Agent Conversation: anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
Task: rl-offpolicy-continuous
Online RL: Off-Policy Actor-Critic for Continuous Control
Objective
Design and implement an off-policy actor-critic RL algorithm for continuous control. Your code goes in custom_offpolicy_continuous.py. Three reference implementations (DDPG, TD3, SAC) are provided as read-only.
Background
Off-policy methods maintain a replay buffer of past experience and update the policy using data collected under previous policies. Key challenges include overestimation bias in Q-value estimates, exploration-exploitation tradeoff, and sample efficiency. Different approaches address these through twin critics, entropy regularization, target smoothing, or delayed updates.
Constraints
- Network architecture dimensions are FIXED and cannot be modified
- Total parameter count is enforced at runtime
- Focus on algorithmic innovation: new loss functions, update rules, exploration strategies, etc.
- Do NOT simply copy a reference implementation with minor changes
Evaluation
Trained and evaluated on HalfCheetah-v4, Hopper-v4, Walker2d-v4. Additional held-out environments (not shown during intermediate testing) are used to assess generalization. Metric: mean episodic return over 10 evaluation episodes (higher is better).
cleanrl/cleanrl/custom_offpolicy_continuous.py [EDITABLE — lines 153–244 only]
1: # Custom off-policy continuous RL algorithm for MLS-Bench
2: #
3: # EDITABLE section: Actor, QNetwork, and OffPolicyAlgorithm classes.
4: # FIXED sections: everything else (config, env, buffer, eval, training loop).
5: import os
6: import random
7: import time
8: from dataclasses import dataclass
9:
10: import gymnasium as gym
11: import numpy as np
12: import torch
13: import torch.nn as nn
14: import torch.nn.functional as F
15: import torch.optim as optim
16: import tyro
17:
18:
19: # =====================================================================
20: # FIXED: Configuration
21: # =====================================================================
22: @dataclass
23: class Args:
24: exp_name: str = os.path.basename(__file__)[: -len(".py")]
25: """the name of this experiment"""
26: seed: int = 1
27: """seed of the experiment"""
28: torch_deterministic: bool = True
29: """if toggled, `torch.backends.cudnn.deterministic=False`"""
30: cuda: bool = True
31: """if toggled, cuda will be enabled by default"""
32:
33: # Algorithm specific arguments
34: env_id: str = "HalfCheetah-v4"
35: """the id of the environment"""
36: total_timesteps: int = 1000000
37: """total timesteps of the experiments"""
38: learning_rate: float = 3e-4
39: """the learning rate of the optimizer"""
40: buffer_size: int = int(1e6)
41: """the replay memory buffer size"""
42: gamma: floaTool Input
1{
2 "op": "replace",
3 "filename": "cleanrl/cleanrl/custom_offpolicy_continuous.py",
4 "start_line": 153,
5 "end_line": 244,
6 "content": "class Actor(nn.Module):\n \"\"\"Deterministic actor with tanh squashing.\"\"\"\n\n def __init__(self, obs_dim, action_dim, max_action):\n super().__init__()\n self.max_action = max_action\n self.fc1 = nn.Linear(obs_dim, 256)\n self.fc2 = nn.Linear(256, 256)\n self.fc_mu = nn.Linear(256, action_dim)\n self.register_buffer(\"action_scale\", torch.tensor(max_action, dtype=torch.float32))\n\n def forward(self, obs):\n x = F.relu(self.fc1(obs))\n x = F.relu(self.fc2(x))\n return torch.tanh(self.fc_mu(x)) * self.action_scale\n\n @torch.no_grad()\n def get_action(self, obs):\n return self.forward(obs)\n\n\nclass QNetwork(nn.Module):\n \"\"\"Q-function Q(s, a) -> scalar.