on-policy-self-distillation

claude-opus-5

on-policy-self-distillation — graded by the task's verifier against a measured baseline.

backend: modal
variant: claude claude-opus-5
metric: AIME24 avg@12 accuracy
actions: 110
duration: 6h 10m
recorded: 2026-08-02

run idopsd-aime24-4gpus__F2Xe6j3

Everything claude-opus-5 did on this task, in order.

download JSON ↗

claude-codeclaude-opus-5101 turns15 narration109 action109 observation86 reasoning1 final

#76

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashCheck on-policy completion lengths

args

{
  "command": "grep -o \"avg length: [0-9.]*\" /workspace/runs/try1/train_seed42.log | awk -F': ' '{s+=$2;n++} END{print \"try1 mean completion len:\",s/n,\"over\",n,\"gen calls\"}'; grep -o \"avg length: [0-9.]*\" /workspace/runs/try1/train_seed42.log | tail -5",
  "description": "Check on-policy completion lengths"
}

Bash result

try1 mean completion len: 923.379 over 800 gen calls
avg length: 1024.0
avg length: 827.8
avg length: 839.0
avg length: 890.5
avg length: 1024.0

[stdout]
try1 mean completion len: 923.379 over 800 gen calls
avg length: 1024.0
avg length: 827.8
avg length: 839.0
avg length: 890.5
avg length: 1024.0
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#77

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashMonitor try3 training

args

{
  "command": "sleep 540; grep -o \"{'loss'.*}\" /workspace/runs/try3.log | tail -1 | cut -c1-160; tail -c 120 /workspace/runs/try3_cycle.out; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Monitor try3 training",
  "timeout": 570000
}

Bash result

{'loss': -0.0408, 'grad_norm': 0.04090927913784981, 'learning_rate': 1.443298969072165e-05, 'on_policy_loss': -0.0408, 'kl_true': 0.5176625099391824, 'kl_discar
16012

[stdout]
{'loss': -0.0408, 'grad_norm': 0.04090927913784981, 'learning_rate': 1.443298969072165e-05, 'on_policy_loss': -0.0408, 'kl_true': 0.5176625099391824, 'kl_discar
16012
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#78

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashMonitor try3 eval

args

{
  "command": "sleep 570; tail -c 150 /workspace/runs/try3_eval.log 2>/dev/null; echo; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Monitor try3 eval",
  "timeout": 600000
}

Bash result

s, output: 806.42 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  14%|█▍        | 12/84 [04:03<24:21, 20.30s/it, est. speed input: 3.79 toks/s, output: 437.14 toks/s]
15441

[stdout]
s, output: 806.42 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  14%|█▍        | 12/84 [04:03<24:21, 20.30s/it, est. speed input: 3.79 toks/s, output: 437.14 toks/s]
15441
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#79

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashGet try3 result

args

{
  "command": "sleep 570; tail -c 150 /workspace/runs/try3_eval.log 2>/dev/null; echo; python /workspace/summarize.py; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Get try3 result",
  "timeout": 600000
}

Bash result

oks/s]
Processed prompts: 100%|██████████| 84/84 [13:19<00:00,  9.51s/it, est. speed input: 12.45 toks/s, output: 2191.20 toks/s]

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
14841

[stdout]
oks/s]
Processed prompts: 100%|██████████| 84/84 [13:19<00:00,  9.51s/it, est. speed input: 12.45 toks/s, output: 2191.20 toks/s]

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
14841
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#80

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashRead try3 result

args

{
  "command": "sleep 100; python /workspace/summarize.py; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Read try3 result",
  "timeout": 150000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
14740

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
14740
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#81

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashCheck try3 cycle output

args

{
  "command": "tail -20 /workspace/runs/try3_cycle.out; ls -la /workspace/eval_results/",
  "description": "Check try3 cycle output"
}

Bash result

CKPT=/workspace/runs/try3/capped_seed42/checkpoint-100
total 74
drwxr-xr-x 1 root root    80 Aug  2 18:39 .
drwxr-xr-x 1 root root   320 Aug  2 18:04 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37504 Aug  2 18:04 try1.json
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37524 Aug  2 18:39 try2.json

[stdout]
CKPT=/workspace/runs/try3/capped_seed42/checkpoint-100
total 74
drwxr-xr-x 1 root root    80 Aug  2 18:39 .
drwxr-xr-x 1 root root   320 Aug  2 18:04 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37504 Aug  2 18:04 try1.json
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37524 Aug  2 18:39 try2.json
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#82

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashCheck try3 eval tail

args

{
  "command": "tail -5 /workspace/runs/try3_eval.log | cut -c1-400",
  "description": "Check try3 eval tail"
}

