Stan Coding Guidelines

Use this skill when writing or modifying Stan programs to ensure clean, efficient code.

Program Structure

Use canonical block order: functions, data, transformed data, parameters, transformed parameters, model, generated quantities.

Follow Stan style:

• Two-space indents, no tabs, ≤80 character lines
• Opening braces at end of line: for (n in 1:N) {
• Spaces around operators and after commas
• Variable names: lowercase with underscores (sigma_y, mu_group)
• Dimension constants: single uppercase letters (N, K, J)
• Declare locals close to use; scalars inside loops, reused containers outside

Types and Containers

Use appropriate types:

• Linear algebra: matrix, vector, row_vector with matrix operations (x * beta)
• Indexing/containers: array[N] real y (not legacy real y[N])
• Repeated row access: array[M] row_vector[N] x over matrix[M, N]
• Heterogeneous returns: tuple(...) for multiple values
• Sum-to-zero: sum_to_zero_vector, sum_to_zero_matrix instead of manual constraints

Memory layout: matrices are column-major, arrays are row-major.

Distributions and Vectorization

Always use log form:

• Write y ~ normal(mu, sigma) or target += normal_lpdf(y | mu, sigma)
• Vectorize: y ~ normal(mu, sigma) for arrays, not loops
• Use GLM functions: bernoulli_logit_glm, poisson_log_glm, normal_id_glm
• Precompute shared expressions: compute mu = X * beta once, reuse
• Finite mixtures: use log_sum_exp on log scale

Parameterization

Use constrained types over manual checks:

• <lower=0>, <upper=...>, ordered, positive_ordered, simplex, unit_vector
• Covariance (K≥3): cholesky_factor_corr[K] L_Omega with multi_normal_cholesky
• Sum-to-zero: use built-in types, not "last element = minus sum"

For custom transforms, use built-in *_constrain, *_unconstrain, *_jacobian functions.

Parallelization

For large-N models with independent terms, use reduce_sum:

• Write partial sum function that takes data slice and returns log-density contribution
• Keep partial sum vectorized internally
• No side effects (no printing, no mutation)

Functions

Modularize complex logic in functions block:

• Reused operations, complex math, custom likelihoods
• Signature: data arguments first, then parameters, then tuning constants
• Use tuple returns for multiple heterogeneous outputs

Preventing Crashes

Both compilation and sampling can crash or OOM.

Defensive Stan patterns:

• Always use tight bounds: int<lower=1, upper=K> id[N]
• Guard math: check parameters before log, sqrt, division
• Add explicit bounds for dispersion: real<lower=0.01> phi (never exactly 0)

Execution:

• Wrap CmdStanModel() and model.sample() in try-except
• Probe with short runs before full sampling

On crash/OOM:

• Reduce parallel_chains (4 → 2 → 1)
• Reduce max_treedepth (10 → 8)
• Subsample data or simplify model

ArviZ Integration

Design Stan programs for downstream ArviZ workflow:

Generated quantities:

• Always include pointwise log-likelihood: vector[N] log_lik - required for model comparison and downstream workflow
• Always include posterior predictive draws: vector[N] y_rep - required for all predictive checks
• For multiple observed variables, use one vector per variable: log_lik_y1, log_lik_y2
• This will incur modest overhead, but might be worth workflow simplicity

Transformed parameters:

• Put reusable intermediate quantities here (e.g., vector[N] mu = alpha + X * beta)
• Avoids recomputation in Python and makes them available in posterior samples

Extending without refitting:

• To add new derived quantities, use generate_quantities mode with original posterior draws
• Write new Stan file with same data/parameters/transformed parameters but extended generated quantities
• Call model.generate_quantities(data=data, mcmc_sample=fit) - orders of magnitude faster than refitting

Save and cache:

• Convert to InferenceData: az.from_cmdstanpy(fit, log_likelihood="log_lik", posterior_predictive=["y_rep"])
• Save as NetCDF: idata.to_netcdf("posterior.nc") - makes all downstream analysis instant
• Use consistent coords/dims for all models in the workflow

References

If stuck on Stan patterns or ArviZ usage, search these resources:

• Stan case studies: https://mc-stan.org/learn-stan/case-studies.html
• ArviZ API documentation: https://python.arviz.org/en/latest/api/index.html

Use WebSearch or WebFetch to find specific examples.