# CUDA Kernels 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` | `attention/decode.cu` | GQA decode attention (split-KV) | | `attn_prefill` | `attention/prefill.cu` | GQA prefill attention (split-Q) | | `attn_paged_decode` | `attention/paged_decode.cu` | Paged KV cache decode attention | | `attn_paged_prefill` | `attention/paged_prefill.cu` | Paged KV cache prefill attention (ragged batch) | | `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 | `attention/decode_split_kv_mma.cuh` | Split KV 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 > source (`ContigKV` / `PagedKV`); decode only needs the KV source. There are > no separate `attn_paged_*.cuh` files. ### Rotary Embedding 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 - 256-thread blocks, grid-stride loop - Auto-dispatched via `apply_rotary_emb` in `astrai/extension/backend/rotary.py` (CUDA when available + inference mode, else torch complex-multiply fallback) - No context-manager backend needed — rotary is backend-agnostic, both attention backends benefit 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`, `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` 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` orchestrator + host planning (`plan_gemm` / `launch_plan`; 64×64 / 128×64 / 128×128 CTA) + entry `gemm(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` 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 Kernels are built when **both** of these conditions are met: 1. `nvcc` is available on `PATH` 2. `torch.cuda.is_available()` returns `True` Unless `CSRC_KERNELS=false` is set explicitly. ### Manual build ```bash # During install CSRC_KERNELS=true pip install -e . --no-build-isolation # Rebuild after editing .cu/.cuh files CSRC_KERNELS=true python setup.py build_ext --inplace # Output: astrai/extension/lib/*.so # Or invoke CMake directly cmake -S csrc -B build/cmake \ -DTORCH_HOME=/torch \ -DPYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR= \ -DPY_SOABI=cpython-312-x86_64-linux-gnu cmake --build build/cmake -j 16 ``` ### Architecture flags `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 the tensor-core MMA path (`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 `csrc/CMakeLists.txt` defines the CUDA extension build: ``` 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 `.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 The Python extension package separates low-level kernel bindings from execution policy: ```text astrai/extension/ ├── __init__.py # Stable public API ├── loader.py # Optional compiled-module discovery and loading ├── ops/ │ ├── attention.py # Stateless attention kernel wrappers │ ├── 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 ``` The dependency direction is one-way: ```text model / inference | v extension public API | v backend policy ---> ops wrappers ---> loader ---> compiled .so | +-----------> torch / flash-attn fallback ``` `ops` must not import `backend`. This keeps direct kernel bindings independent of model, cache, fallback, and backend-selection policy. ### Ops Layer `astrai.extension.ops` is the low-level boundary around compiled extensions: - Wrappers are stateless and map Python arguments to pybind or `torch.library.custom_op` calls. - Wrappers validate kernel availability and raise `RuntimeError` when a requested extension was not built. - Wrappers do not choose another implementation, gather KV cache entries, or decide whether an input is supported by a backend. - Tests that specifically exercise a compiled kernel may import from `astrai.extension.ops`. For example, `attn_prefill(...)` means "run this CUDA kernel" rather than "run attention using the best available implementation": ```python from astrai.extension.ops import attn_prefill output = attn_prefill(q, k, v, mask=mask, is_causal=True) ``` If the kernel is unavailable, this call fails. Callers that need fallback and capability dispatch must use the public `attention(...)