Our review
Creates a lightweight summary of completed machine learning experiment results, capturing key metrics like training loss and evaluation accuracy.
Strengths
- Automatically extracts training loss from SLURM stdout
- Maps evaluation accuracy to specific epochs via SLURM job names
- Supports partial results and logs process
Limitations
- Requires specific file structure (experiment_summary.yaml, SLURM outputs)
- Depends on conda environment with inspect-ai
- Epoch mapping relies on naming convention in SLURM job names
After running a fine-tuning experiment to generate a concise textual summary of results.
For real-time monitoring during training or when experiment results are not yet available.
Security analysis
SafeThe skill only performs data summarization tasks using standard command-line tools and project-local Python scripts. No destructive, exfiltrating, or obfuscated actions are instructed. The use of python and grep is legitimate for parsing logs, and there is no risk of exposing secrets or disabling safety.
No concerns found
Examples
Summarize the experiment results for the current directory.Generate a summary.md for the experiment located at /path/to/experiment.Run summarize-experiment on the experiment in the current directory.name: summarize-experiment description: Create a lightweight summary of experiment results from a completed (fine-tuned and evaluated) experiment. Use after run-experiment to capture key metrics from the experiment in textual form.
Summarize Experiment
Generate a summary.md file capturing key metrics from a completed experiment. Think R's summary() for experiment results.
Your Task
Create a lightweight summary of experiment results:
- Parse run status from experiment_summary.yaml
- Extract final training loss from SLURM stdout
- Extract accuracy from inspect-ai .eval files
- Generate summary.md in experiment directory
- Log the process in logs/summarize-experiment.log
Prerequisites
- experiment_summary.yaml exists
- At least some runs have completed (partial results acceptable)
- run-experiment has been executed (or manual SLURM jobs run)
- Conda environment activated - The
parse_eval_log.pyscript requires inspect-ai. Activate the conda environment fromclaude.local.mdbefore running extraction commands.
Workflow
1. Locate Experiment
Find the experiment directory:
- If in an experiment directory (contains experiment_summary.yaml): use current directory
- Otherwise: ask user for path
2. Parse Run Status
Read experiment_summary.yaml to identify runs:
From runs: section:
name: Run identifiertype: "fine-tuned" or "control"model: Model nameparameters: Dict of hyperparameters (empty for control runs)
From evaluation.matrix: section:
run: Run nametasks: List of evaluation task namesepochs: List of epochs to evaluate (null for control runs)
Determine status by checking filesystem:
- Fine-tuning: Check for
{output_base}/ck-out-{run_name}/and SLURM outputs - Evaluation: Check for
{run_dir}/eval/logs/*.evalfiles
3. Extract Training Loss
For each COMPLETED fine-tuning run:
- Find SLURM stdout in the output directory:
- Parse experiment_summary.yaml "Output" section for
output_dir_base - Look in:
{output_dir_base}/ck-out-{run_name}/slurm-*.out - If multiple files, use most recent by modification time
- Parse experiment_summary.yaml "Output" section for
- Extract final loss using regex:
(\d+)\|(\d+)\|Loss: ([0-9.]+)- Pattern matches:
{epoch}|{step}|Loss: {value} - Take the LAST match to get final loss
- The step number (group 2) from the last match is the total training steps
- Pattern matches:
- Record: run_name, final_loss, total_steps, epoch, step
Note: Training SLURM outputs are in the output directory, NOT the run directory.
If SLURM stdout missing:
- Log warning
- Record "N/A" for loss
- Continue with other runs
4. Extract Evaluation Accuracy
For each COMPLETED evaluation:
- Find .eval files:
{run_dir}/eval/logs/*.eval - For each .eval file, run:
python tools/inspect/parse_eval_log.py {path} - Parse JSON output for accuracy
- Map to epoch using SLURM job names (see below)
- For binary tasks, also run
summary_binary.pyto get balanced accuracy and F1 - Record: run_name, task, epoch, accuracy, balanced_accuracy, f1, samples
Script output format:
{
"status": "success",
"task": "capitalization",
"accuracy": 0.85,
"samples": 100,
"scorer": "exact_match",
"model": "..."
