Add PipelineController disable clone base task option

clearml/automation/controller.py

@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ class PipelineController(object):
         timeout = attrib(type=float, default=None)
         parameters = attrib(type=dict, default={})
         executed = attrib(type=str, default=None)
+        clone_task = attrib(type=bool, default=True)
         job = attrib(type=TrainsJob, default=None)
 
     def __init__(
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ class PipelineController(object):
             time_limit=None,  # type: Optional[float]
             base_task_project=None,  # type: Optional[str]
             base_task_name=None,  # type: Optional[str]
+            clone_base_task=True,  # type: bool
     ):
         # type: (...) -> bool
         """
@@ -133,6 +135,8 @@ class PipelineController(object):
             use the base_task_project and base_task_name combination to retrieve the base_task_id to use for the step.
         :param str base_task_name: If base_task_id is not given,
             use the base_task_project and base_task_name combination to retrieve the base_task_id to use for the step.
+        :param bool clone_base_task: If True (default) the pipeline will clone the base task, and modify/enqueue
+            the cloned Task. If False, the base-task is used directly, notice it has to be in draft-mode (created).
         :return: True if successful
         """
         # when running remotely do nothing, we will deserialize ourselves when we start
@@ -158,7 +162,9 @@ class PipelineController(object):
         self._nodes[name] = self.Node(
             name=name, base_task_id=base_task_id, parents=parents or [],
             queue=execution_queue, timeout=time_limit,
-            parameters=parameter_override or {})
+            parameters=parameter_override or {},
+            clone_task=clone_base_task,
+        )
 
         return True
 
@@ -172,7 +178,11 @@ class PipelineController(object):
             on a remote machine. This is done by calling the Task.execute_remotely with the queue name 'services'.
             If `run_remotely` is a string, it will specify the execution queue for the pipeline remote execution.
         :param Callable step_task_created_callback: Callback function, called when a step (Task) is created
-            and before it is sent for execution.
+            and before it is sent for execution. Allows a user to modify the Task before launch.
+            Use `node.job` to access the TrainsJob object, or `node.job.task` to directly access the Task object.
+            `parameters` are the configuration arguments passed to the TrainsJob.
+            Notice the `parameters` are already parsed,
+            e.g. `${step1.parameters.Args/param}` is replaced with relevant value.
 
             .. code-block:: py
 
@@ -438,7 +448,9 @@ class PipelineController(object):
         node.job = TrainsJob(
             base_task_id=node.base_task_id, parameter_override=updated_hyper_parameters,
             tags=['pipe: {}'.format(self._task.id)] if self._add_pipeline_tags and self._task else None,
-            parent=self._task.id if self._task else None)
+            parent=self._task.id if self._task else None,
+            disable_clone_task=not node.clone_task,
+        )
         if self._experiment_created_cb:
             self._experiment_created_cb(node, updated_hyper_parameters)
         node.job.launch(queue_name=node.queue or self._default_execution_queue)

clearml/automation/job.py

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ class TrainsJob(object):
             task_overrides=None,  # type: Optional[Mapping[str, str]]
             tags=None,  # type: Optional[Sequence[str]]
             parent=None,  # type: Optional[str]
+            disable_clone_task=False,  # type: bool
             **kwargs  # type: Any
     ):
         # type: (...) -> ()
@@ -31,8 +32,24 @@ class TrainsJob(object):
         :param list tags: additional tags to add to the newly cloned task
         :param str parent: Set newly created Task parent task field, default: base_tak_id.
         :param dict kwargs: additional Task creation parameters
+        :param bool disable_clone_task: if False (default) clone base task id.
+            If True, use the base_task_id directly (base-task must be in draft-mode / created),
         """
+        if disable_clone_task:
+            self.task = Task.get_task(task_id=base_task_id)
+            task_status = self.task.status
+            if task_status != Task.TaskStatusEnum.created:
+                logger.warning('Task cloning disabled but requested Task [{}] status={}. '
+                               'Reverting to clone Task'.format(base_task_id, task_status))
+                disable_clone_task = False
+                self.task = None
+            elif parent:
+                self.task.set_parent(parent)
+
+        # check again if we need to clone the Task
+        if not disable_clone_task:
             self.task = Task.clone(base_task_id, parent=parent or base_task_id, **kwargs)
+
         if tags:
             self.task.set_tags(list(set(self.task.get_tags()) | set(tags)))
         self.task_parameter_override = None