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fix(server): align mapped BERT weights before Apple CPU inference - #792

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codex/issue-776-cpu-alignment
Oct 18, 2026
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codex/issue-776-cpu-alignment

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@svonava svonava commented Oct 18, 2026 •

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Older safetensors files can expose float32 BERT weights at addresses that are not four-byte aligned. On Darwin arm64 CPU, the pinned MiniLM checkpoint can then produce nonfinite or incorrect linear outputs despite identical cloned weights producing correct results (#776).

Normalize affected standard, unquantized BERT storage once during CrossEncoder loading, before model publication or explicit LoRA snapshot binding. Preserve Parameter identity, tensor values/layout and existing activation semantics; reject distinct overlapping storage aliases and preflight every allocation before mutation. Aligned storage remains unchanged. The correction is invoked only on Darwin arm64 CPU, and scoring methods are unchanged.

Validation: 143 affected alignment/revision/tokenizer controls passed at production head 72c0b554, following the broader 191-case adapter validation and independent source review. Coverage includes 28 fixed shape/offset numerical cases, same-object ties, distinct/empty/cross-dtype aliases, failed allocation and weakref release, actual tiny unpadded-checkpoint scoring/reload, off-platform guards and post-normalization LoRA binding. Ruff and production type checks pass.

The exact cached public MiniLM checkpoint also passed two actual SIE load/unload cycles and ten SDK calls (forty scores) on 72c0b554. Raw logits and SDK outputs matched an independently aligned reference exactly, within the unchanged atol=1e-4, rtol=0 gate. All tracked model references were released, cached bytes were unchanged, and owned process cleanup was verified. Independent terminal audit passed. This is a numerical/lifecycle proof; it does not claim throughput equivalence or support for other model families. The first probe's SDK-constructor setup failure and all subsequent source mappings remain retained in the linked evidence.

Audited production evidence, artifact hashes and retained-attempt record.

The latest a3c2e09b commit changes only the simulated accelerator test cleanup after Linux CI exposed a real MPS cache call in the fixture. Production/helper/base/SDK/lock bytes remain identical to the audited 72c0b554 source. All 66 focused checks and 9 independent fixture controls pass. CI failure, test-only correction and explicit proof mapping. Fresh exact-head CI and CodeRabbit review remain required.

Fixes #776.

Summary by CodeRabbit

  • Bug Fixes
    • Improved cross-encoder model loading on Apple silicon when using the CPU, helping prevent alignment-related loading issues.
    • Added safeguards to avoid changing models with unsupported storage layouts. Other platforms and devices are unaffected.

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No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

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  • packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py

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📝 Walkthrough

On Darwin arm64 CPU loads, the cross-encoder adapter normalizes eligible BERT CPU storage before publishing the model. The normalization validates tensor layout and storage overlap, checks cloned replacements, and restores original storage if replacement fails. Tests cover normalization and loading behavior.

Changes: CPU alignment and cross-encoder loading

Layer / File(s) Summary
CPU storage normalization
packages/sie_server/src/sie_server/adapters/cross_encoder/_cpu_alignment.py, packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py
Adds guarded storage normalization for eligible BERT tensors. Tests cover alignment, numerical results, tensor identity, storage aliases, unsupported layouts, and unsupported models.
Load gating and model publication
packages/sie_server/src/sie_server/adapters/cross_encoder/__init__.py, packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py
On Darwin arm64 CPU loads, the adapter normalizes the inner model before publishing it. Tests cover platform gating, failure cleanup, repeated loading and scoring, and LoRA binding.

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant Adapter as CrossEncoderAdapter
  participant Loader as CrossEncoder
  participant Normalizer as normalize_bert_cpu_storage
  Adapter->>Loader: construct model
  Adapter->>Normalizer: normalize on Darwin arm64 CPU
  Normalizer-->>Adapter: return after normalization
  Adapter->>Adapter: apply maximum length and publish model
Loading

Suggested reviewers: krisztian-gajdar

Priority: ➖ Normal

Severity of issue fixed: Medium

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to a3c2e

The change aligns affected Darwin arm64 CPU weights before model publication to address nonfinite inference. No concrete merge risk introduced by this change remains; proceed after ordinary CI checks.

