refactor(rewards): add rewards/factory.py and remove reward model code from policies/factory.py

src/lerobot/policies/factory.py

@@ -35,8 +35,6 @@ from lerobot.policies.pi0.configuration_pi0 import PI0Config
 from lerobot.policies.pi05.configuration_pi05 import PI05Config
 from lerobot.policies.pretrained import PreTrainedPolicy
 from lerobot.policies.sac.configuration_sac import SACConfig
-from lerobot.policies.sac.reward_model.configuration_classifier import RewardClassifierConfig
-from lerobot.policies.sarm.configuration_sarm import SARMConfig
 from lerobot.policies.smolvla.configuration_smolvla import SmolVLAConfig
 from lerobot.policies.tdmpc.configuration_tdmpc import TDMPCConfig
 from lerobot.policies.utils import validate_visual_features_consistency
@@ -66,7 +64,7 @@ def get_policy_class(name: str) -> type[PreTrainedPolicy]:
 
     Args:
         name: The name of the policy. Supported names are "tdmpc", "diffusion", "act",
-              "vqbet", "pi0", "pi05", "sac", "reward_classifier", "smolvla", "wall_x".
+              "vqbet", "pi0", "pi05", "sac", "smolvla", "wall_x".
 
     Returns:
         The policy class corresponding to the given name.
@@ -106,18 +104,10 @@ def get_policy_class(name: str) -> type[PreTrainedPolicy]:
         from lerobot.policies.sac.modeling_sac import SACPolicy
 
         return SACPolicy
-    elif name == "reward_classifier":
-        from lerobot.policies.sac.reward_model.modeling_classifier import Classifier
-
-        return Classifier
     elif name == "smolvla":
         from lerobot.policies.smolvla.modeling_smolvla import SmolVLAPolicy
 
         return SmolVLAPolicy
-    elif name == "sarm":
-        from lerobot.policies.sarm.modeling_sarm import SARMRewardModel
-
-        return SARMRewardModel
     elif name == "groot":
         from lerobot.policies.groot.modeling_groot import GrootPolicy
 
@@ -147,7 +137,7 @@ def make_policy_config(policy_type: str, **kwargs) -> PreTrainedConfig:
     Args:
         policy_type: The type of the policy. Supported types include "tdmpc",
                      "diffusion", "act", "vqbet", "pi0", "pi05", "sac", "smolvla",
-                     "reward_classifier", "wall_x".
+                     "wall_x".
         **kwargs: Keyword arguments to be passed to the configuration class constructor.
 
     Returns:
@@ -172,8 +162,6 @@ def make_policy_config(policy_type: str, **kwargs) -> PreTrainedConfig:
         return SACConfig(**kwargs)
     elif policy_type == "smolvla":
         return SmolVLAConfig(**kwargs)
-    elif policy_type == "reward_classifier":
-        return RewardClassifierConfig(**kwargs)
     elif policy_type == "groot":
         return GrootConfig(**kwargs)
     elif policy_type == "xvla":
@@ -340,14 +328,6 @@ def make_pre_post_processors(
             dataset_stats=kwargs.get("dataset_stats"),
         )
 
-    elif isinstance(policy_cfg, RewardClassifierConfig):
-        from lerobot.policies.sac.reward_model.processor_classifier import make_classifier_processor
-
-        processors = make_classifier_processor(
-            config=policy_cfg,
-            dataset_stats=kwargs.get("dataset_stats"),
-        )
-
     elif isinstance(policy_cfg, SmolVLAConfig):
         from lerobot.policies.smolvla.processor_smolvla import make_smolvla_pre_post_processors
 
@@ -356,14 +336,6 @@ def make_pre_post_processors(
             dataset_stats=kwargs.get("dataset_stats"),
         )
 