\"\"\"\n\n def __init__(self, obs_dim, action_dim):\n super().__init__()\n self.fc1 = nn.Linear(obs_dim + action_dim, 256)\n self.fc2 = nn.Linear(256, 256)\n self.fc3 = nn.Linear(256, 1)\n\n def forward(self, obs, action):\n x = torch.cat([obs, action], dim=-1)\n x = F.relu(self.fc1(x))\n x = F.relu(self.fc2(x))\n return self.fc3(x)\n\n\nclass OffPolicyAlgorithm:\n \"\"\"APAC: Adaptive Pessimistic Actor-Critic.\n\n Novel contributions over TD3:\n 1. Per-sample adaptive pessimism: target Q uses a disagreement-dependent\n blend of min/mean critics. Samples where critics disagree more get\n more conservative targets (uncertainty-aware value estimation).\n 2. Dual-critic actor gradient: actor maximizes mean(Q1,Q2) for\n lower-variance policy gradients using all critic information.\n \"\"\"\n\n def __init__(self, obs_dim, action_dim, max_action, device, args):\n self.device = device\n self.max_action = max_action\n self.gamma = args.gamma\n self.tau = args.tau\n self.exploration_noise = args.exploration_noise\n self.policy_frequency = args.policy_frequency\n self.total_it = 0\n self.policy_noise = 0.2\n self.noise_clip = 0.5\n # Adaptive pessimism: base_pess when disagreement == EMA,\n # increases toward 1.0 for high-disagreement samples,\n # decreases to 0.5 for low-disagreement samples.\n self.base_pessimism = 0.75\n self.pessimism_sensitivity = 0.25\n self.disagreement_ema = -1.0 # sentinel for uninitialized\n self.ema_decay = 0.999\n\n self.actor = Actor(obs_dim, action_dim, max_action).to(device)\n self.target_actor = Actor(obs_dim, action_dim, max_action).to(device)\n self.target_actor.load_state_dict(self.actor.state_dict())\n self.qf1 = QNetwork(obs_dim, action_dim).to(device)\n self.qf2 = QNetwork(obs_dim, action_dim).to(device)\n self.qf1_target = QNetwork(obs_dim, action_dim).to(device)\n self.qf2_target = QNetwork(obs_dim, action_dim).to(device)\n self.qf1_target.load_state_dict(self.qf1.state_dict())\n self.qf2_target.load_state_dict(self.qf2.state_dict())\n self.actor_optimizer = optim.Adam(self.actor.parameters(), lr=args.learning_rate)\n self.q_optimizer = optim.Adam(\n list(self.qf1.parameters()) + list(self.qf2.parameters()),\n lr=args.learning_rate,\n )\n\n def select_action(self, obs):\n obs_t = torch.tensor(obs.reshape(1, -1), device=self.device, dtype=torch.float32)\n with torch.no_grad():\n action = self.actor(obs_t).cpu().numpy().flatten()\n noise = np.random.normal(0, self.max_action * self.exploration_noise, size=action.shape)\n return np.clip(action + noise, -self.max_action, self.max_action)\n\n def update(self, batch):\n self.total_it += 1\n obs, next_obs, actions, rewards, dones = batch\n with torch.no_grad():\n noise = (torch.randn_like(actions) * self.policy_noise).clamp(\n -self.noise_clip, self.noise_clip) * self.max_action\n next_actions = (self.target_actor(next_obs) + noise).clamp(\n -self.max_action, self.max_action)\n tq1 = self.qf1_target(next_obs, next_actions).view(-1)\n tq2 = self.qf2_target(next_obs, next_actions).view(-1)\n # Per-sample adaptive pessimism based on critic disagreement\n disag = torch.abs(tq1 - tq2)\n bd = disag.mean().item()\n if self.disagreement_ema < 0:\n self.disagreement_ema = bd\n else:\n self.disagreement_ema = (self.ema_decay * self.disagreement_ema\n + (1 - self.ema_decay) * bd)\n if self.disagreement_ema > 1e-8:\n ratio = disag / self.disagreement_ema\n pess = (self.base_pessimism\n + self.pessimism_sensitivity * (ratio - 1.0)).clamp(0.5, 