  # fp32: cuda kernels can't
+    out = attention(q, q, q, fwd="prefill", is_causal=True)
+    assert out.shape == q.shape
+
+
+def _flash_available(monkeypatch) -> None:
+    """Pretend flash-attn is usable and rebuild the priority list."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(_attn_module, "flash_attn_available", lambda: True)
+    _attn_module._priority_backends.cache_clear()
+
+
+def test_training_falls_back_to_flash_before_torch_when_capable(monkeypatch):
+    """Training (no cache) prefers flash over torch when flash can run the call."""
+    _flash_available(monkeypatch)
+    try:
+        prio = _attn_module._priority_backends()
+        names = [type(b).__name__ for b in prio]
+        assert "FlashAttnBackend" in names
+        assert names.index("FlashAttnBackend") < names.index("TorchNativeBackend")
+
+        q = torch.zeros(1, 2, 4, 8, dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+        # Mask-free training call resolves to flash, not torch.
+        resolved = next(b for b in prio if b.supports_call(q, None, None, False, None))
+        assert isinstance(resolved, FlashAttnBackend)
+    finally:
+        _attn_module._priority_backends.cache_clear()
+
+
+def test_flash_dense_supports_only_mask_free_calls(monkeypatch):
+    """FlashAttnBackend cannot apply custom masks in the dense path."""
+    _flash_available(monkeypatch)
+    flash = _attn_module._instance(_attn_module.FlashAttnBackend)
+    q = torch.zeros(1, 2, 4, 8, dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    mask_4d = torch.zeros(1, 1, 2, 2, dtype=torch.bool)
+
+    assert flash.supports_call(q, None, None, False, None) is True
+    assert flash.supports_call(q, None, None, True, None) is True
+    assert flash.supports_call(q, None, mask_4d, False, None) is False
+
+
+def test_flash_dense_rejects_custom_mask(monkeypatch):
+    """A masked dense call must fail loudly, never silently ignore the mask."""
+    _flash_available(monkeypatch)
+    flash = _attn_module._instance(_attn_module.FlashAttnBackend)
+    q = torch.zeros(1, 2, 4, 8, dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    mask_4d = torch.zeros(1, 1, 2, 2, dtype=torch.bool)
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="custom attention mask"):
+        flash._forward_dense(q, q, q, attn_mask=mask_4d, is_causal=False)
+
+
+def test_backend_resolution_returns_shared_singletons():
+    with attn_backend("cuda") as first:
+        pass
+    with attn_backend("cuda") as second:
+        assert first is second
+
+
+class _DummyBackend(AttentionBackend):
+    """Minimal backend used only to prove capability is polymorphic."""
+
+    @classmethod
+    def available(cls) -> bool:
+        return True
+
+    def supports_call(self, q, kv_cache, attn_mask, is_causal, fwd) -> bool:
+        return True
+
+    def fwd_decode(
+        self, q, k, v, kv_cache=None, layer_id=0, attn_mask=None, is_causal=False
+    ):
+        return q
+
+    def fwd_prefill(
+        self, q, k, v, kv_cache=None, layer_id=0, attn_mask=None, is_causal=False
+    ):
+        return q
+
+
+def test_custom_backend_usable_without_touching_resolution():
+    """A third-party backend plugs in via context or explicit param."""
+    custom = _DummyBackend()
+    q = torch.zeros(1, 2, 4, 8)
+
+    with attn_backend(custom):
+        assert get_backend() is custom
+
+    out = attention(q, q, q, backend=custom)
+    assert out is q
 
 
 def test_attention_backend_factory_lists_builtin_backends():

tests/extension/test_backend_equivalence.py

@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@ seq_lens with padding mask), and end-to-end scheduler.run_batch.
 import torch
 
 from astrai.extension import ATTN_BACKEND, attn_backend
+from astrai.extension.ops.attention import attn_paged_decode
 from astrai.inference.cache import PagePool, TaskCacheManager
 from astrai.inference.runtime.graph import CudaGraphContext
 from astrai.inference.scheduler import InferenceScheduler
 from astrai.inference.workspace import InferenceWorkspace
-from tests.extension.conftest import D, skip_no_kernel
+from tests.conftest import skip_no_kernel
+from tests.extension.conftest import D
 from tests.helpers import FakeTokenizer
 
 
@@ -32,10 +34,13 @@ def _ws(pool: PagePool) -> InferenceWorkspace:
 
 @skip_no_kernel
 def test_training_forward_matches_torch(cuda_model):
-    """Training forward (kv_cache=None) uses torch-native SDPA.
+    """Training forward (kv_cache=None) resolves to a capable dense backend.
 
