Upgrade to sifter v2

examples/slurm_inspect/demo_slurm.py

@@ -13,14 +13,15 @@
 from rich.console import Console
 from rich.table import Table
 
-from sifter import find_latest_container, get_jobs
+from sifter import api
 
 from isambard_container_tools._helpers.pre_download import (
     DatasetSpec,
     pre_download_datasets,
     pre_download_models,
 )
 from isambard_container_tools.engines.vllm import get_num_nodes_gpus, submit_job
+from isambard_container_tools.engines.vllm.serve import find_latest_container
 from isambard_container_tools.engines.vllm.serve import _parse_value  # noqa: PLC2701
 
 LOG_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2] / "logs"
@@ -109,7 +110,7 @@ def get_results(jobs: list[JobInfo], console: Console) -> dict[str, dict[str, st
     id_to_job = {j.job_id: j for j in jobs}
 
     while pending:
-        states = {j.job_id: j.state for jid in pending for j in get_jobs(job_id=jid)}
+        states = {j.job_id: j.state for jid in pending for j in api.status(job_id=jid)}
         for job_id in list(pending):
             state = states.get(job_id, "UNKNOWN")
             if any(state.startswith(s) for s in terminal_states):
@@ -213,7 +214,7 @@ def demo_slurm(
 
     # Use the plain vLLM container (without vllm-lens) for vanilla runs
     if vanilla and container is None:
-        container = find_latest_container(prefix="vllm-")
+        container = find_latest_container()
 
     # Compute serving config and submit jobs
     jobs: list[JobInfo] = []

pyproject.toml

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
         "python-dotenv==1.2.2",
         "pyyaml==6.0.3",
         "rich==15.0.0",
-        "sifter==0.2.0",
+        "sifter-build==2.0.0",
         "typer==0.26.7",
     ]
     description="Isambard HPC container management utilities"
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
 [tool.uv]
     environments=["sys_platform == 'linux'"]
     [tool.uv.sources]
-        sifter=[{git="https://github.com/UKGovernmentBEIS/sifter.git"}]
+        sifter-build=[{git="https://github.com/UKGovernmentBEIS/sifter-build.git", tag="2.0.0"}]
         torch=[{index="pytorch-cu126", marker="sys_platform == 'linux'"}]
 
 [dependency-groups]

sifter.yaml

@@ -1,98 +1,98 @@
 # Isambard Containers Build Manifest
 #
-# Build all:     sifter build --all
-# Build one:     sifter build vllm-0.17.1
-# Preview:       sifter build --all --dry-run
-# Push to S3:    sifter push --release
-# Pull from S3:  sifter pull vllm-0.18.0_0.1.0.sif
+# Build all:  sifter build --all
+# Build one:  sifter build vllm-0.23.0
+# Preview:    sifter build --all --dry-run
+
+name: isambard-containers
 
 builds:
   # ============================================================
   # Base image: CUDA 12.6 + PyTorch 2.9.1 for Isambard GH200
   # ============================================================
-  pytorch-2.9.1-cu126_0.1.0:
-    steps:
-      - path: definitions/pytorch/pytorch.def
-        args:
-          PYTORCH_VERSION: "2.9.1"
-          CUDA_VERSION: "12.6"
+  pytorch-2.9.1-cu126:
+    tag: "0.1.0"
+    definition: definitions/pytorch/pytorch.def
+    args:
+      PYTORCH_VERSION: "2.9.1"
+      CUDA_VERSION: "12.6"
 
-  pytorch-2.11.0-cu129_0.1.0:
-    steps:
-      - path: definitions/pytorch/pytorch.def
-        args:
-          PYTORCH_VERSION: "2.11.0"
-          CUDA_VERSION: "12.9"
-          CUDA_IMAGE: "nvidia/cuda:12.9.0-cudnn-devel-ubuntu24.04"
+  pytorch-2.11.0-cu129:
+    tag: "0.1.0"
+    definition: definitions/pytorch/pytorch.def
+    args:
+      PYTORCH_VERSION: "2.11.0"
+      CUDA_VERSION: "12.9"
+      CUDA_IMAGE: "nvidia/cuda:12.9.0-cudnn-devel-ubuntu24.04"
 
