Discover 8 Hidden Python Libraries for Machine Learning! These lesser-known tools can enhance your AI projects with powerful features.
Python Libraries for Machine Learning: Python is the top choice for machine learning because it has so many useful libraries. You’ve probably heard of TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Scikit-learn—they’re the most popular ones.
But did you know there are lesser-known libraries that can make machine learning even faster, easier, and more powerful? These hidden tools can save you time, improve your models, and simplify complex tasks.
In this post, we’ll share top 8 hidden Python libraries that can boost your machine learning projects and help you work smarter. Let’s get started!
When working on machine learning projects, speed is the most important one. Large datasets and complex models can slow down your computations. Which makes your training and testing take longer. That’s why we use JAX. It’s one of the best Python libraries for machine learning. If you want for faster calculations and built-in differentiation then JAX is the best choice. Now let’s see what is JAX. How we can use it in our machine learning projects.
JAX is a library developed by Google that works just like NumPy, but much faster. It can automatically compute gradients (which is important for training machine learning models) and run code efficiently on CPUs, GPUs, and TPUs.
Let’s see how JAX helps with auto-differentiation. We use Auto-differentiation to update model weights during training.
import jax.numpy as jnp
from jax import grad
# Define a simple mathematical function
def func(x):
return x**2 + 3*x + 2
# Compute the gradient (derivative) of the function
grad_func = grad(func)
# Find the gradient at x = 2
print(grad_func(2.0)) # Output: 7.0
jax.numpy (which works just like regular NumPy).func(x) = x² + 3x + 2.grad() function automatically finds the derivative of our function.grad_func(2.0), it calculates the slope at x = 2, which is 7.This is extremely useful in machine learning because models need to compute gradients during training to adjust weights. JAX does this efficiently and quickly.
If you’re working with deep learning, large datasets, or scientific computing, JAX can significantly speed up your workflow. Since it works similarly to NumPy, you don’t need to completely rewrite your code—just make a few changes to take advantage of its power.
Now let’s see how we can replace numpy without rewrite our complete code.
If you’re already using NumPy in your machine learning projects, switching to JAX is easy. JAX provides a NumPy-like interface, so you only need to make a few changes. Let’s go step by step.
Before (NumPy Code):
import numpy as np
x = np.array([1.0, 2.0, 3.0])
print(np.sin(x)) # Compute sine
After (JAX Code):
import jax.numpy as jnp
x = jnp.array([1.0, 2.0, 3.0])
print(jnp.sin(x)) # Compute sine
Only the import changes from numpy to jax.numpy, but everything else stays the same.
jax.numpy Instead of numpy for Arrays and OperationsJAX functions behave just like NumPy, so you can rewrite most of your NumPy code by simply replacing np with jnp.
Before (NumPy Code):
import numpy as np
A = np.random.rand(3, 3) # Create a 3x3 random matrix
B = np.linalg.inv(A) # Compute inverse
print(B)
After (JAX Code):
import jax.numpy as jnp
A = jnp.random.rand(3, 3) # Create a 3x3 random matrix
B = jnp.linalg.inv(A) # Compute inverse
print(B)
The code remains almost identical, except we use jnp instead of np.
jit for Faster ComputationJAX has a powerful Just-in-Time (JIT) compiler that makes functions run much faster. You can speed up your NumPy-like operations using jax.jit().
Before (Regular NumPy Code):
import numpy as np
def compute(x):
return np.sin(x) + np.cos(x)
x = np.linspace(0, 10, 1000)
y = compute(x)
After (Optimized JAX Code with JIT):
import jax.numpy as jnp
from jax import jit
@jit # Compile the function for better performance
def compute(x):
return jnp.sin(x) + jnp.cos(x)
x = jnp.linspace(0, 10, 1000)
y = compute(x) # Runs much faster with JIT!
The jit decorator compiles the function, making it run faster on CPUs, GPUs, or TPUs.
grad() for Automatic DifferentiationJAX can automatically compute gradients, which is a game-changer for machine learning.
Before (Manual Derivative in NumPy):
import numpy as np
def func(x):
return x**2 + 3*x + 2
def manual_derivative(x):
return 2*x + 3 # Manually computed derivative
print(manual_derivative(2.0)) # Output: 7.0
After (Auto-Differentiation with JAX):
import jax.numpy as jnp
from jax import grad
def func(x):
return x**2 + 3*x + 2
grad_func = grad(func) # JAX automatically computes the derivative
print(grad_func(2.0)) # Output: 7.0
JAX eliminates the need to manually calculate gradients—just use grad()!
