Fine-Tuning Meta Llama 3.1 8B with Unsloth

In this guide, we fine-tune the Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-bnb-4bit model, optimized by Unsloth, using Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) on the Alpaca-cleaned dataset. We leverage Beam’s infrastructure for compute and storage, then deploy an inference endpoint. Throughout the process, we’ll track and evaluate our fine-tuning performance using Weights & Biases (wandb).

View the Code

See the full code for this example on GitHub.

Setup

Weights & Biases Credentials

We’ll track fine-tuning metrics with Weights & Biases (wandb). You can find your API key in your wandb dashboard under the “API keys” section. Store it as a Beam secret — it will be injected into the container as an environment variable at runtime, so it never has to appear in your code:

beam secret create WANDB_API_KEY <your-wandb-key>

Fine-Tuning

The fine-tuning script (finetune.py) uses Unsloth to adapt the model to the Alpaca-cleaned dataset while tracking metrics with Weights & Biases. The image includes the necessary dependencies and installs Unsloth from its GitHub repository.

finetune.py

from beam import function, Image, Volume, env

if env.is_remote():
    import torch
    from unsloth import FastLanguageModel
    from transformers import TrainingArguments
    from trl import SFTTrainer
    from datasets import load_dataset
    import os
    import wandb

MODEL_NAME = "unsloth/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-bnb-4bit"
MAX_SEQ_LENGTH = 2048
VOLUME_PATH = "./model_storage"
TRAIN_CONFIG = {
    "batch_size": 2,
    "grad_accumulation": 4,
    "max_steps": 60,
    "learning_rate": 2e-4,
    "seed": 3407,
}

image = (
    Image(python_version="python3.11")
    .add_python_packages(
        [
            "ninja",
            "packaging",
            "wheel",
            "torch",
            "xformers",
            "trl",
            "peft",
            "accelerate",
            "bitsandbytes",
            "wandb"
        ]
    )
    .add_commands(
        [
            "pip uninstall unsloth -y",
            'pip install "unsloth[colab-new] @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth.git"',
        ]
    )
)


@function(
    name="unsloth-fine-tune",
    cpu=12,
    memory="32Gi",
    gpu="RTX4090",
    image=image,
    volumes=[Volume(name="model-storage", mount_path=VOLUME_PATH)],
    # Exposes your wandb key as an environment variable inside the container
    secrets=["WANDB_API_KEY"],
    timeout=-1,
)
def fine_tune_model():
    import os
    import wandb

    os.environ["WANDB_PROJECT"] = "llama-3.1-finetuning"
    os.environ["WANDB_LOG_MODEL"] = "checkpoint"

    output_dir = os.path.join(VOLUME_PATH, "fine_tuned_model")
    os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)

    model, tokenizer = FastLanguageModel.from_pretrained(
        model_name=MODEL_NAME, max_seq_length=MAX_SEQ_LENGTH, load_in_4bit=True
    )

    def format_alpaca_prompt(instruction, input_text, output):
        template = (
            "Below is an instruction that describes a task, paired with an input that "
            "provides further context. Write a response that appropriately completes the request.\n"
            "### Instruction:\n{}\n### Input:\n{}\n### Response:\n{}"
        )
        return template.format(instruction, input_text, output) + tokenizer.eos_token

    def format_dataset(examples):
        texts = [
            format_alpaca_prompt(instruction, input_text, output)
            for instruction, input_text, output in zip(
                examples["instruction"], examples["input"], examples["output"]
            )
        ]
        return {"text": texts}

    dataset = load_dataset("yahma/alpaca-cleaned", split="train")
    dataset = dataset.map(format_dataset, batched=True)

    model = FastLanguageModel.get_peft_model(
        model,
        r=16,
        target_modules=[
            "q_proj",
            "k_proj",
            "v_proj",
            "o_proj",
            "gate_proj",
            "up_proj",
            "down_proj",
        ],
        lora_alpha=16,
        lora_dropout=0,
        use_gradient_checkpointing="unsloth",
        random_state=TRAIN_CONFIG["seed"],
    )

    trainer = SFTTrainer(
        model=model,
        tokenizer=tokenizer,
        train_dataset=dataset,
        dataset_text_field="text",
        max_seq_length=MAX_SEQ_LENGTH,
        dataset_num_proc=2,
        packing=False,
        args=TrainingArguments(
            per_device_train_batch_size=TRAIN_CONFIG["batch_size"],
            gradient_accumulation_steps=TRAIN_CONFIG["grad_accumulation"],
            max_steps=TRAIN_CONFIG["max_steps"],
            learning_rate=TRAIN_CONFIG["learning_rate"],
            fp16=False,
            bf16=True,
            logging_steps=1,
            output_dir=output_dir,
            seed=TRAIN_CONFIG["seed"],
            report_to="wandb",
            save_steps=100,
        ),
    )

    with torch.autograd.set_detect_anomaly(True):
        trainer.train()

    model.save_pretrained(output_dir)
    tokenizer.save_pretrained(output_dir)
    wandb.finish()

    return {
        "status": "success",
        "message": "Fine-tuning complete",
        "model_path": output_dir,
    }


if __name__ == "__main__":
    fine_tune_model.remote()

Running Fine-Tuning

Execute the script. The __main__ block calls fine_tune_model.remote(), which runs the function on Beam and streams the training logs back to your shell:

python finetune.py

After completion, verify that the files are saved in your Beam Volume:

beam ls model-storage/fine_tuned_model

Here’s the expected output with the fine-tuned files:

  Name                           Size   Modified Time   IsDir
 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  fine_tuned_model/README.md                  4.99 KiB   1 hour ago      No
  fine_tuned_model/adapter_config.json        805.00 B   1 hour ago      No
  fine_tuned_model/adapter_model.safeten…   160.06 MiB   1 hour ago      No
  fine_tuned_model/checkpoint-60/                        1 hour ago      Yes
  fine_tuned_model/special_tokens_map.js…     459.00 B   1 hour ago      No
  fine_tuned_model/tokenizer.json            16.41 MiB   1 hour ago      No
  fine_tuned_model/tokenizer_config.json     49.46 KiB   1 hour ago      No
  ...

