Tutorial Assets and Model Archives

Most tutorial users only need --model <path> and --image <path>. This page is for source-tree runs, tests, and repeatable debug sessions where you want to control where model archives and sample assets come from.

Keep this material out of beginner tutorials. It is useful, but it is not the first step.

Model archive overrides

Use these environment variables when repo-local tests or helper scripts need a model archive path without changing every command:

Variable	Use
SIMA_RESNET50_TAR	Per-model override for ResNet-50 tutorials and tests.
SIMA_MODEL_TAR	Shared fallback model archive used by model-backed tests and examples.
SIMA_YOLO_TAR	Per-model override for YOLO-style detection tutorials and tests when supported by the script.

Tutorial commands still accept explicit flags. Prefer --model <path> for a single run; use environment variables when many commands should share the same artifact.

sdk-or-devkit$export SIMA_RESNET50_TAR=/path/to/resnet_50.tar.gzsdk-or-devkit$export SIMA_YOLO_TAR=/path/to/yolo_v8s.tar.gz

Common source-tree paths

Repo-local tests and examples commonly look under tmp/ in the repo root. The most common paths are:

Asset	Common source-tree path
ResNet-50 model archive	tmp/resnet_50.tar.gz
YOLOv8s model archive	tmp/yolo_v8s.tar.gz
COCO sample image	tmp/coco_sample.jpg

Installed tutorials can run from the extras folder instead. In that flow, pass model and image paths explicitly if they are not already under /tmp.

Model extraction controls

Neat extracts model archives before running them. These variables are mainly for inspection and cleanup control during debugging:

Variable	Effect
SIMA_MPK_EXTRACT_ROOT=<dir>	Sets the base directory for extracted model data.
SIMA_MPK_CLEANUP_EXTRACTED=0	Keeps extracted proc_* model data after process exit.
SIMA_MPK_EXTRACT_GC_STALE_PROC=0	Disables cleanup of stale proc_* directories on startup.

Use them when you need to inspect generated config files or compare extracted artifacts across runs. Leave the defaults on for normal tutorial work.

Sample image overrides

Some source-tree tests use a COCO sample image and can download it if missing. Override the URL when your environment needs a local mirror:

sdk-or-devkit$export SIMA_COCO_URL=https://example.com/path/to/coco_sample.jpg

Prefer --image <path> for one tutorial run. Use SIMA_COCO_URL when a test suite or CI job should fetch from a controlled location.

Triage missing assets

If a tutorial prints SKIP: missing ... or fails to open a model:

1. Check the path shown in the message.
2. Pass the asset explicitly with the tutorial flag.
3. If you run source-tree tests, set the matching environment variable.
4. If the asset came from the Model Zoo, confirm the downloaded filename and point the tutorial at the actual .tar.gz file.

Do not unpack the model archive by hand for normal runs. Neat expects the compiled archive path and handles extraction itself.