-    elif isinstance(policy_cfg, SARMConfig):
-        from lerobot.policies.sarm.processor_sarm import make_sarm_pre_post_processors
-
-        processors = make_sarm_pre_post_processors(
-            config=policy_cfg,
-            dataset_stats=kwargs.get("dataset_stats"),
-            dataset_meta=kwargs.get("dataset_meta"),
-        )
     elif isinstance(policy_cfg, GrootConfig):
         from lerobot.policies.groot.processor_groot import make_groot_pre_post_processors
 

src/lerobot/rewards/factory.py

@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+
+# Copyright 2026 The HuggingFace Inc. team. All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import importlib
+import logging
+from typing import Any
+
+import torch
+
+from lerobot.configs.rewards import RewardModelConfig
+from lerobot.processor import PolicyAction, PolicyProcessorPipeline
+from lerobot.rewards.classifier.configuration_classifier import RewardClassifierConfig
+from lerobot.rewards.pretrained import PreTrainedRewardModel
+from lerobot.rewards.sarm.configuration_sarm import SARMConfig
+
+
+def get_reward_model_class(name: str) -> type[PreTrainedRewardModel]:
+    """
+    Retrieves a reward model class by its registered name.
+
+    This function uses dynamic imports to avoid loading all reward model classes into
+    memory at once, improving startup time and reducing dependencies.
+
+    Args:
+        name: The name of the reward model. Supported names are "reward_classifier",
+              "sarm".
+
+    Returns:
+        The reward model class corresponding to the given name.
+
+    Raises:
+        ValueError: If the reward model name is not recognized.
+    """
+    if name == "reward_classifier":
+        from lerobot.rewards.classifier.modeling_classifier import Classifier
+
+        return Classifier
+    elif name == "sarm":
+        from lerobot.rewards.sarm.modeling_sarm import SARMRewardModel
+
+        return SARMRewardModel
+    else:
+        try:
+            return _get_reward_model_cls_from_name(name=name)
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise ValueError(f"Reward model type '{name}' is not available.") from e
+
+
+def make_reward_model_config(reward_type: str, **kwargs) -> RewardModelConfig:
+    """
+    Instantiates a reward model configuration object based on the reward type.
+
+    This factory function simplifies the creation of reward model configuration objects
+    by mapping a string identifier to the corresponding config class.
+
+    Args:
+        reward_type: The type of the reward model. Supported types include
+                     "reward_classifier", "sarm".
+        **kwargs: Keyword arguments to be passed to the configuration class constructor.
+
+    Returns:
+        An instance of a `RewardModelConfig` subclass.
+
+    Raises:
+        ValueError: If the `reward_type` is not recognized.
+    """
+    if reward_type == "reward_classifier":
+        return RewardClassifierConfig(**kwargs)
+    elif reward_type == "sarm":
+        return SARMConfig(**kwargs)
+    else:
+        try:
+            config_cls = RewardModelConfig.get_choice_class(reward_type)
+            return config_cls(**kwargs)
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise ValueError(f"Reward model type '{reward_type}' is not available.") from e
+
+
+def make_reward_model(cfg: RewardModelConfig, **kwargs) -> PreTrainedRewardModel:
+    """
+    Instantiate a reward model from its configuration.
+
+    Args:
+        cfg: The configuration for the reward model to be created. If
+             `cfg.pretrained_path` is set, the model will be loaded with weights
+             from that path.
+        **kwargs: Additional keyword arguments forwarded to the model constructor
+            (e.g., ``dataset_stats``, ``dataset_meta``).
+
+    Returns:
+        An instantiated and device-placed reward model.
+    """
+    reward_cls = get_reward_model_class(cfg.type)
+
+    kwargs["config"] = cfg
+
+    if cfg.pretrained_path:
+        kwargs["pretrained_name_or_path"] = cfg.pretrained_path
+        reward_model = reward_cls.from_pretrained(**kwargs)
+    else:
+        reward_model = reward_cls(**kwargs)
+
+    reward_model.to(cfg.device)
+    assert isinstance(reward_model, torch.nn.Module)
+
+    return reward_model
+
+
+def make_reward_pre_post_processors(
