Accelerate LLM inference using speculative decoding, Medusa multiple heads, and lookahead decoding techniques. Use when optimizing inference speed (1.5-3.6× speedup), reducing latency for real-time applications, or deploying models with limited compute. Covers draft models, tree-based attention, Jacobi iteration, parallel token generation, and production deployment strategies.
Installation
Details
Usage
After installing, this skill will be available to your AI coding assistant.
Verify installation:
skills listSkill Instructions
name: speculative-decoding description: Accelerate LLM inference using speculative decoding, Medusa multiple heads, and lookahead decoding techniques. Use when optimizing inference speed (1.5-3.6× speedup), reducing latency for real-time applications, or deploying models with limited compute. Covers draft models, tree-based attention, Jacobi iteration, parallel token generation, and production deployment strategies. version: 1.0.0 author: Orchestra Research license: MIT tags: [Emerging Techniques, Speculative Decoding, Medusa, Lookahead Decoding, Fast Inference, Draft Models, Tree Attention, Parallel Generation, Latency Reduction, Inference Optimization] dependencies: [transformers, torch]
Speculative Decoding: Accelerating LLM Inference
When to Use This Skill
Use Speculative Decoding when you need to:
- Speed up inference by 1.5-3.6× without quality loss
- Reduce latency for real-time applications (chatbots, code generation)
- Optimize throughput for high-volume serving
- Deploy efficiently on limited hardware
- Generate faster without changing model architecture
Key Techniques: Draft model speculative decoding, Medusa (multiple heads), Lookahead Decoding (Jacobi iteration)
Papers: Medusa (arXiv 2401.10774), Lookahead Decoding (ICML 2024), Speculative Decoding Survey (ACL 2024)
Installation
# Standard speculative decoding (transformers)
pip install transformers accelerate
# Medusa (multiple decoding heads)
git clone https://github.com/FasterDecoding/Medusa
cd Medusa
pip install -e .
# Lookahead Decoding
git clone https://github.com/hao-ai-lab/LookaheadDecoding
cd LookaheadDecoding
pip install -e .
# Optional: vLLM with speculative decoding
pip install vllm
Quick Start
Basic Speculative Decoding (Draft Model)
from transformers import AutoModelForCausalLM, AutoTokenizer
# Load target model (large, slow)
target_model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
"meta-llama/Llama-2-70b-hf",
device_map="auto",
torch_dtype=torch.float16
)
# Load draft model (small, fast)
draft_model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
"meta-llama/Llama-2-7b-hf",
device_map="auto",
torch_dtype=torch.float16
)
tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained("meta-llama/Llama-2-70b-hf")
# Generate with speculative decoding
prompt = "Explain quantum computing in simple terms:"
inputs = tokenizer(prompt, return_tensors="pt").to("cuda")
# Transformers 4.36+ supports assisted generation
outputs = target_model.generate(
**inputs,
assistant_model=draft_model, # Enable speculative decoding
max_new_tokens=256,
do_sample=True,
temperature=0.7,
)
response = tokenizer.decode(outputs[0], skip_special_tokens=True)
print(response)
Medusa (Multiple Decoding Heads)
from medusa.model.medusa_model import MedusaModel
# Load Medusa-enhanced model
model = MedusaModel.from_pretrained(
"FasterDecoding/medusa-vicuna-7b-v1.3", # Pre-trained with Medusa heads
torch_dtype=torch.float16,
device_map="auto"
)
tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained("FasterDecoding/medusa-vicuna-7b-v1.3")
# Generate with Medusa (2-3× speedup)
prompt = "Write a Python function to calculate fibonacci numbers:"
inputs = tokenizer(prompt, return_tensors="pt").to("cuda")
outputs = model.medusa_generate(
**inputs,
max_new_tokens=256,
temperature=0.7,
posterior_threshold=0.09, # Acceptance threshold
posterior_alpha=0.3, # Tree construction parameter
)
response = tokenizer.decode(outputs[0], skip_special_tokens=True)
Lookahead Decoding (Jacobi Iteration)
from lookahead.lookahead_decoding import LookaheadDecoding
# Load model
model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
"meta-llama/Llama-2-7b-hf",
torch_dtype=torch.float16,
device_map="auto"
)
tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained("meta-llama/Llama-2-7b-hf")
# Initialize lookahead decoding
lookahead = LookaheadDecoding(
model=model,
tokenizer=tokenizer,
window_size=15, # Lookahead window (W)
ngram_size=5, # N-gram size (N)
guess_size=5 # Number of parallel guesses
)
# Generate (1.5-2.3× speedup)
prompt = "Implement quicksort in Python:"
output = lookahead.generate(prompt, max_new_tokens=256)
print(output)
Core Concepts
1. Speculative Decoding (Draft Model)
Idea: Use small draft model to generate candidates, large target model to verify in parallel.
Algorithm:
- Draft model generates K tokens speculatively
- Target model evaluates all K tokens in parallel (single forward pass)
- Accept tokens where draft and target agree
- Reject first disagreement, continue from there
def speculative_decode(target_model, draft_model, prompt, K=4):
"""Speculative decoding algorithm."""
