SwanLab Skill
SwanLab is an AI training experiment tracking platform. This skill covers two usage patterns:
- Writing tracking code — use the Python SDK (
swanlab.init,swanlab.log,swanlab.finish, media helpers) - Reading experiment data — use the
swanlab apiCLI to query metrics, logs, summaries, media, etc.
Reference Routing
| If the user wants to... | Read this reference |
|---|---|
| Write tracking code (init/log/finish/media) | references/SDK_QUICKSTART.md |
| Query data via CLI (metrics/summary/logs/filter/etc.) | references/CLI_REFERENCE.md |
| Understand data model / terminology / filter syntax | references/SWANLAB_CONCEPTS.md |
| Plot metrics or compare experiments visually | See Scripts below |
Run Modes
swanlab.init(mode=...) controls where data goes:
| Mode | Local Storage | Cloud Upload | Use Case |
|------|--------------|-------------|----------|
| online | Yes (protobuf) | Yes (Transport → HTTP) | Normal cloud usage. Requires login. |
| local | Yes (protobuf) | No | Air-gapped / no account needed. |
| offline | Yes (protobuf) | No (syncable later via swanlab sync) | Save locally, upload to cloud later. |
| disabled | No | No | Completely disable all logging. |
Default is online if logged in, otherwise the user is prompted interactively (or falls back to offline).
Scripts
Two helper scripts are available for visualizing experiment data:
scripts/plot_metrics.py — Single Experiment Line Chart
Trigger when the user wants to visualize scalar metrics from one experiment (e.g. "plot my loss curve", "show training metrics chart").
python scripts/plot_metrics.py username/project_name/run_id --keys loss,acc
python scripts/plot_metrics.py user/proj/run1 -k loss -o loss_chart.png -s 500
python scripts/plot_metrics.py --data metrics.json -k loss,acc -o chart.png # from saved JSON
scripts/runs_benchmark.py — Cross-Experiment Comparison
Trigger when the user wants to compare the same metric across multiple experiments (e.g. "compare loss across runs", "benchmark these experiments").
python scripts/runs_benchmark.py user/proj/run1 user/proj/run2 user/proj/run3 -k loss
python scripts/runs_benchmark.py user/proj/run1 user/proj/run2 -k loss --direction lower
python scripts/runs_benchmark.py user/proj/run1 user/proj/run2 -k loss,acc --normalize
python scripts/runs_benchmark.py --data benchmark_data.json -k loss # from saved JSON
Both scripts require swanlab login (or --api-key / --host flags).
Path Convention
CLI commands use username/project_name (project) or username/project_name/run_id (experiment). See SWANLAB_CONCEPTS.md > Path Convention for details.
Quick Disambiguation
| User says... | They probably mean... | Route |
|---|---|---|
| "track my training" / "log metrics" | Write tracking code | SDK_QUICKSTART.md |
| "log images/audio/text" | Log media data | SDK_QUICKSTART.md |
| "my loss curve" / "experiment metrics" | Query scalar data | CLI_REFERENCE.md > run metrics |
| "filter experiments" | Query by conditions | CLI_REFERENCE.md > run filter |
| "my experiments" / "list runs" | List experiments | CLI_REFERENCE.md > run list |
| "compare runs visually" | Cross-experiment chart | scripts/runs_benchmark.py |
| "plot metric chart" | Single-experiment chart | scripts/plot_metrics.py |
| "experiment config" | Hyperparameters | CLI_REFERENCE.md > run info |
| "console output" | Captured logs | CLI_REFERENCE.md > run logs |
| "what columns are tracked" | Metric definitions | CLI_REFERENCE.md > run columns |
| "check connectivity" / "can I reach swanlab" | Environment check | swanlab ping |
| "check login status" / "am I logged in" | Verify credentials | swanlab verify |
Environment Connectivity
Before writing tracking code or running CLI queries, especially in online mode, run these two checks to confirm the environment is ready:
1. swanlab ping — Test network reachability
The fastest way to diagnose connectivity issues. Run it first when a user reports upload failures, login problems, or unknown mode fallbacks.
swanlab ping
# Reports: API host, web host, latency, and login status.
# If ping fails, check SWANLAB_API_HOST / network proxy / firewall settings.
2. swanlab verify — Validate login credentials
After confirming the server is reachable, use swanlab verify to check that stored credentials are valid and have not expired. This reads the API key and host from the local .netrc file (created by swanlab login).
swanlab verify
# Validates stored API key against the server.
# Reports: which host (default https://swanlab.cn) and the logged-in username.
# Fails if: not logged in, API key is invalid, or key has expired.
swanlab verify --local
# Check local login status (.swanlab in current directory) instead of the global one.
Recommended pre-flight sequence:
swanlab ping→ confirm the server is reachableswanlab verify→ confirm credentials are valid- Proceed with
swanlab apiqueries or SDK code
Behavioral Constraints
See CLI_REFERENCE.md > Behavioral Constraints for the full list. Key rules:
- Use
--allonly when the user explicitly asks for it (e.g. "fetch all", "get everything", "complete list"). For paginated list commands, always use default pagination (--page_num/--page_size). - Always ask for specific column keys before running
run metrics,run medias, orrun column. If the user doesn't know the key names, first runrun columns PATHto discover them. - Always persist large metric data to file via
--save, then visualize withscripts/plot_metrics.py --data file.jsonor userun summaryfor aggregate stats.
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