Bash result

Processed prompts:   0%|          | 0/96 [00:00<?, ?it/s, est. speed input: 0.00 toks/s, output: 0.00 toks/s]
Adding requests: 100%|██████████| 7/7 [00:00<00:00, 282.55it/s]

Processed prompts:   0%|          | 0/84 [00:00<?, ?it/s, est. speed input: 0.00 toks/s, output: 0.00 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  12%|█▎        | 12/96 [01:56<13:38,  9.74s/it, est. speed input: 16.02 toks/s, output: 592.24 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  12%|█▎        | 12/96 [03:24<23:48, 17.00s/it, est. speed input: 8.71 toks/s, output: 439.25 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  25%|██▌     

Processed prompts:  38%|███▊      | 36/96 [11:46<17:37, 17.62s/it, est. speed input: 7.94 toks/s, output: 813.43 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  14%|█▍        | 12/84 [12:01<1:12:11, 60.16s/it, est. speed input: 1.65 toks/s, output: 256.46 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  29%|██▊       | 24/84 [12:02<24:48, 24.80s/it, est. speed input: 3.64 toks/s, output: 582.59 toks/s]  
Processed prom

Processed prompts:  86%|████████▌ | 72/84 [13:10<00:54,  4.55s/it, est. speed input: 10.97 toks/s, output: 1913.04 toks/s]
Processed prompts: 100%|██████████| 84/84 [13:19<00:00,  3.31s/it, est. speed input: 12.45 toks/s, output: 2191.20 toks/s]
Processed prompts: 100%|██████████| 84/84 [13:19<00:00,  3.31s/it, est. speed input: 12.45 toks

Processed prompts:  62%|██████▎   | 60/96 [15:13<07:31, 12.55s/it, est. speed input: 8.88 toks/s, output: 1171.15 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  75%|███████▌  | 72/96 [16:07<03:55,  9.82s/it, est. speed input: 10.00 toks/s, output: 1445.37 toks/s]

[stdout]

Processed prompts:   0%|          | 0/96 [00:00<?, ?it/s, est. speed input: 0.00 toks/s, output: 0.00 toks/s]
Adding requests: 100%|██████████| 7/7 [00:00<00:00, 282.55it/s]

Processed prompts:   0%|          | 0/84 [00:00<?, ?it/s, est. speed input: 0.00 toks/s, output: 0.00 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  12%|█▎        | 12/96 [01:56<13:38,  9.74s/it, est. speed input: 16.02 toks/s, output: 592.24 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  12%|█▎        | 12/96 [03:24<23:48, 17.00s/it, est. speed input: 8.71 toks/s, output: 439.25 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  25%|██▌     

Processed prompts:  38%|███▊      | 36/96 [11:46<17:37, 17.62s/it, est. speed input: 7.94 toks/s, output: 813.43 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  14%|█▍        | 12/84 [12:01<1:12:11, 60.16s/it, est. speed input: 1.65 toks/s, output: 256.46 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  29%|██▊       | 24/84 [12:02<24:48, 24.80s/it, est. speed input: 3.64 toks/s, output: 582.59 toks/s]  
Processed prom

Processed prompts:  86%|████████▌ | 72/84 [13:10<00:54,  4.55s/it, est. speed input: 10.97 toks/s, output: 1913.04 toks/s]
Processed prompts: 100%|██████████| 84/84 [13:19<00:00,  3.31s/it, est. speed input: 12.45 toks/s, output: 2191.20 toks/s]
Processed prompts: 100%|██████████| 84/84 [13:19<00:00,  3.31s/it, est. speed input: 12.45 toks

Processed prompts:  62%|██████▎   | 60/96 [15:13<07:31, 12.55s/it, est. speed input: 8.88 toks/s, output: 1171.15 toks/s]
Processed prompts:  75%|███████▌  | 72/96 [16:07<03:55,  9.82s/it, est. speed input: 10.00 toks/s, output: 1445.37 toks/s]
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#83

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashWait for try3 completion

args

{
  "command": "sleep 420; python /workspace/summarize.py; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Wait for try3 completion",
  "timeout": 450000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
14310

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
14310
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#84

narration

try3 (4e-5) collapsed to 45.56 — the LR response is sharply peaked, so 2e-5 sits near a cliff. Chaining two cycles: a repeat of the 2e-5 config (to test whether 57.78 was a lucky draw) and a safer 1.4e-5 point.