Pre-merge checks: Passed 3 · Failed 2

Failed Failed checks: 2 warnings

Check name Status Explanation Resolution
Linked Issues check Warning Issue [#776] requires three coding outcomes: investigate the loading/kernel boundary, add a regression at the appropriate layer, and qualify the failure across supported CPU stacks. The PR implements … Add and retain numerical qualification results for the supported CPU stacks required by [#776], or revise the directly linked issue to define a narrower supported-stack requirement. Keep the tested hardware, model, revision, and remaining u…
Docstring Coverage Warning Docstring coverage is 12.50% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 32 functions across 3 files. Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.
Passed Passed checks: 3 passed
Check name Status Explanation
Out of Scope Changes check Passed The production changes address [#776] at the CrossEncoder load boundary. The helper preserves tensor identity and layout, rejects unsafe aliases, preflights copies, and runs only for Darwin arm64 CPU …
Description Check Passed Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check Passed The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: aligning mapped BERT weights before Apple CPU inference.
Full details: Out of Scope Changes check

Explanation

The production changes address [#776] at the CrossEncoder load boundary. The helper preserves tensor identity and layout, rejects unsafe aliases, preflights copies, and runs only for Darwin arm64 CPU loads. The added tests cover these behaviors and the related publication, scoring, reload, cleanup, and LoRA-order cases. No unrelated change is demonstrated.

Full details: Linked Issues check

Explanation

Issue [#776] requires three coding outcomes: investigate the loading/kernel boundary, add a regression at the appropriate layer, and qualify the failure across supported CPU stacks. The PR implements the load-time boundary in CrossEncoderAdapter.load and adds focused alignment, alias, failure, scoring, reload, and LoRA-order tests. The PR also reports qualification for the pinned MiniLM checkpoint on Darwin arm64 CPU. However, the PR explicitly limits qualification to Darwin arm64 CPU and does not provide numerical qualification across the supported CPU stacks required by [#776].

Resolution

Add and retain numerical qualification results for the supported CPU stacks required by [#776], or revise the directly linked issue to define a narrower supported-stack requirement. Keep the tested hardware, model, revision, and remaining unsupported scope explicit.

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@svonava

svonava commented Oct 18, 2026

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@coderabbitai review Please review exact head 9af3cae, including the Darwin arm64 CPU load-time boundary, alias preflight, failure cleanup and preservation of the scoring path. The pinned-checkpoint qualification is still pending and the PR remains draft.

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@svonava I’ll request a review of head 9af3cae4e663021792c3310d65518184f5eedaef, with focus on:

  • The Darwin arm64 CPU load-time boundary.
  • Alias preflight before mutation.
  • Failure cleanup.
  • Preservation of the scoring path.

The pinned-checkpoint qualification remains pending. This review does not replace that qualification. The PR remains draft.

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svonava commented Oct 18, 2026

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@coderabbitai review Please review current exact head 1fd88f3. The only change after the previous request is Ruff formatting in the new test; production is unchanged. Independent source and qualification preflight reviews have passed. The one offline pinned-checkpoint CPU qualification is now running. Please inspect the Darwin arm64 CPU load-time guard, alias handling, failure cleanup, and preservation of scoring behavior.

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@svonava I’ll request a review of current head 1fd88f3242f25edc734889ea15b51d899fbc4122, focused on:

  • The Darwin arm64 CPU load-time guard.
  • Alias handling and preflight before mutation.
  • Failure cleanup.
  • Preservation of scoring behavior.

The offline pinned-checkpoint CPU qualification is running. This review does not replace that qualification. The PR remains draft.