# 1. Generate K draft tokens
draft_tokens = draft_model.generate(prompt, max_new_tokens=K)
# 2. Target model evaluates all K tokens in one forward pass
target_logits = target_model(draft_tokens) # Parallel!
# 3. Accept/reject based on probability match
accepted = []
for i in range(K):
p_draft = softmax(draft_model.logits[i])
p_target = softmax(target_logits[i])
# Acceptance probability
if random.random() < min(1, p_target[draft_tokens[i]] / p_draft[draft_tokens[i]]):
accepted.append(draft_tokens[i])
else:
break # Reject, resample from target
return accepted
Performance:
- Speedup: 1.5-2× with good draft model
- Zero quality loss (mathematically equivalent to target model)
- Best when draft model is 5-10× smaller than target
2. Medusa (Multiple Decoding Heads)
Source: arXiv 2401.10774 (2024)
Innovation: Add multiple prediction heads to existing model, predict future tokens without separate draft model.
Architecture:
Input → Base LLM (frozen) → Hidden State
├→ Head 1 (predicts token t+1)
├→ Head 2 (predicts token t+2)
├→ Head 3 (predicts token t+3)
└→ Head 4 (predicts token t+4)
Training:
- Medusa-1: Freeze base LLM, train only heads
- 2.2× speedup, lossless
- Medusa-2: Fine-tune base LLM + heads together
- 2.3-3.6× speedup, better quality
Tree-based Attention:
# Medusa constructs tree of candidates
# Example: Predict 2 steps ahead with top-2 per step
# Root
# / \
# T1a T1b (Step 1: 2 candidates)
# / \ / \
# T2a T2b T2c T2d (Step 2: 4 candidates total)
# Single forward pass evaluates entire tree!
Advantages:
- No separate draft model needed
- Minimal training (only heads)
- Compatible with any LLM
3. Lookahead Decoding (Jacobi Iteration)
Source: ICML 2024
Core idea: Reformulate autoregressive decoding as solving system of equations, solve in parallel using Jacobi iteration.
Mathematical formulation:
Traditional: y_t = f(x, y_1, ..., y_{t-1}) (sequential)
Jacobi: y_t^{(k+1)} = f(x, y_1^{(k)}, ..., y_{t-1}^{(k)}) (parallel)
Two branches:
-
Lookahead Branch: Generate n-grams in parallel
- Window size W: How many steps to look ahead
- N-gram size N: How many past tokens to use
-
Verification Branch: Verify promising n-grams
- Match n-grams with generated tokens
- Accept if first token matches
class LookaheadDecoding:
def __init__(self, model, window_size=15, ngram_size=5):
self.model = model
self.W = window_size # Lookahead window
self.N = ngram_size # N-gram size
def generate_step(self, tokens):
# Lookahead branch: Generate W × N candidates
candidates = {}
for w in range(1, self.W + 1):
for n in range(1, self.N + 1):
# Generate n-gram starting at position w
ngram = self.generate_ngram(tokens, start=w, length=n)
candidates[(w, n)] = ngram
# Verification branch: Find matching n-grams
verified = []
for ngram in candidates.values():
if ngram[0] == tokens[-1]: # First token matches last input
if self.verify(tokens, ngram):
verified.append(ngram)
# Accept longest verified n-gram
return max(verified, key=len) if verified else [self.model.generate_next(tokens)]
Performance:
- Speedup: 1.5-2.3× (up to 3.6× for code generation)
- No draft model or training needed
- Works out-of-the-box with any model
Method Comparison
| Method | Speedup | Training Needed | Draft Model | Quality Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft Model Speculative | 1.5-2× | No | Yes (external) | None |
| Medusa | 2-3.6× | Minimal (heads only) | No (built-in heads) | None |
| Lookahead | 1.5-2.3× | None | No | None |
| Naive Batching | 1.2-1.5× | No | No | None |
Advanced Patterns
Training Medusa Heads
from medusa.model.medusa_model import MedusaModel
from medusa.model.kv_cache import initialize_past_key_values
import torch.nn as nn
# 1. Load base model
base_model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
"lmsys/vicuna-7b-v1.3",
torch_dtype=torch.float16
)
# 2. Add Medusa heads
num_heads = 4
medusa_heads = nn.ModuleList([
nn.Linear(base_model.config.hidden_size, base_model.config.vocab_size, bias=False)
for _ in range(num_heads)
])
# 3. Training loop (freeze base model for Medusa-1)
for param in base_model.parameters():
param.requires_grad = False # Freeze base
optimizer = torch.optim.Adam(medusa_heads.parameters(), lr=1e-3)
for batch in dataloader:
# Forward pass
hidden_states = base_model(**batch, output_hidden_states=True).hidden_states[-1]
# Predict future tokens with each head
loss = 0
for i, head in enumerate(medusa_heads):
logits = head(hidden_states)
# Target: tokens shifted by (i+1) positions
target = batch['input_ids'][:, i+1:]
loss += F.cross_entropy(logits[:, :-i-1], target)
# Backward
optimizer.zero_grad()
loss.backward()
optimizer.step()
Hybrid: Speculative + Medusa
# Use Medusa as draft model for speculative decoding
draft_medusa = MedusaModel.from_pretrained("medusa-vicuna-7b")
target_model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained("vicuna-33b")
# Draft generates multiple candidates with Medusa
draft_tokens = draft_medusa.medusa_generate(prompt, max_new_tokens=5)
# Target verifies in single forward pass
outputs = target_model.generate(
prompt,
assistant_model=draft_medusa, # Use Medusa as draft
max_new_tokens=256
)
# Combines benefits: Medusa speed + large model quality
Optimal Draft Model Selection
def select_draft_model(target_model_size, target):
"""Select optimal draft model for speculative decoding."""
