JAX allows you to write optimisers and samplers which are really fast if you use the scan or fori_loop functions. However if you write them in this way it’s not obvious how to add progress bar for your algorithm. This post explains how to make a progress bar using Python’s print function as well as using tqdm. After briefly setting up the sampler, we first go over how to create a basic version using Python’s print function, and then show how to create a nicer version using tqdm. You can find the code for the basic version here and the code for the tqdm version here.

Update January 2023: this is now available in a pip-installable package: JAX-tqdm

# Setup: sampling a Gaussian

We’ll use an Unadjusted Langevin Algorithm (ULA) to sample from a Gaussian to illustrate how to write the progress bar. Let’s start by defining the log-posterior of a d-dimensional Gaussian and we’ll use JAX to get it’s gradient:

@jit
def log_posterior(x):
return -0.5*jnp.dot(x,x)

We now define ULA using the scan function (see this post for an explanation of the scan function).

@partial(jit, static_argnums=(2,))
key, subkey = random.split(key)
noise_term  = jnp.sqrt(2*dt)*random.normal(key=subkey, shape=(param.shape))
param = param + dt*paramGrad + noise_term
return key, param

@partial(jit, static_argnums=(1,2,))
def ula_sampler(key, grad_log_post, num_samples, dt, x_0):

def ula_step(carry, iter_num):
key, param = carry
key, param = ula_kernel(key, param, grad_log_post, dt)
return (key, param), param

carry = (key, x_0)
_, samples = lax.scan(ula_step, carry, jnp.arange(num_samples))
return samples

If we add a print function in ula_step above, it will only be called the first time it is called, which is when ula_sampler is compiled. This is because printing is a side effect, and compiled JAX functions are pure.

# Basic progress bar

As a workaround, the JAX team has added the host_callback module (which is still experimental, so things may change). This module defines functions that allow you to call Python functions from within a JAX function. Here’s how you would use the id_tap function to create a progress bar (from this discussion):

from jax.experimental import host_callback

def _print_consumer(arg, transform):
iter_num, num_samples = arg
print(f"Iteration {iter_num:,} / {num_samples:,}")

@jit
def progress_bar(arg, result):
"""
Print progress of a scan/loop only if the iteration number is a multiple of the print_rate

Usage: carry = progress_bar((iter_num + 1, num_samples, print_rate), carry)
Pass in iter_num + 1 so that counting starts at 1 and ends at num_samples

"""
iter_num, num_samples, print_rate = arg
result = lax.cond(
iter_num % print_rate==0,
lambda _: host_callback.id_tap(_print_consumer, (iter_num, num_samples), result=result),
lambda _: result,
operand=None)
return result

The id_tap function behaves like the identity function, so calling host_callback.id_tap(_print_consumer, (iter_num, num_samples), result=result) will simply return result. However while doing this, it will also call the function _print_consumer((iter_num, num_samples)) which we’ve defined to print the iteration number.

You need to pass an argument in this way because you need to include a data dependency to make sure that the print function gets called at the correct time. This is linked to the fact that computations in JAX are run only when needed. So you need to pass in a variable that changes throughout the algorithm such as the PRNG key at that iteration.

Also note also that the _print_consumer function takes in arg (which holds the current iteration number as well as the total number of iterations) and transform. This transform argument isn’t used here, but apparently should be included in the consumer for id_tap (namely: the Python function that gets called).

Here’s how you would use the progress bar in the ULA sampler:

def ula_step(carry, iter_num):
key, param = carry
key = progress_bar((iter_num + 1, num_samples, print_rate), key)
key, param = ula_kernel(key, param, grad_log_post, dt)
return (key, param), param

We passed the key into the progress bar which comes out unchanged. We also set the print rate to be 10% of the number of samples. Note that this would also work for lax.fori_loop except that the first argument of ula_step would be the current iteration number.

### Put it in a decorator

We can make this even easier to use by putting the progress bar in a decorator. Note that the decorator takes in num_samples as an argument.

def progress_bar_scan(num_samples):
def _progress_bar_scan(func):
print_rate = int(num_samples/10)
def wrapper_progress_bar(carry, iter_num):
iter_num = progress_bar((iter_num + 1, num_samples, print_rate), iter_num)
return func(carry, iter_num)
return wrapper_progress_bar
return _progress_bar_scan

Remember that writing a decorator with arguments means writing a function that returns a decorator (which itself is a function that returns a modified version of the main function you care about). See this StackOverflow question about this.