` entry point instead. ### Backend Layer `astrai.extension.backend` owns execution policy: - It selects CUDA, FlashAttention, or torch-native attention. - It checks per-call constraints such as dtype, shape, head dimension, cache availability, and installed optional dependencies. - It owns KV cache writes and reads because those operations differ by backend. - It provides torch fallbacks and raises when an explicitly requested backend cannot handle a call. - Rotary dispatch follows the same boundary without a backend class: the policy layer chooses the fused op for supported inference calls and otherwise uses the autograd-compatible torch implementation. Normal model and inference code should import the stable API from `astrai.extension`: ```python from astrai.extension import ATTN_BACKEND, attention, attn_backend output = attention(q, k, v, kv_cache=cache, layer_id=layer_id, fwd="decode") with attn_backend(ATTN_BACKEND.TORCH_NATIVE): output = attention(q, k, v) ``` The package root re-exports the supported high-level API and selected direct kernel wrappers. Internal code should use `astrai.extension.backend` only when it needs a backend type or policy implementation, and `astrai.extension.ops` only when it deliberately requires one exact kernel. ### Placement Rules When extending this package: | Change | Location | |--------|----------| | Add a pybind call for a compiled kernel | `astrai/extension/ops/` | | Add argument translation required by the compiled ABI | `astrai/extension/ops/` | | Add capability checks or implementation selection | `astrai/extension/backend/` | | Add a torch or third-party fallback | `astrai/extension/backend/` | | Add attention KV cache behavior | `astrai/extension/backend/attention.py` | | Expose a supported user-facing symbol | `astrai/extension/__init__.py` | Imports belong at module scope. Optional dependencies such as `flash_attn` may use a module-level guarded import. Type-only imports that would create a runtime cycle belong under `TYPE_CHECKING`. ## Attention Backend `astrai/extension/backend/attention.py` provides the backend abstraction: - **`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. - **`TorchNativeBackend`**: SDPA with indirect KV cache gather (always-available fallback) Default priority: cuda > flash > torch. Set ``ASTR_BACKEND=cuda|torch_native|flash`` to override the default. Select a backend via context manager (mirrors `torch.nn.attention.sdpa_kernel`): ```python from astrai.extension import attn_backend, ATTN_BACKEND with attn_backend(ATTN_BACKEND.CUDA): engine.generate("hello") ``` 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. Resolution precedence is: explicit `attn_backend(...)` context > `ASTR_BACKEND` env > 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 `astrai/extension/backend/rotary.py` provides `apply_rotary_emb(x, (cos, sin))` with auto-dispatch: - **CUDA path**: calls `rotary_emb` kernel directly when available, input is bf16 on CUDA, and `torch.is_grad_enabled()` is `False` (inference) - **Torch fallback**: complex multiply (`torch.view_as_complex` → `torch.complex` multiply → `torch.view_as_real`), used during training (supports autograd) or when kernel unavailable No context-manager switching needed — the dispatch is automatic per call. ## Python Wrappers `astrai/extension/ops/attention.py` provides Python wrappers for each compiled attention kernel. Each wrapper calls its CUDA kernel directly and raises `RuntimeError` if the `.so` is not available. Fallback to torch SDPA is handled by the attention backend, not the wrapper functions. `astrai/extension/ops/rotary.py` provides the wrapper for the rotary embedding kernel. Fallback to torch complex multiply is handled by `backend/rotary.py`. Interface (all functions): ``` is_causal: True = causal mask; False = non-causal mask: 2D [batch, kv_len] or 3D [batch, q_len, kv_len] (bool, True=keep) ``` Layout convention: all q/k/v