With JAX, you don’t need to manually set up a GPU. It automatically runs operations on a GPU (if available). But you can explicitly move data to a GPU or TPU if needed.
import jax.numpy as jnp
from jax import device_put
x = jnp.array([1.0, 2.0, 3.0])
# Move data to GPU
x_gpu = device_put(x)
print(x_gpu.device()) # Should print something like "gpu:0" if GPU is available
No need for torch.cuda() or manual device handling—JAX does it for you!
JAX is one of the most underrated Python libraries for machine learning, and if you’re looking to optimize performance, it’s definitely worth exploring!
When working with Python libraries for machine learning, you’re probably already familiar with TensorFlow and PyTorch for building neural networks. But if you want faster training, GPU acceleration, and better performance, Flax is an excellent alternative. It’s a lightweight deep learning library built on top of JAX, making it easy to build and train neural networks efficiently.
Flax is a neural network library built for JAX. It helps you create and train deep learning models efficiently.
Unlike TensorFlow and PyTorch, Flax is lightweight and highly customizable, making it a great choice for research and high-performance machine learning models.
Let’s see how to create a simple neural network using Flax and JAX.
First, install the required libraries:
pip install flax jax jaxlib optax
import jax.numpy as jnp
import jax.random as random
import flax.linen as nn
from jax import grad, jit
flax.linen – Flax’s module for defining neural networksjax.numpy – JAX’s version of NumPy for faster calculationsjax.random – Used for initializing model parametersFlax makes it easy to define neural networks using nn.Module:
class SimpleNN(nn.Module):
@nn.compact # Marks layers inside the model
def __call__(self, x):
x = nn.Dense(features=128)(x) # Hidden layer with 128 neurons
x = nn.relu(x) # Activation function
x = nn.Dense(features=10)(x) # Output layer with 10 neurons
return x
What’s happening here?
x.# Create a random input tensor
key = random.PRNGKey(0) # Random seed
x = jnp.ones((1, 20)) # Example input with 20 features
# Initialize model
model = SimpleNN()
params = model.init(key, x) # Initialize weights
output = model.apply(params, x) # Run forward pass
print(output)
Breaking it down:
model.init().model.apply() runs a forward pass, computing the model’s predictions.params explicitly.Flax doesn’t come with an optimizer, but Optax (another JAX library) makes it easy to train neural networks.
import optax
# Define loss function (Mean Squared Error)
def loss_fn(params, x, y):
predictions = model.apply(params, x)
return jnp.mean((predictions - y) ** 2) # MSE Loss
# Compute gradient automatically using JAX
grad_fn = jax.grad(loss_fn)
# Define optimizer (SGD)
optimizer = optax.sgd(learning_rate=0.01)
opt_state = optimizer.init(params)
# Apply gradients
grads = grad_fn(params, x, jnp.ones((1, 10))) # Dummy target
updates, opt_state = optimizer.update(grads, opt_state)
params = optax.apply_updates(params, updates)
Key takeaways:
loss_fn() computes the loss.jax.grad(loss_fn) automatically finds gradients.optax.apply_updates().| Feature | Flax (JAX) | PyTorch | TensorFlow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | 🚀 Fastest (JIT + XLA) | ✅ Fast | ❌ Slower |
| GPU/TPU Support | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Automatic Differentiation | ✅ Yes (grad) | ✅ Yes (autograd) | ✅ Yes (TF.GradientTape) |
| Flexibility | ✅ Highly modular | ✅ Good | ❌ Less flexible |
| Ecosystem | ⚡ Research-focused | 🌍 Industry & research | 🏢 Enterprise use |
Flax is the best choice for speed and flexibility, especially for research and high-performance ML models!
If you’re looking for a lightweight and powerful neural network library, Flax is an amazing alternative to PyTorch and TensorFlow. Since it’s built on JAX, it provides faster training, automatic differentiation, and seamless GPU acceleration.
When working with Python libraries for machine learning, LightGBM (Light Gradient Boosting Machine) is an important tool for training high-performance models quickly. If you’ve used XGBoost, you’ll love LightGBM because it’s faster, uses less memory, and handles large datasets efficiently.
LightGBM is a gradient boosting framework developed by Microsoft. It’s designed for speed and efficiency. It’s one of the best choices for structured data tasks, including:
Unlike traditional gradient boosting methods, LightGBM trains models much faster while maintaining high accuracy.
2. Leaf-Wise Tree Growth – Unlike traditional boosting, which grows trees level by level, LightGBM expands the most important branches first, improving accuracy and speed.
3. Optimized for Large Datasets – LightGBM handles millions of rows and hundreds of features efficiently, making it ideal for big data tasks.