-  pytorch-2.11.0-cu1302_0.1.0:
-    steps:
-      - path: definitions/pytorch/pytorch.def
-        args:
-          PYTORCH_VERSION: "2.11.0"
-          CUDA_VERSION: "13.0.2"
-          CUDA_IMAGE: "nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-cudnn-devel-ubuntu24.04"
+  pytorch-2.11.0-cu1302:
+    tag: "0.1.0"
+    definition: definitions/pytorch/pytorch.def
+    args:
+      PYTORCH_VERSION: "2.11.0"
+      CUDA_VERSION: "13.0.2"
+      CUDA_IMAGE: "nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-cudnn-devel-ubuntu24.04"
 
   # ============================================================
   # vLLM
   # ============================================================
-  vllm-0.23.0_0.1.0:
-    base: pytorch-2.11.0-cu1302_0.1.0
-    steps:
-      - path: definitions/vllm/vllm.def
-        args:
-          VLLM_VERSION: "v0.23.0"
-          TRANSFORMERS_OVERRIDE: "==5.12.1"
-          FLASHINFER_VERSION: "0.6.12"
+  vllm-0.23.0:
+    tag: "0.1.0"
+    needs: pytorch-2.11.0-cu1302:0.1.0
+    definition: definitions/vllm/vllm.def
+    args:
+      VLLM_VERSION: "v0.23.0"
+      TRANSFORMERS_OVERRIDE: "==5.12.1"
+      FLASHINFER_VERSION: "0.6.12"
 
   # ============================================================
   # vLLM + vllm-lens variants (includes activation inspection plugin)
   # ============================================================
-  vllm-lens-0.23.0_0.1.0:
-    base: pytorch-2.11.0-cu1302_0.1.0
-    steps:
-      - path: definitions/vllm/vllm.def
-        args:
-          VLLM_VERSION: "v0.23.0"
-          TRANSFORMERS_OVERRIDE: "==5.12.1"
-          FLASHINFER_VERSION: "0.6.12"
-          VLLM_LENS_VERSION: "1.1.0"
-          VLLM_USE_V2_MODEL_RUNNER: "0"  # vllm-lens not yet v2-runner compatible
+  vllm-lens-0.23.0:
+    tag: "0.1.0"
+    needs: pytorch-2.11.0-cu1302:0.1.0
+    definition: definitions/vllm/vllm.def
+    args:
+      VLLM_VERSION: "v0.23.0"
+      TRANSFORMERS_OVERRIDE: "==5.12.1"
+      FLASHINFER_VERSION: "0.6.12"
+      VLLM_LENS_VERSION: "1.1.0"
+      VLLM_USE_V2_MODEL_RUNNER: "0"  # vllm-lens not yet v2-runner compatible
 
   # ============================================================
   # TRL - training layer on top of vllm
   # ============================================================
-  trl-1.7.0_0.1.0:
-    base: vllm-0.23.0_0.1.0
-    steps:
-      - path: definitions/trl/trl.def
-        args:
-          TRL_VERSION: "1.7.0"
-          # aisi-inspect-tools is a private AISI repo cloned over SSH.
-          # External builders without access should set this to "false".
-          INSTALL_AISI_INSPECT_TOOLS: "true"
+  trl-1.7.0:
+    tag: "0.1.0"
+    needs: vllm-0.23.0:0.1.0
+    definition: definitions/trl/trl.def
+    args:
+      TRL_VERSION: "1.7.0"
+      # aisi-inspect-tools is a private AISI repo cloned over SSH.
+      # External builders without access should set this to "false".
+      INSTALL_AISI_INSPECT_TOOLS: "true"
 
