MAE

MAE (Masked Autoencoder) for self-supervised pretraining and fine-tuning. Masks random patches and reconstructs them to learn visual representations. Supports pretrain and finetune stages.

Set train.pretrained_model_path for pretrained MAE weights when fine-tuning.

For TAO Deploy TensorRT actions (

gen_trt_engine

), read

references/tao-deploy-mask-auto-encoder.md

first. Deploy spec templates live in this skill's

references/

folder with the

spec_template_deploy_*.yaml

prefix.

Dataclass Schemas

Generated TAO Core schemas are packaged in

schemas/<action>.schema.json

, with

schemas/manifest.json

listing available actions. Each generated schema also emits

references/spec_template_<action>.yaml

from the schema top-level

default

field. AutoML enablement is declared at the model layer in

references/skill_info.yaml

via

automl_enabled

. Runnable AutoML still requires

schemas/train.schema.json

and

references/spec_template_train.yaml

to exist and parse. Use the packaged train schema for

automl_default_parameters

automl_disabled_parameters

, defaults, min/max bounds, enums, option weights, math conditions, dependencies, and popular parameters. Do not expect

~/tao-core

at runtime; maintainers regenerate schemas/templates before packaging the skill bank.

Train Action Policy

This model is AutoML-enabled at the model layer. Before handling any train-stage request, read

references/skill_info.yaml

and resolve the run override from either an explicit

automl_policy

value or the user's workflow request. Treat phrases like "turn off AutoML", "disable AutoML", "no HPO", or "plain training" as

automl_policy: off

for this run only; otherwise default to

auto

. When

automl_policy: auto

automl_enabled: true

, and both

schemas/train.schema.json

and

references/spec_template_train.yaml

are packaged, route the train action through

tao-skill-bank:tao-run-automl

by default with this model's

skill_dir

. Preserve workflow/application overrides for datasets, specs, output directories, GPU/platform settings, parent checkpoints, and

automl_policy

. Use direct model training only when

automl_policy: off

or the packaged train schema/template is missing; in the missing-schema case, report that AutoML is enabled but not runnable for this model until schemas are generated.

Non-train actions such as

evaluate

inference

export

, and deploy flows stay in this model skill. The per-run

automl_policy

override does not change model metadata.

Training Requirements

Dataset type: image_classification
Formats: ssl
Accepted dataset intents: training, evaluation, testing
Monitoring metric: train_loss

Per-Action Dataset Requirements

Action	Spec Key	Source	Files	List?
train	dataset.train_data_sources	train_datasets	images_train.tar.gz	No
train	dataset.val_data_sources	eval_dataset	images_val.tar.gz	No
evaluate	dataset.val_data_sources	eval_dataset	images_val.tar.gz	No
inference	dataset.test_data_sources	inference_dataset	images_test.tar.gz	No

Typical Spec Overrides

Data source overrides are mandatory for every action — the agent MUST construct data source paths from the Per-Action Dataset Requirements table above and include them in

spec_overrides

python

S3_TRAIN = "s3://bucket/data/train"
S3_EVAL = "s3://bucket/data/eval"

train (mandatory data sources):

python

{
    "dataset.train_data_sources": f"{S3_TRAIN}/images_train.tar.gz",
    "dataset.val_data_sources": f"{S3_EVAL}/images_val.tar.gz",
    "train.num_epochs": 10,
    "train.optim.lr": 2e-4,
}

evaluate (mandatory data sources):

python

{
    "dataset.val_data_sources": f"{S3_EVAL}/images_val.tar.gz",
}

inference (mandatory data sources):

python

{
    "dataset.test_data_sources": f"{S3_EVAL}/images_test.tar.gz",
}

Eval Dataset

Optional. Pretraining does not need eval data. Fine-tuning optionally uses val set.

Important Parameters

train.stage: Training stage. Options: pretrain, finetune. Pretrain learns representations via masking. Finetune adds a classification head.
model.arch: Architecture. Default convnextv2_base. Wide range of options including ConvNeXt, Hiera, ViT variants.
model.num_classes: Number of classes for fine-tuning. Default 1000 (ImageNet). Only relevant in finetune stage.
model.mask_ratio: Fraction of patches to mask during pretraining. Typically 0.75.
model.norm_pix_loss: Whether to normalize pixel values in reconstruction loss.
train.optim.lr: Learning rate. Default 2e-4.
dataset.augmentation: Augmentation settings including mixup, cutmix for fine-tuning.

