Converting Pytorch bfloat16 tensors to numpy throws TypeError

Question

When you try to convert a Torch bfloat16 tensor to a numpy array, it throws a TypeError:

import torch

x = torch.Tensor([0]).to(torch.bfloat16)
x.numpy()  # TypeError: Got unsupported ScalarType BFloat16

import numpy as np
np.array(x)  # same error

Is there a work-around to make this conversion?

Answer 1

Currently, numpy does not support bfloat16**. One work-around is to upcast the tensor from half-precision to single-precision before making the conversion:

x.float().numpy()

The Pytorch maintainers are also considering adding a force=True option to the Tensor.numpy method to this automatically.

** although that may change thanks to work by @jakevdp