Agent skill
tensorboard
Visualize training metrics, debug models with histograms, compare experiments, visualize model graphs, and profile performance with TensorBoard - Google's ML visualization toolkit
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/foryourhealth111-pixel/Vibe-Skills/tree/main/bundled/skills/tensorboard
SKILL.md
TensorBoard: Visualization Toolkit for ML
When to Use This Skill
Use TensorBoard when you need to:
- Visualize training metrics like loss and accuracy over time
- Debug models with histograms and distributions
- Compare experiments across multiple runs
- Visualize model graphs and architecture
- Project embeddings to lower dimensions (t-SNE, PCA)
- Track hyperparameter experiments
- Profile performance and identify bottlenecks
- Visualize images and text during training
Users: 20M+ downloads/year | GitHub Stars: 27k+ | License: Apache 2.0
Installation
# Install TensorBoard
pip install tensorboard
# PyTorch integration
pip install torch torchvision tensorboard
# TensorFlow integration (TensorBoard included)
pip install tensorflow
# Launch TensorBoard
tensorboard --logdir=runs
# Access at http://localhost:6006
Quick Start
PyTorch
from torch.utils.tensorboard import SummaryWriter
# Create writer
writer = SummaryWriter('runs/experiment_1')
# Training loop
for epoch in range(10):
train_loss = train_epoch()
val_acc = validate()
# Log metrics
writer.add_scalar('Loss/train', train_loss, epoch)
writer.add_scalar('Accuracy/val', val_acc, epoch)
# Close writer
writer.close()
# Launch: tensorboard --logdir=runs
TensorFlow/Keras
import tensorflow as tf
# Create callback
tensorboard_callback = tf.keras.callbacks.TensorBoard(
log_dir='logs/fit',
histogram_freq=1
)
# Train model
model.fit(
x_train, y_train,
epochs=10,
validation_data=(x_val, y_val),
callbacks=[tensorboard_callback]
)
# Launch: tensorboard --logdir=logs
Core Concepts
1. SummaryWriter (PyTorch)
from torch.utils.tensorboard import SummaryWriter
# Default directory: runs/CURRENT_DATETIME
writer = SummaryWriter()
# Custom directory
writer = SummaryWriter('runs/experiment_1')
# Custom comment (appended to default directory)
writer = SummaryWriter(comment='baseline')
# Log data
writer.add_scalar('Loss/train', 0.5, step=0)
writer.add_scalar('Loss/train', 0.3, step=1)
# Flush and close
writer.flush()
writer.close()
2. Logging Scalars
# PyTorch
from torch.utils.tensorboard import SummaryWriter
writer = SummaryWriter()
for epoch in range(100):
train_loss = train()
val_loss = validate()
# Log individual metrics
writer.add_scalar('Loss/train', train_loss, epoch)
writer.add_scalar('Loss/val', val_loss, epoch)
writer.add_scalar('Accuracy/train', train_acc, epoch)
writer.add_scalar('Accuracy/val', val_acc, epoch)
# Learning rate
lr = optimizer.param_groups[0]['lr']
writer.add_scalar('Learning_rate', lr, epoch)
writer.close()
# TensorFlow
import tensorflow as tf
train_summary_writer = tf.summary.create_file_writer('logs/train')
val_summary_writer = tf.summary.create_file_writer('logs/val')
for epoch in range(100):
with train_summary_writer.as_default():
tf.summary.scalar('loss', train_loss, step=epoch)
tf.summary.scalar('accuracy', train_acc, step=epoch)
with val_summary_writer.as_default():
tf.summary.scalar('loss', val_loss, step=epoch)
tf.summary.scalar('accuracy', val_acc, step=epoch)
3. Logging Multiple Scalars