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Actionable comments posted: 1

🧹 Nitpick comments: 1
packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py: 1

345-349: 🎯 Functional Correctness | 🔵 Trivial | ⚡ Quick win

Check that the real checkpoint loads unaligned weights before you test the fix.

write_unpadded_checkpoint only shifts the data region of the file. The test never checks that the loader hands mmap-backed, unaligned weights to normalize_bert_cpu_storage. Suppose the installed transformers (>=4.57,<6) or safetensors copies the weights during loading. The check at Line 349 then passes without running the normalization. In that case this test, and the LoRA test at Line 360, would not cover issue #776.

Add one load with the platform guard switched off. Assert that at least one parameter has data_ptr() % 4 != 0.

🧪 Proposed precondition check
     adapter = cross_encoder.CrossEncoderAdapter(tmp_path, max_length=32)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cross_encoder.sys, "platform", "linux")
+    adapter.load("cpu")
+    assert any(p.data_ptr() % 4 for p in adapter._model.model.parameters()), "checkpoint did not produce unaligned weights"
+    adapter.unload()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cross_encoder.sys, "platform", "darwin")
     for _ in range(2):
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Review comment at
@packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py around
lines 345 - 349:
Update the CPU alignment test around CrossEncoderAdapter.load to verify its real
checkpoint produces at least one unaligned parameter when the platform guard is
disabled, then unload and restore the platform guard before testing
normalization. Ensure the precondition fails if loading has already copied the
weights into aligned storage.

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only still-valid issues, skip the rest with a brief reason, keep changes
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Inline comments:
Review comments at
@packages/sie_server/src/sie_server/adapters/cross_encoder/__init__.py:
- Line 140: Move the normalize_bert_cpu_storage import from load to module scope
in the cross_encoder module, since _cpu_alignment is a required dependency and
does not create a cycle. Update
test_off_platform_load_does_not_import_or_invoke_alignment to patch
cross_encoder.normalize_bert_cpu_storage with a function that raises, preserving
the check that off-platform loads do not invoke alignment.

---

Nitpick comments:
Review comments at
@packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py:
- Around line 345-349: Update the CPU alignment test around
CrossEncoderAdapter.load to verify its real checkpoint produces at least one
unaligned parameter when the platform guard is disabled, then unload and restore
the platform guard before testing normalization. Ensure the precondition fails
if loading has already copied the weights into aligned storage.

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  • packages/sie_server/src/sie_server/adapters/cross_encoder/__init__.py
  • packages/sie_server/src/sie_server/adapters/cross_encoder/_cpu_alignment.py
  • packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py

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Comment thread packages/sie_server/src/sie_server/adapters/cross_encoder/__init__.py Outdated
@svonava

svonava commented Oct 18, 2026

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The bounded cached-checkpoint proof and independent terminal audit passed on 1fd88f3.

On Darwin arm64 CPU, the exact public cross-encoder/ms-marco-MiniLM-L-6-v2 revision c5ee24cb16019beea0893ab7796b1df96625c6b8 completed two actual SIE load/unload cycles. Ten SDK calls (one sequential and four concurrent per cycle) produced exactly ten HTTP 200 responses and forty finite scores. Both raw logits and every SDK score matched an independently instantiated BERT loaded with aligned copies of the same checkpoint exactly. The fixed acceptance tolerance was atol=1e-4, rtol=0; no tolerance was changed after execution.

Each load corrected 105 float32 tensors / 90,854,404 bytes before publication. Parameter objects, tensor bytes, shapes, strides, offsets and grad flags were preserved. Classifier/Identity activation behavior matched the reference. All six tracked outer/model/parameter weakrefs were released after unload, and cached files were unchanged. The owned process exited successfully, was reaped, and its process group was absent.

The first attempt is retained as an incomplete harness setup failure: its HTTPX client omitted base_url, which the SDK constructor rejected before any HTTP request. A model-free constructor negative/positive control verified the one-line correction before the separately reviewed replacement attempt. Production source, inputs, checkpoint, stack, numerical limits and process bounds were unchanged.

