Move more normalization into the model-runner backend

ericcurtin · ericcurtin · commit aaf52a6f5ec2 · 2025-11-01T17:04:17.000Z
model-runner daemon is more well equipped to identify between
model name and model id.

Signed-off-by: Eric Curtin &lt;eric.curtin@docker.com&gt;
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/compose.go b/cmd/cli/commands/compose.go
@@ -75,13 +75,12 @@ func newUpCommand() *cobra.Command {
 			// Build speculative config if any speculative flags are set
 			var speculativeConfig *inference.SpeculativeDecodingConfig
 			if draftModel != "" || numTokens > 0 || minAcceptanceRate > 0 {
-				normalizedDraftModel := dmrm.NormalizeModelName(draftModel)
 				speculativeConfig = &inference.SpeculativeDecodingConfig{
-					DraftModel:        normalizedDraftModel,
+					DraftModel:        draftModel,
 					NumTokens:         numTokens,
 					MinAcceptanceRate: minAcceptanceRate,
 				}
-				sendInfo(fmt.Sprintf("Enabling speculative decoding with draft model: %s", normalizedDraftModel))
+				sendInfo(fmt.Sprintf("Enabling speculative decoding with draft model: %s", draftModel))
 			}
 
 			for _, model := range models {
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/configure.go b/cmd/cli/commands/configure.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/scheduling"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -39,15 +39,15 @@ func newConfigureCmd() *cobra.Command {
 						argsBeforeDash)
 				}
 			}
-			opts.Model = models.NormalizeModelName(args[0])
+			opts.Model = args[0]
 			opts.RuntimeFlags = args[1:]
 			return nil
 		},
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			// Build the speculative config if any speculative flags are set
 			if draftModel != "" || numTokens > 0 || minAcceptanceRate > 0 {
 				opts.Speculative = &inference.SpeculativeDecodingConfig{
-					DraftModel:        models.NormalizeModelName(draftModel),
+					DraftModel:        draftModel,
 					NumTokens:         numTokens,
 					MinAcceptanceRate: minAcceptanceRate,
 				}
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/inspect.go b/cmd/cli/commands/inspect.go
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/formatter"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/desktop"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
@@ -48,8 +48,7 @@ func newInspectCmd() *cobra.Command {
 }
 
 func inspectModel(args []string, openai bool, remote bool, desktopClient *desktop.Client) (string, error) {
-	// Normalize model name to add default org and tag if missing
-	modelName := models.NormalizeModelName(args[0])
+	modelName := args[0]
 	if openai {
 		model, err := desktopClient.InspectOpenAI(modelName)
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/list.go b/cmd/cli/commands/list.go
@@ -72,12 +72,13 @@ func listModels(openai bool, desktopClient *desktop.Client, quiet bool, jsonForm
 	}
 
 	if modelFilter != "" {
-		// Normalize the filter to match stored model names
+		// Normalize the filter to match stored model names (backend normalizes when storing)
 		normalizedFilter := dmrm.NormalizeModelName(modelFilter)
 		var filteredModels []dmrm.Model
 		for _, m := range models {
 			hasMatchingTag := false
 			for _, tag := range m.Tags {
+				// Tags are stored in normalized format by the backend
 				if tag == normalizedFilter {
 					hasMatchingTag = true
 					break
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/package.go b/cmd/cli/commands/package.go
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/distribution/registry"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/distribution/tarball"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/distribution/types"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/google/go-containerregistry/pkg/name"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
@@ -325,6 +325,7 @@ func packageModel(cmd *cobra.Command, opts packageOptions) error {
 		}
 