-    CudaBackend does not support training (requires kv_cache).
+    CudaBackend cannot run training (requires a KV cache), so the default
-    Torch-native backend must match default (which falls back to torch).
+    falls back by capability — flash when it can handle the call
+    (mask-free/causal), otherwise torch SDPA.  The default path must not
+    raise and must produce finite logits; explicitly selected torch SDPA
+    must be deterministic across runs.
     """
 
     model, _ = cuda_model
@@ -46,12 +51,15 @@ def test_training_forward_matches_torch(cuda_model):
 
     with attn_backend(ATTN_BACKEND.TORCH_NATIVE):
         with torch.no_grad():
-            out_torch = model(input_ids)
+            out_torch_a = model(input_ids)
+        with torch.no_grad():
+            out_torch_b = model(input_ids)
 
+    assert out_default["logits"].shape == out_torch_a["logits"].shape
+    assert torch.isfinite(out_default["logits"]).all()
     torch.testing.assert_close(
-        out_torch["logits"], out_default["logits"], atol=1e-6, rtol=1e-6
+        out_torch_a["logits"], out_torch_b["logits"], atol=0, rtol=0
     )
-    assert out_default["logits"].shape[0] == 2
 
 
 @skip_no_kernel
@@ -160,6 +168,56 @@ def test_decode_mixed_seq_lens_matches_torch(cuda_model):
     assert diff < 0.05, f"Decode diff (mixed seq_lens): {diff}"
 
 
+@skip_no_kernel
+def test_paged_decode_appends_new_kv_in_kernel():
+    """Fused decode writes current-token K/V to each request's paged slot."""
+    pool = PagePool(
+        n_layers=1,
+        n_kv_heads=1,
+        head_dim=D,
+        max_batch_size=2,
+        max_seq_len=64,
+        device="cuda",
+        dtype=torch.bfloat16,
+        page_size=8,
+        n_tokens=128,
+    )
+    task_cache = _mk_task_cache(pool)
+    ws = _ws(pool)
+    task_cache.task_alloc("t1", list(range(8)))
+    task_cache.task_alloc("t2", list(range(6)))
+    task_cache.task_extend("t1", 8)
+    task_cache.task_extend("t2", 6)
+    kv_cache = task_cache.bind(["t1", "t2"], ws)
+
+    q = torch.randn(2, 2, D, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    new_k = torch.randn(2, 1, D, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    new_v = torch.randn(2, 1, D, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    out = attn_paged_decode(
+        q,
+        kv_cache.k_buffer[0],
+        kv_cache.v_buffer[0],
+        kv_cache.req_to_token,
+        kv_cache.req_pool_indices,
+        kv_cache.kv_indptr,
+        new_k=new_k,
+        new_v=new_v,
+        is_causal=True,
+        o_part_buf=kv_cache.decode_o_part,
+        ml_part_buf=kv_cache.decode_ml_part,
+        out_buf=kv_cache.decode_out,
+    )
+    torch.cuda.synchronize()
+
+    torch.testing.assert_close(
+        kv_cache.k_buffer[0, kv_cache.out_cache_loc], new_k, rtol=0, atol=0
+    )
+    torch.testing.assert_close(
+        kv_cache.v_buffer[0, kv_cache.out_cache_loc], new_v, rtol=0, atol=0
+    )
+    assert torch.isfinite(out).all()
+
+
 @skip_no_kernel
 def test_decode_cuda_graph_replay_is_exact(cuda_model):
     """INT32 cache indices must remain graph-capturable and replay exactly."""

