foxhunt/AGENT_136_IMPLEMENTATION_GUIDE.md

Agent 136: Model Loading Implementation Guide

For: Next developer implementing real model loading Priority: CRITICAL (blocks paper trading) Estimated Effort: 7-11 hours

---

QUICK START

Problem

Trading service uses MockMLModelWrapper instead of loading real trained models from safetensors checkpoints.

Solution

Replace mock implementations with actual model loading using the ml crate's checkpoint infrastructure.

---

IMPLEMENTATION STEPS

Step 1: Add Model Loading Function (2-3 hours)

File: services/trading_service/src/services/enhanced_ml.rs

Replace lines 210-244 with:

use candle_core::{Device, DType};
use candle_nn::VarBuilder;
use ml::dqn::DQNAgent;
use ml::ppo::PPOAgent;
use std::path::Path;

async fn load_model_from_file(
    &self,
    model_id: &str,
    checkpoint_path: &Path,
) -> Result<Arc<dyn MLModel>, String> {
    info!("Loading model {} from {}", model_id, checkpoint_path.display());

    // Check file exists
    if !checkpoint_path.exists() {
        return Err(format!("Checkpoint not found: {}", checkpoint_path.display()));
    }

    // Select device (GPU if available, CPU fallback)
    let device = Device::cuda_if_available(0)
        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to initialize device: {}", e))?;

    info!("Using device: {:?}", device);

    // Detect model type from model_id
    let model_type = if model_id.contains("DQN") {
        ModelType::DQN
    } else if model_id.contains("PPO") {
        ModelType::PPO
    } else if model_id.contains("TFT") {
        ModelType::TFT
    } else if model_id.contains("MAMBA") {
        ModelType::MAMBA2
    } else {
        return Err(format!("Unknown model type in model_id: {}", model_id));
    };

    // Load model based on type
    let model: Arc<dyn MLModel> = match model_type {
        ModelType::DQN => {
            // Load DQN from safetensors
            let config = ml::dqn::DQNConfig {
                state_dim: 16,  // From paper_trading_config.yaml
                action_dim: 3,  // Buy/Sell/Hold
                hidden_dim: 256,
                learning_rate: 0.0001,
                gamma: 0.99,
                epsilon_start: 0.1,  // Low epsilon for production
                epsilon_end: 0.01,
                epsilon_decay: 0.995,
                replay_buffer_size: 100000,
                batch_size: 128,
            };

            let mut agent = DQNAgent::new(config, device.clone())
                .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to create DQN agent: {}", e))?;

            // Load checkpoint weights
            agent.load_checkpoint(checkpoint_path)
                .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to load DQN checkpoint: {}", e))?;

            Arc::new(agent) as Arc<dyn MLModel>
        }

        ModelType::PPO => {
            // Load PPO from safetensors (actor + critic)
            let config = ml::ppo::PPOConfig {
                state_dim: 16,
                action_dim: 3,
                hidden_dim: 256,
                learning_rate: 0.0003,
                gamma: 0.99,
                gae_lambda: 0.95,
                clip_epsilon: 0.2,
                value_clip: 0.2,
                entropy_coeff: 0.01,
                max_grad_norm: 0.5,
                batch_size: 64,
                epochs_per_update: 10,
            };

            let mut agent = PPOAgent::new(config, device.clone())
                .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to create PPO agent: {}", e))?;

            // PPO has separate actor/critic checkpoints
            // Parse checkpoint paths from model_id or use convention
            let actor_path = checkpoint_path.parent()
                .ok_or("Invalid checkpoint path")?
                .join(format!("{}_actor.safetensors", model_id));
            let critic_path = checkpoint_path.parent()
                .ok_or("Invalid checkpoint path")?
                .join(format!("{}_critic.safetensors", model_id));

            agent.load_checkpoint(&actor_path, &critic_path)
                .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to load PPO checkpoint: {}", e))?;

            Arc::new(agent) as Arc<dyn MLModel>
        }

        _ => {
            return Err(format!("Model type {:?} not yet implemented for loading", model_type));
        }
    };

    info!("Successfully loaded model {} ({})",
          model_id,
          format_size(checkpoint_path.metadata()
              .map(|m| m.len())
              .unwrap_or(0)));

    Ok(model)
}

// Helper to format file size
fn format_size(bytes: u64) -> String {
    if bytes < 1024 {
        format!("{}B", bytes)
    } else if bytes < 1024 * 1024 {
        format!("{:.1}KB", bytes as f64 / 1024.0)
    } else {
        format!("{:.1}MB", bytes as f64 / 1024.0 / 1024.0)
    }
}

