microsoft-SkillOpt/docs/reference/config.md

Configuration Reference

Complete reference for all SkillOpt configuration parameters.

Model

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
model.backend	str	azure_openai	Backend: azure_openai / openai_chat / claude_code_exec / qwen
model.optimizer	str	gpt-5.5	Optimizer model (for reflection & slow update)
model.target	str	gpt-5.5	Target model (for rollout execution)
model.reasoning_effort	str	medium	Reasoning effort level
model.optimizer_backend	str	openai_chat	Optimizer backend: openai_chat / claude_chat / qwen_chat / minimax_chat
model.target_backend	str	openai_chat	Target backend: chat backends plus execution harnesses
model.qwen_chat_base_url	str	http://localhost:8000/v1	Shared Qwen/vLLM OpenAI-compatible endpoint
model.qwen_chat_enable_thinking	bool	false	Shared Qwen thinking flag
model.optimizer_qwen_chat_base_url	str	—	Optimizer-specific Qwen/vLLM endpoint; overrides shared qwen_chat_base_url
model.target_qwen_chat_base_url	str	—	Target-specific Qwen/vLLM endpoint; overrides shared qwen_chat_base_url

Training (train)

Parameter	Type	Default	DL Analogy	Description
train.num_epochs	int	4	Epochs	Number of training epochs
train.batch_size	int	40	Batch size	Tasks sampled per step
train.accumulation	int	1	Gradient accumulation	Accumulation rounds per step
train.seed	int	42	Random seed	Reproducibility seed

Gradient / Reflection (gradient)

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
gradient.minibatch_size	int	8	Reflect minibatch size
gradient.merge_batch_size	int	8	Patch merge batch size
gradient.analyst_workers	int	16	Parallel reflection workers
gradient.max_analyst_rounds	int	3	Max rounds of analyst reflection
gradient.failure_only	bool	false	Only reflect on failures

Optimizer (optimizer)

Parameter	Type	Default	DL Analogy	Description
optimizer.learning_rate	int	4	Learning rate	Max edit patches per step (edit budget)
optimizer.min_learning_rate	int	2	Min LR	Min edits for decay schedulers
optimizer.lr_scheduler	str	cosine	LR schedule	constant / linear / cosine / autonomous
optimizer.skill_update_mode	str	patch	—	patch / rewrite_from_suggestions / full_rewrite_minibatch
optimizer.use_slow_update	bool	true	Momentum	Epoch-boundary longitudinal comparison & guidance
optimizer.slow_update_samples	int	20	—	Samples for slow update evaluation
optimizer.use_meta_skill	bool	true	Meta-learning	Cross-epoch optimizer-side strategy memory
optimizer.longitudinal_pair_policy	str	mixed	—	mixed / changed / unchanged

Evaluation (evaluation)

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
evaluation.use_gate	bool	true	Enable validation gating (accept/reject updates)
evaluation.eval_test	bool	true	Run test evaluation after training

Environment (env)

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
env.name	str	—	Benchmark name (e.g., searchqa, docvqa)
env.data_path	str	—	Path to dataset
env.skill_init	str	—	Path to initial seed skill (optional)
env.split_mode	str	ratio	ratio or split_dir
env.split_ratio	str	2:1:7	Train:val:test ratio
env.exec_timeout	int	120	Per-task timeout in seconds
env.out_root	str	—	Output directory

Azure OpenAI Credentials

Variable	Description
AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT / model.azure_openai_endpoint	Azure resource endpoint
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY / model.azure_openai_api_key	Azure API key
OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI API key (for openai_chat backend)
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Anthropic API key (for claude_code_exec backend)
QWEN_CHAT_BASE_URL	Shared local vLLM endpoint for qwen_chat
QWEN_CHAT_MODEL	Shared served model name for qwen_chat
QWEN_CHAT_API_KEY	Optional API key for the shared Qwen endpoint
OPTIMIZER_QWEN_CHAT_BASE_URL	Optimizer-specific local vLLM endpoint
OPTIMIZER_QWEN_CHAT_MODEL	Optimizer-specific served model name
TARGET_QWEN_CHAT_BASE_URL	Target-specific local vLLM endpoint
TARGET_QWEN_CHAT_MODEL	Target-specific served model name