Conditionally destroy process group at end of train

src/megatron/bridge/training/pretrain.py

@@ -106,6 +106,10 @@ def _pretrain(
         store: Optional distributed Store used by in-process restart for coordination
         inprocess_call_wrapper: Optional wrapper injected by nvrx to expose restart iteration
     """
+    # Determine whether the training loop will initialize the process group
+    # If the trainer creates the process group, the trainer should destroy it before returning control back to the user
+    should_destroy_process_group = not dist.is_initialized()
+
     # Handle in-process restart store prefix
     if inprocess_call_wrapper is not None:
         restart_attempt = inprocess_call_wrapper.iteration
@@ -183,3 +187,15 @@ def _pretrain(
         )
 
     _finish_train(state)
+    _maybe_destroy_process_group(should_destroy_process_group)
+
+
+def _maybe_destroy_process_group(should_destroy: bool) -> None:
+    """Destroy the process group if it was created by this training session.
+
+    Args:
+        should_destroy: Whether the process group should be destroyed
+    """
+    if should_destroy and dist.is_initialized():
+        dist.barrier()
+        dist.destroy_process_group()

tests/unit_tests/training/test_pretrain.py

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  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.
+
+"""Unit tests for pretrain module process group cleanup."""
+
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+from megatron.bridge.training.pretrain import _maybe_destroy_process_group
+
+
+class TestDestroyProcessGroupIfNeeded:
+    """Test process group destruction logic."""
+
+    @patch("megatron.bridge.training.pretrain.dist")
+    def test_destroy_when_should_destroy_and_initialized(self, mock_dist):
+        """Test process group is destroyed when both conditions are met."""
+        mock_dist.is_initialized.return_value = True
+
+        _maybe_destroy_process_group(should_destroy=True)
+
+        mock_dist.barrier.assert_called_once()
+        mock_dist.destroy_process_group.assert_called_once()
+
+    @patch("megatron.bridge.training.pretrain.dist")
+    def test_no_destroy_when_should_not_destroy(self, mock_dist):
+        """Test no destruction when should_destroy is False."""
+        mock_dist.is_initialized.return_value = True
+
+        _maybe_destroy_process_group(should_destroy=False)
+
+        mock_dist.barrier.assert_not_called()
+        mock_dist.destroy_process_group.assert_not_called()
+
+    @patch("megatron.bridge.training.pretrain.dist")
+    def test_no_destroy_when_not_initialized(self, mock_dist):
+        """Test no destruction when process group is not initialized."""
+        mock_dist.is_initialized.return_value = False
+
+        _maybe_destroy_process_group(should_destroy=True)
+
+        mock_dist.barrier.assert_not_called()
+        mock_dist.destroy_process_group.assert_not_called()
+
+    @patch("megatron.bridge.training.pretrain.dist")
+    def test_no_destroy_when_neither_condition_met(self, mock_dist):
+        """Test no destruction when both conditions are false."""
+        mock_dist.is_initialized.return_value = False
+
+        _maybe_destroy_process_group(should_destroy=False)
+
+        mock_dist.barrier.assert_not_called()
+        mock_dist.destroy_process_group.assert_not_called()