PyTorch Tutorial

Last Updated : 2 Mar, 2026

PyTorch is an open-source deep learning framework designed to simplify the process of building neural networks and machine learning models. With its dynamic computation graph, it allows developers to modify the network’s behaviour in real-time.

Installation

To start using PyTorch, you first need to install it. You can install it via pip:

pip install torch torchvision

For GPU support (if you have a CUDA-enabled GPU), install the appropriate version:

pip install torch torchvision torchaudio cudatoolkit=11.3

Tensors

A tensor is a multi-dimensional array that is the fundamental data structure used in PyTorch. We can create tensors for performing above in several ways:

Python
import torch

tensor_1d = torch.tensor([1, 2, 3])
print("1D Tensor (Vector):")
print(tensor_1d)
print()

tensor_2d = torch.tensor([[1, 2], [3, 4]])
print("2D Tensor (Matrix):")
print(tensor_2d)
print()

random_tensor = torch.rand(2, 3)
print("Random Tensor (2x3):")
print(random_tensor)
print()

zeros_tensor = torch.zeros(2, 3)
print("Zeros Tensor (2x3):")
print(zeros_tensor)
print()

ones_tensor = torch.ones(2, 3)
print("Ones Tensor (2x3):")
print(ones_tensor)

Output:

Screenshot-2025-09-26-175007
Tensors in PyTorch

Tensor Operations

PyTorch operations are essential for manipulating data efficiently, especially when preparing data for machine learning tasks.

  • Indexing: Indexing lets you retrieve specific elements or smaller sections from a larger tensor.
  • Slicing: Slicing allows you to take out a portion of the tensor by specifying a range of rows or columns.
  • Reshaping: Reshaping changes the shape or dimensions of a tensor without changing its actual data. This means you can reorganize the tensor into a different size while keeping all the original values intact.

Let's understand these operations with help of simple implementation:

Python
import torch

tensor = torch.tensor([[1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]])

element = tensor[1, 0]
print(f"Indexed Element (Row 1, Column 0): {element}")  
slice_tensor = tensor[:2, :]
print(f"Sliced Tensor (First two rows): \n{slice_tensor}")

reshaped_tensor = tensor.view(2, 3)
print(f"Reshaped Tensor (2x3): \n{reshaped_tensor}")

Output:

Screenshot-2025-09-26-175121
Tensor Operations

Common Tensor Functions

PyTorch offers a variety of common tensor functions that simplify complex operations.

  • Broadcasting allows for automatic expansion of dimensions to facilitate arithmetic operations on tensors of different shapes.
  • Matrix multiplication enables efficient computations essential for neural network operations.
Python
import torch

tensor_a = torch.tensor([[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]])

tensor_b = torch.tensor([[10, 20, 30]]) 

broadcasted_result = tensor_a + tensor_b 
print(f"Broadcasted Addition Result: \n{broadcasted_result}")

matrix_multiplication_result = torch.matmul(tensor_a, tensor_a.T)
print(f"Matrix Multiplication Result (tensor_a * tensor_a^T): \n{matrix_multiplication_result}")

Output:

Screenshot-2025-09-26-175233
Broadcasting and Matrix Multiplication

GPU Acceleration

PyTorch facilitates GPU acceleration, enabling much faster computations which is especially important in deep learning due to the extensive matrix operations involved. By transferring tensors to the GPU, you can significantly reduce training times and improve performance.

Python
import torch

device = torch.device('cuda' if torch.cuda.is_available() else 'cpu')
print(f'Using device: {device}')

tensor_size = (10000, 10000)  
a = torch.randn(tensor_size, device=device)  
b = torch.randn(tensor_size, device=device)  

c = a + b  

print("Result shape (moved to CPU for printing):", c.cpu().shape)

print("Current GPU memory usage:")
print(f"Allocated: {torch.cuda.memory_allocated(device) / (1024 ** 2):.2f} MB")
print(f"Cached: {torch.cuda.memory_reserved(device) / (1024 ** 2):.2f} MB")

Output:

Screenshot-2025-09-26-175408
GPU Acceleration

Building and Training Neural Networks

In this section, we'll implement a neural network using PyTorch, following these steps:

Step 1: Define the Neural Network Class

In this step, we’ll define a class that inherits from torch.nn.Module. We’ll create a simple neural network with an input layer, a hidden layer and an output layer.