1.0)\n else:\n pess = torch.ones_like(tq1)\n min_q = torch.min(tq1, tq2)\n mean_q = 0.5 * (tq1 + tq2)\n target_q = pess * min_q + (1 - pess) * mean_q\n td_target = rewards + (1 - dones) * self.gamma * target_q\n q1 = self.qf1(obs, actions).view(-1)\n q2 = self.qf2(obs, actions).view(-1)\n critic_loss = F.mse_loss(q1, td_target) + F.mse_loss(q2, td_target)\n self.q_optimizer.zero_grad()\n critic_loss.backward()\n self.q_optimizer.step()\n actor_loss_val = 0.0\n if self.total_it % self.policy_frequency == 0:\n pi = self.actor(obs)\n q1_pi = self.qf1(obs, pi).view(-1)\n q2_pi = self.qf2(obs, pi).view(-1)\n # Dual-critic actor loss: mean of both critics\n actor_loss = -0.5 * (q1_pi + q2_pi).mean()\n self.actor_optimizer.zero_grad()\n actor_loss.backward()\n self.actor_optimizer.step()\n actor_loss_val = actor_loss.item()\n soft_update(self.target_actor, self.actor, self.tau)\n soft_update(self.qf1_target, self.qf1, self.tau)\n soft_update(self.qf2_target, self.qf2, self.tau)\n return {\"critic_loss\": critic_loss.item(), \"actor_loss\": actor_loss_val}\n"
7}OK: Replaced lines 153..244 with 137 line(s) in cleanrl/cleanrl/custom_offpolicy_continuous.py. Editable range: 153–289.
[Current file: cleanrl/cleanrl/custom_offpolicy_continuous.py | editable: 153–289 | total: 370 lines]
150| # =====================================================================
151| # EDITABLE: Network definitions and OffPolicyAlgorithm
152| # =====================================================================
153 class Actor(nn.Module):
154 """Deterministic actor with tanh squashing."""
155
156 def __init__(self, obs_dim, action_dim, max_action):
157 super().__init__()
158 self.max_action = max_action
159 self.fc1 = nn.Linear(obs_dim, 256)
160 self.fc2 = nn.Linear(256, 256)
161 self.fc_mu = nn.Linear(256, action_dim)
162 self.register_buffer("action_scale", torch.tensor(max_action, dtype=torch.float32))
163
164 def forward(self, obs):
165
[Test #1] (2 tests remaining; call test(submit=1) to submit this result) ## Seed 42 ### halfcheetah-v4 (scripts/halfcheetah.sh) Training metrics (last steps): TRAIN_METRICS step=995000 critic_loss=54.7119 actor_loss=-873.0414 TRAIN_METRICS step=996000 critic_loss=54.4840 actor_loss=-843.3099 TRAIN_METRICS step=997000 critic_loss=78.3975 actor_loss=-878.6301 TRAIN_METRICS step=998000 critic_loss=65.0641 actor_loss=-874.4671 TRAIN_METRICS step=999000 critic_loss=81.7995 actor_loss=-868.5217 Evaluation (halfcheetah-v4): Eval episodic_return: 11685.52 Eval episodic_return: 11388.63 Eval episodic_return: 11040.20 Final eval return: 11040.20 ### reacher-v4 (scripts/reacher.sh) Training metrics (last steps): TRAIN_METRICS step=995000 critic_loss=0.0214 actor_loss=12.1667 TRAIN_METRICS step=996000 critic_loss=0.0251 actor_loss=12.3616 TRAIN_METRICS step=997000 critic_loss=0.0241 actor_loss=12.3105 TRAIN_METRICS step=998000 critic_loss=0.0216 actor_loss=12.2705 TRAIN_METRICS step=999000 cri
Tool Input
1{
2 "op": "replace",
3 "filename": "cleanrl/cleanrl/custom_offpolicy_continuous.py",
4 "start_line": 211,
5 "end_line": 217,
6 "content": " # Adaptive pessimism: base_pess when disagreement == EMA,\n # increases toward 1.0 for high-disagreement samples,\n # decreases to 0.4 for low-disagreement samples.\n self.base_pessimism = 0.65\n self.pessimism_sensitivity = 0.35\n self.disagreement_ema = -1.0 # sentinel for uninitialized\n self.ema_decay = 0.999"
7}OK: Replaced lines 211..217 with 7 line(s) in cleanrl/cleanrl/custom_offpolicy_continuous.py. Editable range: 153–289.
