
mamba-architecture
State-space model with O(n) complexity vs Transformers' O(n²). 5× faster inference, million-token sequences, no KV cache. Selective SSM with hardware-aware design. Mamba-1 (dstate=16) and Mamba-2 (dstate=128, multi-head). Models 130M-2.8B on HuggingFace.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/orchestra-research/ai-research-skills --skill mamba-architecture- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads mamba-architecture automatically when relevant.
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Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Mamba - Selective State Space Models
Quick start
Mamba is a state-space model architecture achieving O(n) linear complexity for sequence modeling.
Installation:
# Install causal-conv1d (optional, for efficiency)
pip install causal-conv1d>=1.4.0
# Install Mamba
pip install mamba-ssm
# Or both together
pip install mamba-ssm[causal-conv1d]
Prerequisites: Linux, NVIDIA GPU, PyTorch 1.12+, CUDA 11.6+
Basic usage (Mamba block):
import torch
from mamba_ssm import Mamba
batch, length, dim = 2, 64, 16
x = torch.randn(batch, length, dim).to("cuda")
model = Mamba(
d_model=dim, # Model dimension
d_state=16, # SSM state dimension
d_conv=4, # Conv1d kernel size
expand=2 # Expansion factor
).to("cuda")
y = model(x) # O(n) complexity!
assert y.shape == x.shape
Common workflows
Workflow 1: Language model with Mamba-2
Complete LM with generation:
from mamba_ssm.models.mixer_seq_simple import MambaLMHeadModel
from mamba_ssm.models.config_mamba import MambaConfig
import torch
# Configure Mamba-2 LM
config = MambaConfig(
d_model=1024, # Hidden dimension
n_layer=24, # Number of layers
vocab_size=50277, # Vocabulary size
ssm_cfg=dict(
layer="Mamba2", # Use Mamba-2
d_state=128, # Larger state for Mamba-2
headdim=64, # Head dimension
ngroups=1 # Number of groups
)
)
model = MambaLMHeadModel(config, device="cuda", dtype=torch.float16)
# Generate text
input_ids = torch.randint(0, 1000, (1, 20), device="cuda", dtype=torch.long)
output = model.generate(
input_ids=input_ids,
max_length=100,
temperature=0.7,
top_p=0.9
)
Workflow 2: Use pretrained Mamba models
Load from HuggingFace:
from transformers import AutoTokenizer
from mamba_ssm.models.mixer_seq_simple import MambaLMHeadModel
# Load pretrained model
model_name = "state-spaces/mamba-2.8b"
tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained("EleutherAI/gpt-neox-20b") # Use compatible tokenizer
model = MambaLMHeadModel.from_pretrained(model_name, device="cuda", dtype=torch.float16)
# Generate
prompt = "The future of AI is"
input_ids = tokenizer(prompt, return_tensors="pt").input_ids.to("cuda")
output_ids = model.generate(
input_ids=input_ids,
max_length=200,
temperature=0.7,
top_p=0.9,
repetition_penalty=1.2
)
generated_text = tokenizer.decode(output_ids[0])
print(generated_text)
Available models:
state-spaces/mamba-130mstate-spaces/mamba-370mstate-spaces/mamba-790mstate-spaces/mamba-1.4bstate-spaces/mamba-2.8b
Workflow 3: Mamba-1 vs Mamba-2
Mamba-1 (smaller state):
from mamba_ssm import Mamba
model = Mamba(
d_model=256,
d_state=16, # Smaller state dimension
d_conv=4,
expand=2
).to("cuda")
Mamba-2 (multi-head, larger state):
from mamba_ssm import Mamba2
model = Mamba2(
d_model=256,
d_state=128, # Larger state dimension
d_conv=4,
expand=2,
headdim=64, # Head dimension for multi-head
ngroups=1 # Parallel groups
).to("cuda")
Key differences:
- State size: Mamba-1 (d_state=16) vs Mamba-2 (d_state=128)
- Architecture: Mamba-2 has multi-head structure
- Normalization: Mamba-2 uses RMSNorm
- Distributed: Mamba-2 supports tensor parallelism
Workflow 4: Benchmark vs Transformers
Generation speed comparison:
# Benchmark Mamba
python benchmarks/benchmark_generation_mamba_simple.py \
--model-name "state-spaces/mamba-2.8b" \