# PyTorch: Group related metrics
writer.add_scalars('Loss', {
'train': train_loss,
'validation': val_loss,
'test': test_loss
}, epoch)
writer.add_scalars('Metrics', {
'accuracy': accuracy,
'precision': precision,
'recall': recall,
'f1': f1_score
}, epoch)
4. Logging Images
# PyTorch
import torch
from torchvision.utils import make_grid
# Single image
writer.add_image('Input/sample', img_tensor, epoch)
# Multiple images as grid
img_grid = make_grid(images[:64], nrow=8)
writer.add_image('Batch/inputs', img_grid, epoch)
# Predictions visualization
pred_grid = make_grid(predictions[:16], nrow=4)
writer.add_image('Predictions', pred_grid, epoch)
# TensorFlow
import tensorflow as tf
with file_writer.as_default():
# Encode images as PNG
tf.summary.image('Training samples', images, step=epoch, max_outputs=25)
5. Logging Histograms
# PyTorch: Track weight distributions
for name, param in model.named_parameters():
writer.add_histogram(name, param, epoch)
# Track gradients
if param.grad is not None:
writer.add_histogram(f'{name}.grad', param.grad, epoch)
# Track activations
writer.add_histogram('Activations/relu1', activations, epoch)
# TensorFlow
with file_writer.as_default():
tf.summary.histogram('weights/layer1', layer1.kernel, step=epoch)
tf.summary.histogram('activations/relu1', activations, step=epoch)
6. Logging Model Graph
# PyTorch
import torch
model = MyModel()
dummy_input = torch.randn(1, 3, 224, 224)
writer.add_graph(model, dummy_input)
writer.close()
# TensorFlow (automatic with Keras)
tensorboard_callback = tf.keras.callbacks.TensorBoard(
log_dir='logs',
write_graph=True
)
model.fit(x, y, callbacks=[tensorboard_callback])
Advanced Features
Embedding Projector
Visualize high-dimensional data (embeddings, features) in 2D/3D.
import torch
from torch.utils.tensorboard import SummaryWriter
# Get embeddings (e.g., word embeddings, image features)
embeddings = model.get_embeddings(data) # Shape: (N, embedding_dim)
# Metadata (labels for each point)
metadata = ['class_1', 'class_2', 'class_1', ...]
# Images (optional, for image embeddings)
label_images = torch.stack([img1, img2, img3, ...])
# Log to TensorBoard
writer.add_embedding(
embeddings,
metadata=metadata,
label_img=label_images,
global_step=epoch
)
In TensorBoard:
- Navigate to "Projector" tab
- Choose PCA, t-SNE, or UMAP visualization
- Search, filter, and explore clusters
Hyperparameter Tuning
from torch.utils.tensorboard import SummaryWriter
# Try different hyperparameters
for lr in [0.001, 0.01, 0.1]:
for batch_size in [16, 32, 64]:
# Create unique run directory
writer = SummaryWriter(f'runs/lr{lr}_bs{batch_size}')
# Log hyperparameters
writer.add_hparams(
{'lr': lr, 'batch_size': batch_size},
{'hparam/accuracy': final_acc, 'hparam/loss': final_loss}
)
# Train and log
for epoch in range(10):
loss = train(lr, batch_size)
writer.add_scalar('Loss/train', loss, epoch)
writer.close()
# Compare in TensorBoard's "HParams" tab
Text Logging
# PyTorch: Log text (e.g., model predictions, summaries)
writer.add_text('Predictions', f'Epoch {epoch}: {predictions}', epoch)
writer.add_text('Config', str(config), 0)
# Log markdown tables
markdown_table = """
| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Accuracy | 0.95 |
| F1 Score | 0.93 |
"""
writer.add_text('Results', markdown_table, epoch)
PR Curves
Precision-Recall curves for classification.
