JAXSR Skill — Symbolic Regression Assistant

JAXSR is a JAX-based symbolic regression library that discovers interpretable algebraic expressions from data using sparse optimization. It follows ALAMO-style methodology: build a rich candidate basis, then select the simplest model that explains the data.

Skill Activation

Activate this skill when the user wants to:

• Discover algebraic expressions or equations from data
• Set up a Design of Experiments (DOE) study
• Fit, interpret, or export symbolic regression models
• Choose between basis functions, strategies, UQ methods, or design methods
• Generate reports from experimental data
• Use the jaxsr CLI tool
• Build notebooks or scripts for symbolic regression workflows

Assistant Mode

When the user asks for help deciding how to set up, analyze, or report on their problem, enter assistant mode. In this mode, ask diagnostic questions to guide them to the right configuration. Do not dump all options at once — walk through decisions sequentially.

Step 1: Characterize the Problem

Ask the user:

1. What are you modeling? (physical system, chemical process, ML feature engineering, etc.)
2. How many input features? (1-3 is small, 4-8 is medium, 9+ is large)
3. How many data points? (< 20 is very small, 20-100 is typical, 100+ is large)
4. Do you have domain knowledge? (known physics, monotonicity, bounds, symmetry)
5. What is the goal? (interpretable equation, prediction, optimization, screening)

Step 2: Recommend Basis Library

Based on the answers, recommend a basis library configuration:

Key guidance:

• Start simple. You can always add complexity.
• add_transcendental(safe=True) guards against log(0), 1/0, sqrt(<0). Always use safe=True.
• add_ratios(safe=True) adds x_i/x_j terms. Doubles the library size — only use when ratios are physically meaningful.
• add_parametric() enables nonlinear parameters (e.g., exp(-a*x)). Powerful but slower to fit.
• If n_features > 5, avoid add_polynomials(degree>2) — the library becomes enormous.

Step 3: Recommend Selection Strategy

When to change from defaults:

• greedy_forward is the right choice 80% of the time. It's the default.
• Use exhaustive only when the basis library is small enough (< 20 terms). It guarantees the global optimum but scales as O(2^n).
• Use lasso_path when you have a very large library and want fast screening. It may miss interaction effects.
• Use greedy_backward when you suspect many terms matter and want to start from the full model.

Step 4: Recommend Information Criterion

Default recommendation: Use "bic" for interpretable models, "aicc" for predictive models. Only "aic", "aicc", and "bic" are supported — not "cv".

Step 5: Recommend Constraints (if applicable)

Ask: "Do you have any physical knowledge about the system?"

Use hard=True for strict enforcement; hard=False (default) for soft penalty.

Step 6: Recommend Uncertainty Quantification

Default recommendation: Start with predict_interval() (built-in, fast). Add predict_bma() if you have multiple competing models. Use predict_conformal() for publication-quality intervals.

Step 7: Recommend Reporting Format

"How do I use JAXSR with scikit-learn?"

See guides/sklearn-integration.md for cross-validation, hyperparameter tuning, pipelines, and model comparison using sklearn tools.

Quick Reference: Installation

# Core library
pip install jaxsr

# With sklearn integration (cross_val_score, GridSearchCV, Pipeline)
pip install "jaxsr[sklearn]"

# With CLI support
pip install "jaxsr[cli]"

# With Excel reporting
pip install "jaxsr[excel]"

# With Word reports
pip install "jaxsr[reports]"

# Everything for development
pip install -e ".[dev,cli,excel,reports]"

Quick Reference: Python API

Minimal Example (5 lines)

from jaxsr import fit_symbolic
import numpy as np

X = np.column_stack([x1, x2])  # shape (n_samples, n_features)
model = fit_symbolic(X, y, feature_names=["x1", "x2"], max_terms=5)
print(model.expression_)

Full Control Example

from jaxsr import BasisLibrary, SymbolicRegressor, Constraints

# 1. Build basis library
library = (BasisLibrary(n_features=2, feature_names=["T", "P"])
    .add_constant()
    .add_linear()
    .add_polynomials(max_degree=3)
    .add_interactions(max_order=2)
    .add_transcendental(funcs=["log", "exp", "sqrt"])
)

# 2. Define constraints (optional)
constraints = (Constraints()
    .add_monotonic("T", direction="increasing")
    .add_bounds("y", lower=0)
)

# 3. Fit model
model = SymbolicRegressor(
    basis_library=library,
    max_terms=5,
    strategy="greedy_forward",
    information_criterion="bic",
    constraints=constraints,
)
model.fit(X_train, y_train)