Training Performance Metrics

We tracked our fine-tuning process using Weights & Biases, which provided detailed metrics on training progress. The dashboard showed that the training loss started at approximately 1.85 and, despite significant fluctuations, exhibited a general downward trend, ending at around 0.95 by step 60. This suggests that the model was learning patterns from the Alpaca-cleaned dataset over the 60 training steps.

The dashboard shows a consistent decrease in training loss over time, confirming that our model was learning effectively from the Alpaca dataset.

Evaluation

To understand the impact of fine-tuning the Meta Llama 3.1 8B model with Unsloth on the Alpaca-cleaned dataset, we evaluated both the base model and the fine-tuned model on two widely used benchmarks: HellaSwag (a commonsense reasoning task) and MMLU (Massive Multitask Language Understanding, covering a broad range of subjects). The results highlight the fine-tuned model’s improvements over the base model, demonstrating the effectiveness of our fine-tuning process.

Overall Performance

The table below summarizes the overall performance on HellaSwag and MMLU. The fine-tuned model shows modest but consistent gains across both benchmarks.

Benchmark	Base Model	Fine-tuned Model	Improvement
HellaSwag (acc)	59.09%	60.37%	+1.28%
HellaSwag (acc_norm)	77.93%	78.75%	+0.82%
MMLU (overall)	61.42%	62.33%	+0.91%

HellaSwag: The fine-tuned model improves accuracy (acc) by 1.28% and normalized accuracy (acc_norm) by 0.82%, indicating better commonsense reasoning capabilities.
MMLU: An overall improvement of 0.91% suggests the model has enhanced its general knowledge and reasoning across diverse topics.

Analysis

The fine-tuned model demonstrates consistent improvements over the base model, particularly in tasks requiring logical reasoning, ethical judgment, and commonsense understanding. These gains align with the Alpaca-cleaned dataset’s focus on instruction-following and coherent responses.

Inference

Inference Script

The inference script (inference.py) loads the fine-tuned model and exposes an endpoint for generating responses.

from beam import Image, endpoint, Volume, env

if env.is_remote():
    from unsloth import FastLanguageModel
    from unsloth.chat_templates import get_chat_template

image = (
    Image(python_version="python3.11")
    .add_python_packages(
        [
            "ninja",
            "packaging",
            "wheel",
            "torch",
            "xformers",
            "trl",
            "peft",
            "accelerate",
            "bitsandbytes",
        ]
    )
    .add_commands(
        [
            "pip uninstall unsloth -y",
            'pip install "unsloth[colab-new] @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth.git"',
        ]
    )
)

MAX_SEQ_LENGTH = 2048
VOLUME_PATH = "./model_storage"


@endpoint(
    name="unsloth-inference",
    image=image,
    cpu=12,
    memory="32Gi",
    gpu="RTX4090",
    timeout=-1,
    volumes=[Volume(name="model-storage", mount_path=VOLUME_PATH)],
)
def generate(**inputs):
    prompt = inputs.pop("prompt", None)

    if not prompt:
        return {"error": "Please provide a prompt"}

    model, tokenizer = FastLanguageModel.from_pretrained(
        model_name=f"{VOLUME_PATH}/fine_tuned_model",
        max_seq_length=MAX_SEQ_LENGTH,
        load_in_4bit=True,
    )

    tokenizer = get_chat_template(
        tokenizer,
        chat_template="llama-3.1",
    )
    FastLanguageModel.for_inference(model)

    messages = [
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": prompt,
        },
    ]
    inputs = tokenizer.apply_chat_template(
        messages,
        tokenize=True,
        add_generation_prompt=True,
        return_tensors="pt",
    ).to("cuda")

    outputs = model.generate(
        input_ids=inputs, max_new_tokens=64, use_cache=True, temperature=1.5, min_p=0.1
    )
    res = tokenizer.batch_decode(outputs)
    return {"output": res}

Deploying the Endpoint

Run this command to deploy the inference endpoint:

beam deploy inference.py:generate

You’ll get back a URL with the endpoint:

=> Building image
=> Syncing files
=> Deploying
=> Deployed
=> Invocation details
curl -X POST 'https://app.beam.cloud/endpoint/unsloth-inference/v1' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN}' \
-d '{"prompt": "Your prompt"}'

Overview

Large Language Models (LLMs)

Image and Video

Audio and Transcription

Web Apps

Agents

Fine-Tuning

Fine-Tuning Meta Llama 3.1 8B with Unsloth

View the Code

Setup

Weights & Biases Credentials

Fine-Tuning

Running Fine-Tuning

Training Performance Metrics

Evaluation

Overall Performance

Analysis

Inference

Inference Script

Deploying the Endpoint

View the Code

​Setup

​Weights & Biases Credentials

​Fine-Tuning

​Running Fine-Tuning

​Training Performance Metrics

​Evaluation

​Overall Performance

​Analysis

​Inference

​Inference Script

​Deploying the Endpoint

Setup

Weights & Biases Credentials

Fine-Tuning

Running Fine-Tuning

Training Performance Metrics

Evaluation

Overall Performance

Analysis

Inference

Inference Script

Deploying the Endpoint