   # ============================================================
   # vLLM head
   # ============================================================
-  # vllm-lens-head-7_jun_2026_0.1.0:
-  #   base: pytorch-2.11.0-cu1302_0.1.0
-  #   steps:
-  #     - path: definitions/vllm/vllm.def
-  #       args:
-  #         VLLM_VERSION: "main"
-  #         VLLM_COMMIT: "228bcc436b0f09cf1824f00fd44f8f9c94060940"
-  #         TRANSFORMERS_OVERRIDE: "==5.12.1"
-  #         FLASHINFER_VERSION: "0.6.12"
-  #         VLLM_LENS_VERSION: "1.1.0"
-  #         VLLM_USE_V2_MODEL_RUNNER: "0"  # vllm-lens not yet v2-runner compatible
+  # vllm-lens-head-7-jun-2026:
+  #   tag: "0.1.0"
+  #   needs: pytorch-2.11.0-cu1302:0.1.0
+  #   definition: definitions/vllm/vllm.def
+  #   args:
+  #     VLLM_VERSION: "main"
+  #     VLLM_COMMIT: "228bcc436b0f09cf1824f00fd44f8f9c94060940"
+  #     TRANSFORMERS_OVERRIDE: "==5.12.1"
+  #     FLASHINFER_VERSION: "0.6.12"
+  #     VLLM_LENS_VERSION: "1.1.0"
+  #     VLLM_USE_V2_MODEL_RUNNER: "0"
 
   # ============================================================
   # SGLang (not verified as working across all models yet)
   # ============================================================
-  sglang-0.5.6_0.2.0:
-    base: pytorch-2.9.1-cu126_0.1.0
-    steps:
-      - path: definitions/sglang/sglang.def
-        args:
-          SGLANG_VERSION: "v0.5.6.post2"
+  sglang-0.5.6:
+    tag: "0.2.0"
+    needs: pytorch-2.9.1-cu126:0.1.0
+    definition: definitions/sglang/sglang.def
+    args:
+      SGLANG_VERSION: "v0.5.6.post2"

src/isambard_container_tools/__init__.py

@@ -1,6 +1 @@
-from sifter import find_latest_container, resolve_container
-
-__all__ = [
-    "find_latest_container",
-    "resolve_container",
-]
+"""Isambard HPC container management utilities."""

src/isambard_container_tools/benchmarks/run_benchmark.py

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 
 import typer
 
-from sifter import resolve_container
+from sifter import api
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -68,7 +68,25 @@ def main(
         partition = "interactive"
         reservation = "interactive"
 
-    container_path = resolve_container(container)
+    # Accept a .sif path as-is, or resolve a sifter ref ("<name>" / "<name>:<tag>").
+    if container.endswith(".sif"):
+        container_path = container
+    else:
+        ref_name, _, ref_tag = container.partition(":")
+        if ref_tag:
+            container_path = next(
+                (
+                    str(img.sif_path)
+                    for img in api.list_local_sifs()
+                    if img.name == ref_name and img.tag == ref_tag
+                ),
+                container,
+            )
+        else:
+            try:
+                container_path = str(api.latest(ref_name))
+            except FileNotFoundError:
+                container_path = container
     if not Path(container_path).exists():
         logger.error("Container not found: %s", container_path)
         raise typer.Exit(1)

src/isambard_container_tools/engines/vllm/serve.py

@@ -27,11 +27,7 @@
 from rich.console import Console
 from rich.table import Table
 
-from sifter import (
-    find_latest_container as _sifter_find_latest,
-    get_jobs,
-    resolve_container,
-)
+from sifter import api
 from isambard_container_tools.engines.vllm.recipes import (
     apply_exclusive_defaults,
     dict_to_cli_args,
@@ -55,15 +51,55 @@
 app = typer.Typer(help="Submit a vLLM serving job to SLURM.")
 