{
  "commit": "1fd88f3242f25edc734889ea15b51d899fbc4122",
  "checkpoint_sha256": "821d1aa69520101d6e0737f78a042ae25b19e5cb9160701909d10434f4aeb0ae",
  "stack": {"torch": "2.9.1", "transformers": "4.57.6", "sentence-transformers": "5.4.1", "safetensors": "0.7.0", "numpy": "2.4.4"},
  "loads": 2,
  "sdk_calls": 10,
  "http_200_responses": 10,
  "score_values": 40,
  "reference_scores": [3.894163131713867, -11.230953216552734, -10.699657440185547, -9.41090202331543],
  "max_raw_reference_delta": 0.0,
  "max_sdk_reference_delta": 0.0,
  "max_previous_finite_oracle_delta": 9.5367431640625e-7,
  "copy_bytes_each_load": 90854404,
  "released_weakrefs": 6,
  "cache_unchanged": true,
  "reaped_and_group_absent": true,
  "result_sha256": "314652434b7ca03e60923aec9fae4d112aa6076554af027c0470dc9a18c2698a",
  "terminal_sha256": "a0c9fd779186bcb7469a562f2f346b1bfdfdc25c9cedf6fb46fb51fbdb3d175b",
  "independent_audit_sha256": "6a70da5f6d0d4f777203ab272b9e5791f61b152cd049d62ea8818b9c8efd786e",
  "failed_first_terminal_sha256": "88ad8413eecd1408d3fa9571aec41c10fea02ab917ee93e721c0a783ca96d707"
}

The committed regression controls are reproducible from this PR checkout with:

mise run test -- packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py

Those 57 controls include the fixed 28 shape/offset numerical cases, distinct/empty/cross-dtype storage aliases, allocation failure and reference release, actual tiny unpadded-checkpoint scoring/reload, off-platform guards and explicit LoRA snapshot ordering. The separate pretrained proof above is a local offline numerical/lifecycle check, not a throughput or general-model guarantee. Concurrent SDK scores were compared using the predeclared cross-shape tolerance; actual batch shapes were not observed. The recorded 972,849,152-byte peak RSS covers the whole process, including reference construction and diagnostic copies, and is not incremental correction overhead.

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svonava commented Oct 18, 2026

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Please re-review exact head 72c0b554566af5970425311f77e75746759f6288. The requested helper import now resides at module scope; the Darwin arm64 CPU invocation guard and all scoring methods are unchanged. The actual tiny unpadded-checkpoint test asserts that both loads reach normalization with unaligned parameters before invoking the correction, without forwarding those unsafe tensors.

The 143 affected alignment/revision/tokenizer controls, Ruff and production type checks pass. The prior audited pretrained result remains explicitly tied to 1fd88f32; the caller-bound observer is undergoing independent preflight for the already-authorized same-input bounded check at this new head. The PR remains draft until that final proof is reviewed.

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@svonava

svonava commented Oct 18, 2026

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Final functional evidence for 72c0b55 is complete and independently audited. The CodeRabbit import-placement and tiny-checkpoint precondition findings are addressed; CodeRabbit approved this exact head in review 5560881100.

The updated probe follows the caller's module-scope helper binding. Its workload, pinned checkpoint/stack, atol=1e-4, rtol=0 tolerance, two load cycles, ten SDK calls, and 180-second process / shared 10-second cleanup bounds are unchanged from the retained earlier proof. No further inference runs are planned.

