Practical overview
When it fits
Use it as a code-level reference or experiment when you want to examine an LSTM-based seq2seq dialogue workflow in Torch and can account for the project's stated reproducibility issue.
Who it is for
- Developers studying Lua and Torch implementations of neural dialogue models.
- Researchers exploring sequence-to-sequence training on conversational text.
Documented uses
- Set up the documented Torch and Lua dependencies and dialogue dataset.
- Train a seq2seq dialogue model using the repository's training script.
- Load the saved model and conduct a text conversation through the evaluation script.
Requirements & limits
- The implementation uses Lua and Torch, with
nn,rnnandpenlightlisted as additional dependencies. - Training data must be downloaded separately and placed in
data/cornell_movie_dialogs. - The README documents CPU training as well as CUDA and OpenCL options, each with distinct setup requirements.
- The author warns that the reported training results could no longer be reproduced after a dependency change.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Train the seq2seq model with CUDA
Train the model on 50,000 examples with a hidden size of 1,000 using CUDA.
Before you start
- Torch command-line environment with
thavailable. - CUDA support for the
--cudaoption. - The training data and dependencies required by
train.lua.
Steps
Run
th train.lua --cuda --dataset 50000 --hiddenSize 1000.Allow the training process to run; the README reports a historical training time of three days on a GeForce GTX 780M.
Expected outcome
A trained model; the README describes sample conversations after 20 epochs with these settings.
Guide limitations
- The README warns that the reported results can no longer be reproduced, apparently because a dependency changed.
- The three-day training time is a historical report for a specific GPU, not a general runtime estimate.
Select a training compute mode
Choose CUDA, OpenCL, or CPU when invoking the documented training command.
Before you start
- Torch command-line environment with
thavailable. - The
train.luatraining script and its required data and dependencies.
Steps
For CUDA, include
--cudain the training command.For OpenCL, use
--openclinstead of--cuda.For CPU training, omit both
--cudaand--opencl.
Expected outcome
The training command is configured for the selected compute mode.
Guide limitations
- The README warns that its reported training results can no longer be reproduced, apparently due to a dependency change.
- No further setup or compatibility details for these compute modes are provided.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 7 November 2026
- Original website title
- macournoyer/neuralconvo · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