tests/extension/test_fp8_mma.py

@@ -0,0 +1,586 @@
+"""FP8 primitives: kernel-level (CUDA) and policy-level (CPU-verifiable) tests.
+
+The kernel-level tests exercise the two stateless primitives (``quantize`` for
+bf16/fp16/fp32 -> FP8, ``mm_fp8`` for the pre-quantized GEMM with transposed
+operands); the policy-level tests (recipes, autocast context, per-tensor
+meta) run without a GPU. The primitives themselves are CUDA-only
+(attention-style direct wrappers — no torch.library dispatch layer).
+"""
+
+import threading
+
+import pytest
+import torch
+import torch.nn.functional as F
+
+import astrai.extension.fp8 as f8mod
+from astrai.extension.fp8 import (
+    FP8Format,
+    FP8Recipe,
+    FP8TensorMeta,
+    _ScaleRing,
+    fp8_autocast,
+    fp8_linear_enable,
+    fp8_linear_enabled,
+    fp8_state,
+)
+from astrai.extension.ops.fp8 import mm_fp8, quantize, quantize_dual
+from tests.conftest import skip_no_fp8
+
+
+def _scale(tensor):
+    return (tensor.abs().amax().float() / 448.0).clamp_min(1e-12)
+
+
+def _quantize(tensor, scale, fmt="e4m3"):
+    """Reference quantize: multiply by the reciprocal (the kernel's exact
+    arithmetic — a plain divide flips fp8 boundary cases by one ulp)."""
+    dtype = torch.float8_e5m2 if fmt == "e5m2" else torch.float8_e4m3fn
+    return (tensor.float() * scale.reciprocal()).to(dtype).float()
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Kernel-level (CUDA)
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("m", "n", "k"),
+    [(16, 8, 32), (17, 9, 33), (31, 15, 64), (32, 48, 96)],
+)
+def test_fp8_mm_matches_explicit_quantization(m, n, k):
+    torch.manual_seed(m + n + k)
+    a = torch.randn(m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    b = torch.randn(k, n, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    scale_a = _scale(a)
+    scale_b = _scale(b)
+    a8, _ = quantize(a, scale_a.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    b8, _ = quantize(b, scale_b.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    out = mm_fp8(a8, b8, scale_a * scale_b)
+    expected = (_quantize(a, scale_a) @ _quantize(b, scale_b) * scale_a * scale_b).to(
+        torch.bfloat16
+    )
+
+    assert out.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+    assert out.shape == (m, n)
+    torch.testing.assert_close(out, expected, atol=0.125, rtol=0.01)
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("in_dtype", [torch.bfloat16, torch.float16, torch.float32])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("fmt", ["e4m3", "e5m2"])
+def test_quantize_input_dtypes(in_dtype, fmt):
+    """quantize accepts bf16/fp16/fp32 inputs; bytes and amax match the
+    explicit (value * multiplier) reference."""
+    torch.manual_seed(3)
+    x = torch.randn(64, 128, device="cuda", dtype=torch.float32) * 0.5
+    x = x.to(in_dtype)
+    scale = torch.tensor([0.5], device="cuda")
+    x8, amax = quantize(x, scale, fmt)
+    out_dtype = torch.float8_e5m2 if fmt == "e5m2" else torch.float8_e4m3fn
+    assert x8.dtype == out_dtype
+    assert x8.shape == x.shape
+    assert amax.shape == (1,)
+    torch.testing.assert_close(amax, x.abs().amax().float().reshape(1))
+    ref = (x.float() * 0.5).to(out_dtype)
+    assert torch.equal(x8, ref)
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_quantize_e5m2_format():
+    x = torch.randn(32, 64, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    x8, amax = quantize(x, torch.tensor([10.0], device="cuda"), "e5m2")
+    assert x8.dtype == torch.float8_e5m2
+    torch.testing.assert_close(amax, x.abs().amax().float().reshape(1))
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("trans_a", [False, True])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("trans_b", [False, True])
+def test_mm_fp8_transposed_operands(trans_a, trans_b):
+    """mm_fp8 handles all four operand layouts via trans_a/trans_b."""
+    torch.manual_seed(17)
+    m, n, k = 19, 13, 37
+    a = torch.randn(m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)  # A [M][K]
+    b = torch.randn(n, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)  # B^T [N][K]
+    sa, sb = _scale(a), _scale(b)