---

Step 2: Update Ensemble Coordinator (1-2 hours)

File: services/trading_service/src/ensemble_coordinator.rs

A. Store Loaded Models in Registry

Update ModelRegistry struct (line 214):

pub struct ModelRegistry {
    /// Active models (currently serving predictions)
    active: HashMap<String, Arc<dyn MLModel>>,  // Changed from String to Arc<dyn MLModel>

    /// Shadow models (staged for hot-swap)
    shadow: HashMap<String, Arc<dyn MLModel>>,
}

B. Add Model Registration Method

Add to EnsembleCoordinator (after line 87):

/// Register a loaded model in the ensemble
pub async fn register_loaded_model(
    &self,
    model_id: String,
    model: Arc<dyn MLModel>,
    weight: f64,
) -> MLResult<()> {
    // Register weight
    let model_weight = ModelWeight::new(model_id.clone(), weight);
    let mut weights = self.model_weights.write().await;
    weights.insert(model_id.clone(), model_weight);

    // Store model in registry
    let mut registry = self.active_models.write().await;
    registry.active.insert(model_id.clone(), model);

    info!("Registered model {} with weight {} (model loaded)", model_id, weight);
    Ok(())
}

C. Replace Mock Predictions

Replace generate_mock_predictions (lines 130-169) with:

async fn generate_real_predictions(
    &self,
    features: &Features,
) -> MLResult<Vec<ModelPrediction>> {
    let registry = self.active_models.read().await;
    let weights = self.model_weights.read().await;

    let mut predictions = Vec::new();

    for (model_id, model) in registry.active.iter() {
        if !weights.contains_key(model_id) {
            warn!("Model {} in registry but not in weights, skipping", model_id);
            continue;
        }

        // Real model inference
        match model.predict(features).await {
            Ok(prediction) => {
                debug!("Model {} predicted: value={:.3}, confidence={:.3}",
                      model_id, prediction.value, prediction.confidence);
                predictions.push(prediction);
            }
            Err(e) => {
                warn!("Model {} prediction failed: {}", model_id, e);
                // Continue with other models (ensemble degradation handling)
            }
        }
    }

    if predictions.is_empty() {
        return Err(MLError::InferenceError(
            "No successful predictions from any model".to_string()
        ));
    }

    Ok(predictions)
}

D. Update predict() Method

Update line 100 to call real predictions:

pub async fn predict(&self, features: &Features) -> MLResult<EnsembleDecision> {
    debug!("Making ensemble prediction with {} features", features.values.len());
    let start_time = Instant::now();

    // Real model predictions
    let predictions = self.generate_real_predictions(features).await?;

    // Rest of method unchanged...
    let decision = self.aggregator.aggregate(
        predictions,
        &*self.model_weights.read().await,
    ).await?;

    let aggregation_latency_us = start_time.elapsed().as_micros() as f64;
    info!(
        "Ensemble decision: {:?}, confidence: {:.3}, disagreement: {:.3}, latency: {:.1}μs",
        decision.action, decision.confidence, decision.disagreement_rate, aggregation_latency_us
    );

    Ok(decision)
}

---

Step 3: Initialize Models on Startup (2-3 hours)

File: services/trading_service/src/main.rs

A. Add Config Loading

Add to imports:

use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
use std::fs;

Add config structs:

#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
struct PaperTradingConfig {
    ensemble: EnsembleConfig,
}

#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
struct EnsembleConfig {
    models: Vec<ModelConfig>,
}

#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
struct ModelConfig {
    name: String,
    #[serde(rename = "type")]
    model_type: String,
    checkpoint: Option<String>,
    checkpoint_actor: Option<String>,
    checkpoint_critic: Option<String>,
    weight: f64,
    enabled: bool,
}

B. Add Model Initialization Function

async fn initialize_ensemble_models(
    state: &TradingServiceState,
) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    info!("Initializing ensemble models from config...");

    // Load paper trading config
    let config_path = "config/paper_trading_config.yaml";
    let config_str = fs::read_to_string(config_path)
        .context(format!("Failed to read config: {}", config_path))?;
    let config: PaperTradingConfig = serde_yaml::from_str(&config_str)
        .context("Failed to parse paper trading config")?;

    info!("Found {} models in config", config.ensemble.models.len());

    // Load each model
    let mut loaded_count = 0;
    for model_config in &config.ensemble.models {
        if !model_config.enabled {
            info!("Skipping disabled model: {}", model_config.name);
            continue;
        }

        info!("Loading model: {} (type: {}, weight: {})",
              model_config.name, model_config.model_type, model_config.weight);

        let checkpoint_path = match model_config.checkpoint {
            Some(ref path) => PathBuf::from(path),
            None => {
                warn!("Model {} has no checkpoint path, skipping", model_config.name);
                continue;
            }
        };

