First of five. The stack continues a series that moved configuration out of
`ServerArgs` and into the runtime context's namespace bags. This one fixes
something that was actually broken, and gives the fix its other half.
## "Unset" gets its own spelling on two ratio fields
`swa_full_tokens_ratio` and `mamba_full_memory_ratio` carried real values as
their class defaults (0.8, 0.9), so a model family with an opinion had to ask
"is this field still equal to the class default?" to find out whether the
operator had set it. That question has two wrong answers: it says "the operator
set it" as soon as any earlier pass declares the field, and it says "the
operator did not set it" when the operator types the default value.
Both become `Optional[float] = None`. The record carries what the operator typed
and nothing else, and the family test becomes `is None`.
`mamba_radix_cache_strategy` keeps `"auto"`: unlike the ratios it already has a
spelling for "unset" that an operator can type and that means exactly that --
only its comparison changes, from the class default to the token itself, which
is the fix the comment at that site already prescribed. With that, neither
family module imports `ServerArgs` any more.
## And the declaration says what the field means when nobody answers
Making the default `None` leaves a hole: something has to supply the generic
value. `Arg(fallback=...)` supplies it from the declaration.
```python
swa_full_tokens_ratio: A[
Optional[float],
Arg(help="...", resolvable=True, fallback=0.8),
NS("schedule"),
] = None
```
The dataclass default stays `None`. A fallback is not a default: the record is
the wire format, and a child process has to keep being able to tell "unset" from
"set to the value resolution would have picked anyway".
### Which surface it lives on is the whole design
Precedence becomes **override -> decision -> input -> fallback**, applied in
`resolution_result` -- which the projection, `/server_info` and every config bag
read through.
Deliberately **not** in `resolving_view` / `resolved_view`. Those are the
decision-over-input surface a pass reads *while it is deciding*, and two model
families branch on exactly this:
```python
# model_overrides/inkling.py, and the same shape in deepseek_v4.py
if cfg.swa_full_tokens_ratio is None:
overrides["swa_full_tokens_ratio"] = 0.1
```
A fallback answering there is not "the generic value, later" -- a `__getattr__`
layer is read-time, so there is no later. Every read during resolution would
already get 0.8 and the branch would never fire. Running `_inkling_overrides`
against both versions:
```
--- fallback on the effective surface only (this PR) ---
cfg.swa_full_tokens_ratio during resolution = None
family declared swa = 0.1 mamba = 0.1
--- fallback also on the view a pass reads ---
cfg.swa_full_tokens_ratio during resolution = 0.8
family declared swa = None mamba = None <- the key never lands
```
So "resolution first, then the fallback" holds -- not because a step is appended
to the pipeline, but because of which surface the value lives on. Exactly one
reader consults the effective surface during resolution: the range check on the
ratio, which wants the value the pools will be sized against. It asks
`resolution_result` directly -- what its comment already claimed it was doing --
and it runs after the model families.
### The alternative, and why not
A pass that fills the field in when nothing claimed it needs a slot (after the
families, or it beats them), a second call site (the dummy-model short circuit
returns long before that slot), an idempotence requirement so the second call is
harmless, and the value written twice -- once as a literal, once as prose in the
help (`"Unset means 0.8"`). An earlier revision of this series did exactly that
and deleted it four PRs later. A declaration needs none of it, and `pipeline.py`
is untouched by the whole series as a result.
### What may be declared this way, and what may not
Across every hook, `if x is None: x = ...` appears at **55 sites over 29
fields**. They are not one thing:
| | count | examples | declarable |
|---|---|---|---|
| unconditional constant | 5 | the two ratios, `grammar_backend="xgrammar"`, `mm_process_config={}`, `custom_weight_loader=[]` | **yes** |
| unconditional, computed from another field | 4 | `tokenizer_path=model_path`, `device=get_device()`, `served_model_name`, `speculative_draft_model_quantization` | needs a `fallback="dotted.path"` form; not here |
| **conditional decision** | ~20 | `chunked_prefill_size` across seven memory tiers, `max_bs` across eight, `max_running_requests` at 48 or 256 by model family | **no, and it should not be** |
Only a value fixed for the life of the configuration belongs in a declaration.
One that depends on the machine, on another field, or on anything impure
(`random_seed = random.randint(...)`) is a decision, and decisions stay in a hook
where their order is visible. This PR converts the two ratios only.
## Verification
- `resolve_once` ends with the same effective values: the resolution result is
identical across 24 launch shapes x 489 fields except for the two intended
ratio changes. Separately, 16 launch shapes resolved on both sides, real model
and dummy: 7,904 field readings, and the only difference is `random_seed`, a
fresh `random.randint` per process.
- The CLI registers the same 507 options with the same choices and actions; only
the two defaults move.
- `test_declared_fallbacks.py`, 17 cases. One pins the inverse of the dead branch
above: what a pass sees while deciding is still `None`.
- The whole series was swept over all 648 registered unit-test files against its
merge-base: 19 failures on both sides, the same 19, none of them config.