toolBashChain try4 (2e-5 repeat) and try5 (1.4e-5)

args

{
  "command": "mkdir -p /workspace/recipes && cat > /workspace/recipes/lr2.env <<'EOF'\nlearning_rate=2e-5\nlr_scheduler_type=linear\nwarmup_ratio=0.03\nEOF\ncat > /workspace/recipes/lr14.env <<'EOF'\nlearning_rate=1.4e-5\nlr_scheduler_type=linear\nwarmup_ratio=0.03\nEOF\ncat > /workspace/chain2.sh <<'EOF'\n#!/bin/bash\nexport RECIPE=/workspace/recipes/lr2.env\nNAME=try4 PORT=12954 bash /workspace/cycle.sh\nexport RECIPE=/workspace/recipes/lr14.env\nNAME=try5 PORT=12955 bash /workspace/cycle.sh\nEOF\n(bash /workspace/chain2.sh > /workspace/runs/chain2.out 2>&1 &) ; sleep 3; echo launched; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Chain try4 (2e-5 repeat) and try5 (1.4e-5)"
}

Bash result

launched
14280

[stdout]
launched
14280
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#85

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashCompare try1 vs try4 training determinism

args

{
  "command": "sleep 540; for r in try1 try4; do echo \"== $r\"; grep -o \"{'loss'[^}]*}\" /workspace/runs/$r.log 2>/dev/null | head -3 | cut -c1-90; done",
  "description": "Compare try1 vs try4 training determinism",
  "timeout": 570000
}

Bash result

== try1
{'loss': 0.0054, 'grad_norm': 0.15960538387298584, 'learning_rate': 6.666666666666667e-06,
{'loss': 0.0049, 'grad_norm': 0.13935409486293793, 'learning_rate': 2e-05, 'on_policy_loss
{'loss': 0.0005, 'grad_norm': 0.08532039076089859, 'learning_rate': 1.9587628865979382e-05
== try4
{'loss': 0.0054, 'grad_norm': 0.16674230992794037, 'learning_rate': 6.666666666666667e-06,
{'loss': 0.0051, 'grad_norm': 0.14215776324272156, 'learning_rate': 2e-05, 'on_policy_loss
{'loss': 0.0002, 'grad_norm': 0.07918263226747513, 'learning_rate': 1.9587628865979382e-05

[stdout]
== try1
{'loss': 0.0054, 'grad_norm': 0.15960538387298584, 'learning_rate': 6.666666666666667e-06,
{'loss': 0.0049, 'grad_norm': 0.13935409486293793, 'learning_rate': 2e-05, 'on_policy_loss
{'loss': 0.0005, 'grad_norm': 0.08532039076089859, 'learning_rate': 1.9587628865979382e-05
== try4
{'loss': 0.0054, 'grad_norm': 0.16674230992794037, 'learning_rate': 6.666666666666667e-06,
{'loss': 0.0051, 'grad_norm': 0.14215776324272156, 'learning_rate': 2e-05, 'on_policy_loss
{'loss': 0.0002, 'grad_norm': 0.07918263226747513, 'learning_rate': 1.9587628865979382e-05
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#86

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashPoll for try4

args

{
  "command": "sleep 580; python /workspace/summarize.py; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Poll for try4",
  "timeout": 600000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
13128

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
13128
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#87

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashPoll for try4 result

args

{
  "command": "sleep 560; python /workspace/summarize.py; tail -c 120 /workspace/runs/try4_eval.log; echo; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Poll for try4 result",
  "timeout": 590000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
|██████████| 84/84 [13:13<00:00,  9.45s/it, est. speed input: 12.53 toks/s, output: 2221.64 toks/s]

12567

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
|██████████| 84/84 [13:13<00:00,  9.45s/it, est. speed input: 12.53 toks/s, output: 2221.64 toks/s]

12567
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#88

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashPoll for try4 result

args

{
  "command": "sleep 400; python /workspace/summarize.py; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Poll for try4 result",
  "timeout": 450000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
12167

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
12167
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#89

narration

try4 — an exact repeat of try1's config — came back at 51.67 vs try1's 57.78. A 6-point spread between identical configs means the 2e-5 gain was largely noise (mean of the two: 54.7, i.e. the anchor). Higher LR is also destabilizing. Queuing repeats at the safer 1.4e-5 point so the decision rests on averages, not single runs:

toolBashQueue two more 1.4e-5 samples after try5

args

{
  "command": "cat > /workspace/chain3.sh <<'EOF'\n#!/bin/bash\n# Wait for the currently-running try5 cycle to write its result, then take 2 more\n# samples of the same 1.4e-5 config so the choice rests on a 3-run mean.\nwhile [ ! -f /workspace/eval_results/try5.json ]; do sleep 20; done\nexport RECIPE=/workspace/recipes/lr14.env\nNAME=try6 PORT=12956 bash /workspace/cycle.sh\nNAME=try7 PORT=12957 bash /workspace/cycle.sh\nEOF\n(bash /workspace/chain3.sh > /workspace/runs/chain3.out 2>&1 &) ; sleep 2; echo queued; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Queue two more 1.4e-5 samples after try5"
}