 		cmd.PrintErrln("Model variant created successfully")
+		return nil // Return early to avoid the Build operation in lightweight case
 	} else {
 		// Process directory tar archives
 		if len(opts.dirTarPaths) > 0 {
@@ -412,9 +413,7 @@ func newModelRunnerTarget(client *desktop.Client, tag string) (*modelRunnerTarge
 	}
 	if tag != "" {
 		var err error
-		// Normalize the tag to add default namespace (ai/) and tag (:latest) if missing
-		normalizedTag := models.NormalizeModelName(tag)
-		target.tag, err = name.NewTag(normalizedTag)
+		target.tag, err = name.NewTag(tag)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid tag: %w", err)
 		}
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/pull.go b/cmd/cli/commands/pull.go
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/desktop"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/mattn/go-isatty"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -42,8 +42,6 @@ func newPullCmd() *cobra.Command {
 }
 
 func pullModel(cmd *cobra.Command, desktopClient *desktop.Client, model string, ignoreRuntimeMemoryCheck bool) error {
-	// Normalize model name to add default org and tag if missing
-	model = models.NormalizeModelName(model)
 	var progress func(string)
 	if isatty.IsTerminal(os.Stdout.Fd()) {
 		progress = TUIProgress
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/push.go b/cmd/cli/commands/push.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/desktop"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
@@ -35,8 +35,6 @@ func newPushCmd() *cobra.Command {
 }
 
 func pushModel(cmd *cobra.Command, desktopClient *desktop.Client, model string) error {
-	// Normalize model name to add default org and tag if missing
-	model = models.NormalizeModelName(model)
 	response, progressShown, err := desktopClient.Push(model, TUIProgress)
 
 	// Add a newline before any output (success or error) if progress was shown.
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/rm.go b/cmd/cli/commands/rm.go
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
@@ -28,12 +28,7 @@ func newRemoveCmd() *cobra.Command {
 			if _, err := ensureStandaloneRunnerAvailable(cmd.Context(), cmd); err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("unable to initialize standalone model runner: %w", err)
 			}
-			// Normalize model names to add default org and tag if missing
-			normalizedArgs := make([]string, len(args))
-			for i, arg := range args {
-				normalizedArgs[i] = models.NormalizeModelName(arg)
-			}
-			response, err := desktopClient.Remove(normalizedArgs, force)
+			response, err := desktopClient.Remove(args, force)
 			if response != "" {
 				cmd.Print(response)
 			}
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/run.go b/cmd/cli/commands/run.go
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/desktop"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/readline"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/fatih/color"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"golang.org/x/term"
@@ -586,8 +586,7 @@ func newRunCmd() *cobra.Command {
 			}
 		},
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			// Normalize model name to add default org and tag if missing
-			model := models.NormalizeModelName(args[0])
+			model := args[0]
 			prompt := ""
 			argsLen := len(args)
 			if argsLen > 1 {
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/tag.go b/cmd/cli/commands/tag.go
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/desktop"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/google/go-containerregistry/pkg/name"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -37,10 +37,6 @@ func newTagCmd() *cobra.Command {
 }
 
 func tagModel(cmd *cobra.Command, desktopClient *desktop.Client, source, target string) error {
-	// Normalize source model name to add default org and tag if missing
-	source = models.NormalizeModelName(source)
-	// Normalize target model name to add default org and tag if missing
-	target = models.NormalizeModelName(target)
 	// Ensure tag is valid
 	tag, err := name.NewTag(target)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands/unload.go b/cmd/cli/commands/unload.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"
 	"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/desktop"
-	"github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"
+
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
@@ -18,12 +18,7 @@ func newUnloadCmd() *cobra.Command {
 		Use:   "unload " + cmdArgs,
 		Short: "Unload running models",
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, modelArgs []string) error {
-			// Normalize model names
-			normalizedModels := make([]string, len(modelArgs))
-			for i, model := range modelArgs {
-				normalizedModels[i] = models.NormalizeModelName(model)
-			}
-			unloadResp, err := desktopClient.Unload(desktop.UnloadRequest{All: all, Backend: backend, Models: normalizedModels})
+			unloadResp, err := desktopClient.Unload(desktop.UnloadRequest{All: all, Backend: backend, Models: modelArgs})
 			if err != nil {
 				return handleClientError(err, "Failed to unload models")
 			}
diff --git a/cmd/cli/desktop/desktop.go b/cmd/cli/desktop/desktop.go
@@ -56,6 +56,14 @@ type Status struct {
 	Error   error  `json:"error"`
 }
 