+    a8, _ = quantize(a, sa.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    b8, _ = quantize(b, sb.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    a_op = a8.t().contiguous() if trans_a else a8
+    b_op = b8 if trans_b else b8.t().contiguous()
+
+    out = mm_fp8(a_op, b_op, sa * sb, trans_a=trans_a, trans_b=trans_b)
+    assert out.shape == (m, n)
+    expected = (_quantize(a, sa) @ _quantize(b, sb).t() * sa * sb).to(torch.bfloat16)
+    torch.testing.assert_close(out, expected, atol=0.125, rtol=0.01)
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("bias_on", [False, True])
+def test_mm_fp8_fused_bias(bias_on):
+    """Epilogue-fused bias matches the unfused out + bias reference (single
+    fp32 rounding vs the reference's double rounding keeps it within 1 ulp),
+    including N-tail columns and batched broadcast."""
+    torch.manual_seed(31)
+    m, n, k = 19, 13, 37  # odd n exercises the guarded bias loads
+    a = torch.randn(m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    b = torch.randn(n, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    sa, sb = _scale(a), _scale(b)
+    a8, _ = quantize(a, sa.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    b8, _ = quantize(b, sb.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    bias = torch.randn(n, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+
+    out = mm_fp8(a8, b8, sa * sb, trans_b=True, bias=bias if bias_on else None)
+    base = (_quantize(a, sa) @ _quantize(b, sb).t() * sa * sb).to(torch.bfloat16)
+    expected = base + bias if bias_on else base
+    # bias is O(1) against O(sqrt(k)) accumulators: absolute tolerance rules
+    torch.testing.assert_close(out, expected, atol=0.13, rtol=0.01)
+
+    # Batched broadcast: bias applies to every batch slice (each slice gets
+    # its own reference from its own operand values).
+    ab = torch.randn(3, m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    ab8, _ = quantize(ab, sa.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    outb = mm_fp8(ab8, b8, sa * sb, trans_b=True, bias=bias)
+    assert outb.shape == (3, m, n)
+    for i in range(3):
+        expected_b = (_quantize(ab[i], sa) @ _quantize(b, sb).t() * sa * sb).to(
+            torch.bfloat16
+        ) + bias
+        torch.testing.assert_close(outb[i], expected_b, atol=0.13, rtol=0.01)
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("trans_a", [False, True])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("trans_b", [False, True])
+def test_mm_fp8_batched(trans_a, trans_b):
+    """3D operands run as one bmm launch: all four layouts, odd shapes."""
+    torch.manual_seed(23)
+    batch, m, n, k = 4, 19, 13, 37
+    a = torch.randn(batch, m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    b = torch.randn(batch, n, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    sa, sb = _scale(a), _scale(b)
+    a8, _ = quantize(a, sa.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    b8, _ = quantize(b, sb.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    a_op = a8.transpose(-2, -1).contiguous() if trans_a else a8
+    b_op = b8 if trans_b else b8.transpose(-2, -1).contiguous()
+
+    out = mm_fp8(a_op, b_op, sa * sb, trans_a=trans_a, trans_b=trans_b)
+    assert out.shape == (batch, m, n)
+    # flags + transposed buffers reconstruct the original operands: the math
+    # is always A_orig @ B_orig^T regardless of the layout combination.
+    expected = (_quantize(a, sa) @ _quantize(b, sb).transpose(-2, -1) * sa * sb).to(
+        torch.bfloat16
+    )
+    torch.testing.assert_close(out, expected, atol=0.125, rtol=0.01)
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_mm_fp8_batched_broadcast():
+    """A size-1 batch broadcasts across the other operand (matmul rules),
+    and a 2D operand broadcasts across a 3D one."""
+    torch.manual_seed(29)
+    batch, m, n, k = 3, 16, 8, 32
+    a = torch.randn(batch, m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    b = torch.randn(1, n, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    sa, sb = _scale(a), _scale(b)
+    a8, _ = quantize(a, sa.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    b8, _ = quantize(b, sb.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+
+    out = mm_fp8(a8, b8, sa * sb, trans_b=True)
+    assert out.shape == (batch, m, n)