Final check Result
Actual SDK calls / HTTP 200 responses / score values 10 / 10 / 40
Maximum SDK or raw-logit difference from independent aligned reference 0
Difference from prior finite CPU oracle 9.5367431640625e-7
Corrected float32 tensors / bytes per load 105 / 90,854,404
Parameter identity, values, layout and grad flags Preserved
Outer/model/parameter weakrefs after two unloads All six released
Source and cached checkpoint files Unchanged
Owned child process / process group Reaped / absent
{
  "commit": "72c0b554566af5970425311f77e75746759f6288",
  "model": "cross-encoder/ms-marco-MiniLM-L-6-v2",
  "revision": "c5ee24cb16019beea0893ab7796b1df96625c6b8",
  "checkpoint_sha256": "821d1aa69520101d6e0737f78a042ae25b19e5cb9160701909d10434f4aeb0ae",
  "stack": {"torch": "2.9.1", "transformers": "4.57.6", "sentence-transformers": "5.4.1", "safetensors": "0.7.0", "numpy": "2.4.4"},
  "reference_scores": [3.894163131713867, -11.230953216552734, -10.699657440185547, -9.41090202331543],
  "result_sha256": "e2362a3acbbaca62e1f8bed49e44498c51199bbc2636477f686058a742d29846",
  "terminal_sha256": "dbf1d3a5475c0774be12b88005a3cc38d0f479357a7009ed529b7ed7d57fbcd5",
  "independent_audit_sha256": "f0936ba1f47c3b690a2c2d6eb2bdbe43c3cb2cf34e0cd7c800132260431d27d2",
  "qualification_freeze_sha256": "e30f522f5b7a8af3ae9d2fdcad81fa2e8cbfa17ed22ff9c70a21eeabab72df67"
}

The final head passes 143 affected alignment/revision/tokenizer controls, plus nine independent delta controls; prior broader adapter and alias controls remain mapped to the unchanged helper. Ruff and production type checks pass. The 57 committed alignment controls can be replayed with mise run test -- packages/sie_server/tests/adapters/test_cross_encoder_cpu_alignment.py.

The first probe's missing-HTTPX-base-URL setup failure and the earlier successful source proof are preserved separately. This remains a Darwin arm64 CPU numerical/lifecycle check for the named checkpoint, with no throughput claim. Concurrent results use the fixed cross-shape tolerance; batch shapes were not observed. The 973,455,360-byte peak RSS is whole-process memory including the independent reference and diagnostics, not incremental normalization overhead.

@svonava
svonava marked this pull request as ready for review October 18, 2026 01:06
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svonava requested a review from a team as a code owner October 18, 2026 01:06
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svonava commented Oct 18, 2026

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Fixed the Linux-only fixture failure in a3c2e09bde7c5115fb2ea65139defb4d4dd52b9b. The test simulated an MPS model but called the real torch.mps.empty_cache() during unload on a runner without MPS. The fixture now stubs CUDA/MPS cache cleanup and asserts the expected call and model release. Its assertion that off-platform loading must never invoke alignment remains active.

Validation: all 66 focused checks passed, including the original failure reproduction, four unavailable-backend cases and four forced-alignment negative controls. Nine independent controls also passed; Ruff check and format are clean. Failed CI run 39084961525 is preserved: 1 failure, 15,868 passed, 590 skipped and 326 deselected.

This commit changes only six test lines. Production, alignment helper, base adapter, SDK and lock bytes are identical to 72c0b554566af5970425311f77e75746759f6288. The audited cached-checkpoint proof was executed on that earlier head and applies here through this exact source mapping; no new inference was performed. Mapping SHA256: 6d28992cc794b7f8dff21223a5cceb4dbfe7d24b308fd38062ff8c38e54c6fc7; independent fixture-review SHA256: 1f3f0034ff2326489d1434a685790e005d13a65459233e7b7b227e0692b0d137.

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Please review exact head a3c2e09bde7c5115fb2ea65139defb4d4dd52b9b, including the test portability correction. Full CI must pass before merge.

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@svonava
svonava merged commit eebce1d into main Oct 18, 2026
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@svonava
svonava deleted the codex/issue-776-cpu-alignment branch October 18, 2026 01:59
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bug: MiniLM CPU inference produces nonfinite output from mapped safetensors on macOS arm64

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