+// normalizeHuggingFaceModelName converts Hugging Face model names to lowercase
+func normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(model string) string {
+	if strings.HasPrefix(model, "hf.co/") {
+		return strings.ToLower(model)
+	}
+	return model
+}
+
 func (c *Client) Status() Status {
 	// TODO: Query "/".
 	resp, err := c.doRequest(http.MethodGet, inference.ModelsPrefix, nil)
@@ -98,7 +106,7 @@ func (c *Client) Status() Status {
 }
 
 func (c *Client) Pull(model string, ignoreRuntimeMemoryCheck bool, progress func(string)) (string, bool, error) {
-	model = dmrm.NormalizeModelName(model)
+	model = normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(model)
 	jsonData, err := json.Marshal(dmrm.ModelCreateRequest{From: model, IgnoreRuntimeMemoryCheck: ignoreRuntimeMemoryCheck})
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", false, fmt.Errorf("error marshaling request: %w", err)
@@ -166,7 +174,7 @@ func (c *Client) Pull(model string, ignoreRuntimeMemoryCheck bool, progress func
 }
 
 func (c *Client) Push(model string, progress func(string)) (string, bool, error) {
-	model = dmrm.NormalizeModelName(model)
+	model = normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(model)
 	pushPath := inference.ModelsPrefix + "/" + model + "/push"
 	resp, err := c.doRequest(
 		http.MethodPost,
@@ -247,7 +255,7 @@ func (c *Client) ListOpenAI() (dmrm.OpenAIModelList, error) {
 }
 
 func (c *Client) Inspect(model string, remote bool) (dmrm.Model, error) {
-	model = dmrm.NormalizeModelName(model)
+	model = normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(model)
 	if model != "" {
 		if !strings.Contains(strings.Trim(model, "/"), "/") {
 			// Do an extra API call to check if the model parameter isn't a model ID.
@@ -271,7 +279,7 @@ func (c *Client) Inspect(model string, remote bool) (dmrm.Model, error) {
 }
 
 func (c *Client) InspectOpenAI(model string) (dmrm.OpenAIModel, error) {
-	model = dmrm.NormalizeModelName(model)
+	model = normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(model)
 	modelsRoute := inference.InferencePrefix + "/v1/models"
 	if !strings.Contains(strings.Trim(model, "/"), "/") {
 		// Do an extra API call to check if the model parameter isn't a model ID.
@@ -335,6 +343,31 @@ func (c *Client) fullModelID(id string) (string, error) {
 		if m.ID[7:19] == id || strings.TrimPrefix(m.ID, "sha256:") == id || m.ID == id {
 			return m.ID, nil
 		}
+		// Check if the ID matches any of the model's tags using exact match first
+		for _, tag := range m.Tags {
+			if tag == id {
+				return m.ID, nil
+			}
+		}
+		// If not found with exact match, try partial name matching
+		for _, tag := range m.Tags {
+			// Extract the model name without tag part (e.g., from "ai/smollm2:latest" get "ai/smollm2")
+			tagWithoutVersion := tag
+			if idx := strings.LastIndex(tag, ":"); idx != -1 {
+				tagWithoutVersion = tag[:idx]
+			}
+
+			// Get just the name part without organization (e.g., from "ai/smollm2" get "smollm2")
+			namePart := tagWithoutVersion
+			if idx := strings.LastIndex(tagWithoutVersion, "/"); idx != -1 {
+				namePart = tagWithoutVersion[idx+1:]
+			}
+
+			// Check if the ID matches the name part
+			if namePart == id {
+				return m.ID, nil
+			}
+		}
 	}
 
 	return "", fmt.Errorf("model with ID %s not found", id)
@@ -347,7 +380,7 @@ func (c *Client) Chat(model, prompt string, imageURLs []string, outputFunc func(
 