+    expected = (_quantize(a, sa) @ _quantize(b, sb).transpose(-2, -1) * sa * sb).to(
+        torch.bfloat16
+    )
+    torch.testing.assert_close(out, expected, atol=0.125, rtol=0.01)
+
+    # 2D weight broadcast over 3D activations
+    w8 = b8[0]
+    out2 = mm_fp8(a8, w8, sa * sb, trans_b=True)
+    assert out2.shape == (batch, m, n)
+    torch.testing.assert_close(out2, expected, atol=0.125, rtol=0.01)
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_mm_fp8_col_major_view_zero_copy():
+    """An inner-transposed view (.t() of a contiguous buffer) folds into the
+    layout tag with no device copy — the only allocation is the output."""
+    torch.manual_seed(31)
+    m, n, k = 64, 64, 64
+    a = torch.randn(m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    b = torch.randn(n, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    sa, sb = _scale(a), _scale(b)
+    a8, _ = quantize(a, sa.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    b8, _ = quantize(b, sb.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+
+    torch.cuda.synchronize()
+    before = torch.cuda.memory_allocated()
+    out = mm_fp8(a8.t(), b8, sa * sb, trans_a=True, trans_b=True)
+    torch.cuda.synchronize()
+    grew = torch.cuda.memory_allocated() - before
+    assert grew == out.numel() * out.element_size()  # no operand copy
+
+    expected = (_quantize(a, sa) @ _quantize(b, sb).t() * sa * sb).to(torch.bfloat16)
+    torch.testing.assert_close(out, expected, atol=0.125, rtol=0.01)
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_delayed_scaling_forward_uses_snapshot_scale():
+    """The delayed scale for step N is computed from amax(steps < N); the
+    forward must snapshot the scale before the ring update, so a changing
+    amax across steps does not leak the next-step scale into the output."""
+    torch.manual_seed(11)
+    dev = torch.device("cuda")
+    state = f8mod.fp8_state()
+    state.reset()
+    state.default_recipe = FP8Recipe(history_len=1, margin=0)
+    state.default_format = FP8Format.E4M3
+    try:
+        m, n, k = 32, 16, 64
+        x1 = torch.randn(m, k, device=dev, dtype=torch.bfloat16) * 0.5
+        # Smaller amax than x1: the delayed scale (amax(x1)/448) still covers
+        # x2 without fp8 saturation, while the next-step scale would differ.
+        x2 = torch.randn(m, k, device=dev, dtype=torch.bfloat16) * 0.35
+        w = torch.randn(n, k, device=dev, dtype=torch.bfloat16) * 0.5
+        bias = torch.zeros(n, device=dev, dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+
+        f8mod.fp8_linear_forward(x1, w, bias)  # step 1: seeds the rings
+        out2, _, _ = f8mod.fp8_linear_forward(x2, w, bias)  # amax changes
+        torch.cuda.synchronize()
+
+        # The delayed scale for step 2 is amax(x1)/448 (history_len=1); the
+        # GEMM must use that same scale for dequant as the quantize used.
+        sx = _scale(x1)
+        sw = _scale(w)
+        qx = _quantize(x2, sx)
+        qw = _quantize(w, sw)
+        expected = (qx @ qw.t() * sx * sw + bias).to(torch.bfloat16)
+        torch.testing.assert_close(out2, expected, atol=0.125, rtol=0.01)
+    finally:
+        state.reset()
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_fp8_linear_forward_and_backward():
+    """The composed strategy path: forward quantize+GEMM+bias, backward
+    dX/dW GEMMs on transposed operands (E5M2 in hybrid)."""
+    torch.manual_seed(7)
+    m, n, k = 19, 13, 37
+    x = torch.randn(m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    weight = torch.randn(n, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    bias = torch.randn(n, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+
+    state = f8mod.fp8_state()
+    state.reset()
+    state.default_recipe = FP8Recipe(dynamic=True)
+    try:
+        out, _, _ = f8mod.fp8_linear_forward(x, weight, bias)
+
+        sx, sw = _scale(x), _scale(weight)
+        qx = _quantize(x, sx)
+        qw = _quantize(weight, sw)
+        expected_out = (qx @ qw.t() * sx * sw + bias).to(torch.bfloat16)
+        torch.testing.assert_close(out, expected_out, atol=0.125, rtol=0.01)
+
+        # backward through the aten::linear integration (hybrid E5M2). The
