AGENTS.md · roboflow/supervision

Sections

1. 1. Before You Code
2. 2. Repository Architecture
3. 3. Agent-Critical Rules
4. 4. Deprecated Module Aliases
5. 5. Deprecating APIs
6. 6. Implementing Features
7. 7. Bugs & Refactoring
8. 8. Before You Commit

First lines (shown under the repo's MIT license)

# Agent Guidelines for `supervision`

Behave like a senior contributor: precise, efficient, maintainable. When this file and [CONTRIBUTING.md](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md) conflict, **CONTRIBUTING.md wins**.

______________________________________________________________________

## 1. Before You Code

- Read the task thoroughly; group clarifications into one ask.
- Outline a plan before making changes.
- Check whether the feature already exists under a different name.
- Confirm alignment with `src/supervision/` architecture.
- For pull request reviews, follow [.github/skills/code-review/SKILL.md](.github/skills/code-review/SKILL.md).

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## 2. Repository Architecture

**Package root**: `src/supervision/` — all library code. **Tests**: `tests/` — mirrors `src/supervision/`. **Public API**: `src/supervision/__init__.py`.

```
src/supervision/
├── detection/
│   ├── core.py          — Detections dataclass; all model connectors as classmethods
│   ├── compact_mask.py  — compact mask representation
│   ├── vlm.py           — VLM connectors (Florence-2, Gemini, Qwen, PaliGemma)
│   ├── utils/           — pure NumPy helpers: boxes, converters, iou_and_nms, masks, polygons
│   ├── line_zone.py     — LineZone
│   └── tools/           — InferenceSlicer, PolygonZone, CSVSink, JSONSink, DetectionsSmoother
├── annotators/core.py   — BoxAnnotator, MaskAnnotator, LabelAnnotator, … each: .annotate(scene, detections)
├── key_points/          — KeyPoints, EdgeAnnotator, VertexAnnotator (use this, NOT keypoint/ — see §4)
├── tracker/             — DEPRECATED
├── dataset/core.py      — DetectionDataset / ClassificationDataset (YOLO / COCO / Pascal VOC)
├── geometry/core.py     — Point, Rect, Vector, Position
├── metrics/             — mAP, confusion matrix (requires --extra metrics)
├── utils/internal.py    — warn_deprecated, deprecated_parameter, internal helpers
└── config.py            — string constants; always import from here, never use literals
```

### Key design patterns

- **`Detections` is the lingua franca** — every connector, tracker, and annotator speaks `Detections`. New connector = `@classmethod from_<framework>(cls, result) -> Detections`.
- **Annotators are composable** — receive `scene` (BGR `np.ndarray`) + `detections`, return annotated copy.
- **`data` dict extensibility** — per-detection metadata in `detections.data` as `np.ndarray` aligned with `xyxy`. Keys are constants from `config.py`.
- **Vectorized throughout** — NumPy arrays, no Python loops in hot paths. Never write `for det in detections`.
- **Lazy-import heavy deps** — `torch`, `transformers`, `ultralytics` must be imported inside the function that needs them, never at module top level.

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## 3. Agent-Critical Rules

These supplement [CONTRIBUTING.md](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md) — covering gaps or agent-specific failure modes.

**Doc headings**: `###` max in docstrings and docs. `####` renders identically to bold in mkdocs — use `**bold**` instead.

**Docstring API references**: reference local classes, functions, and methods with Sphinx roles (`:class:`, `:func:`, or `:meth:`) and fully qualified targets rooted at `supervision.` rather than plain code literals or relative names. Use `~` to display a short name, for example, \`\`:class:\`~supervision.detection.core.Detections\`\`\`.

**Type hints**: required on all new code. mypy is enforced by pre-commit (`.pre-commit-config.yaml`).

**Function docstrings**: every new or modified function, including private helpers and tests, must have a succinct docstring explaining its purpose. Put function-level why/what/how context inside the function docstring, not in a comment before the function. Public APIs still require the full Google-style structure described below.

**Readable argument lists**: do not put multi-branch conditional expressions inside function or constructor arguments. If an argument needs more than a simple `a if condition else b`, assign it to a named local variable before the call.