---
### CI States
Latest PR Test (Base): <!-- slot:pr-test:start -->❌ [Run #34083705463](https://github.com/sgl-project/sglang/actions/runs/34083705463)<!-- slot:pr-test:end -->
Latest PR Test (Extra): <!-- slot:pr-test-extra:start -->❌ [Run #34083705284](https://github.com/sgl-project/sglang/actions/runs/34083705284)<!-- slot:pr-test-extra:end -->
Latest PR Test (AMD ROCm 7.2): <!-- slot:pr-test-amd-rocm720:start -->❌ [Run #34083705383](https://github.com/sgl-project/sglang/actions/runs/34083705383)<!-- slot:pr-test-amd-rocm720:end -->
<!-- pr-states:end -->
Test and Continuous Integration (CI) System in SGLang
This page covers principles and essentials: folder layout, how to run tests, registration, and suite selection. For complete references, see the skill guides:
- Writing tests — templates, fixtures, model selection, complete suite tables, checklist:
.claude/skills/write-sglang-test/SKILL.md - CI pipeline internals — stage flow diagrams, fast-fail layers, gating, partitioning, execution modes, debugging failures:
.claude/skills/ci-workflow-guide/SKILL.md
CI Pipeline Overview
The CI pipeline runs in three sequential stages: A (pre-flight, ~3 min) → B (basic, ~30 min) → C (advanced, ~30 min). Kernel and multimodal-gen tests run in parallel with stage B. For details on stage gating, fast-fail mechanisms, execution modes (PR vs scheduled vs manual dispatch), and debugging CI failures, see the CI workflow guide.
Folder Organization
registered/: CI test files, auto-discovered byrun_suite.py. Most tests live here. JIT kernel tests are an exception (see below).manual/: Non-CI tests for local debugging or special setups.run_suite.py: CI runner — scansregistered/and JIT kernel directories.
The system supports both unittest and pytest. The launcher runs python filename.py -f with failfast enabled by default.
Make sure your file ends with exactly one of:
# for unittest
if __name__ == "__main__":
unittest.main()
# for pytest
if __name__ == "__main__":
import sys
sys.exit(pytest.main([__file__]))
Do not add custom argparse or modify sys.argv before these calls — the CI runner appends -f for failfast.
Run Tests Locally
# Single file
python3 test/registered/core/test_srt_endpoint.py
# Single test method
python3 test/registered/core/test_srt_endpoint.py TestSRTEndpoint.test_simple_decode
# Single JIT kernel test
python3 test/registered/jit/test_add_constant.py
# Run a suite
python3 test/run_suite.py --hw cpu --suite base-a-test-cpu
python3 test/run_suite.py --hw cuda --suite base-a-test-1-gpu-small
# Nightly tests (CUDA nightly suites take no --nightly; the stage is in the name)
python3 test/run_suite.py --hw cuda --suite nightly-test-1-gpu-large
# With auto-partitioning (for parallel CI jobs)
python3 test/run_suite.py --hw cuda --suite base-b-test-1-gpu-small \
--auto-partition-id 0 --auto-partition-size 4
CI Registration
Every CI-discovered test file must call a registration function at module level:
from sglang.test.ci.ci_register import register_cuda_ci
register_cuda_ci(est_time=80, stage="base-b", runner_config="1-gpu-small")
Parameters: est_time (seconds), stage + runner_config (target stage and runner pool from scripts/ci/runner_configs.yml), nightly=True (nightly-only), disabled="reason" (temporarily disable).
Keep est_time, stage, runner_config as literal values — run_suite.py collects them by AST parsing.
JIT kernel correctness tests and benchmarks live under test/registered/jit/, same as other registered tests (their helpers stay alongside the kernel source under python/sglang/kernels/jit/ and are imported by absolute path):
- Correctness tests:
test/registered/jit/test_*.py→base-b-kernel-unit-test-1-gpu-large - Benchmarks:
test/registered/jit/benchmark/bench_*.py→base-b-kernel-benchmark-test-1-gpu-large
Choosing a Suite
Use the lightest suite that meets your test's needs. Full suite tables are in the write-sglang-test skill.
| Need | Suite |
|---|---|
| No GPU required | base-a-test-cpu |
| Small GPU (fits 5090, 32GB) | base-b-test-1-gpu-small (most tests go here) |
| Large GPU memory or Hopper features | base-b-test-1-gpu-large |
| JIT kernel correctness | base-b-kernel-unit-test-1-gpu-large |
| JIT kernel benchmarks | base-b-kernel-benchmark-test-1-gpu-large |
| Multi-GPU (2/4/8) | base-b-test-2-gpu-large, base-c-test-* |
| Long-running or experimental | nightly-* suites |
Steps for Adding a Test
See the write-sglang-test skill for templates, fixtures, model selection, and a complete checklist.
Multi-Hardware Backends
This README mostly describes the NVIDIA GPU CI pipeline. Other hardware backends (AMD, NPU) follow the same practices and use the multi-backend registry system. A scheduled job summarizes test coverage across all backends; here is an example run.
Tips
- Learn from existing examples in test/registered.
- Reuse servers — launching is expensive. Share one server across many test methods via
setUpClass. - Use as few GPUs as possible. Prefer 1-GPU runners.
- Each test file should take < 500 seconds; split if longer.
- Each GitHub Actions job should take < 30 minutes; split if longer.
- If tests are too slow for per-commit, consider nightly suites.
Other Notes
Adding New Models to Nightly CI
- Text models: Extend the global model list variables in
test_utils.py. - VLMs: Extend the
MODEL_THRESHOLDSdictionary intest/registered/eval/test_vlms_mmmu_eval.py.