Bash result

queued
12087

[stdout]
queued
12087
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#90

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashPoll try5

args

{
  "command": "sleep 570; python /workspace/summarize.py; grep -o \"kl_true[^,]*\" /workspace/runs/try5.log 2>/dev/null | tail -2; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Poll try5",
  "timeout": 590000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
kl_true': 0.24744324701190895
kl_true': 0.24927532423153936
11506

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
kl_true': 0.24744324701190895
kl_true': 0.24927532423153936
11506
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#91

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashPoll try5 result

args

{
  "command": "sleep 540; python /workspace/summarize.py; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Poll try5 result",
  "timeout": 570000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
10935

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
10935
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#92

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashPoll try5 result

args

{
  "command": "sleep 420; python /workspace/summarize.py; tail -c 100 /workspace/runs/try5_eval.log; echo; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Poll try5 result",
  "timeout": 450000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360
try5                     52.78   76.67  100.00     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
78% (190/360 solutions correct on 30 problems)
Results written to /workspace/eval_results/try5.json

10514

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360
try5                     52.78   76.67  100.00     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
78% (190/360 solutions correct on 30 problems)
Results written to /workspace/eval_results/try5.json

10514
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#93

narration

try5 (1.4e-5) came in at 52.78 — so no LR setting reliably beats the anchor, and the noise swamps ±1.5 effects. The diagnostics point at a cleaner target: the loss is minimized by inflating student tail mass (kl_true rises 0.17→0.52, loss goes negative). top_k_loss removes that escape route by renormalizing over the teacher's top-k, and it's whitelisted (no code risk). Repurposing the queued cycles:

toolBashList running training processes

args

{
  "command": "ps -eo pid,etimes,args | grep -E \"chain3|cycle.sh|accelerate|opsd_train\" | grep -v grep | cut -c1-130",
  "description": "List running training processes"
}

Bash result

156   11141 bash -c  rm -f /tmp/ri-exec-4d78a706db094b37b9162a51def80a21.pid setsid bash -c 'set -o pipefail; export PATH="$HOME
  158   11141 bash -c set -o pipefail; export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"; claude --verbose --output-format=strea
  159   11141 claude --verbose --output-format=stream-json --permission-mode=bypassPermissions --disallowedTools WebSearch WebFetc
20900    1628 bash /workspace/chain3.sh
23295      67 bash /workspace/cycle.sh
23316      67 /usr/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/accelerate launch --config_file accelerate.yaml --num_processes 4 --gradient_accumul
23371      61 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 1.4e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler_type li
23372      61 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 1.4e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler_type li
23373      61 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 1.4e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler_type li
23374      61 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 1.4e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler_type li

[stdout]
  156   11141 bash -c  rm -f /tmp/ri-exec-4d78a706db094b37b9162a51def80a21.pid setsid bash -c 'set -o pipefail; export PATH="$HOME
  158   11141 bash -c set -o pipefail; export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"; claude --verbose --output-format=strea
  159   11141 claude --verbose --output-format=stream-json --permission-mode=bypassPermissions --disallowedTools WebSearch WebFetc
20900    1628 bash /workspace/chain3.sh
23295      67 bash /workspace/cycle.sh
23316      67 /usr/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/accelerate launch --config_file accelerate.yaml --num_processes 4 --gradient_accumul
23371      61 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 1.4e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler_type li
23372      61 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 1.4e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler_type li
23373      61 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 1.4e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler_type li
23374      61 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 1.4e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler_type li
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#94

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashKill 1.4e-5 chain, launch top_k_loss runs

args

{
  "command": "kill 20900 23295 23316 23371 23372 23373 23374 2>/dev/null; sleep 12; ps -eo pid,args | grep -E \"opsd_train|accelerate\" | grep -v grep | wc -l\ncat > /workspace/recipes/topk.env <<'EOF'\nlearning_rate=2e-5\nlr_scheduler_type=linear\nwarmup_ratio=0.03\ntop_k_loss=20\nEOF\ncat > /workspace/chain4.sh <<'EOF'\n#!/bin/bash\nexport RECIPE=/workspace/recipes/topk.env\nNAME=try8 PORT=12958 bash /workspace/cycle.sh\nNAME=try9 PORT=12959 bash /workspace/cycle.sh\nEOF\nrm -rf /workspace/runs/try6; (bash /workspace/chain4.sh > /workspace/runs/chain4.out 2>&1 &) ; sleep 3; echo launched; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Kill 1.4e-5 chain, launch top_k_loss runs"
}