+        # incoming gradient is 2*out of the *fp8* forward (bf16-rounded), not
+        # 2*exact — derive the reference from the actual output.
+        xr = x.detach().clone().requires_grad_()
+        wr = weight.detach().clone().requires_grad_()
+        br = bias.detach().clone().requires_grad_()
+        with fp8_autocast(enabled=True):
+            loss = F.linear(xr, wr, br).float().pow(2).sum()
+        loss.backward()
+
+        g = (2 * out.float()).to(torch.bfloat16).float()  # actual grad wrt out
+        # the dynamic path measures current-step amax in the bwd fmt (E5M2);
+        # amax must be taken in fp32 — a bf16-rounded scale flips E5M2
+        # boundary rounding (2-bit mantissa) and the reference drifts.
+        e5 = 57344.0
+        sg = (g.abs().amax() / e5).clamp_min(1e-12)
+        sw5 = (weight.abs().amax().float() / e5).clamp_min(1e-12)
+        sx5 = (x.abs().amax().float() / e5).clamp_min(1e-12)
+        expected_grad_x = (
+            _quantize(g, sg, "e5m2") @ _quantize(weight, sw5, "e5m2") * sg * sw5
+        ).to(torch.bfloat16)
+        expected_grad_w = (
+            _quantize(g, sg, "e5m2").t() @ _quantize(x, sx5, "e5m2") * sg * sx5
+        ).to(torch.bfloat16)
+        torch.testing.assert_close(xr.grad, expected_grad_x, atol=0.5, rtol=0.05)
+        torch.testing.assert_close(wr.grad, expected_grad_w, atol=0.5, rtol=0.05)
+        torch.testing.assert_close(
+            br.grad, g.sum(0).to(torch.bfloat16), atol=0.5, rtol=0.05
+        )
+    finally:
+        state.reset()
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_fp8_linear_backward_outside_autocast():
+    """aten::linear records an fp8 autograd node inside fp8_autocast; the
+    backward runs fp8 kernels even after the context exits (loss.backward()
+    placement is free), instead of falling back to bf16 mm."""
+    torch.manual_seed(5)
+    x = torch.randn(64, 128, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16, requires_grad=True)
+    weight = torch.randn(
+        96, 128, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16, requires_grad=True
+    )
+    bias = torch.randn(96, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16, requires_grad=True)
+    xr, wr, br = (t.detach().clone().requires_grad_() for t in (x, weight, bias))
+
+    calls = {"fwd": 0}
+    orig = f8mod.fp8_linear_forward
+
+    def spy(*args, **kwargs):
+        calls["fwd"] += 1
+        return orig(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    f8mod.fp8_linear_forward = spy
+    try:
+        with fp8_autocast(enabled=True):
+            out = F.linear(x, weight, bias)
+        assert type(out.grad_fn).__name__ == "_LinearFp8Backward"
+        out.float().pow(2).sum().backward()  # outside the autocast region
+    finally:
+        f8mod.fp8_linear_forward = orig
+        f8mod.fp8_state().reset()
+
+    assert calls["fwd"] == 1  # fp8 kernels, not the bf16 fallback
+    ref = F.linear(xr, wr, br)
+    ref.float().pow(2).sum().backward()
+
+    # E5M2 backward quantization noise: compare directions/norms (the
+    # torchao/TE style) rather than elementwise against the bf16 reference.
+    def _direction(a, b):
+        cos = torch.nn.functional.cosine_similarity(
+            a.float().flatten(), b.float().flatten(), dim=0
+        )
+        return cos > 0.99 and 0.9 < a.float().norm() / b.float().norm() < 1.1
+
+    assert _direction(x.grad, xr.grad)
+    assert _direction(weight.grad, wr.grad)
+    assert _direction(bias.grad, br.grad)
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_mm_fp8_matches_scaled_mm():
+    torch.manual_seed(11)
+    m, n, k = 512, 4096, 4096
+    a = torch.randn(m, k, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    b = torch.randn(k, n, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    sa = _scale(a)
+    sb = _scale(b)
+    a8, _ = quantize(a, sa.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    b8, _ = quantize(b, sb.reciprocal(), "e4m3")
+    out = mm_fp8(a8, b8, sa * sb)
+    assert out.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+    assert out.shape == (m, n)
+
+    ref = (a8.float().double() @ b8.float().double() * sa * sb).to(torch.bfloat16)
+    torch.testing.assert_close(out, ref, atol=6.0, rtol=0.05)
+
+    try:
+        torch._scaled_mm(a8, b8, sa, sb, out_dtype=torch.bfloat16)
+    except (RuntimeError, NotImplementedError):
+        return
+    torch.testing.assert_close(
+        out,
+        torch._scaled_mm(a8, b8, sa, sb, out_dtype=torch.bfloat16),
+        atol=2.0,
+        rtol=0.01,
+    )
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Policy-level (CPU-verifiable)
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_recipe_scale_from_history():
+    """Delayed: max over the window + margin; dynamic: current amax."""
+    hist = torch.tensor([1.0, 2.0, 0.5])
+    d = FP8Recipe(history_len=3, margin=0)
+    assert torch.allclose(d.scale_from_history(hist, "e4m3"), torch.tensor(2.0 / 448.0))
+    d_m = FP8Recipe(history_len=3, margin=2)
+    assert torch.allclose(
+        d_m.scale_from_history(hist, "e4m3"), torch.tensor(2.0 / 448.0 / 4.0)
+    )
+    dyn = FP8Recipe(dynamic=True)
+    amax = torch.tensor([0.25])
+    assert torch.allclose(
+        dyn.scale_from_history(amax, "e4m3"), torch.tensor(0.25 / 448.0)
+    )
+    assert torch.allclose(
+        dyn.scale_from_history(amax, "e5m2"), torch.tensor(0.25 / 57344.0)
+    )
+
+
+def test_fp8_format_enum():
+    assert FP8Format.HYBRID.fwd() == "e4m3"
+    assert FP8Format.HYBRID.bwd() == "e5m2"
+    assert FP8Format.E4M3.fwd() == FP8Format.E4M3.bwd() == "e4m3"
+    assert FP8Format.E5M2.fwd() == FP8Format.E5M2.bwd() == "e5m2"
+
+
+def test_fp8_autocast_context():
+    """fp8_autocast pushes and restores the thread-local active config."""
+    state = fp8_state()
+    state.reset()
+    try:
+        with fp8_autocast(enabled=True, fp8_format="hybrid", update_interval=8):
+            cfg = f8mod._active_config.get()
+            assert cfg is not None and cfg.enabled
+            assert not cfg.recipe.dynamic
+            assert cfg.recipe.history_len == 8
+            assert cfg.fp8_format is FP8Format.HYBRID
+            with fp8_autocast(
+                enabled=True, recipe=FP8Recipe(dynamic=True), fp8_format="e4m3"
+            ):
+                inner = f8mod._active_config.get()
+                assert inner.recipe.dynamic
+                assert inner.fp8_format is FP8Format.E4M3
+            assert f8mod._active_config.get() is cfg  # restored on exit
+        assert f8mod._active_config.get() is None
+        assert not fp8_linear_enabled()
+    finally:
+        state.reset()
+
+
+def test_fp8_tensor_meta_delayed_update():
+    """Meta seeds from data; hist/scale are packed views of one state buffer."""
+    recipe = FP8Recipe(history_len=4, margin=0)
+    meta = FP8TensorMeta(
+        _ScaleRing(torch.device("cpu"), recipe),
+        _ScaleRing(torch.device("cpu"), recipe),
+        _ScaleRing(torch.device("cpu"), recipe),
+    )
+    w = torch.randn(8, 8)
+    meta.w.seed(w, "e4m3")
+    assert meta.w.initialized
+    torch.testing.assert_close(meta.w.scale, (w.abs().amax() / 448.0).reshape(1))
+    # [hist | scale | legacy | amax | done] packing: views alias one buffer.
+    assert meta.w.state.numel() == 4 + 4
+    assert meta.w.hist.data_ptr() == meta.w.state.data_ptr()
+    assert meta.w.scale.data_ptr() == meta.w.state[4:].data_ptr()
+    meta.w.advance()
+    assert meta.w.idx == 1
+
+    # fold_args hands the kernel the buffer, the slot and the recipe constants
+    args = meta.w.fold_args("e4m3")
+    assert args["ring_state"] is meta.w.state and args["hist_idx"] == 1
+    assert args["fp8_max"] == 448.0 and args["pow2_margin"] == 1.0
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("fmt", ["e4m3", "e5m2"])
+def test_quantize_dual_and_transposed_orientations(fmt):
+    """quantize_dual yields both orientations from one read; quantize's
+    transposed switch keeps the 2-tuple arity with the [cols][rows] layout."""
+    torch.manual_seed(11)
+    x = torch.randn(37, 67, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16) * 3
+    mult = _scale(x).reciprocal()
+    x8, amax = quantize(x, mult, fmt)
+    x8T, _ = quantize(x, mult, fmt, transposed=True)
+    d8, d8T, _ = quantize_dual(x, mult, fmt)
+    assert x8T.shape == (67, 37)
+    assert torch.equal(x8.view(torch.uint8), d8.view(torch.uint8))
+    assert torch.equal(x8T.view(torch.uint8), d8T.view(torch.uint8))