--prompt "The future of machine learning is" \
--topp 0.9 --temperature 0.7 --repetition-penalty 1.2
# Benchmark Transformer
python benchmarks/benchmark_generation_mamba_simple.py \
--model-name "EleutherAI/pythia-2.8b" \
--prompt "The future of machine learning is" \
--topp 0.9 --temperature 0.7 --repetition-penalty 1.2
Expected results:
- Mamba: 5× faster inference
- Memory: No KV cache needed
- Scaling: Linear with sequence length
When to use vs alternatives
Use Mamba when:
- Need long sequences (100K+ tokens)
- Want faster inference than Transformers
- Memory-constrained (no KV cache)
- Building streaming applications
- Linear scaling important
Advantages:
- O(n) complexity: Linear vs quadratic
- 5× faster inference: No attention overhead
- No KV cache: Lower memory usage
- Million-token sequences: Hardware-efficient
- Streaming: Constant memory per token
Use alternatives instead:
- Transformers: Need best-in-class performance, have compute
- RWKV: Want RNN+Transformer hybrid
- RetNet: Need retention-based architecture
- Hyena: Want convolution-based approach
Common issues
Issue: CUDA out of memory
Reduce batch size or use gradient checkpointing:
model = MambaLMHeadModel(config, device="cuda", dtype=torch.float16)
model.gradient_checkpointing_enable() # Enable checkpointing
Issue: Slow installation
Install binary wheels (not source):
pip install mamba-ssm --no-build-isolation
Issue: Missing causal-conv1d
Install separately:
pip install causal-conv1d>=1.4.0
Issue: Model not loading from HuggingFace
Use MambaLMHeadModel.from_pretrained (not AutoModel):
from mamba_ssm.models.mixer_seq_simple import MambaLMHeadModel
model = MambaLMHeadModel.from_pretrained("state-spaces/mamba-2.8b")
Advanced topics
Selective SSM: See references/selective-ssm.md for mathematical formulation, state-space equations, and how selectivity enables O(n) complexity.
Mamba-2 architecture: See references/mamba2-details.md for multi-head structure, tensor parallelism, and distributed training setup.
Performance optimization: See references/performance.md for hardware-aware design, CUDA kernels, and memory efficiency techniques.
Hardware requirements
- GPU: NVIDIA with CUDA 11.6+
- VRAM:
- 130M model: 2GB
- 370M model: 4GB
- 790M model: 8GB
- 1.4B model: 14GB
- 2.8B model: 28GB (FP16)
- Inference: 5× faster than Transformers
- Memory: No KV cache (lower than Transformers)
Performance (vs Transformers):
- Speed: 5× faster inference
- Memory: 50% less (no KV cache)
- Scaling: Linear vs quadratic
Resources
- Paper (Mamba-1): https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.00752 (Dec 2023)
- Paper (Mamba-2): https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.21060 (May 2024)
- GitHub: https://github.com/state-spaces/mamba ⭐ 13,000+
- Models: https://huggingface.co/state-spaces
- Docs: Repository README and wiki
FAQ
What does the mamba-architecture skill do?
State-space model with O(n) complexity vs Transformers' O(n²). 5× faster inference, million-token sequences, no KV cache. Selective SSM with hardware-aware design. Mamba-1 (dstate=16) and Mamba-2 (dstate=128, multi-head). Models 130M-2.8B on HuggingFace.
How do I install mamba-architecture?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/orchestra-research/ai-research-skills --skill mamba-architecture in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/mamba-architecture/ (personal) or .claude/skills/mamba-architecture/ (project).
Which AI agents can use mamba-architecture?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is mamba-architecture safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains mamba-architecture?
It is published by orchestra-research in orchestra-research/ai-research-skills. It has 954 recorded installs.
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