---
title: You Are A Bug
emoji: 🐞
colorFrom: green
colorTo: yellow
sdk: gradio
sdk_version: 6.17.3
python_version: '3.13'
app_file: app.py
pinned: true
short_description: An entomological TTRPG powered by a small fine-tuned LLM.
tags:
  - track:wood
  - sponsor:modal
  - achievement:offgrid
  - achievement:welltuned
  - achievement:offbrand
  - achievement:llama
  - achievement:sharing
  - achievement:fieldnotes

---

# You Are a Bug

A submission for the June 2026 Hugging Face x Gradio [Build Small Hackathon](https://build-small-hackathon-field-guide.hf.space/), **Thousand Token Wood** track. [Read my full diary post here!](https://huggingface.co/blog/build-small-hackathon/you-are-a-bug-dev-diary)

The underlying model was built from [Qwen3-8B](https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen3-8B) with a **QLora trained on Modal.com**, made from a purpose-curated dataset of 777 player turns and JSON outputs. [See the merged GGUF model, the LoRA/adapater, and an example model trace here!](https://huggingface.co/jnalv/you-are-a-bug-qwen3-8B/tree/main) You can also export your own game's trace at the bottom of the game area :)

🎬 [Check out the demo video here!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MzfhDxs1Sc)
📱 [Social post here!](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7471754081850658816/)

#### Qualifying for:
🎨 Off-Brand · 🎯 Well-Tuned · 🦙 Llama Champion · 🔌 Off the Grid · 📡 Sharing is Caring · 📓 Field Notes

🛠️ Built with Modal.com
📍 Running local, no cloud APIs used

## Quotes From Friends

*it did feel very epic, magic buggy... the vibe was fun and weird* - M 

*very fun* - A

*update - i have convinced the mouse to move to san francisco as my cofounder* - Z

*lol* - C

## The Inputs & Outputs I Trained For

The model was trained to produce only two shapes, and decide when to use them: either a JSON response with a simple `say` that narrates something, or a `roll` that tests a `stat` (`might|speed|smarts|mystique`) with a `difficulty` (`easy|medium|hard`). What comes in as input is a simple card in a set format to provide context, with a standard shape to give structure to our inputs for fine-tuning:

**Input: The player, world, previous turns, and most recent user input**
```
PLAYER
Luna Moth, Level 1 — HP 4/4 · Moxie 5/5
Might 1 · Speed 1 · Smarts 6 · Mystique 2
A wise wizard type. Worldly and mysterious.

THE WORLD
Night, high summer. Warm dark thick with pollen. Restless and electric — the night shift coming awake.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED
[dm] The night is warm and buzzing. Creatures of the night start to hum and chitter as they join the forest's festivities, replacing day-timers.
[player] i fly up to the tree canopy and try to find blooms to drink from
[dm] A pulse of sound brushes your wings, then another, faster. Out of the warm dark a bat banks toward you, painting you with clicks. You are the loudest thing in its black sky, and it is hungry.

PLAYER'S TURN
[player] I fold my wings and drop like a leaf.
```

**Output: A JSON `roll` response, testing a skill**
```
{
  "action": "roll",
  "stat": "speed",
  "difficulty": "medium",
  "on_success": "You tumble out of the sound-beam, falling all wrong on purpose, and the bat's swoop slices the air where a sensible moth would have been.",
  "on_fail": "You drop a half-beat late. Wing membrane brushes you, claws comb your tails, and you spin earthward, listening to the bat already turning back around."
}
```

For skill rolls, the LLM narrates what both the success and the failure would look like in a single response. Then the code takes the player's stat, rolls a random number against it, resolves which happens, and displays the winner!

## Big Thanks

Thanks to **Gradio** and **Hugging Face** for putting together an incredibly fun hackathon, with exactly the sort of prompt that I dream about. Huge thanks to **Modal.com** for the awesome credits, which I had a blast using. Fine-tuning is fun, and I think I caught the bug, pun intended. Also a huge thanks to all the HF and Gradio **staff answering questions in the Discord**, as well as **all the other brilliant participants!**

### Background Art (Creative Commons Zero/CC0)

- ["Insects and Grasses," Yamamoto Baiitsu](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/44285)
- ["Procession of Insects," Nishiyama Kan'ei](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/670951)
- ["Insects and Flowers," Ju Lian](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36184)
- ["Garden Flowers," After Chen Chun](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45797)
- ["Flowers and Insects," Chai Zhenyi](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/80215/flowers-and-insects)

*Created by Josh Nalven / @JNalv*