from torch.utils.tensorboard import SummaryWriter
# Get predictions and labels
predictions = model(test_data) # Shape: (N, num_classes)
labels = test_labels # Shape: (N,)
# Log PR curve for each class
for i in range(num_classes):
writer.add_pr_curve(
f'PR_curve/class_{i}',
labels == i,
predictions[:, i],
global_step=epoch
)
Integration Examples
PyTorch Training Loop
import torch
import torch.nn as nn
from torch.utils.tensorboard import SummaryWriter
# Setup
writer = SummaryWriter('runs/resnet_experiment')
model = ResNet50()
optimizer = torch.optim.Adam(model.parameters(), lr=0.001)
criterion = nn.CrossEntropyLoss()
# Log model graph
dummy_input = torch.randn(1, 3, 224, 224)
writer.add_graph(model, dummy_input)
# Training loop
for epoch in range(50):
model.train()
train_loss = 0.0
train_correct = 0
for batch_idx, (data, target) in enumerate(train_loader):
optimizer.zero_grad()
output = model(data)
loss = criterion(output, target)
loss.backward()
optimizer.step()
train_loss += loss.item()
pred = output.argmax(dim=1)
train_correct += pred.eq(target).sum().item()
# Log batch metrics (every 100 batches)
if batch_idx % 100 == 0:
global_step = epoch * len(train_loader) + batch_idx
writer.add_scalar('Loss/train_batch', loss.item(), global_step)
# Epoch metrics
train_loss /= len(train_loader)
train_acc = train_correct / len(train_loader.dataset)
# Validation
model.eval()
val_loss = 0.0
val_correct = 0
with torch.no_grad():
for data, target in val_loader:
output = model(data)
val_loss += criterion(output, target).item()
pred = output.argmax(dim=1)
val_correct += pred.eq(target).sum().item()
val_loss /= len(val_loader)
val_acc = val_correct / len(val_loader.dataset)
# Log epoch metrics
writer.add_scalars('Loss', {'train': train_loss, 'val': val_loss}, epoch)
writer.add_scalars('Accuracy', {'train': train_acc, 'val': val_acc}, epoch)
# Log learning rate
writer.add_scalar('Learning_rate', optimizer.param_groups[0]['lr'], epoch)
# Log histograms (every 5 epochs)
if epoch % 5 == 0:
for name, param in model.named_parameters():
writer.add_histogram(name, param, epoch)
# Log sample predictions
if epoch % 10 == 0:
sample_images = data[:8]
writer.add_image('Sample_inputs', make_grid(sample_images), epoch)
writer.close()
TensorFlow/Keras Training
import tensorflow as tf
# Define model
model = tf.keras.models.Sequential([
tf.keras.layers.Conv2D(32, 3, activation='relu', input_shape=(28, 28, 1)),
tf.keras.layers.MaxPooling2D(),
tf.keras.layers.Flatten(),
tf.keras.layers.Dense(128, activation='relu'),
tf.keras.layers.Dense(10, activation='softmax')
])
model.compile(
optimizer='adam',
loss='sparse_categorical_crossentropy',
metrics=['accuracy']
)
# TensorBoard callback
tensorboard_callback = tf.keras.callbacks.TensorBoard(
log_dir='logs/fit',
histogram_freq=1, # Log histograms every epoch
write_graph=True, # Visualize model graph
write_images=True, # Visualize weights as images
update_freq='epoch', # Log metrics every epoch
profile_batch='500,520', # Profile batches 500-520
embeddings_freq=1 # Log embeddings every epoch
)
# Train
model.fit(
x_train, y_train,
epochs=10,
validation_data=(x_val, y_val),
callbacks=[tensorboard_callback]
)
Comparing Experiments
Multiple Runs
# Run experiments with different configs
python train.py --lr 0.001 --logdir runs/exp1
python train.py --lr 0.01 --logdir runs/exp2
python train.py --lr 0.1 --logdir runs/exp3
# View all runs together
tensorboard --logdir=runs
In TensorBoard:
- All runs appear in the same dashboard
- Toggle runs on/off for comparison
- Use regex to filter run names
- Overlay charts to compare metrics
Organizing Experiments
# Hierarchical organization
runs/
├── baseline/
│ ├── run_1/
│ └── run_2/
├── improved/
│ ├── run_1/
│ └── run_2/
└── final/
└── run_1/
# Log with hierarchy
writer = SummaryWriter('runs/baseline/run_1')
Best Practices
1. Use Descriptive Run Names
# ✅ Good: Descriptive names
from datetime import datetime
timestamp = datetime.now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S')
writer = SummaryWriter(f'runs/resnet50_lr0.001_bs32_{timestamp}')
# ❌ Bad: Auto-generated names
writer = SummaryWriter() # Creates runs/Jan01_12-34-56_hostname
2. Group Related Metrics
# ✅ Good: Grouped metrics
writer.add_scalar('Loss/train', train_loss, step)
writer.add_scalar('Loss/val', val_loss, step)
writer.add_scalar('Accuracy/train', train_acc, step)
writer.add_scalar('Accuracy/val', val_acc, step)
# ❌ Bad: Flat namespace
writer.add_scalar('train_loss', train_loss, step)
writer.add_scalar('val_loss', val_loss, step)
3. Log Regularly but Not Too Often
# ✅ Good: Log epoch metrics always, batch metrics occasionally
for epoch in range(100):
for batch_idx, (data, target) in enumerate(train_loader):
loss = train_step(data, target)
# Log every 100 batches
if batch_idx % 100 == 0:
writer.add_scalar('Loss/batch', loss, global_step)
# Always log epoch metrics
writer.add_scalar('Loss/epoch', epoch_loss, epoch)
# ❌ Bad: Log every batch (creates huge log files)
for batch in train_loader:
writer.add_scalar('Loss', loss, step) # Too frequent
4. Close Writer When Done
# ✅ Good: Use context manager
with SummaryWriter('runs/exp1') as writer:
for epoch in range(10):
writer.add_scalar('Loss', loss, epoch)
# Automatically closes
# Or manually
writer = SummaryWriter('runs/exp1')