        // Load model using EnhancedMLServiceImpl
        match state.ml_service.load_model_from_file(&model_config.name, &checkpoint_path).await {
            Ok(model) => {
                // Register model in ensemble
                if let Some(ref coordinator) = state.ensemble_coordinator {
                    coordinator.register_loaded_model(
                        model_config.name.clone(),
                        model,
                        model_config.weight,
                    ).await?;

                    loaded_count += 1;
                    info!("✓ Model {} loaded and registered", model_config.name);
                } else {
                    warn!("No ensemble coordinator available");
                }
            }
            Err(e) => {
                warn!("Failed to load model {}: {}", model_config.name, e);
                // Continue with other models (allow partial ensemble)
            }
        }
    }

    info!("Ensemble initialization complete: {}/{} models loaded",
          loaded_count, config.ensemble.models.len());

    if loaded_count == 0 {
        return Err("No models loaded successfully".into());
    }

    Ok(())
}

C. Call Initialization in main()

Add after service state creation (around line where TradingServiceState is created):

// Initialize service state
let state = TradingServiceState::new(...).await?;

// Load ensemble models from paper trading config
initialize_ensemble_models(&state).await?;

info!("Trading service ready with {} models",
      state.ensemble_coordinator
          .as_ref()
          .map(|c| c.model_count())
          .unwrap_or(0));

// Start gRPC server
// ...

---

Step 4: Add Unit Tests (2-3 hours)

File: services/trading_service/tests/model_loading_test.rs (NEW)

use std::path::PathBuf;
use trading_service::services::enhanced_ml::EnhancedMLServiceImpl;

#[tokio::test]
async fn test_dqn_checkpoint_loading() {
    let checkpoint_path = PathBuf::from("ml/trained_models/production/dqn/dqn_epoch_30.safetensors");

    assert!(
        checkpoint_path.exists(),
        "DQN checkpoint not found at {}. Run training first: cargo run -p ml --example train_dqn",
        checkpoint_path.display()
    );

    let ml_service = EnhancedMLServiceImpl::new();
    let model = ml_service
        .load_model_from_file("DQN_epoch30", &checkpoint_path)
        .await
        .expect("Failed to load DQN checkpoint");

    // Test inference
    let features = ml::Features::new(vec![0.5; 16]);
    let prediction = model.predict(&features).await.expect("Prediction failed");

    assert!(prediction.value >= 0.0 && prediction.value <= 1.0,
            "Prediction value out of range: {}", prediction.value);
    assert!(prediction.confidence >= 0.0 && prediction.confidence <= 1.0,
            "Confidence out of range: {}", prediction.confidence);

    println!("✓ DQN checkpoint loaded successfully");
    println!("  Prediction: {:.3} (confidence: {:.3})", prediction.value, prediction.confidence);
}

#[tokio::test]
async fn test_ppo_checkpoint_loading() {
    let actor_path = PathBuf::from("ml/trained_models/production/ppo/ppo_actor_epoch_130.safetensors");
    let critic_path = PathBuf::from("ml/trained_models/production/ppo/ppo_critic_epoch_130.safetensors");

    assert!(actor_path.exists(), "PPO actor checkpoint not found");
    assert!(critic_path.exists(), "PPO critic checkpoint not found");

    let ml_service = EnhancedMLServiceImpl::new();
    let model = ml_service
        .load_model_from_file("PPO_epoch130", &actor_path)
        .await
        .expect("Failed to load PPO checkpoint");

    let features = ml::Features::new(vec![0.5; 16]);
    let prediction = model.predict(&features).await.expect("Prediction failed");

    assert!(prediction.value >= 0.0 && prediction.value <= 1.0);
    assert!(prediction.confidence >= 0.0 && prediction.confidence <= 1.0);

    println!("✓ PPO checkpoint loaded successfully");
}

#[tokio::test]
async fn test_ensemble_with_real_models() {
    use trading_service::ensemble_coordinator::EnsembleCoordinator;

    let coordinator = EnsembleCoordinator::new();
    let ml_service = EnhancedMLServiceImpl::new();

    // Load DQN
    let dqn_path = PathBuf::from("ml/trained_models/production/dqn/dqn_epoch_30.safetensors");
    let dqn_model = ml_service.load_model_from_file("DQN", &dqn_path).await.unwrap();
    coordinator.register_loaded_model("DQN".to_string(), dqn_model, 0.4).await.unwrap();