+    assert torch.equal(x8T.t().contiguous().view(torch.uint8), x8.view(torch.uint8))
+    torch.testing.assert_close(amax, x.abs().amax().float().reshape(1))
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("fmt,fmax", [("e4m3", 448.0), ("e5m2", 57344.0)])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("margin", [0, 1])
+def test_quantize_ring_fold_matches_host_update(fmt, fmax, margin):
+    """The in-kernel delayed-scaling fold matches a host-side reference."""
+    dev = torch.device("cuda")
+    n, idx = 4, 2
+    torch.manual_seed(3)
+    x = torch.randn(128, 96, dtype=torch.bfloat16, device=dev) * 3
+    mult = torch.tensor([0.01], device=dev)
+    pow2m = float(2**margin)
+
+    # Reference: legacy quantize + the host fold it used to return amax for.
+    x8_ref, amax = quantize(x, mult, fmt)
+    hist = torch.full((n,), 1.0, device=dev)
+    hist[idx] = amax.to(torch.float32)
+    scale = (hist.max() / fmax / pow2m).clamp_min(1e-12).reshape(1)
+
+    # Fused: same window, fold inside the quantize kernel's last block.
+    ring = torch.zeros(n + 4, device=dev)
+    ring[:n].fill_(1.0)
+    x8, _ = quantize(
+        x,
+        mult,
+        fmt,
+        ring_state=ring,
+        hist_idx=idx,
+        fp8_max=fmax,
+        pow2_margin=pow2m,
+    )
+    assert torch.equal(x8.view(torch.uint8), x8_ref.view(torch.uint8))
+    torch.testing.assert_close(ring[:n], hist, rtol=0, atol=0)
+    torch.testing.assert_close(ring[n : n + 1], scale, rtol=0, atol=0)
+    assert float(ring[n + 2]) == 0.0  # amax slot self-cleaned
+    assert int(ring[n + 3].view(torch.int32)) == 0  # done counter reset
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# torch-autocast parity: context semantics (nesting, thread locality, switch)
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _linear():
+    """Shared helper: a small bf16 linear operand set on CUDA (grad-tracking
+    so aten::linear records an autograd node)."""
+    torch.manual_seed(31)
+    x = torch.randn(16, 128, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16, requires_grad=True)
+    w = torch.randn(64, 128, device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16, requires_grad=True)
+    return x, w
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_nested_disabled_region_redispatches_bf16():
+    """A nested fp8_autocast(enabled=False) region temporarily restores the
+    bf16 aten::linear path (torch's nested-disable semantics), and fp8
+    resumes when it exits."""
+    x, w = _linear()
+    with fp8_autocast(enabled=True):
+        F.linear(x, w)
+        with fp8_autocast(enabled=False):
+            out_bf16 = F.linear(x, w)
+            assert type(out_bf16.grad_fn).__name__ != "_LinearFp8Backward"
+            assert out_bf16.dtype == torch.bfloat16
+        out_again = F.linear(x, w)
+        assert type(out_again.grad_fn).__name__ == "_LinearFp8Backward"
+
+
+@skip_no_fp8
+def test_global_switch_routes_without_region():
+    """fp8_linear_enable(True) routes aten::linear to fp8 outside any region
+    (the persistent default); disabling restores bf16."""
+    x, w = _linear()
+    state = fp8_state()
+    try:
+        fp8_linear_enable(True)
+        out = F.linear(x, w)
+        assert type(out.grad_fn).__name__ == "_LinearFp8Backward"
+        fp8_linear_enable(False)
+        out = F.linear(x, w)
+        assert type(out.grad_fn).__name__ != "_LinearFp8Backward"
+    finally:
+        state.reset()
+
+
+def test_autocast_state_is_thread_local():
+    """torch parity: the active config is thread-local — another thread does
+    not see an open region (CPU-only check of the flag, no kernels)."""
+    seen = {}
+    with fp8_autocast(enabled=True):
+        assert fp8_linear_enabled()
+        t = threading.Thread(target=lambda: seen.update(enabled=fp8_linear_enabled()))
+        t.start()
+        t.join()
+    assert seen["enabled"] is False
+    assert not fp8_linear_enabled()

tests/extension/test_kernel_mask.py

@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 import torch
 
 from astrai.extension.ops.attention import attn_prefill
-from tests.extension.conftest import D, skip_no_kernel
+from tests.conftest import skip_no_kernel
+from tests.extension.conftest import D
 
 
 @skip_no_kernel