---
license: apache-2.0
base_model: Qwen/Qwen3-8B-Base
library_name: llama.cpp
pipeline_tag: text-generation
---
# Hermes-Bonsai Karpathy Self-Improving Agent Loop

Stage 2 checkpoint for the Hermes/Bonsai Karpathy auto-research loop.

Last updated: 2026-04-05

This release is inspired by Andrej Karpathy's framing of self-improving training loops and auto-research. It contains the model artifact that worked, plus a concise model card explaining how it was produced and how to run it.

## Overview

- **Base model:** Qwen3-8B-Base
- **Training method:** supervised fine-tuning via the Hermes/Karpathy loop
- **Stage:** Stage 2 — the checkpoint that worked
- **Known limitation:** Stage 3 exposed a learned-helplessness pattern on some tasks; that behavior is documented in the GitHub methodology repo
- **License:** Apache-2.0 for this release; the underlying base model license also applies to the inherited Qwen3-8B-Base components

## What went into this checkpoint

- The loop-produced training curriculum and trace distillation pipeline
- 140 verified raw passes used as positive reinforcement for curriculum rebalancing and trace selection
  - These are Bonsai's own unedited outputs that passed teacher evaluation
- 10 domains covered across the build
- Validation signal from a mixed-domain batch

## Domains covered

- memory_integration
- refusal_redirect
- self_correction
- agent_routing
- devops
- logic_puzzle
- code_debugging
- math
- architecture
- research_synthesis

## Strongest domains

Best performance concentrated in:
- memory_integration
- refusal_redirect
- self_correction

## Validation metrics

- Mixed-domain batch: **13/50 raw passes**
- Raw pass rate: **26%**
- This checkpoint is the stage 2 model that produced those verified passes

## What's novel

Trained via a graduation protocol with teacher-guided validation, raw-pass reinforcement, and frontier failure analysis. The interesting contribution is the loop methodology; see GitHub for the full curriculum and training workflow.

## GitHub methodology

The training loop, curriculum design, graduation protocol, and detailed methodology live here:

https://github.com/aurous37-lang/Hermes-Bonsai-Self-Improving-Agent-Loop

## Files in this Hugging Face repo

- `bonsai-8b-stage2-post-curriculum-q8.gguf` — the shipped stage 2 checkpoint
- `README.md` — this model card
- `LICENSE` — Apache-2.0 license

## How to use

Recommended working config from the stable local run:
- `--ctx-size 40960`
- `--n-gpu-layers 37`

### llama.cpp

```bash
./llama-cli -m bonsai-8b-stage2-post-curriculum-q8.gguf \
  --ctx-size 40960 \
  -p "Explain the CAP theorem for a backend engineer."
```

### llama-server

```bash
./llama-server -m bonsai-8b-stage2-post-curriculum-q8.gguf \
  --ctx-size 40960 \
  --n-gpu-layers 37 \
  --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080
```

Then point your client at the local OpenAI-compatible endpoint exposed by `llama-server`.

## Notes

- This is a release checkpoint, not the full training corpus.
- The GitHub repo contains the code and documentation needed to reproduce the loop.
- The Hugging Face repo contains the model artifact that ships from that loop.