Bash result

3
launched
10434

[stdout]
3
launched
10434
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#95

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashVerify only new run is active

args

{
  "command": "sleep 45; ps -eo pid,etimes,args | grep -E \"opsd_train\" | grep -v grep | cut -c1-120 | head -5; nvidia-smi --query-gpu=index,memory.used --format=csv,noheader",
  "description": "Verify only new run is active",
  "timeout": 90000
}

Bash result

156   11219 bash -c  rm -f /tmp/ri-exec-4d78a706db094b37b9162a51def80a21.pid setsid bash -c 'set -o pipefail; export P
  158   11219 bash -c set -o pipefail; export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"; claude --verbose --output-fo
  159   11219 claude --verbose --output-format=stream-json --permission-mode=bypassPermissions --disallowedTools WebSear
24336      51 /usr/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/accelerate launch --config_file accelerate.yaml --num_processes 4 --gradie
24394      45 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 2e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler
0, 98783 MiB
1, 98951 MiB
2, 98625 MiB
3, 98731 MiB

[stdout]
  156   11219 bash -c  rm -f /tmp/ri-exec-4d78a706db094b37b9162a51def80a21.pid setsid bash -c 'set -o pipefail; export P
  158   11219 bash -c set -o pipefail; export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"; claude --verbose --output-fo
  159   11219 claude --verbose --output-format=stream-json --permission-mode=bypassPermissions --disallowedTools WebSear
24336      51 /usr/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/accelerate launch --config_file accelerate.yaml --num_processes 4 --gradie
24394      45 /usr/bin/python3 -u opsd_train.py --learning_rate 2e-5 --max_grad_norm 0.1 --weight_decay 0 --lr_scheduler
0, 98783 MiB
1, 98951 MiB
2, 98625 MiB
3, 98731 MiB
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#96

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashCheck try8 training starts cleanly

args

{
  "command": "sleep 300; grep -o \"{'loss'[^}]*}\" /workspace/runs/try8.log | head -3 | cut -c1-200; grep -ci \"error\\|out of memory\" /workspace/runs/try8.log",
  "description": "Check try8 training starts cleanly",
  "timeout": 330000
}

Bash result

{'loss': 0.0027, 'grad_norm': 0.1284387856721878, 'learning_rate': 6.666666666666667e-06, 'on_policy_loss': 0.0027, 'kl_true': 0.1292329577433769, 'kl_discarded': 0.12563279192901677, 'clipped_vocab_p
{'loss': 0.0019, 'grad_norm': 0.10591398924589157, 'learning_rate': 2e-05, 'on_policy_loss': 0.0019, 'kl_true': 0.12876636630836444, 'kl_discarded': 0.12692212484957918, 'clipped_vocab_per_tok': 0.435
{'loss': -0.0016, 'grad_norm': 0.0667407438158989, 'learning_rate': 1.9587628865979382e-05, 'on_policy_loss': -0.0016, 'kl_true': 0.11393737897678162, 'kl_discarded': 0.11493566202246852, 'clipped_voc
0

[stdout]
{'loss': 0.0027, 'grad_norm': 0.1284387856721878, 'learning_rate': 6.666666666666667e-06, 'on_policy_loss': 0.0027, 'kl_true': 0.1292329577433769, 'kl_discarded': 0.12563279192901677, 'clipped_vocab_p
{'loss': 0.0019, 'grad_norm': 0.10591398924589157, 'learning_rate': 2e-05, 'on_policy_loss': 0.0019, 'kl_true': 0.12876636630836444, 'kl_discarded': 0.12692212484957918, 'clipped_vocab_per_tok': 0.435
{'loss': -0.0016, 'grad_norm': 0.0667407438158989, 'learning_rate': 1.9587628865979382e-05, 'on_policy_loss': -0.0016, 'kl_true': 0.11393737897678162, 'kl_discarded': 0.11493566202246852, 'clipped_voc
0
[metadata] {"returnCodeInterpretation": "No matches found", "noOutputExpected": false}

#97

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashCorrelate final kl_true with scores

args

{
  "command": "cd /workspace/runs && for r in try2 try3 try4 try5 try8; do v=$(grep -o \"'kl_true': [0-9.]*\" $r.log 2>/dev/null | tail -1); l=$(grep -o \"{'loss': [-0-9.]*\" $r.log 2>/dev/null | tail -1); echo \"$r  ${l}  ${v}\"; done",
  "description": "Correlate final kl_true with scores"
}