# ... logging ...
writer.close()
5. Use Separate Writers for Train/Val
# ✅ Good: Separate log directories
train_writer = SummaryWriter('runs/exp1/train')
val_writer = SummaryWriter('runs/exp1/val')
train_writer.add_scalar('loss', train_loss, epoch)
val_writer.add_scalar('loss', val_loss, epoch)
Performance Profiling
TensorFlow Profiler
# Enable profiling
tensorboard_callback = tf.keras.callbacks.TensorBoard(
log_dir='logs',
profile_batch='10,20' # Profile batches 10-20
)
model.fit(x, y, callbacks=[tensorboard_callback])
# View in TensorBoard Profile tab
# Shows: GPU utilization, kernel stats, memory usage, bottlenecks
PyTorch Profiler
import torch.profiler as profiler
with profiler.profile(
activities=[
profiler.ProfilerActivity.CPU,
profiler.ProfilerActivity.CUDA
],
on_trace_ready=torch.profiler.tensorboard_trace_handler('./runs/profiler'),
record_shapes=True,
with_stack=True
) as prof:
for batch in train_loader:
loss = train_step(batch)
prof.step()
# View in TensorBoard Profile tab
Resources
- Documentation: https://www.tensorflow.org/tensorboard
- PyTorch Integration: https://pytorch.org/docs/stable/tensorboard.html
- GitHub: https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorboard (27k+ stars)
- TensorBoard.dev: https://tensorboard.dev (share experiments publicly)
See Also
references/visualization.md- Comprehensive visualization guidereferences/profiling.md- Performance profiling patternsreferences/integrations.md- Framework-specific integration examples
Recommended Agent Skills
Expand your agent's capabilities with these related and highly-rated skills.
pufferlib
This skill should be used when working with reinforcement learning tasks including high-performance RL training, custom environment development, vectorized parallel simulation, multi-agent systems, or integration with existing RL environments (Gymnasium, PettingZoo, Atari, Procgen, etc.). Use this skill for implementing PPO training, creating PufferEnv environments, optimizing RL performance, or developing policies with CNNs/LSTMs.
fluidsim
Framework for computational fluid dynamics simulations using Python. Use when running fluid dynamics simulations including Navier-Stokes equations (2D/3D), shallow water equations, stratified flows, or when analyzing turbulence, vortex dynamics, or geophysical flows. Provides pseudospectral methods with FFT, HPC support, and comprehensive output analysis.
metabolomics-workbench-database
Access NIH Metabolomics Workbench via REST API (4,200+ studies). Query metabolites, RefMet nomenclature, MS/NMR data, m/z searches, study metadata, for metabolomics and biomarker discovery.
build-error-resolver
Compatibility alias for build-specific error resolution. Use this when VCO routes to build-error-resolver but the upstream agent is unavailable in the current runtime.
geniml
This skill should be used when working with genomic interval data (BED files) for machine learning tasks. Use for training region embeddings (Region2Vec, BEDspace), single-cell ATAC-seq analysis (scEmbed), building consensus peaks (universes), or any ML-based analysis of genomic regions. Applies to BED file collections, scATAC-seq data, chromatin accessibility datasets, and region-based genomic feature learning.
zinc-database
Access ZINC (230M+ purchasable compounds). Search by ZINC ID/SMILES, similarity searches, 3D-ready structures for docking, analog discovery, for virtual screening and drug discovery.
Didn't find tool you were looking for?