4. Built-In GPU Support – It can train models on GPUs, significantly speeding up the process compared to CPU-based methods.
To start using LightGBM, install it with:
pip install lightgbm
For GPU acceleration, install:
pip install lightgbm --install-option=--gpu
import lightgbm as lgb
import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.metrics import accuracy_score
Let’s use the famous Iris dataset for classification:
from sklearn.datasets import load_iris
# Load dataset
iris = load_iris()
X, y = iris.data, iris.target
# Split data into train and test sets
X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2, random_state=42)
LightGBM requires data in a special format called Dataset.
train_data = lgb.Dataset(X_train, label=y_train)
test_data = lgb.Dataset(X_test, label=y_test)
Define model parameters and train it.
params = {
'objective': 'multiclass', # Classification task
'num_class': 3, # Number of classes in Iris dataset
'metric': 'multi_logloss', # Loss function
'boosting_type': 'gbdt', # Gradient Boosting Decision Trees
'learning_rate': 0.1,
'num_leaves': 31, # More leaves = more complex model
'verbose': -1
}
# Train the model
model = lgb.train(params, train_data, valid_sets=[test_data], num_boost_round=100)
y_pred = model.predict(X_test)
y_pred_classes = np.argmax(y_pred, axis=1) # Get class with highest probability
accuracy = accuracy_score(y_test, y_pred_classes)
print(f"Model Accuracy: {accuracy:.2f}")
LightGBM trains fast and delivers high accuracy!
| Feature | LightGBM | XGBoost |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 🚀 Faster | ⏳ Slower |
| Memory Usage | ✅ Lower RAM usage | ❌ Higher RAM usage |
| GPU Support | ✅ Yes (built-in) | ✅ Yes |
| Accuracy | 🔥 High | 🔥 High |
| Handles Large Datasets | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
If you need the fastest boosting library with high accuracy, LightGBM is the best choice!
LightGBM is a top Python library for machine learning, known for fast training, low memory usage, and high accuracy. It’s widely used in Kaggle competitions, finance, healthcare, and e-commerce. If you’re working with structured data, LightGBM is an important tool to boost your machine learning models!
When dealing with real-time data, most traditional machine learning models struggle. They require batch training, meaning they need entire datasets upfront before making predictions. But what if your data is continuously changing, like stock prices, sensor readings, or user interactions?
That’s why we use River —a powerful tool in the world of Python libraries for machine learning.
River is a Python library for online machine learning, which means it learns from data as it arrives, one sample at a time. Unlike traditional machine learning libraries that require retraining on the entire dataset, River updates models continuously. This makes it ideal for applications where data changes in real time.
You can install River using pip:
pip install river
import river
from river import datasets
from river import linear_model
from river import preprocessing
from river import metrics
River has built-in datasets for real-time learning. Let’s use the Airlines dataset, which tracks flight delays.
dataset = datasets.Airline()
We’ll create a logistic regression model to predict flight delays.
model = preprocessing.StandardScaler() | linear_model.LogisticRegression()
metric = metrics.Accuracy()
StandardScaler() normalizes the data to improve model performance.| Chains the scaler and model so data flows through them.
Instead of batch training, we update the model with one sample at a time.
for x, y in dataset:
y_pred = model.predict_one(x) # Make a prediction
model.learn_one(x, y) # Update model with the new data point
metric.update(y, y_pred) # Update accuracy metric
print(f"Final Accuracy: {metric}")
The model continuously improves as it sees more data!
| Feature | River (Online ML) | Scikit-Learn / TensorFlow (Batch ML) |
|---|---|---|
| Handles Streaming Data? | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Trains on Large Datasets? | ✅ Yes (efficient) | ❌ Needs more RAM |
| Adapts to New Data? | ✅ Instantly | ❌ Needs retraining |
| Memory Usage | ✅ Low | ❌ High |
If your machine learning project involves real-time data, River is the perfect tool!
River is a game-changer in Python libraries for machine learning when working with streaming data. It’s perfect for finance, IoT, fraud detection, and recommendation systems where new data arrives constantly.
Tuning hyperparameters is one of the most difficult and time-consuming parts of machine learning. The right settings can make your model faster, more accurate, and more efficient, but manually finding them takes a lot of time and effort.
That’s where Optuna comes in! It’s a powerful Python library that automates hyperparameter tuning, helping you find the best configurations quickly and efficiently.
Optuna is a hyperparameter optimization library that automatically finds the best settings for your machine learning models. Instead of manually testing different values, Optuna uses advanced techniques like Bayesian Optimization and Tree-structured Parzen Estimators (TPE) to search for the most effective combination.
Where Can You Use Optuna?