Bash result

try2  {'loss': 0.0485  'kl_true': 0.06784454054678932
try3  {'loss': -0.0447  'kl_true': 0.5120191142132148
try4  {'loss': -0.0317  'kl_true': 0.3019309755221409
try5  {'loss': -0.0241  'kl_true': 0.24927532423153936
try8  {'loss': -0.0211  'kl_true': 0.21479027609609855

[stdout]
try2  {'loss': 0.0485  'kl_true': 0.06784454054678932
try3  {'loss': -0.0447  'kl_true': 0.5120191142132148
try4  {'loss': -0.0317  'kl_true': 0.3019309755221409
try5  {'loss': -0.0241  'kl_true': 0.24927532423153936
try8  {'loss': -0.0211  'kl_true': 0.21479027609609855
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#98

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolWrite

args

{
  "file_path": "/workspace/FINDINGS.md",
  "content": "# OPSD @ 100 steps / global batch 32 — what I measured\n\nAll dev runs: `train_capped.sh` (SEED=42) on my repo, then the full official-settings\neval (30 AIME24 problems x 12 samples, temperature 1.0, thinking mode). Anchor for the\npaper's own recipe: **54.22 +- 1.48** (scorer's 5-run mean; the released logs' own run\nscored 54.44).\n\n| run  | change vs paper recipe                            | avg@12 | pass@12 | fmt%  | final kl_true |\n|------|---------------------------------------------------|--------|---------|-------|---------------|\n| try1 | left-pad fix + lr 2e-5 linear (warmup .03)        | 57.78  | 76.67   | 99.72 | n/a           |\n| try4 | **identical config to try1** (re-run)             | 51.67  | 76.67   | 98.89 | 0.302         |\n| try5 | left-pad fix + lr 1.4e-5 linear                   | 52.78  | 76.67   | 100.0 | 0.249         |\n| try3 | left-pad fix + lr 4e-5 linear                     | 45.56  | 73.33   | 99.17 | 0.512         |\n| try2 | left-pad fix + lr 2e-5 + per-token trust region   | 42.78  | 80.00   | 99.72 | 0.068         |\n| try8 | left-pad fix + lr 2e-5 + top_k_loss=20            |  see below     |         |       |               |\n\n`kl_true` = mean true (unclipped) per-token forward KL to the teacher, logged by\ndiagnostics I added to `generalized_jsd_loss`.\n\n## 1. Run-to-run noise is the dominant effect (try1 vs try4)\n\ntry1 and try4 are the *same* config and seed; they differ only by vLLM rollout\nnondeterminism, and they scored **57.78 vs 51.67**. So single-run dev deltas below\n~6 points carry no information, and the +3.6 that try1 showed over the anchor was\nmostly luck (2-run mean: 54.72). Every conclusion below rests on either a mean of\nruns or a swing far outside that band.\n\n## 2. The clip discards 96% of the distillation signal (measured)\n\nDiagnostics at the paper's own hyper-parameters (`jsd_token_clip=0.05`):\n\n```\nkl_true 0.17   kl_discarded 0.165   clipped_vocab_per_tok 0.45\nkl_p50 0.001   kl_p75 0.045   kl_p90 0.23   frac_tok_over_clip 0.24\n```\n\nThe clip is applied **elementwise over the vocabulary**, not per token, so ~0.45 vocab\nentries per token (essentially just the teacher's confident token where it disagrees\nwith the student) absorb 96% of the divergence. Worse, `clamp` zeroes the gradient of\nthose entries while the softmax normalizer keeps pushing them *down*: the effective\ntarget is cross-entropy toward the truncated/renormalized teacher `p_T(v)/W` over the\nunder-threshold entries, and the teacher's top token gets actively suppressed whenever\nthe student disagrees with it. That is why the reported loss goes **negative**\n(-0.03 by step 100) and why `kl_true` *rises* during training (0.17 -> 0.30 at lr 2e-5,\n-> 0.51 at 4e-5): the objective is minimized by inflating student mass away from the\nteacher, not by matching it.\n\n## 3. But \"fixing\" the loss makes it much worse (try2)\n\nReplacing the elementwise clip with the documented semantics — clip the **per-token**\ndivergence (trust region at 1.0), giving exact full-distribution gradients below the\nthreshold — did what it says: `kl_true` fell 0.17 -> 0.068, the loss stayed positive\nand decreased monotonically. Genuine distillation, and the result was **42.78**\n(-11 vs anchor, far outside noise). Generations got ~30% shorter and pass@12 *rose*\nto 80.0 while avg@12 collapsed.\n\nReading: the teacher conditions on the ground-truth solution, so it is short, direct\nand over-confident. Faithfully matching it teaches the student to stop reasoning early.\nThe clip's 96% discard is not a bug to be fixed — it is what keeps the unlearnable\n\"teacher already knows the answer\" tokens out of the gradient. The released loss\nsurvives only because it distills the *near-agreement* tokens (consistency /\nself-sharpening) and ignores the informative ones.\n\n## 4. Both extremes of teacher-agreement are bad; the optimum is a moderate perturbation\n\nOrdering runs by final `kl_true`: 0.068 -> 42.78, 0.249 -> 52.78, 0.302 -> 51.67 /\n57.78, 0.512 -> 45.56. Converging to the teacher and drifting far from it both cost\n~10 points; everything in the 0.25-0.30 band is within noise of the anchor. The paper's\nrecipe already sits inside that band, which is the honest reason the headline number is\nhard to beat within 100 steps.\n\n## 5. Real bug fixed: padding between prompt and completion (kept)\n\n`data_collator.py` right-padded prompts, so pad tokens sat **between** the prompt and\nthe on-policy completion. They are masked out of attention but still consume RoPE\npositions, so every completion token was scored at an inflated distance from its prompt\n— at positions it was never sampled at, and at a *different* offset for the student\n(short prompt) than for the teacher (prompt + solution). Switching to left padding\nkeeps prompt+completion contiguous and makes the loss a true on-policy KL. Evidence\nit was real: the step-2 loss drops from 0.0105 to 0.0054, i.e. half of the divergence\nthe paper was optimizing was position-mismatch artifact. Left padding is safe here\nbecause RoPE is relative and completions are right-padded to a fixed length after the\nreal tokens.\n"
}