[Current file: cleanrl/cleanrl/custom_offpolicy_continuous.py | editable: 153–289 | total: 370 lines]
150| # =====================================================================
151| # EDITABLE: Network definitions and OffPolicyAlgorithm
152| # =====================================================================
153 class Actor(nn.Module):
154 """Deterministic actor with tanh squashing."""
155
156 def __init__(self, obs_dim, action_dim, max_action):
157 super().__init__()
158 self.max_action = max_action
159 self.fc1 = nn.Linear(obs_dim, 256)
160 self.fc2 = nn.Linear(256, 256)
161 self.fc_mu = nn.Linear(256, action_dim)
162 self.register_buffer("action_scale", torch.tensor(max_action, dtype=torch.float32))
163
164 def forward(self, obs):
165
[Test #2] (1 test remaining; call test(submit=2) to submit this result) ### halfcheetah-v4 (scripts/halfcheetah.sh) Training metrics (last steps): TRAIN_METRICS step=995000 critic_loss=21.6737 actor_loss=-774.4131 TRAIN_METRICS step=996000 critic_loss=29.8480 actor_loss=-772.5455 TRAIN_METRICS step=997000 critic_loss=26.9501 actor_loss=-774.3566 TRAIN_METRICS step=998000 critic_loss=24.2730 actor_loss=-777.2487 TRAIN_METRICS step=999000 critic_loss=22.3813 actor_loss=-777.3553 Evaluation (halfcheetah-v4): Eval episodic_return: 9953.21 Eval episodic_return: 9977.41 Eval episodic_return: 9989.50 Final eval return: 9989.50 ### reacher-v4 (scripts/reacher.sh) Training metrics (last steps): TRAIN_METRICS step=995000 critic_loss=0.0195 actor_loss=12.0528 TRAIN_METRICS step=996000 critic_loss=0.0231 actor_loss=12.2703 TRAIN_METRICS step=997000 critic_loss=0.0237 actor_loss=12.2343 TRAIN_METRICS step=998000 critic_loss=0.0204 actor_loss=12.1579 TRAIN_METRICS step=999000 critic_loss=0.0221 ac
Tool Input
1{
2 "submit": 1
3}## Seed 42 ### halfcheetah-v4 (scripts/halfcheetah.sh) Training metrics (last steps): TRAIN_METRICS step=995000 critic_loss=54.7119 actor_loss=-873.0414 TRAIN_METRICS step=996000 critic_loss=54.4840 actor_loss=-843.3099 TRAIN_METRICS step=997000 critic_loss=78.3975 actor_loss=-878.6301 TRAIN_METRICS step=998000 critic_loss=65.0641 actor_loss=-874.4671 TRAIN_METRICS step=999000 critic_loss=81.7995 actor_loss=-868.5217 Evaluation (halfcheetah-v4): Eval episodic_return: 11685.52 Eval episodic_return: 11388.63 Eval episodic_return: 11040.20 Final eval return: 11040.20 ### reacher-v4 (scripts/reacher.sh) Training metrics (last steps): TRAIN_METRICS step=995000 critic_loss=0.0214 actor_loss=12.1667 TRAIN_METRICS step=996000 critic_loss=0.0251 actor_loss=12.3616 TRAIN_METRICS step=997000 critic_loss=0.0241 actor_loss=12.3105 TRAIN_METRICS step=998000 critic_loss=0.0216 actor_loss=12.2705 TRAIN_METRICS step=999000 critic_loss=0.0211 actor_loss=12.2889 Evaluation (reacher-v4): Eval episodic_