MCPInstall

ray-data

Scalable data processing for ML workloads. Streaming execution across CPU/GPU, supports Parquet/CSV/JSON/images. Integrates with Ray Train, PyTorch, TensorFlow. Scales from single machine to 100s of nodes. Use for batch inference, data preprocessing, multi-modal data loading, or distributed ETL pipelines.

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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 ray-data
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads ray-data automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    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.

Ray Data - Scalable ML Data Processing

Distributed data processing library for ML and AI workloads.

When to use Ray Data

Use Ray Data when:

  • Processing large datasets (>100GB) for ML training
  • Need distributed data preprocessing across cluster
  • Building batch inference pipelines
  • Loading multi-modal data (images, audio, video)
  • Scaling data processing from laptop to cluster

Key features:

  • Streaming execution: Process data larger than memory
  • GPU support: Accelerate transforms with GPUs
  • Framework integration: PyTorch, TensorFlow, HuggingFace
  • Multi-modal: Images, Parquet, CSV, JSON, audio, video

Use alternatives instead:

  • Pandas: Small data (<1GB) on single machine
  • Dask: Tabular data, SQL-like operations
  • Spark: Enterprise ETL, SQL queries

Quick start

Installation

pip install -U 'ray[data]'

Load and transform data

import ray

# Read Parquet files
ds = ray.data.read_parquet("s3://bucket/data/*.parquet")

# Transform data (lazy execution)
ds = ds.map_batches(lambda batch: {"processed": batch["text"].str.lower()})

# Consume data
for batch in ds.iter_batches(batch_size=100):
    print(batch)

Integration with Ray Train

import ray
from ray.train import ScalingConfig
from ray.train.torch import TorchTrainer

# Create dataset
train_ds = ray.data.read_parquet("s3://bucket/train/*.parquet")

def train_func(config):
    # Access dataset in training
    train_ds = ray.train.get_dataset_shard("train")

    for epoch in range(10):
        for batch in train_ds.iter_batches(batch_size=32):
            # Train on batch
            pass

# Train with Ray
trainer = TorchTrainer(
    train_func,
    datasets={"train": train_ds},
    scaling_config=ScalingConfig(num_workers=4, use_gpu=True)
)
trainer.fit()

Reading data

From cloud storage

import ray

# Parquet (recommended for ML)
ds = ray.data.read_parquet("s3://bucket/data/*.parquet")

# CSV
ds = ray.data.read_csv("s3://bucket/data/*.csv")

# JSON
ds = ray.data.read_json("gs://bucket/data/*.json")

# Images
ds = ray.data.read_images("s3://bucket/images/")

From Python objects

# From list
ds = ray.data.from_items([{"id": i, "value": i * 2} for i in range(1000)])

# From range
ds = ray.data.range(1000000)  # Synthetic data

# From pandas
import pandas as pd
df = pd.DataFrame({"col1": [1, 2, 3], "col2": [4, 5, 6]})
ds = ray.data.from_pandas(df)

Transformations

Map batches (vectorized)

# Batch transformation (fast)
def process_batch(batch):
    batch["doubled"] = batch["value"] * 2
    return batch

ds = ds.map_batches(process_batch, batch_size=1000)

Row transformations

# Row-by-row (slower)
def process_row(row):
    row["squared"] = row["value"] ** 2
    return row

ds = ds.map(process_row)

Filter

# Filter rows
ds = ds.filter(lambda row: row["value"] > 100)

Group by and aggregate

# Group by column
ds = ds.groupby("category").count()

# Custom aggregation
ds = ds.groupby("category").map_groups(lambda group: {"sum": group["value"].sum()})

GPU-accelerated transforms

# Use GPU for preprocessing
def preprocess_images_gpu(batch):
    import torch
    images = torch.tensor(batch["image"]).cuda()
    # GPU preprocessing
    processed = images * 255
    return {"processed": processed.cpu().numpy()}

ds = ds.map_batches(
    preprocess_images_gpu,
    batch_size=64,
    num_gpus=1  # Request GPU
)

Writing data

# Write to Parquet
ds.write_parquet("s3://bucket/output/")

# Write to CSV
ds.write_csv("output/")

# Write to JSON
ds.write_json("output/")

Performance optimization

Repartition

# Control parallelism
ds = ds.repartition(100)  # 100 blocks for 100-core cluster

Batch size tuning

# Larger batches = faster vectorized ops
ds.map_batches(process_fn, batch_size=10000)  # vs batch_size=100

Streaming execution

# Process data larger than memory
ds = ray.data.read_parquet("s3://huge-dataset/")
for batch in ds.iter_batches(batch_size=1000):
    process(batch)  # Streamed, not loaded to memory

Common patterns

Batch inference

import ray

# Load model
def load_model():
    # Load once per worker
    return MyModel()

# Inference function
class BatchInference:
    def __init__(self):
        self.model = load_model()

    def __call__(self, batch):
        predictions = self.model(batch["input"])
        return {"prediction": predictions}

# Run distributed inference
ds = ray.data.read_parquet("s3://data/")
predictions = ds.map_batches(BatchInference, batch_size=32, num_gpus=1)
predictions.write_parquet("s3://output/")

Data preprocessing pipeline

# Multi-step pipeline
ds = (
    ray.data.read_parquet("s3://raw/")
    .map_batches(clean_data)
    .map_batches(tokenize)
    .map_batches(augment)
    .write_parquet("s3://processed/")
)

Integration with ML frameworks

PyTorch

# Convert to PyTorch
torch_ds = ds.to_torch(label_column="label", batch_size=32)

for batch in torch_ds:
    # batch is dict with tensors
    inputs, labels = batch["features"], batch["label"]

TensorFlow

# Convert to TensorFlow
tf_ds = ds.to_tf(feature_columns=["image"], label_column="label", batch_size=32)

for features, labels in tf_ds:
    # Train model
    pass

Supported data formats

FormatReadWriteUse Case
Parquet✅✅ML data (recommended)
CSV✅✅Tabular data
JSON✅✅Semi-structured
Images✅❌Computer vision
NumPy✅✅Arrays
Pandas✅❌DataFrames

Performance benchmarks

Scaling (processing 100GB data):

  • 1 node (16 cores): ~30 minutes
  • 4 nodes (64 cores): ~8 minutes
  • 16 nodes (256 cores): ~2 minutes

GPU acceleration (image preprocessing):

  • CPU only: 1,000 images/sec
  • 1 GPU: 5,000 images/sec
  • 4 GPUs: 18,000 images/sec

Use cases

Production deployments:

  • Pinterest: Last-mile data processing for model training
  • ByteDance: Scaling offline inference with multi-modal LLMs
  • Spotify: ML platform for batch inference

References

  • Transformations Guide - Map, filter, groupby operations
  • Integration Guide - Ray Train, PyTorch, TensorFlow

Resources

FAQ

What does the ray-data skill do?

Scalable data processing for ML workloads. Streaming execution across CPU/GPU, supports Parquet/CSV/JSON/images. Integrates with Ray Train, PyTorch, TensorFlow. Scales from single machine to 100s of nodes. Use for batch inference, data preprocessing, multi-modal data loading, or distributed ETL pipelines.

How do I install ray-data?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/orchestra-research/ai-research-skills --skill ray-data 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/ray-data/ (personal) or .claude/skills/ray-data/ (project).

Which AI agents can use ray-data?

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 ray-data 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 ray-data?

It is published by orchestra-research in orchestra-research/ai-research-skills. It has 977 recorded installs.

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