Write result

File created successfully at: /workspace/FINDINGS.md (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

[metadata] {"type": "create", "filePath": "/workspace/FINDINGS.md", "content": "# OPSD @ 100 steps / global batch 32 — what I measured\n\nAll dev runs: `train_capped.sh` (SEED=42) on my repo, then the full official-settings\neval (30 AIME24 problems x 12 samples, temperature 1.0, thinking mode). Anchor for the\npaper's own recipe: **54.22 +- 1.48** (scorer's 5-run mean; the released logs' own run\nscored 54.44).\n\n| run  | change vs paper recipe                            | avg@12 | pass@12 | fmt%  | final kl_true |\n|------|---------------------------------------------------|--------|---------|-------|---------------|\n| try1 | left-pad fix + lr 2e-5 linear (warmup .03)        | 57.78  | 76.67   | 99.72 | n/a           |\n| try4 | **identical config to try1** (re-run)             | 51.67  | 76.67   | 98.89 | 0.302         |\n| try5 | left-pad fix + lr 1.4e-5 linear                   | 52.78  | 76.67   | 100.0 | 0.249         |\n| try3 | left-pad fix + lr 4e-5 linear                     | 45.56  | 73.33   | 99.17 | 0.512         |\n| try2 | left-pad fix + lr 2e-5 + per-token trust region   | 42.78  | 80.00   | 99.72 | 0.068         |\n| try8 | left-pad fix + lr 2e-5 + top_k_loss=20            |  see below     |         |       |               |\n\n`kl_true` = mean true (unclipped) per-token forward KL to the teacher, logged by\ndiagnostics I added to `generalized_jsd_loss`.\n\n## 1. Run-to-run noise is the dominant effect (try1 vs try4)\n\ntry1 and try4 are the *same* config and seed; they differ only by vLLM rollout\nnondeterminism, and they scored **57.78 vs 51.67**. So single-run dev deltas below\n~6 points carry no information, and the +3.6 that try1 showed over the anchor was\nmostly luck (2-run mean: 54.72). Every conclusion below rests on either a mean of\nruns or a swing far outside that band.\n\n## 2. The clip discards 96% of the distillation signal (measured)\n\nDiagnostics at the paper's own hyper-parameters (`jsd_token_clip=0.05`):\n\n```\nkl_true 0.17   kl_discarded 0.165   clipped_vocab_per_tok 0.45\nkl_p50 0.001   kl_p75 0.045   kl_p90 0.23   frac_tok_over_clip 0.24\n```\n\nThe clip is applied **elementwise over the vocabulary**, not per token, so ~0.45 vocab\nentries per token (essentially just the teacher's confident token where it disagrees\nwith the student) absorb 96% of the divergence. Worse, `clamp` zeroes the gradient of\nthose entries while the softmax normalizer keeps pushing them *down*: the effective\ntarget is cross-entropy toward the truncated/renormalized teacher `p_T(v)/W` over the\nunder-threshold entries, and the teacher's top token gets actively suppressed whenever\nthe student disagrees with it. That is why the reported loss goes **negative**\n(-0.03 by step 100) and why `kl_true` *rises* during training (0.17 -> 0.30 at lr 2e-5,\n-> 0.51 at 4e-5): the objective is minimized by inflating student mass away from the\nteacher, not by matching it.\n\n## 3. But \"fixing\" the loss makes it much worse (try2)\n\nReplacing the elementwise clip with the documented semantics — clip the **per-token**\ndivergence (trust region at 1.0), giving exact full-distribution gradients below the\nthreshold — did what it says: `kl_true` fell 0.17 -> 0.068, the loss stayed positive\nand decreased monotonically. Genuine distillation, and the result was **42.78**\n(-11 vs anchor, far outside noise). Generations got ~30% shorter and pass@12 *rose*\nto 80.0 while avg@12 collapsed.\n\nReading: the teacher conditions on the ground-truth solution, so it is short, direct\nand over-confident. Faithfully matching it teaches the student to stop reasoning early.\nThe clip's 96% discard is not a bug to be fixed — it is what keeps the unlearnable\n\"teacher already knows the answer\" tokens out of the gradient. The released loss\nsurvives only because it distills the *near-agreement* tokens (consistency /\nself-sharpening) and ignores the informative ones.\n\n## 4. Both extremes of teacher-agreement are bad; the optimum is a moderate perturbation\n\nOrdering runs by final `kl_true`: 0.068 -> 42.78, 0.249 -> 52.78, 0.302 -> 51.67 /\n57.78, 0.512 -> 45.56. Converging to the teacher and drifting far from it both cost\n~10 points; everything in the 0.25-0.30 band is within noise of the anchor. The paper's\nrecipe already sits inside that band, which is the honest reason the headline number is\nhard to beat within 100 steps.\n\n## 5. Real bug fixed: padding between prompt and completion (kept)\n\n`data_collator.py` right-padded prompts, so pad tokens sat **between** the prompt and\nthe on-policy completion. They are masked out of attention but still consume RoPE\npositions, so every completion token was scored at an inflated distance from its prompt\n— at positions it was never sampled at, and at a *different* offset for the student\n(short prompt) than for the teacher (prompt + solution). Switching to left padding\nkeeps prompt+completion contiguous and makes the loss a true on-policy KL. Evidence\nit was real: the step-2 loss drops from 0.0105 to 0.0054, i.e. half of the divergence\nthe paper was optimizing was position-mismatch artifact. Left padding is safe here\nbecause RoPE is relative and completions are right-padded to a fixed length after the\nreal tokens.\n", "structuredPatch": [], "originalFile": null, "userModified": false}

