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FastDatasets

Free

A powerful tool for creating high-quality training datasets for Large Language Models

FreeFree tier
Type
Open Source

About FastDatasets

FastDatasets is an open-source tool under Apache 2.0 that streamlines the creation of high-quality training datasets for fine-tuning Large Language Models (LLMs). It ingests documents in multiple formats (PDF, Word, Markdown, plain text), automatically splits them into chunks, and uses an LLM to generate relevant questions and answers. The tool outputs datasets ready for supervised fine-tuning (SFT) in popular formats like Alpaca and ShareGPT. It also supports knowledge distillation, allowing users to extract knowledge from larger models or augment existing datasets with instruction variants. A built-in web UI provides a no-code interface for document uploads, parameter configuration, real-time progress monitoring, and result downloads.

Key Features

Intelligent document processing with support for PDF, Word (docx), Markdown, and plain text formats.
Automatic question generation based on document content.
LLM-powered answer generation for high-quality responses.
Asynchronous processing for handling large document collections.
Multiple export formats: Alpaca and ShareGPT JSON, plus intermediate files (chunks, questions, answers, optimized pairs).
Knowledge distillation: extract knowledge from larger models into training datasets.
Instruction augmentation: generate variants to expand training data.
Quality optimization using LLM to improve dataset quality.
Web UI for visual document upload, parameter configuration, real-time monitoring, and result download.
Command-line scripts for batch processing and easy integration into pipelines.

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Open-source with permissive Apache 2.0 license, fully free to use.
  • Supports common document formats (PDF, Word, Markdown, text) without conversion.
  • Produces datasets directly in Alpaca and ShareGPT formats, compatible with many LLM fine-tuning frameworks.
  • Includes both a web UI for casual use and CLI scripts for automation.
  • Provides knowledge distillation and data augmentation features to enhance dataset quality and diversity.
  • Asynchronous processing speeds up large-scale dataset generation.
Cons
  • Requires external LLM API (e.g., DeepSeek) to be configured; no built-in language model.
  • Quality of generated datasets heavily depends on the underlying LLM's capabilities.
  • No native training or evaluation tools — only dataset creation.
  • May require significant memory and time for very large documents or high concurrency.
  • Documentation primarily in Chinese; English README available but less comprehensive.

Best For

Creating instruction-tuning datasets from domain-specific documents (e.g., company manuals, research papers).Distilling knowledge from large teacher models into compact student models.Augmenting existing instruction datasets with diverse question variants.Generating SFT-ready datasets for fine-tuning open-source LLMs like LLaMA, Mistral, or DeepSeek.Rapid prototyping of dataset generation with the web UI for non-technical users.

FAQ

What document formats does FastDatasets support?
FastDatasets supports PDF, Word (docx), Markdown, plain text, and other mainstream formats.
What output formats are available?
FastDatasets can export datasets in Alpaca JSON format and ShareGPT JSON format. Intermediate files such as chunks, questions, answers, and optimized pairs are also generated.
How do I install FastDatasets?
You can install via pip: pip install fastdatasets-llm. Alternatively, clone the GitHub repository and install with pip install -e .
Is there a web interface available?
Yes, FastDatasets includes a web UI built with Gradio. You can run it locally with python web_app.py after installation. A hosted version is also available on Hugging Face Spaces.
What is the license?
FastDatasets is licensed under Apache 2.0, allowing free use, modification, and distribution.
Does FastDatasets require an LLM API key?
Yes, you need to configure an LLM API (e.g., DeepSeek) in a .env file. The tool uses the LLM to generate questions and answers.