Log, load, register, and deploy MLflow models

An MLflow Model is a standard format for packaging machine learning models that can be used in a variety of downstream tools—for example, batch inference on Apache Spark or real-time serving through a REST API. The format defines a convention that lets you save a model in different flavors (python-function, pytorch, sklearn, and so on), that can be understood by different model serving and inference platforms.

To learn how to log and score a streaming model, see How to save and load a streaming model.

Log and load models

When you log a model, MLflow automatically logs requirements.txt and conda.yaml files. You can use these files to recreate the model development environment and reinstall dependencies using virtualenv (recommended) or conda.

channels:
- defaults
dependencies:
- python=3.8.8
- pip
- pip:
    - mlflow
    - scikit-learn==0.23.2
    - cloudpickle==1.6.0
      name: mlflow-env

API commands

To log a model to the MLflow tracking server, use mlflow.<model-type>.log_model(model, ...).

To load a previously logged model for inference or further development, use mlflow.<model-type>.load_model(modelpath), where modelpath is one of the following:

• a run-relative path (such as runs:/{run_id}/{model-path})
• a Unity Catalog volumes path (such as dbfs:/Volumes/catalog_name/schema_name/volume_name/{path_to_artifact_root}/{model_path})
• an MLflow-managed artifact storage path beginning with dbfs:/databricks/mlflow-tracking/
• a registered model path (such as models:/{model_name}/{model_stage}).

For a complete list of options for loading MLflow models, see Referencing Artifacts in the MLflow documentation.

For Python MLflow models, an additional option is to use mlflow.pyfunc.load_model() to load the model as a generic Python function. You can use the following code snippet to load the model and score data points.

model = mlflow.pyfunc.load_model(model_path)
model.predict(model_input)

As an alternative, you can export the model as an Apache Spark UDF to use for scoring on a Spark cluster, either as a batch job or as a real-time Spark Streaming job.

# load input data table as a Spark DataFrame
input_data = spark.table(input_table_name)
model_udf = mlflow.pyfunc.spark_udf(spark, model_path)
df = input_data.withColumn("prediction", model_udf())

Log model dependencies

To accurately load a model, you should make sure the model dependencies are loaded with the correct versions into the notebook environment. In Databricks Runtime 10.5 ML and above, MLflow warns you if a mismatch is detected between the current environment and the model's dependencies.

Additional functionality to simplify restoring model dependencies is included in Databricks Runtime 11.0 ML and above. In Databricks Runtime 11.0 ML and above, for pyfunc flavor models, you can call mlflow.pyfunc.get_model_dependencies to retrieve and download the model dependencies. This function returns a path to the dependencies file which you can then install by using %pip install <file-path>. When you load a model as a PySpark UDF, specify env_manager="virtualenv" in the mlflow.pyfunc.spark_udf call. This restores model dependencies in the context of the PySpark UDF and does not affect the outside environment.

You can also use this functionality in Databricks Runtime 10.5 or below by manually installing MLflow version 1.25.0 or above:

%pip install "mlflow>=1.25.0"

For additional information on how to log model dependencies (Python and non-Python) and artifacts, see Log model dependencies.

Learn how to log model dependencies and custom artifacts for model serving:

• Deploy models with dependencies

• Log model dependencies

Automatically generated code snippets in the MLflow UI

When you log a model in an Azure Databricks notebook, Azure Databricks automatically generates code snippets that you can copy and use to load and run the model. To view these code snippets:

1. Navigate to the Runs screen for the run that generated the model. (See View notebook experiment for how to display the Runs screen.)
2. Scroll to the Artifacts section.
3. Click the name of the logged model. A panel opens to the right showing code you can use to load the logged model and make predictions on Spark or pandas DataFrames.

Examples

For examples of logging models, see the examples in Track machine learning training runs examples. For an example of loading a logged model for inference, see the Model inference example.

Register models in the Model Registry

You can register models in the MLflow Model Registry, a centralized model store that provides a UI and set of APIs to manage the full lifecycle of MLflow Models. For instructions on how to use the Model Registry to manage models in Databricks Unity Catalog, see Manage model lifecycle in Unity Catalog. To use the Workspace Model Registry, see Manage model lifecycle using the Workspace Model Registry (legacy).

To register a model using the API, use mlflow.register_model("runs:/{run_id}/{model-path}", "{registered-model-name}").

Save models to Unity Catalog volumes

To save a model locally, use mlflow.<model-type>.save_model(model, modelpath). modelpath must be a Unity Catalog volumes path. For example, if you use a Unity Catalog volumes location dbfs:/Volumes/catalog_name/schema_name/volume_name/my_project_models to store your project work, you must use the model path /dbfs/Volumes/catalog_name/schema_name/volume_name/my_project_models:

modelpath = "/dbfs/Volumes/catalog_name/schema_name/volume_name/my_project_models/model-%f-%f" % (alpha, l1_ratio)
mlflow.sklearn.save_model(lr, modelpath)

For MLlib models, use ML Pipelines.

Download model artifacts

You can download the logged model artifacts (such as model files, plots, and metrics) for a registered model with various APIs.

Python API example:

from mlflow.store.artifact.models_artifact_repo import ModelsArtifactRepository

model_uri = MlflowClient.get_model_version_download_uri(model_name, model_version)
ModelsArtifactRepository(model_uri).download_artifacts(artifact_path="")

Java API example:

MlflowClient mlflowClient = new MlflowClient();
// Get the model URI for a registered model version.
String modelURI = mlflowClient.getModelVersionDownloadUri(modelName, modelVersion);

// Or download the model artifacts directly.
File modelFile = mlflowClient.downloadModelVersion(modelName, modelVersion);

CLI command example:

mlflow artifacts download --artifact-uri models:/<name>/<version|stage>

Deploy models for online serving

You can also deploy a model to third-party serving frameworks using MLflow's built-in deployment tools.

• scikit-learn model deployment on Azure ML