#99

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashMonitor try8

args

{
  "command": "sleep 560; grep -o \"{'loss'[^}]*}\" /workspace/runs/try8.log | tail -1 | cut -c1-150; tail -c 100 /workspace/runs/try8_eval.log 2>/dev/null; echo; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Monitor try8",
  "timeout": 580000
}

Bash result

{'loss': -0.0346, 'grad_norm': 0.0360695905983448, 'learning_rate': 2.061855670103093e-07, 'on_policy_loss': -0.0346, 'kl_true': 0.3235246224620595, '
 prompts:   0%|          | 0/84 [00:00<?, ?it/s, est. speed input: 0.00 toks/s, output: 0.00 toks/s]
9453

[stdout]
{'loss': -0.0346, 'grad_norm': 0.0360695905983448, 'learning_rate': 2.061855670103093e-07, 'on_policy_loss': -0.0346, 'kl_true': 0.3235246224620595, '
 prompts:   0%|          | 0/84 [00:00<?, ?it/s, est. speed input: 0.00 toks/s, output: 0.00 toks/s]
9453
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}

#100

reasoning (redacted)

encrypted chain-of-thought — recorded, not exposed

toolBashPoll try8 result

args

{
  "command": "sleep 570; python /workspace/summarize.py; cat /workspace/.timer/remaining_secs",
  "description": "Poll try8 result",
  "timeout": 590000
}

Bash result

run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360
try5                     52.78   76.67  100.00     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
8842

[stdout]
run                      avg@n  pass@n    fmt%  probs   gens
try1                     57.78   76.67   99.72     30    360
try2                     42.78   80.00   99.72     30    360
try3                     45.56   73.33   99.17     30    360
try4                     51.67   76.67   98.89     30    360
try5                     52.78   76.67  100.00     30    360

baseline anchor: 54.22 +- 1.48 (single-run 1 sigma ~1.5)
8842
[metadata] {"noOutputExpected": false}