# Rule: Draft should be 5-10× smaller
if target_model_size == "70B":
return "7B" # 10× smaller
elif target_model_size == "33B":
return "7B" # 5× smaller
elif target_model_size == "13B":
return "1B" # 13× smaller
else:
return None # Target too small, use Medusa/Lookahead instead
# Example
draft = select_draft_model("70B", target_model)
# Returns "7B" → Use Llama-2-7b as draft for Llama-2-70b
Best Practices
1. Choose the Right Method
# New deployment → Medusa (best overall speedup, no draft model)
if deploying_new_model:
use_method = "Medusa"
# Existing deployment with small model available → Draft speculative
elif have_small_version_of_model:
use_method = "Draft Model Speculative"
# Want zero training/setup → Lookahead
elif want_plug_and_play:
use_method = "Lookahead Decoding"
2. Hyperparameter Tuning
Draft Model Speculative:
# K = number of speculative tokens
K = 4 # Good default
K = 2 # Conservative (higher acceptance)
K = 8 # Aggressive (lower acceptance, but more when accepted)
# Rule: Larger K → more speedup IF draft model is good
Medusa:
# Posterior threshold (acceptance confidence)
posterior_threshold = 0.09 # Standard (from paper)
posterior_threshold = 0.05 # More conservative (slower, higher quality)
posterior_threshold = 0.15 # More aggressive (faster, may degrade quality)
# Tree depth (how many steps ahead)
medusa_choices = [[0], [0, 0], [0, 1], [0, 0, 0]] # Depth 3 (standard)
Lookahead:
# Window size W (lookahead distance)
# N-gram size N (context for generation)
# 7B model (more resources)
W, N = 15, 5
# 13B model (moderate)
W, N = 10, 5
# 33B+ model (limited resources)
W, N = 7, 5
3. Production Deployment
# vLLM with speculative decoding
from vllm import LLM, SamplingParams
# Initialize with draft model
llm = LLM(
model="meta-llama/Llama-2-70b-hf",
speculative_model="meta-llama/Llama-2-7b-hf", # Draft model
num_speculative_tokens=5,
use_v2_block_manager=True,
)
# Generate
prompts = ["Tell me about AI:", "Explain quantum physics:"]
sampling_params = SamplingParams(temperature=0.7, max_tokens=256)
outputs = llm.generate(prompts, sampling_params)
for output in outputs:
print(output.outputs[0].text)
Resources
- Medusa Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.10774
- Medusa GitHub: https://github.com/FasterDecoding/Medusa
- Lookahead Decoding (ICML 2024): https://lmsys.org/blog/2023-11-21-lookahead-decoding/
- Lookahead GitHub: https://github.com/hao-ai-lab/LookaheadDecoding
- Speculative Decoding Survey (ACL 2024): https://aclanthology.org/2024.findings-acl.456.pdf
- Comprehensive Survey: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.07851
See Also
references/draft_model.md- Draft model selection and trainingreferences/medusa.md- Medusa architecture and trainingreferences/lookahead.md- Lookahead decoding implementation details
More by davila7
View allAgile product ownership toolkit for Senior Product Owner including INVEST-compliant user story generation, sprint planning, backlog management, and velocity tracking. Use for story writing, sprint planning, stakeholder communication, and agile ceremonies.
Create SEO-optimized marketing content with consistent brand voice. Includes brand voice analyzer, SEO optimizer, content frameworks, and social media templates. Use when writing blog posts, creating social media content, analyzing brand voice, optimizing SEO, planning content calendars, or when user mentions content creation, brand voice, SEO optimization, social media marketing, or content strategy.
Build complex AI systems with declarative programming, optimize prompts automatically, create modular RAG systems and agents with DSPy - Stanford NLP's framework for systematic LM programming
Multi-channel demand generation, paid media optimization, SEO strategy, and partnership programs for Series A+ startups. Includes CAC calculator, channel playbooks, HubSpot integration, and international expansion tactics. Use when planning demand generation campaigns, optimizing paid media, building SEO strategies, establishing partnerships, or when user mentions demand gen, paid ads, LinkedIn ads, Google ads, CAC, acquisition, lead generation, or pipeline generation.