You can install Optuna using pip:
pip install optuna
If you’re using LightGBM or XGBoost, install them together:
pip install optuna lightgbm xgboost
import optuna
from sklearn.datasets import load_iris
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier
from sklearn.metrics import accuracy_score
This function tells Optuna what to optimize.
def objective(trial):
# Suggest values for hyperparameters
n_estimators = trial.suggest_int("n_estimators", 10, 200)
max_depth = trial.suggest_int("max_depth", 2, 32)
# Load dataset
data = load_iris()
X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(data.data, data.target, test_size=0.2)
# Train model with suggested hyperparameters
model = RandomForestClassifier(n_estimators=n_estimators, max_depth=max_depth)
model.fit(X_train, y_train)
# Evaluate performance
y_pred = model.predict(X_test)
accuracy = accuracy_score(y_test, y_pred)
return accuracy # Optuna will maximize this value
study = optuna.create_study(direction="maximize") # We want to maximize accuracy
study.optimize(objective, n_trials=50) # Run 50 experiments
# Print the best hyperparameters
print("Best hyperparameters:", study.best_params)
Optuna automatically selects the best hyperparameters for your model!
| Feature | Optuna (Automated) | Manual Tuning |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 🚀 Fast (Runs multiple trials automatically) | 🐢 Slow (One by one testing) |
| Efficiency | ✅ Finds best hyperparameters | ❌ Trial and error |
| Parallelization | ✅ Yes (Multiple experiments at once) | ❌ No |
| Works with Any ML Library? | ✅ Yes | ❌ Limited |
Optuna makes hyperparameter tuning effortless and efficient!
If you want to build better models in less time, Optuna is the best python tool.
Deep learning is powerful, but PyTorch can sometimes feel complex—especially if you prefer the simplicity of Scikit-Learn.
What if you could get the best of both worlds?
That’s exactly what Skorch does! It’s a Scikit-Learn wrapper for PyTorch that makes training deep learning models just as easy as using Scikit-Learn.
Skorch is a high-level Python library that allows you to train PyTorch models using the simple and familiar interface of Scikit-Learn.
fit() and make predictions with predict(), just like Scikit-LearnGridSearchCV and RandomizedSearchCV.You can install Skorch using pip:
pip install skorch
If you don’t have PyTorch installed, install both:
pip install skorch torch torchvision
import torch
import torch.nn as nn
import torch.optim as optim
from skorch import NeuralNetClassifier
from sklearn.datasets import make_classification
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler
from sklearn.pipeline import make_pipeline
class SimpleNN(nn.Module):
def __init__(self, input_dim):
super(SimpleNN, self).__init__()
self.fc1 = nn.Linear(input_dim, 16)
self.relu = nn.ReLU()
self.fc2 = nn.Linear(16, 2) # 2 output classes
def forward(self, x):
x = self.fc1(x)
x = self.relu(x)
x = self.fc2(x)
return x
Skorch makes it easy to wrap this PyTorch model inside a Scikit-Learn-like interface.
net = NeuralNetClassifier(
SimpleNN,
module__input_dim=20, # Pass input dimension to the model
max_epochs=10,
lr=0.01,
optimizer=optim.Adam,
criterion=nn.CrossEntropyLoss,
device="cpu" # Change to "cuda" if using a GPU
)
# Generate synthetic data
X, y = make_classification(n_samples=1000, n_features=20, random_state=42)
# Split the dataset
X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2, random_state=42)
# Standardize features
scaler = StandardScaler()
# Train using Skorch + Scikit-Learn pipeline
pipeline = make_pipeline(scaler, net)
pipeline.fit(X_train, y_train)
# Evaluate the model
accuracy = pipeline.score(X_test, y_test)
print(f"Test Accuracy: {accuracy:.2f}")
| Feature | Skorch | Regular PyTorch |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | ✅ Simple fit() and predict() like Scikit-Learn | ❌ Manual training loops |
| Scikit-Learn Compatibility | ✅ Yes (pipelines, cross-validation, grid search) | ❌ No |
| Hyperparameter Tuning | ✅ Works with GridSearchCV | ❌ Manual tuning required |
| Ideal for Beginners? | ✅ Yes | ❌ More complex |
Skorch makes deep learning as easy as training an SVM!
If you love Scikit-Learn but also you need the power of PyTorch, Skorch is the perfect solution. It removes the complexity of deep learning while keeping everything flexible and customizable.
In machine learning, uncertainty is everywhere. Traditional models give a single prediction but don’t tell us how confident they are. Bayesian Machine Learning solves this by providing both predictions and a measure of uncertainty.