 
+def _version_key(version: str) -> tuple[int, ...]:
+    """Sort key for a dotted version (numeric parts; non-numeric sort low)."""
+    return tuple(int(p) if p.isdigit() else -1 for p in version.split("."))
+
+
+def _latest_family_build(family: str) -> str:
+    """Highest-versioned local build name in a vLLM family (e.g. `vllm-0.23.0`).
+
+    Containers are named `<family>-<version>`; pick the highest <version>
+    present locally, skipping deeper families (so `vllm` ignores `vllm-lens-*`).
+    """
+    prefix = f"{family}-"
+    builds: dict[str, str] = {}  # version -> build name
+    for img in api.list_local_sifs():
+        if img.name.startswith(prefix):
+            version = img.name[len(prefix) :]
+            # skip deeper families (vllm-lens-*, *-head-*) under a shorter prefix
+            if "-" not in version:
+                builds[version] = img.name
+    if not builds:
+        raise FileNotFoundError(family)
+    return builds[max(builds, key=_version_key)]
+
+
 def find_latest_container(
     vllm_version: str | None = None, *, vllm_lens: bool = False
 ) -> str:
-    """Find the latest vLLM container in the sifter registry."""
-    prefix = "vllm-lens-" if vllm_lens else "vllm-"
+    """Find the latest local vLLM container built or pulled via sifter.
+
+    Containers are named `<family>-<version>` (e.g. `vllm-0.23.0`) and tagged by
+    build version. With *vllm_version*, resolve that family member; otherwise
+    pick the highest-versioned member of the family present locally.
+    """
+    family = "vllm-lens" if vllm_lens else "vllm"
     try:
-        return _sifter_find_latest(prefix=prefix, version=vllm_version)
-    except RuntimeError as exc:
-        logger.error("%s", exc)
+        if vllm_version is not None:
+            # Recipes may carry a leading "v"; build names don't.
+            name = f"{family}-{vllm_version.removeprefix('v')}"
+        else:
+            name = _latest_family_build(family)
+        return str(api.latest(name))
+    except FileNotFoundError as exc:
+        logger.error(
+            "No local %s container found%s — build or pull it first "
+            "(e.g. `sifter pull %s-<version>:<tag>`).",
+            family,
+            f" for version {vllm_version}" if vllm_version else "",
+            family,
+        )
         raise typer.Exit(1) from exc
 
 
@@ -78,8 +114,25 @@ def resolve_vllm_container(
     """
     if container is None:
         resolved = find_latest_container(get_vllm_version(model), vllm_lens=vllm_lens)
+    elif container.endswith(".sif"):
+        resolved = container
     else:
-        resolved = resolve_container(container)
+        # sifter ref: "<name>" (latest local tag) or "<name>:<tag>".
+        ref_name, _, ref_tag = container.partition(":")
+        if ref_tag:
+            resolved = next(
+                (
+                    str(img.sif_path)
+                    for img in api.list_local_sifs()
+                    if img.name == ref_name and img.tag == ref_tag
+                ),
+                container,
+            )
+        else:
+            try:
+                resolved = str(api.latest(ref_name))
+            except FileNotFoundError:
+                resolved = container
 
     if not Path(resolved).exists():
         logger.error("Container not found: %s", resolved)
@@ -419,7 +472,7 @@ def _handle_sigint(_sig: int, _frame: object) -> None:
                     console.print(f"Check status: scontrol show job {job_id}")
                     return
 
-                jobs = get_jobs(job_id=str(job_id))
+                jobs = api.status(job_id=str(job_id))
                 if not jobs:
                     console.print(f"WARNING: Job {job_id} not found.", style="yellow")
                     return
@@ -438,7 +491,7 @@ def _handle_sigint(_sig: int, _frame: object) -> None:
                     return
 
                 if state == "RUNNING":
-                    head_node = job.batch_host or job.node
+                    head_node = job.batch_host or job.nodes
                     if not head_node:
                         console.print(
                             "WARNING: Could not determine head node.", style="yellow"