# 4. Inspect results
print(model.expression_)
print(model.metrics_)
print(model.summary())

# 5. Predict with uncertainty
y_pred, lower, upper = model.predict_interval(X_test, alpha=0.05)

# 6. Export
model.save("model.json")
latex_eq = model.to_latex()
predict_fn = model.to_callable()  # pure NumPy function

DOE Workflow

from jaxsr import DOEStudy

# Create study
study = DOEStudy("catalyst", ["T", "P", "flow"],
                 bounds=[(300, 500), (1, 10), (0.1, 2.0)])
X_design = study.create_design(method="latin_hypercube", n_points=20)
study.save("catalyst.jaxsr")

# After collecting data
study = DOEStudy.load("catalyst.jaxsr")
study.add_observations(X_measured, y_measured)
model = study.fit(max_terms=5)

# Get next experiments
next_pts = study.suggest_next(n_points=5, strategy="uncertainty")
study.save("catalyst.jaxsr")

Quick Reference: CLI

# Create study with factors
jaxsr init my_study -f "temp:300:500" -f "pressure:1:10" -f "catalyst:A,B,C"

# Generate experimental design → Excel template
jaxsr design my_study.jaxsr -m latin_hypercube -n 20 --format xlsx -o template.xlsx

# Import completed experiments
jaxsr add my_study.jaxsr completed.xlsx

# Fit model
jaxsr fit my_study.jaxsr --max-terms 5 --strategy greedy_forward --criterion bic

# Suggest next experiments
jaxsr suggest my_study.jaxsr -n 5 --strategy uncertainty

# Generate reports
jaxsr report my_study.jaxsr -o report.xlsx
jaxsr report my_study.jaxsr -o report.docx

# Check study status
jaxsr status my_study.jaxsr

Scikit-learn Integration

# JAXSR estimators work with sklearn's clone, cross_val_score, GridSearchCV, Pipeline
from sklearn.model_selection import cross_val_score, GridSearchCV
from sklearn.pipeline import Pipeline
from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler

# Cross-validation
scores = cross_val_score(model, X, y, cv=5, scoring="r2")

# Hyperparameter tuning
grid = GridSearchCV(model, {"max_terms": [3, 5, 7]}, cv=3, scoring="r2", n_jobs=1)
grid.fit(X, y)

# Pipeline
pipe = Pipeline([("scaler", StandardScaler()), ("sr", model)])
pipe.fit(X, y)

# get_params / set_params protocol
model.get_params()                                # all constructor params
model.set_params(max_terms=7, strategy="exhaustive")  # modify params

# Nested params for MultiOutputSymbolicRegressor
mo.set_params(estimator__max_terms=3)

Key points:

• scikit-learn is an optional dependency: pip install jaxsr[sklearn]
• Always use n_jobs=1 with sklearn tools — JAX handles parallelism internally
• BasisLibrary is not a sklearn transformer; configure it before creating the model

Decision Trees

"Which basis functions should I use?"

See guides/basis-library.md for the complete decision guide.

"Which selection strategy should I use?"

See guides/model-fitting.md for strategy comparison and benchmarks.

"Which UQ method should I use?"

See guides/uncertainty.md for method comparison and selection flowchart.

"How do I set up a DOE study?"

See guides/doe-workflow.md for the complete lifecycle guide.

"How do I add physical constraints?"

See guides/constraints.md for constraint types and examples.

"How do I use the CLI?"

See guides/cli.md for full CLI reference with examples.

"I already know the model form. How do I estimate parameters?"

See guides/known-model-fitting.md for a worked example using the Langmuir isotherm, including parametric basis functions, experiment design, ANOVA, and uncertainty analysis. Generalizes to Arrhenius, Michaelis-Menten, power laws, and other known models.

"How do I use Response Surface Methodology?"

See guides/rsm.md for RSM designs, canonical analysis, and optimization.

"How do I set up active learning?"

See guides/active-learning.md for acquisition functions and adaptive sampling.

Templates

Ready-to-use scripts and notebook starters are in templates/:

Common Pitfalls

1. Library too large for exhaustive search. If you have > 20 basis functions, use greedy_forward instead of exhaustive.
2. Using information_criterion="cv". Only "aic", "aicc", "bic" are supported.
3. Forgetting safe=True for transcendental. Without it, log(0) and 1/0 produce NaN.
4. Over-specifying the basis. A library with 500+ terms is slow and prone to overfitting. Start simple.
5. Not checking collinearity. Use from jaxsr.utils import check_collinearity before fitting if terms are nearly redundant.
6. Stale metrics after refit. After applying constraints, metrics are automatically recalculated. Do not copy metrics from a previous result.
7. Python control flow in JIT. If writing custom basis functions with @jit, use jnp.where instead of if/else.
8. Calling float() on JAX arrays inside JIT. Use .item() outside JIT or keep values as JAX arrays.
9. Using n_jobs=-1 with sklearn tools. JAX handles parallelism internally. Always use n_jobs=1 with GridSearchCV, cross_val_score, etc.
10. Treating BasisLibrary as a sklearn transformer. It is not a transformer; configure it before creating the estimator. It cannot be included as a Pipeline step.