Putting it all together, the result is very easy to use:

@partial(jit, static_argnums=(1,2,3))
def ula_sampler_pbar(key, grad_log_post, num_samples, dt, x_0):
"ULA sampler with progress bar"

@progress_bar_scan(num_samples)
def ula_step(carry, iter_num):
key, param = carry
key, param = ula_kernel(key, param, grad_log_post, dt)
return (key, param), param

carry = (key, x_0)
_, samples = lax.scan(ula_step, carry, jnp.arange(num_samples))
return samples

Now that we have a progress bar, we might also want to know when the function is compiling (which is especially useful when it takes a while to compile). Here we can use the fact that the print function only gets called during compilation. We can add print("Compiling..") at the beginning of ula_sampler_pbar and add print("Running:") at the end. Both of these will then only display when the function is first run. You can find the code for this sampler here.

# tqdm progress bar

We’ll now use the same ideas to build a fancier progress bar: namely one that uses tqdm. We’ll need to use host_callback.id_tap to define a tqdm progress bar and then call tqdm.update regularly to update it. We’ll also need to close the progress bar once we’re finished or else tqdm will act weirdly. To do with we’ll define a decorator that takes in arguments just like we did in the case of the simple progress bar.

This decorator defines the tqdm progress bar at the first iteration, updates it every print_rate number of iterations, and finally closes it at the end. You can optionally pass in a message to add at the beginning of the progress bar.

There are details to make sure the progress bar acts correctly in corner cases, such as if num_samples is less than 20, or if it’s not a multiple of 20. Note also that tqdm is closed at the last iteration only after the parameter update is done.

def progress_bar_scan(num_samples, message=None):
"Progress bar for a JAX scan"
if message is None:
message = f"Running for {num_samples:,} iterations"
tqdm_bars = {}

if num_samples > 20:
print_rate = int(num_samples / 20)
else:
print_rate = 1 # if you run the sampler for less than 20 iterations
remainder = num_samples % print_rate

def _define_tqdm(arg, transform):
tqdm_bars[0] = tqdm(range(num_samples))
tqdm_bars[0].set_description(message, refresh=False)

def _update_tqdm(arg, transform):
tqdm_bars[0].update(arg)

def _update_progress_bar(iter_num):
"Updates tqdm progress bar of a JAX scan or loop"
_ = lax.cond(
iter_num == 0,
lambda _: host_callback.id_tap(_define_tqdm, None, result=iter_num),
lambda _: iter_num,
operand=None,
)

_ = lax.cond(
# update tqdm every multiple of print_rate except at the end
(iter_num % print_rate == 0) & (iter_num != num_samples-remainder),
lambda _: host_callback.id_tap(_update_tqdm, print_rate, result=iter_num),
lambda _: iter_num,
operand=None,
)

_ = lax.cond(
# update tqdm by remainder
iter_num == num_samples-remainder,
lambda _: host_callback.id_tap(_update_tqdm, remainder, result=iter_num),
lambda _: iter_num,
operand=None,
)

def _close_tqdm(arg, transform):
tqdm_bars[0].close()

def close_tqdm(result, iter_num):
return lax.cond(
iter_num == num_samples-1,
lambda _: host_callback.id_tap(_close_tqdm, None, result=result),
lambda _: result,
operand=None,
)

def _progress_bar_scan(func):
"""Decorator that adds a progress bar to body_fun used in lax.scan.
Note that body_fun must either be looping over np.arange(num_samples),
or be looping over a tuple who's first element is np.arange(num_samples)
This means that iter_num is the current iteration number
"""

def wrapper_progress_bar(carry, x):
if type(x) is tuple:
iter_num, *_ = x
else:
iter_num = x
_update_progress_bar(iter_num)
result = func(carry, x)
return close_tqdm(result, iter_num)

return wrapper_progress_bar

return _progress_bar_scan

Although this progress bar is more complicated than the previous one, you use it in exactly the same way. You simply add the decorator to the step function used in lax.scan with the number of samples as argument (and optionally the messsage to print at the beginning of the progress bar).

@partial(jit, static_argnums=(1,2))
def ula_sampler_pbar(key, grad_log_post, num_samples, dt, x_0):
"ULA sampler with progress bar"

@progress_bar_scan(num_samples)
def ula_step(carry, iter_num):
key, param = carry
key, param = ula_kernel(key, param, grad_log_post, dt)
return (key, param), param

carry = (key, x_0)
_, samples = lax.scan(ula_step, carry, jnp.arange(num_samples))
return samples

### Conclusion

So we’ve built two progress bars: a basic version and a nicer version that uses tqdm. The code for these are on these two gists: here and here.