Multi-GPU / Multi-Node

Launch method: Lightning-managed (single

python

process, Lightning spawns workers).

Spec Key	Description	Default
`train.num_gpus`	Number of GPUs	1
`train.gpu_ids`	GPU device indices	[0]
`train.num_nodes`	Number of nodes	1
`train.distributed_strategy`	`ddp` or `fsdp`	`ddp`

```
ddp
```
uses
```
find_unused_parameters=True
```
```
fsdp
```
forces FP16
Multi-GPU strongly recommended for pretraining (large batch sizes needed)

Multi-node env vars (set by orchestrator):

WORLD_SIZE

NODE_RANK

MASTER_ADDR

MASTER_PORT

NUM_GPU_PER_NODE

Hardware

Minimum 2 GPU(s), recommended 8 GPU(s). 24GB+ (A100 recommended) VRAM per GPU. MAE pretraining benefits from large batch sizes across many GPUs. Fine-tuning is more modest in resource requirements.

Error Patterns

Stage mismatch: Ensure train.stage matches your intent (pretrain vs finetune). Fine-tuning without a pretrained_model_path trains from scratch.

num_classes mismatch (finetune only): Ensure model.num_classes matches your dataset class count when fine-tuning.

Spec Param / Parent Model Inference

Model-specific inference mappings belong in this MD file, not in

config.json

. Generated runners should read this section and apply the mappings with SDK helpers before

create_job()

. This mirrors the old microservices

infer_params.py

flow.

Inference mappings from TAO Core

mae.config.json

Action	Spec Field	Inference Function	Meaning
evaluate	`encryption_key`	`key`	encryption key
evaluate	`evaluate.checkpoint`	`parent_model`	model file inferred from the parent job results folder
evaluate	`evaluate.trt_engine`	`parent_model`	model file inferred from the parent job results folder
evaluate	`results_dir`	`output_dir`	current job results directory
export	`encryption_key`	`key`	encryption key
export	`export.checkpoint`	`parent_model`	model file inferred from the parent job results folder
export	`export.onnx_file`	`create_onnx_file`	output ONNX path
export	`results_dir`	`output_dir`	current job results directory
gen_trt_engine	`encryption_key`	`key`	encryption key
gen_trt_engine	`gen_trt_engine.onnx_file`	`parent_model`	model file inferred from the parent job results folder
gen_trt_engine	`gen_trt_engine.trt_engine`	`create_engine_file`	output TensorRT engine path
gen_trt_engine	`results_dir`	`output_dir`	current job results directory
inference	`encryption_key`	`key`	encryption key
inference	`inference.checkpoint`	`parent_model`	model file inferred from the parent job results folder
inference	`inference.trt_engine`	`parent_model`	model file inferred from the parent job results folder
inference	`results_dir`	`output_dir`	current job results directory
train	`encryption_key`	`key`	encryption key
train	`results_dir`	`output_dir`	current job results directory
train	`train.pretrained_model_path`	`ptm_if_no_resume_model`	PTM when no resume checkpoint exists
train	`train.resume_training_checkpoint_path`	`resume_model`	model file inferred from the current job results folder

For

parent_model

parent_model_folder

, pass the upstream train/export/AutoML child job id as

parent_job_id

. The SDK lists the parent result folder, filters checkpoint artifacts, and returns the selected model file or folder. Do not add these mappings back to

config.json

and do not patch generated runner scripts to guess checkpoint paths.

Deployment

tao-deploy-mask-auto-encoder — MAE deploy workflow for TensorRT engine generation using TAO Deploy.

tao-train-mask-auto-encoder

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

MAE

Dataclass Schemas

Train Action Policy

Training Requirements

Per-Action Dataset Requirements

Typical Spec Overrides

Eval Dataset

Important Parameters

Multi-GPU / Multi-Node

Hardware

Error Patterns

Spec Param / Parent Model Inference

Deployment