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What does this PR do?

Currently, we can only implement the reward manager inside verl.
This PR supports importing the new reward module from outside, similar to our reward function solution.

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Code Review

This pull request introduces a valuable feature by allowing external reward loop modules to be imported via importlib, increasing the framework's flexibility. The implementation in reward_loop.py is straightforward, and the configuration changes in the YAML files are clear.

My review includes two main points of feedback with high severity:

  1. The use of assert for configuration validation should be replaced with explicit if checks and ValueError exceptions for better robustness, especially in production environments.
  2. The instantiation of the custom reward manager class is very rigid due to the use of hardcoded positional arguments. This limits the utility of the new feature and can be confusing for developers. I've suggested a more flexible design using keyword arguments.

Addressing these points will improve the robustness and usability of this new feature.

Comment on lines +87 to +92
assert reward_loop_module_path is not None, (
"reward_loop_module_path must be set when reward_loop_source='importlib'"
)
assert reward_loop_class_name is not None, (
"reward_loop_class_name must be set when reward_loop_source='importlib'"
)
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high

Using assert for validating configuration parameters is not robust. Assertions can be disabled with the -O Python flag, which would cause these checks to be skipped in production environments. This could lead to cryptic errors later in the code if the configuration is missing required fields. It's better to use explicit if checks and raise a ValueError for invalid configuration.

            if reward_loop_module_path is None:
                raise ValueError("reward_loop_module_path must be set when reward_loop_source='importlib'")
            if reward_loop_class_name is None:
                raise ValueError("reward_loop_class_name must be set when reward_loop_source='importlib'")

Comment on lines 100 to 102
self.reward_loop = reward_manager_cls(
self.config, self.input_tokenizer, self.reward_fn, self.reward_router_address, self.reward_model_tokenizer
)
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high

The instantiation of the reward_manager_cls uses a fixed set of positional arguments. This creates a rigid contract for any custom reward manager, which must accept these exact arguments in this specific order. This reduces the flexibility that this PR aims to provide and can be error-prone for developers implementing their own reward managers, especially since the base class RewardManagerBase has a different __init__ signature.

A more flexible and robust approach would be to use keyword arguments. This would make the interface for custom reward managers clearer and less brittle. For example:

self.reward_loop = reward_manager_cls(
    config=self.config,
    tokenizer=self.input_tokenizer,
    reward_fn=self.reward_fn,
    reward_router_address=self.reward_router_address,
    reward_model_tokenizer=self.reward_model_tokenizer,
)

This would likely require changes to RewardManagerBase to accept **kwargs, but it would significantly improve the design and usability of this feature. Please consider refactoring the instantiation to be more flexible.

@yyDing1 yyDing1 merged commit ccd7d93 into volcengine:main Dec 22, 2025
70 of 73 checks passed
@PeterSH6 PeterSH6 deleted the gm/reward_loop branch December 22, 2025 06:35
jsfanfanfan pushed a commit to meituan-search/verl that referenced this pull request Jan 9, 2026
…le (volcengine#4635)

### What does this PR do?

Currently, we can only implement the reward manager inside verl.
This PR supports importing the new reward module from outside, similar
to our reward function solution.

### Checklist Before Starting

- [ ] Search for similar PRs. Paste at least one query link here: ...
- [ ] Format the PR title as `[{modules}] {type}: {description}` (This
will be checked by the CI)
- `{modules}` include `fsdp`, `megatron`, `sglang`, `vllm`, `rollout`,
`trainer`, `ci`, `training_utils`, `recipe`, `hardware`, `deployment`,
`ray`, `worker`, `single_controller`, `misc`, `perf`, `model`, `algo`,
`env`, `tool`, `ckpt`, `doc`, `data`, `cfg`, `reward`
- If this PR involves multiple modules, separate them with `,` like
`[megatron, fsdp, doc]`
  - `{type}` is in `feat`, `fix`, `refactor`, `chore`, `test`
- If this PR breaks any API (CLI arguments, config, function signature,
etc.), add `[BREAKING]` to the beginning of the title.
  - Example: `[BREAKING][fsdp, megatron] feat: dynamic batching`

### Test

> For changes that can not be tested by CI (e.g., algorithm
implementation, new model support), validate by experiment(s) and show
results like training curve plots, evaluation results, etc.

### API and Usage Example

> Demonstrate how the API changes if any, and provide usage example(s)
if possible.

```python
# Add code snippet or script demonstrating how to use this
```

### Design & Code Changes

> Demonstrate the high-level design if this PR is complex, and list the
specific changes.

### Checklist Before Submitting

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Please check all the following items before requesting a review,
otherwise the reviewer might deprioritize this PR for review.

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Guide](https://github.com/volcengine/verl/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).
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--color=always`
- [ ] Add / Update [the
documentation](https://github.com/volcengine/verl/tree/main/docs).
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