vllm-project / vllm-project/production-stack
feature: per-alias reasoning_effort for backward-compatible model migration
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 2.6k
- Forks
- 503
- Avg merge
- 4d 17h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 8
Description
Problem
As the ecosystem moves to reasoning-first models (DeepSeek-R1, Qwen3, etc.), we at Siemens need to retire older models while keeping client API calls unchanged. Simply remapping an alias to a reasoning model forces chain-of-thought on every request, including ones where it is undesired, with no way to control it at the router level. Mainly we need a way to force reasoning_effort=none so we can swap in a reasoning model as a drop-in replacement without changing client behaviour.
It would also enable creating dedicated aliases for capability tiers (fast, thorough, etc.) from a single engine deployment.
What we'd want is something like:
# CLI / JSON
gpt-4o:qwen3-32b|reasoning_effort=none
gpt-4o-mini:qwen3-32b|reasoning_effort=low
gpt-4o-thorough:qwen3-32b|reasoning_effort=high
# YAML
static_aliases:
gpt-4o:
model: qwen3-32b
reasoning_effort: none
The router injects reasoning_effort into the forwarded request when the client hasn't set it (client value always wins). Plain alias:model aliases stay unchanged, fully backward-compatible.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start at the router's CLI/JSON alias syntax and the static_aliases YAML entry point described in the issue. Trace how aliases become forwarded requests and how client-supplied parameters are handled. Done means per-alias reasoning_effort is injected only when absent, client values win, and plain alias:model behavior remains unchanged.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- backend-api-design, cli
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 55/100