    // Load PPO
    let ppo_path = PathBuf::from("ml/trained_models/production/ppo/ppo_actor_epoch_130.safetensors");
    let ppo_model = ml_service.load_model_from_file("PPO", &ppo_path).await.unwrap();
    coordinator.register_loaded_model("PPO".to_string(), ppo_model, 0.6).await.unwrap();

    // Verify model count
    assert_eq!(coordinator.model_count().await, 2, "Should have 2 models registered");

    // Test ensemble prediction
    let features = ml::Features::new(vec![0.5; 16]);
    let decision = coordinator.predict(&features).await.expect("Ensemble prediction failed");

    println!("✓ Ensemble prediction successful");
    println!("  Action: {:?}", decision.action);
    println!("  Confidence: {:.3}", decision.confidence);
    println!("  Disagreement: {:.3}", decision.disagreement_rate);

    // Verify prediction is not default/mock
    assert!(decision.confidence > 0.0, "Confidence should be > 0");
}

---

VERIFICATION CHECKLIST

After implementation, verify:

1. Build Success

cd services/trading_service
cargo build --release

2. Unit Tests Pass

cargo test --package trading_service model_loading

3. Service Starts Successfully

cargo run --release

Expected Logs:

[INFO] Initializing ensemble models from config...
[INFO] Found 3 models in config
[INFO] Loading model: DQN_epoch30 (type: DQN, weight: 0.4)
[INFO] Using device: Cuda(0)
[INFO] Successfully loaded model DQN_epoch30 (74.0KB)
[INFO] ✓ Model DQN_epoch30 loaded and registered
[INFO] Loading model: PPO_epoch130 (type: PPO, weight: 0.4)
[INFO] Successfully loaded model PPO_epoch130 (84.0KB)
[INFO] ✓ Model PPO_epoch130 loaded and registered
[INFO] Ensemble initialization complete: 3/3 models loaded
[INFO] Trading service ready with 3 models

4. Ensemble Predictions Work

# Use tli to test prediction
tli predict --symbol ES.FUT --features 0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5

Expected Output:

Ensemble Decision:
  Action: Buy
  Confidence: 0.782
  Disagreement: 0.145
  Latency: 23.4μs

5. Check Metrics

curl http://localhost:9092/metrics | grep ensemble

Expected Metrics:

ensemble_prediction_confidence{symbol="ES.FUT"} 0.782
ensemble_prediction_disagreement{symbol="ES.FUT"} 0.145
ensemble_aggregation_latency_us{symbol="ES.FUT"} 23.4

---

TROUBLESHOOTING

Error: "Checkpoint not found"

Fix: Verify checkpoint paths are relative to project root:

ls -la ml/trained_models/production/dqn/
ls -la ml/trained_models/production/ppo/

Error: "Failed to initialize device"

Fix: Check CUDA availability:

nvidia-smi
export CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=0

Error: "Failed to load DQN checkpoint: dimension mismatch"

Fix: Check model config dimensions match checkpoint:

// Checkpoint was trained with 16 features, 3 actions
state_dim: 16,  // Must match training config
action_dim: 3,  // Buy/Sell/Hold

Error: "No successful predictions from any model"

Fix: Check model logs for individual failures:

docker-compose logs trading_service | grep -i "prediction failed"

---

DEPENDENCIES

Add to services/trading_service/Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
ml = { path = "../../ml" }
candle-core = "0.7"
candle-nn = "0.7"
serde_yaml = "0.9"
anyhow = "1.0"

---

ESTIMATED TIMELINE

• Step 1 (Model Loading): 2-3 hours
• Step 2 (Ensemble Update): 1-2 hours
• Step 3 (Startup Init): 2-3 hours
• Step 4 (Unit Tests): 2-3 hours
• Testing & Debug: 1-2 hours

Total: 7-11 hours (1-2 business days)

---

SUCCESS CRITERIA

✅ All unit tests pass ✅ Service starts without errors ✅ Logs show "Successfully loaded model" for all 3 models ✅ Ensemble produces non-zero predictions ✅ Prediction confidence > 0.55 (trading threshold) ✅ Latency < 50μs P99 ✅ Paper trading generates orders (not 0)

---

NEXT STEPS AFTER COMPLETION

1. Monitor paper trading for 24 hours
2. Verify orders are being generated
3. Check Sharpe ratio matches expected (~1.5-1.6)
4. Validate disagreement rates (~10-30%)
5. Proceed to Phase 2: 1% capital deployment