PyMC is one of the best Python libraries for Bayesian statistics, allowing you to build probabilistic models with just a few lines of code.
Traditional machine learning models predict a single value but don’t show how confident they are in that prediction. PyMC solves this by using Bayesian statistics, which gives a range of possible outcomes instead of just one answer. This is useful in finance, medicine, and research, where uncertainty matters.
You can install PyMC using pip:
pip install pymc
If you need extra dependencies for plotting and performance optimizations, use:
pip install pymc[all]
Let’s go step by step.
import pymc as pm
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
Let’s say we’re estimating the probability of success for a marketing campaign. Instead of assuming a fixed percentage, we’ll model it probabilistically.
with pm.Model() as model:
# Prior belief: Success rate follows a uniform distribution
success_rate = pm.Beta("success_rate", alpha=2, beta=2)
# Observed data: Out of 100 campaigns, 35 were successful
observations = pm.Binomial("obs", n=100, p=success_rate, observed=35)
# Run inference (estimate success rate)
trace = pm.sample(2000, return_inferencedata=True)
PyMC automatically estimates the success rate using Bayesian inference!
import arviz as az
az.plot_posterior(trace, var_names=["success_rate"])
plt.show()
This posterior distribution shows all possible success rates and how confident we are about them. Instead of a single number, we get a range of likely values, making our predictions more realistic and interpretable.
| Feature | PyMC (Bayesian ML) | Traditional ML |
|---|---|---|
| Handles Uncertainty | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Probabilistic Predictions | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Works with Small Data | ✅ Yes | ❌ Needs lots of data |
| Explains Confidence in Results | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Easy Hyperparameter Tuning | ✅ Uses prior knowledge | ❌ Needs trial & error |
If you want more than just predictions, PyMC is a game-changer. Instead of blindly trusting one number, it tells you how confident you should be.
When building machine learning models, you normally have to select algorithms, tune hyperparameters, and optimize performance manually. This process takes time and requires expertise.
AutoGluon automates this entire process! It chooses the best model, tunes hyperparameters, and optimizes everything for you—all with just a few lines of code.
2. Supports Multiple ML Tasks – Works for classification, regression, object detection, and text analysis without extra configuration.
3. Ensemble Learning – It combines multiple models to get better accuracy instead of relying on just one.
4. Works with Raw Data – You don’t need extensive data preprocessing—AutoGluon handles missing values and categorical features automatically.
You can install AutoGluon with:
pip install autogluon
For a full installation with all dependencies, use:
pip install autogluon[all]
Let’s go step by step and see how easy it is to train a model with AutoGluon.
from autogluon.tabular import TabularPredictor
import pandas as pd
We’ll use a sample dataset to predict whether a person survives the Titanic disaster based on their characteristics.
train_data = pd.read_csv("https://autogluon.s3.amazonaws.com/datasets/Titanic/train.csv")
test_data = pd.read_csv("https://autogluon.s3.amazonaws.com/datasets/Titanic/test.csv")
# Define the target column (what we want to predict)
label = "Survived"
# Drop unnecessary columns
train_data = train_data.drop(columns=["PassengerId", "Name", "Ticket", "Cabin"])
test_data = test_data.drop(columns=["PassengerId", "Name", "Ticket", "Cabin"])
AutoGluon automatically finds the best machine learning model for us.
predictor = TabularPredictor(label=label).fit(train_data)
That’s it! AutoGluon automatically trains multiple models, selects the best one, and even optimizes its hyperparameters.
Now, let’s use the trained model to predict survival on the test data.
predictions = predictor.predict(test_data)
print(predictions)
| Feature | AutoGluon (AutoML) | Traditional ML |
|---|---|---|
| Model Selection | ✅ Automatic | ❌ Manual |
| Hyperparameter Tuning | ✅ Automatic | ❌ Needs trial & error |
| Works with Minimal Code | ✅ Yes | ❌ Requires detailed setup |
| Stacked Ensembling | ✅ Yes | ❌ Usually not included |
| Fast Experimentation | ✅ Yes | ❌ Takes longer |
If you want to train high-quality ML models quickly, AutoGluon is a game-changer. It automates model selection, tuning, and training, making machine learning faster and easier than ever.
These 8 hidden Python libraries can take your machine learning projects to the next level by making tasks easier, faster, and more efficient. Whether you’re tuning hyperparameters with Optuna, handling real-time data with River, or simplifying deep learning with Skorch, each library brings unique advantages.
By adding these tools to your workflow, you can save time, improve model performance, and handle complex ML tasks with less effort. Try them out and see how they supercharge your models!
Here are some helpful resources to learn more about these hidden Python libraries for machine learning:
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