 // ChatWithContext performs a chat request with context support for cancellation and streams the response content with selective markdown rendering.
 func (c *Client) ChatWithContext(ctx context.Context, model, prompt string, imageURLs []string, outputFunc func(string), shouldUseMarkdown bool) error {
-	model = dmrm.NormalizeModelName(model)
+	model = normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(model)
 	if !strings.Contains(strings.Trim(model, "/"), "/") {
 		// Do an extra API call to check if the model parameter isn't a model ID.
 		if expanded, err := c.fullModelID(model); err == nil {
@@ -523,7 +556,7 @@ func (c *Client) ChatWithContext(ctx context.Context, model, prompt string, imag
 func (c *Client) Remove(modelArgs []string, force bool) (string, error) {
 	modelRemoved := ""
 	for _, model := range modelArgs {
-		model = dmrm.NormalizeModelName(model)
+		model = normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(model)
 		// Check if not a model ID passed as parameter.
 		if !strings.Contains(model, "/") {
 			if expanded, err := c.fullModelID(model); err == nil {
@@ -819,26 +852,13 @@ func (c *Client) handleQueryError(err error, path string) error {
 	return fmt.Errorf("error querying %s: %w", path, err)
 }
 
-// normalizeHuggingFaceModelName converts Hugging Face model names to lowercase
-func normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(model string) string {
-	if strings.HasPrefix(model, "hf.co/") {
-		return strings.ToLower(model)
-	}
-
-	return model
-}
-
 func (c *Client) Tag(source, targetRepo, targetTag string) error {
 	source = normalizeHuggingFaceModelName(source)
-	// Check if the source is a model ID, and expand it if necessary
-	if !strings.Contains(strings.Trim(source, "/"), "/") {
-		// Do an extra API call to check if the model parameter might be a model ID
-		if expanded, err := c.fullModelID(source); err == nil {
-			source = expanded
-		}
-	}
+	// For tag operations, let the daemon handle name resolution to support
+	// partial name matching like "smollm2" -> "ai/smollm2:latest"
+	// Don't do client-side ID expansion which can cause issues with tagging
 
-	// Construct the URL with query parameters
+	// Construct the URL with query parameters using the normalized source
 	tagPath := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s/tag?repo=%s&tag=%s",
 		inference.ModelsPrefix,
 		source,
diff --git a/cmd/cli/desktop/desktop_test.go b/cmd/cli/desktop/desktop_test.go
diff --git a/pkg/inference/models/api.go b/pkg/inference/models/api.go
diff --git a/pkg/inference/models/manager.go b/pkg/inference/models/manager.go
diff --git a/pkg/inference/models/manager_test.go b/pkg/inference/models/manager_test.go

Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
`@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (`
`5`	`5`
`6`	`6`	`"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/commands/completion"`
`7`	`7`	`"github.com/docker/model-runner/cmd/cli/desktop"`
`8`		`- "github.com/docker/model-runner/pkg/inference/models"`
	`8`	`+`
`9`	`9`	`"github.com/spf13/cobra"`
`10`	`10`	`)`
`11`	`11`
`@@ -35,8 +35,6 @@ func newPushCmd() *cobra.Command {`
`35`	`35`	`}`
`36`	`36`
`37`	`37`	`func pushModel(cmd cobra.Command, desktopClient desktop.Client, model string) error {`
`38`		`- // Normalize model name to add default org and tag if missing`
`39`		`- model = models.NormalizeModelName(model)`
`40`	`38`	`response, progressShown, err := desktopClient.Push(model, TUIProgress)`
`41`	`39`
`42`	`40`	`// Add a newline before any output (success or error) if progress was shown.`