**Inline comments**: write code so the intent is clear from names, small helpers, and straightforward control flow. For non-trivial logic inside a function that still needs context, add concise inline comments explaining why the code exists, what invariant it protects, and how the tricky part works. Do not put comments before functions; use the function docstring instead. Do not comment obvious assignments, mechanical plumbing, lint-only changes, typing-only changes, or pure docs edits.

**Doctest determinism** — output must be reproducible across platforms:

- Use `# doctest: +ELLIPSIS` for floats that vary by platform.
- Seed any RNG before calling it.
- Never assert `dict` or `set` iteration order.
- No network or filesystem access outside `supervision/assets/`.

**⚠ Test structure** — agents frequently fail here; read [CONTRIBUTING.md §Tests](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md#-tests) carefully: AAA structure, class grouping, bare simple parametrized values, `pytest.param(..., id="semantic-slug")` for compound or unclear cases (never parallel `ids`), one-line docstring per test.

**Reference parity tests** — follow [CONTRIBUTING.md §Reference parity tests](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md#reference-parity-tests): evaluate the live reference package on the same inputs, and keep it in development dependencies only.

For branching, commit, code style, and API design conventions see [CONTRIBUTING.md](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md).

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## 4. Deprecated Module Aliases

`supervision.keypoint` deprecated since `0.27.0`, removed in `0.31.0`. Always import from `supervision.key_points`, not `supervision.keypoint`.

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## 5. Deprecating APIs

**Minimum window**: deprecated APIs must remain for at least **3 minor releases** before removal. Example: deprecated in `0.29.0` → removed in `0.32.0`.

- Module-level: `supervision.utils.internal.warn_deprecated` in the deprecated module's own `__init__.py`
- Parameter renamed (old→new): `supervision.utils.internal.deprecated_parameter` decorator
- Public function, method, or class: `@deprecated` from `pydeprecate`

Always name the version introduced and the removal version:

```python
warn_deprecated("'foo' deprecated in `0.29.0`, removed in `0.32.0`. Use 'bar'.")
```

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## 6. Implementing Features

- Minimal implementation; type hints and Google docstrings with usage examples.
- Tests covering new functionality and edge cases (see [CONTRIBUTING.md §Tests](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md#-tests)).
- Update docstrings and mkdocs entries as needed.
- Update [docs/changelog.md](docs/changelog.md) for every functional change or bug fix, including user-visible behavior changes. Skip changelog entries for lint-only, type-only, formatting-only, and pure documentation-only changes.
- If work has open PR, changelog entry must link that PR (`[#N](https://github.com/roboflow/supervision/pull/N)`), not source issue. PR link only, even if issue exists.

**Extending `Detections`**: store metadata in `detections.data` as `np.ndarray` aligned with `xyxy`; define the key as a constant in `config.py` (e.g. `CLASS_NAME_DATA_FIELD`, `ORIENTED_BOX_COORDINATES`).

**New model connector** (`detection/core.py`):

```python
@classmethod
def from_myframework(cls, result) -> "Detections":
    import myframework  # noqa: F401 — lazy import

    xyxy = ...  # (N, 4)
    return cls(
        xyxy=xyxy,
        confidence=...,
        class_id=...,
        data={CLASS_NAME_DATA_FIELD: np.array([...])},
    )
```

VLM connectors go in `detection/vlm.py`, not `core.py`.

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## 7. Bugs & Refactoring

**Bugs**: reproduce → write failing test → minimal fix → verify no regressions.

**Refactoring**: preserve behavior and API; reduce duplication; avoid sweeping changes unless requested; apply §5 deprecation when removing public API.

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## 8. Before You Commit

```bash
uv run pytest --cov=supervision
uv run pre-commit run --all-files
```

Capture a baseline before changes to avoid introducing new failures:

```bash
STASH_BEFORE=$(git rev-parse refs/stash 2>/dev/null)
git stash push --include-untracked
uv run pytest -q 2>&1 | tee /tmp/baseline.txt
[ "$(git rev-parse refs/stash 2>/dev/null)" != "$STASH_BEFORE" ] && git stash pop
uv run pytest -q 2>&1 | tee /tmp/after.txt
diff /tmp/baseline.txt /tmp/after.txt
```

Any test passing in baseline but failing after = blocker.