LPCD (Layer-Projected Coordinate Descent)

LPCD is a unified framework that extends post-training quantization beyond individual linear layers to larger Transformer submodules.

!!! abstract "Reference" Yuma Ichikawa, Yudai Fujimoto, and Akira Sakai, "LPCD: Unified Framework from Layer-Wise to Submodule Quantization," 2025. arXiv:2512.01546

Motivation

Standard layer-wise PTQ methods such as GPTQ optimize one linear layer at a time. QEP improves this by compensating for error propagation across layers, but the optimization target is still fundamentally layer-wise.

LPCD lifts the optimization target from a single layer to a submodule. This lets OneComp refine interactions inside attention and MLP blocks while keeping compatibility with existing layer-wise quantizers.

How LPCD Works

For each Transformer block, LPCD:

1. Builds a baseline quantized block using the chosen quantizer, optionally with QEP
2. Selects refineable submodules such as Q/K, V/O, up/down, or residual paths
3. Optimizes a relaxed objective on the selected submodule group
4. Projects the refined solution back through the underlying layer-wise quantizer

In OneComp, some residual-path refinements can use closed-form solvers, while larger submodule groups are refined with an iterative gradient-based solver.

Supported Targets

LPCDConfig enables the following submodule groups:

Flag	Target modules	Typical purpose
enable_qk	q_proj, k_proj	Refine attention score computation
enable_vo	v_proj, o_proj	Refine value/output projection path
enable_ud	up_proj, down_proj	Refine MLP transformation
enable_residual	o_proj, down_proj	Fast residual-only refinement

By default, LPCDConfig() enables only enable_residual=True, which is the fastest and most practical starting point.

Usage

Basic LPCD with GPTQ + QEP

from onecomp import (
    CalibrationConfig,
    GPTQ,
    LPCDConfig,
    ModelConfig,
    Runner,
    setup_logger,
)

setup_logger()

model_config = ModelConfig(
    model_id="TinyLlama/TinyLlama-1.1B-intermediate-step-1431k-3T",
    device="cuda:0",
)
gptq = GPTQ(wbits=3, groupsize=128)

lpcd_config = LPCDConfig(
    enable_residual=True,
    perccorr=0.5,
    percdamp=0.01,
    use_closed_form=True,
    device="cuda:0",
)

runner = Runner(
    model_config=model_config,
    quantizer=gptq,
    calibration_config=CalibrationConfig(max_length=512, num_calibration_samples=128),
    qep=True,
    lpcd=True,
    lpcd_config=lpcd_config,
)
runner.run()

Stronger LPCD Refinement

Enable more submodule groups when you want higher-quality refinement and can accept longer runtime:

lpcd_config = LPCDConfig(
    enable_qk=True,
    enable_vo=True,
    enable_ud=True,
    enable_residual=True,
    alt_steps=1,
    gd_steps=20,
    gd_base_lr=1e-4,
)

Relationship to QEP

LPCD and QEP are complementary:

• QEP compensates for error propagation across sequential layers
• LPCD refines the objective inside a submodule after moving beyond a purely layer-wise view

You can use LPCD without QEP, but the common setup in OneComp is GPTQ + QEP + LPCD.

!!! note When combining LPCD with QEP, use the architecture-aware QEP path (QEPConfig(general=False), which is also the default). The current LPCD implementation does not support QEPConfig(general=True).

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
enable_qk	bool	Jointly refine q_proj / k_proj	False
enable_vo	bool	Jointly refine v_proj / o_proj	False
enable_ud	bool	Jointly refine up_proj / down_proj	False
enable_residual	bool	Refine residual-path modules (o_proj, down_proj)	True
alt_steps	int	Number of alternating coordinate-descent steps	1
perccorr	float	Correction strength for relaxed weights	0.5
percdamp	float	Hessian damping ratio	0.01
use_closed_form	bool	Use closed-form solvers where available	True
gd_steps	int	Gradient-descent steps per sub-problem	20
gd_batch_size	int	Effective batch size for gradient accumulation	16
gd_base_lr	float	Base learning rate for gradient solver	1e-4
device	str	Device for LPCD optimization	"cuda:0"

Current Support

• Supported architectures: Llama and Qwen3
• LPCD runs through Runner(..., lpcd=True, lpcd_config=...)
• LPCD is a refinement framework, not a standalone quantizer
• The current examples and tests focus on GPTQ-based workflows

See also the examples guide and API reference for LPCDConfig.