+    reward_cfg: RewardModelConfig,
+    **kwargs,
+) -> tuple[
+    PolicyProcessorPipeline[dict[str, Any], dict[str, Any]],
+    PolicyProcessorPipeline[PolicyAction, PolicyAction],
+]:
+    """
+    Create pre- and post-processor pipelines for a given reward model.
+
+    Each reward model type has a dedicated factory function for its processors.
+
+    Args:
+        reward_cfg: The configuration of the reward model for which to create processors.
+        **kwargs: Additional keyword arguments passed to the processor factory
+            (e.g., ``dataset_stats``, ``dataset_meta``).
+
+    Returns:
+        A tuple containing the input (pre-processor) and output (post-processor) pipelines.
+
+    Raises:
+        ValueError: If a processor factory is not implemented for the given reward
+            model configuration type.
+    """
+    # Create a new processor based on reward model type
+    if isinstance(reward_cfg, RewardClassifierConfig):
+        from lerobot.rewards.classifier.processor_classifier import make_classifier_processor
+
+        return make_classifier_processor(
+            config=reward_cfg,
+            dataset_stats=kwargs.get("dataset_stats"),
+        )
+
+    elif isinstance(reward_cfg, SARMConfig):
+        from lerobot.rewards.sarm.processor_sarm import make_sarm_pre_post_processors
+
+        return make_sarm_pre_post_processors(
+            config=reward_cfg,
+            dataset_stats=kwargs.get("dataset_stats"),
+            dataset_meta=kwargs.get("dataset_meta"),
+        )
+
+    else:
+        try:
+            processors = _make_processors_from_reward_model_config(
+                config=reward_cfg,
+                dataset_stats=kwargs.get("dataset_stats"),
+            )
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Processor for reward model type '{reward_cfg.type}' is not implemented."
+            ) from e
+        return processors
+
+
+def _get_reward_model_cls_from_name(name: str) -> type[PreTrainedRewardModel]:
+    """Get reward model class from its registered name using dynamic imports.
+
+    This is used as a helper function to import reward models from 3rd party lerobot
+    plugins.
+
+    Args:
+        name: The name of the reward model.
+
+    Returns:
+        The reward model class corresponding to the given name.
+    """
+    if name not in RewardModelConfig.get_known_choices():
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Unknown reward model name '{name}'. "
+            f"Available reward models: {RewardModelConfig.get_known_choices()}"
+        )
+
+    config_cls = RewardModelConfig.get_choice_class(name)
+    config_cls_name = config_cls.__name__
+
+    model_name = config_cls_name.removesuffix("Config")
+    if model_name == config_cls_name:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"The config class name '{config_cls_name}' does not follow the expected naming convention. "
+            f"Make sure it ends with 'Config'!"
+        )
+
+    cls_name = model_name + "RewardModel"
+    module_path = config_cls.__module__.replace("configuration_", "modeling_")
+
+    module = importlib.import_module(module_path)
+    reward_cls = getattr(module, cls_name)
+    return reward_cls
+
+
+def _make_processors_from_reward_model_config(
+    config: RewardModelConfig,
+    dataset_stats: dict[str, dict[str, torch.Tensor]] | None = None,
+) -> tuple[Any, Any]:
+    """Create pre- and post-processors from a reward model configuration using dynamic imports.
+
+    This is used as a helper function to import processor factories from 3rd party
+    lerobot reward model plugins.
+
+    Args:
+        config: The reward model configuration object.
+        dataset_stats: Dataset statistics for normalization.
+
+    Returns:
+        A tuple containing the input (pre-processor) and output (post-processor) pipelines.
+    """
+    reward_type = config.type
+    function_name = f"make_{reward_type}_pre_post_processors"
+    module_path = config.__class__.__module__.replace("configuration_", "processor_")
+    logging.debug(
+        f"Instantiating reward pre/post processors using function '{function_name}' "
+        f"from module '{module_path}'"
+    )
+    module = importlib.import_module(module_path)
+    function = getattr(module, function_name)
+    return function(config, dataset_stats=dataset_stats)