Python
import torch
import torch.nn as nn

class SimpleNN(nn.Module):
    def __init__(self):
        super(SimpleNN, self).__init__()
        self.fc1 = nn.Linear(2, 4)  
        self.fc2 = nn.Linear(4, 1)  

    def forward(self, x):
        x = torch.relu(self.fc1(x))  
        x = self.fc2(x)               
        return x

Step 2: Prepare the Data

Next, we’ll prepare our data. We will use a simple dataset that represents the XOR logic gate, consisting of binary input pairs and their corresponding XOR results.

Python
X_train = torch.tensor([[0.0, 0.0], [0.0, 1.0], [1.0, 0.0], [1.0, 1.0]]) 
y_train = torch.tensor([[0.0], [1.0], [1.0], [0.0]])  

Step 3: Instantiate the Model, Loss Function and Optimizer

Now we will instantiate our model. We’ll also define a loss function and choose an optimizer like stochastic gradient descent to update the model’s weights based on the calculated loss.

Python
import torch.optim as optim
model = SimpleNN()
criterion = nn.MSELoss()
optimizer = optim.SGD(model.parameters(), lr=0.1)

Step 5: Training the Model

Now we enter the training loop, where we will repeatedly pass our training data through the model to learn from it.

Python
for epoch in range(100):
    model.train()

    outputs = model(X_train)
    loss = criterion(outputs, y_train)

    optimizer.zero_grad()
    loss.backward()
    optimizer.step()

    if (epoch + 1) % 10 == 0:
        print(f'Epoch [{epoch + 1}/100], Loss: {loss.item():.4f}')

Output:

Screenshot-2025-09-26-175722
Training

Step 6: Testing the Model

Finally, we need to evaluate the model’s performance on new data to assess its generalization capability.

Python
model.eval()
with torch.no_grad():
    test_data = torch.tensor([[0.0, 0.0], [0.0, 1.0], [1.0, 0.0], [1.0, 1.0]])
    predictions = model(test_data)
    print(f'Predictions:\n{predictions}')

Output:

Screenshot-2025-09-26-175816
Prediction

Optimizing Model Training with PyTorch Datasets

1. Efficient Data Handling with Datasets and DataLoaders

Dataset and DataLoader facilitates batch processing and shuffling, ensuring smooth data iteration during training.

Python
import torch
from torch.utils.data import Dataset, DataLoader

class MyDataset(Dataset):
    def __init__(self):
        self.data = torch.tensor([[1.0, 2.0], [3.0, 4.0], [5.0, 6.0]])
        self.labels = torch.tensor([0, 1, 0])

    def __len__(self):
        return len(self.data)

    def __getitem__(self, idx):
        return self.data[idx], self.labels[idx]

dataset = MyDataset()
dataloader = DataLoader(dataset, batch_size=2, shuffle=True)

for batch in dataloader:
    print("Batch Data:", batch[0])  
    print("Batch Labels:", batch[1])

2. Enhancing Data Diversity through Augmentation

Torchvision provides simple tools for applying random transformations such as rotations, flips and scaling hence enhancing the model's ability to generalize on unseen data.

Python
import torchvision.transforms as transforms
from PIL import Image


image = Image.open('example.jpg')  # Replace 'example.jpg' with your image file

transform = transforms.Compose([
    transforms.RandomHorizontalFlip(),
    transforms.ToTensor()
])

augmented_image = transform(image)
print("Augmented Image Shape:", augmented_image.shape)

3. Batch Processing for Efficient Training

Batch processing improves computational efficiency and accelerates training, especially on hardware accelerators.

Python
for epoch in range(2):  
    for inputs, labels in dataloader:
        
        outputs = inputs + 1  
        print(f"Epoch {epoch + 1}, Inputs: {inputs}, Labels: {labels}, Outputs: {outputs}")

Advanced Deep Learning Models

1. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs)

  • PyTorch simplifies the implementation of CNNs using modules like torch.nn.Conv2d and pooling layers.
  • Integrating batch normalization with torch.nn.BatchNorm2d helps stabilize learning and accelerate training by normalizing the output of convolutional layers.

2. Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs)

  • Implementing RNNs in PyTorch is straightforward with torch.nn.LSTM and torch.nn.GRU modules.
  • RNNs, including LSTMs and GRUs are perfect for sequential data tasks.

3. Generative Models

PyTorch makes it easy to construct Generative Models, including:

Transfer Learning

Comment

Explore