`grad_dtype` is a new attribute on Tensor to control gradient dtype:
- Access/setting is leaf-only.
- grad_dtype is respected when (1) when assigning to .grad, and (2) in the engine after the previous node produces incoming gradients for AccumulateGrad. (See table below for details)
- Not setting grad_dtype preserves the current behavior. Accessing it returns `t.dtype`
- `grad_dtype` cannot be set when there is already a `.grad` present and the dtypes conflict.
| `grad_dtype` setting | Setting `.grad` manually | Incoming gradient from autograd engine |
|-----------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| **Default (tensor’s dtype)** | `.grad` must match tensor’s dtype | Engine casts incoming grad to tensor’s dtype |
| **Set to specific dtype** | `.grad` must match that dtype | Engine casts incoming grad to the specified dtype |
| **Set to `None`** | `.grad` may be any dtype | Engine does not cast; accepts incoming grad dtype as-is |
Pull Request resolved: https://github.com/pytorch/pytorch/pull/162815
Approved by: https://github.com/albanD
dca73982c5