}
Mapping Epochs via SLURM Job Names
The .eval files don't currently store epoch information directly. To reliably map each evaluation to its epoch:
- Find SLURM output files in the eval directory:
{run_dir}/eval/slurm-*.out - Extract job IDs from filenames (e.g.,
slurm-2773062.out→ job ID 2773062) - Query job names via sacct:
sacct -j {job_ids} --format=JobID,JobName%50 - Parse epoch from job name - scaffold-inspect names jobs like
eval-{task}-{run}-ep{N}:eval-general_eval-lowlr-ep0→ epoch 0eval-general_eval-lowlr-ep9→ epoch 9
- Extract accuracy from SLURM output:
grep -oP 'match/accuracy: \K[0-9.]+' slurm-{jobid}.out
Example workflow:
# Get job names for all eval jobs
sacct -j 2773062,2773063,2773065 --format=JobID,JobName%50
# Output shows epoch in job name:
# 2773062 eval-general_eval-lowlr-ep0
# 2773063 eval-general_eval-lowlr-ep1
# 2773065 eval-general_eval-lowlr-ep2
This approach is reliable because:
- Job names are set by scaffold-inspect and include epoch info
- Works regardless of submission order or timing
- Survives job failures and resubmissions
If extraction fails:
- Script returns
{"status": "error", "message": "..."} - Log the error
- Record "ERROR" for accuracy
- Continue with other evaluations
Computing Balanced Accuracy and F1 (Binary Classification)
For binary classification tasks (0/1 targets), use summary_binary.py to compute additional metrics:
python tools/inspect/summary_binary.py {path_to_eval_file} --json
JSON output format:
{
"status": "success",
"path": "/path/to/file.eval",
"samples": 100,
"accuracy": 0.85,
"balanced_accuracy": 0.83,
"f1": 0.82,
"precision_1": 0.80,
"recall_1": 0.84,
"recall_0": 0.82,
"confusion_matrix": {"tp": 42, "tn": 43, "fp": 7, "fn": 8, "other": 0}
}
Why these metrics matter for imbalanced data:
- Balanced Accuracy = (Recall_0 + Recall_1) / 2 — not inflated by majority class
- F1 Score = harmonic mean of precision and recall — penalizes class imbalance
Note: For non-binary tasks, only accuracy is reported (Bal. Acc and F1 shown as "-").
5. Generate summary.md
Create {experiment_dir}/summary.md with the following structure:
# Experiment Summary
**Experiment:** `{experiment_name}` | **Generated:** {timestamp} | **Status:** {X}/{Y} complete
## Run Status
| Run | Type | Fine-tuning | Evaluation |
|-----|------|-------------|------------|
| rank4_lr1e-5 | Fine-tuned | COMPLETED | COMPLETED |
| rank8_lr1e-5 | Fine-tuned | COMPLETED | COMPLETED |
| base_model | Control | N/A | COMPLETED |
## Training Results
| Run | Final Loss | Total Steps | Epochs | Duration |
|-----|------------|-------------|--------|----------|
| rank4_lr1e-5 | 0.234 | 250 | 2 | 8m 15s |
| rank8_lr1e-5 | 0.198 | 250 | 2 | 9m 02s |
**Notes:**
- Base model runs have no training loss (control)
- Duration from SLURM elapsed time (if available)
## Evaluation Results
| Run | Task | Epoch | Accuracy | Bal. Acc | F1 | Samples |
|-----|------|-------|----------|----------|------|---------|
| rank4_lr1e-5 | capitalization | 0 | 0.85 | 0.83 | 0.82 | 100 |
| rank4_lr1e-5 | capitalization | 1 | 0.88 | 0.86 | 0.85 | 100 |
| rank8_lr1e-5 | capitalization | 0 | 0.82 | 0.80 | 0.78 | 100 |
| rank8_lr1e-5 | capitalization | 1 | 0.91 | 0.89 | 0.88 | 100 |
| base_model | capitalization | - | 0.45 | 0.50 | 0.31 | 100 |
**Best performing:** rank8_lr1e-5 (epoch 1) with 89% balanced accuracy
## Incomplete Runs
| Run | Stage | Status | Notes |
|-----|-------|--------|-------|
| rank16_lr1e-5 | Fine-tuning | FAILED | Check slurm-12345.out |
## Next Steps
1. View detailed evaluation results: `inspect view --port=$(get_free_port)`
2. Export raw data: `inspect log export {run_dir}/eval/logs/*.eval --format csv`
3. Full analysis: `analyze-experiment` (when available)
---
*Generated by summarize-experiment skill*
6. Create Log
Document the process in {experiment_dir}/logs/summarize-experiment.log.
See logging.md for action types and format.
Error Handling
If SLURM stdout missing
- Log warning with action type
EXTRACT_LOSS - Record "N/A" for loss in summary
- Continue with other runs
If .eval file cannot be parsed
- Log error with file path
- Record "ERROR" for accuracy in summary
- Continue with other evaluations
If all runs failed
- Generate summary noting all failures
- Include failure states in "Incomplete Runs" section
- Suggest troubleshooting steps
If partial results
- Generate summary with available data
- Clearly indicate which runs are missing in "Incomplete Runs" section
- Still identify best performing run from available data
Idempotency
Running summarize-experiment multiple times overwrites summary.md. This is intentional:
- Allows re-running after fixing failed runs
- Summary always reflects current state
Output Files
{experiment_dir}/
├── summary.md # Human-readable summary (new)
└── logs/
└── summarize-experiment.log # Process log (new)
Relationship to Other Skills
- After: run-experiment (or manual execution)
- Before: analyze-experiment (when available)
- Optional hook: run-experiment can invoke this at completion
Future Compatibility
When analyze-experiment is built, summarize-experiment can either:
- Remain as a quick summary option (text only, no plots)
- Be deprecated in favor of richer output
- Become a first stage that analyze-experiment builds upon
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