PyTorch Lightning
Shares rank 17 of 19 machine learning libraries by recommenders
Recommended as a modern Python library with clear documentation for machine learning training. Some critics note a claimed copy of FastAI and a reported malicious 2.6.2 package.
Recommended as a modern Python library with clear documentation for machine learning training. Some critics note a claimed copy of FastAI and a reported malicious 2.6.2 package.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Modern Python library with clear documentation
“there are libraries and clear documentation (e.g. Lightning, Ray, etc)”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “In Defense of Matlab Code” “so much more is solved by e.g. modern Python libs like Ray, Lighting”
Comment from 17 Dec 2025 in “In Defense of Matlab Code”
Other machine learning libraries people recommend
The four most recommended other machine learning libraries, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 19 machine learning libraries, rankedWhat people said
All 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Lightning was more failure prone, not just wearing out the goofy plugs”
“even lightning is a strictly better connector than USB-C - easier to insert, less fragile, better wearing”
“Apple made Lightning when the rest of the world was still mucking about with Micro-USB”
“It was basically a replacement for a for loop and a couple of backward/step calls.”
“a blatant, shameless rip off of Jeremy Howard's FastAI library”
“The nixpkg from unstable seems to be infected as it s 2.6.2”
“We're stuck in Nostr/Lightning-only which has a small audience.”
“It's the only payment rail that doesn't care who you are”
“Lightning is available as part of Felt's Enterprise plan.”
“so much more is solved by e.g. modern Python libs like Ray, Lighting”
“the Lightning people will largely just have this work immediately”
“there are libraries and clear documentation (e.g. Lightning, Ray, etc)”
“they went to serial protocols”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.