are `[batch, seq_len, n_heads, head_dim]` (blhd). Scale is always `1/sqrt(head_dim)`. ### Q Scheduling and KV Addressing Prefill separates Q work scheduling from KV storage: - `DenseQSchedule` maps a rectangular grid directly with `batch = blockIdx.z` and `q_tile = blockIdx.x`. - `PackedQSchedule` consumes a compact work map for a packed `[total_q, q_heads, head_dim]` tensor. - `ContigKV` and `PagedKV` only provide KV lengths and translate logical KV positions into physical addresses. They do not schedule Q blocks. For ragged Q lengths `[70, 10, 130]` and 64 rows per Q tile, cache binding builds: ```text qo_indptr = [0, 70, 80, 210] q_tile_to_batch = [0, 0, 1, 2, 2, 2] q_tile_to_index = [0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 2] ``` Paged prefill launches (MMA path, GQA head packing): ```text grid.x = num_q_tiles * HB # HB = min(G, WARPS): q heads packed per block grid.y = kv_heads * ceil(G / HB) grid.z = 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 host_tile = blockIdx.x / HB; 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 `qo_indptr` / `kv_indptr` entries for that request's Q and KV lengths. This avoids the previous per-block linear scan over the batch, shared-memory broadcast, mapping barrier, and upper-bound grid with potentially invalid blocks. ## Standalone Testing Each `csrc/tests/*.cu` file has the `nvcc` compile command in its header comment. Example: ```bash nvcc -I csrc -arch=sm_89 -O3 --use_fast_math \ --ptxas-options=-O3,-v --extra-device-vectorization \ -Xcompiler -fopenmp csrc/tests/attn_test.cu -o /tmp/test && /tmp/test ``` Test files: - `attn_test.cu` — decode + prefill kernels (correctness tables + benchmarks) - `attn_paged_test.cu` — paged decode/prefill kernels - `fp8_mma_test.cu` — BF16→FP8→BF16 MMA demo (sm_89) ## Benchmarks Hardware: NVIDIA L20 (sm_89, 46 GB), CUDA 12.8, driver 570.86. Reproduce (decode + prefill in `attn_test.cu`, paged in `attn_paged_test.cu`): ```bash nvcc -I csrc -arch=sm_89 -O3 --use_fast_math \ --ptxas-options=-O3,-v --extra-device-vectorization \ -Xcompiler -fopenmp csrc/tests/attn_test.cu -o /tmp/test && /tmp/test ``` ## Known Optimization Targets - **Decode D=256**: spill eliminated (BC=16 + STAGES=2), but still 248 regs — further tiling could help. - **Prefill single-batch**: bandwidth low (22 GB/s at q=kv=2048) — compute-bound at ~94 TFLOP/s (near L20 bf16 ceiling ~193 TFLOP/s for non-causal). - **Decode single-batch**: bandwidth low (113 GB/s at kv=512, 13% of 864 GB/s theoretical) — small kv underutilizes SMs despite split-KV; scales to 757 GB/s (88%) at B=16+. ## File Layout ``` csrc/ ├── CMakeLists.txt # CMake build: kernel registry (KERNEL_NAMES / KERNEL_SRCS), torch/pybind11 linking ├── kernels/ │ ├── common/ # cross-family pure-CUDA helpers (no torch) │ │ ├── device.cuh # sm_at_least(), kMinSmForFp8* constants │ │ ├── mma.cuh # shared mma_sync + mma_shape (bf16 m16n8k16 / fp8 m16n8k32) + ldmatrix_x2/x4 │ │ ├── cp_async.cuh # cp.async 16B primitives (predicated copy, commit/wait groups) │ │ └── reduce.cuh # warp_reduce_max, atomic_max_float │ ├── attention/ # attention family (module names keep the attn_* prefix) │ │ ├── common.h # AttentionParams POD, TensorLayout enum (BHLD/BLHD) │ │ ├── warp_utils.cuh # warp reduction helpers │ │ ├── layout_policies.cuh # KV addressing policies: DenseQSchedule/PackedQSchedule, ContigKV/PagedKV │ │ ├── mma_utils.cuh # ldmatrix/pack helpers + online-softmax (bf16 mma via common/mma.cuh) │ │ ├── entry_utils.cuh # torch binding helpers: DISPATCH_HEAD_DIM, pack_*_params │ │ ├── dispatchers.cuh # pure-CUDA launchers: dispatch_decode/prefill (+paged), split-K math │ │ ├── decode_split_kv.cuh # decode kernel, scalar (split-KV) │ │ ├── decode_split_kv_mma.cuh # decode kernel, MMA + split-K │ │ ├── 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 (now_ms, f2bf, bf2f, randf) ├── attn_test.cu # 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: 2026-08-22