refactor: install external providers from module (#2637)

# What does this PR do? Today, external providers are installed via the `external_providers_dir` in the config. This necessitates users to understand the `ProviderSpec` and set up their directories accordingly. This process splits up the config for the stack across multiple files, directories, and formats. Most (if not all) external providers today have a [get_provider_spec](559cb18fbb/src/ramalama_stack/provider.py (L9)) method that sits unused. Utilizing this method rather than the providers.d route allows for a much easier installation process for external providers and limits the amount of extra configuration a regular user has to do to get their stack off the ground. To accomplish this and wire it throughout the build process, Introduce the concept of a `module` for users to specify for an external provider upon build time. In order to facilitate this, align the build and run spec to use `Provider` class rather than the stringified provider_type that build currently uses. For example, say this is in your build config: ``` - provider_id: ramalama provider_type: remote::ramalama module: ramalama_stack ``` during build (in the various `build_...` scripts), additionally to installing any pip dependencies we will also install this module and use the `get_provider_spec` method to retrieve the ProviderSpec that is currently specified using `providers.d`. In production so far, providing instructions for installing external providers for users has been difficult: they need to install the module as a pre-req, create the providers.d directory, copy in the provider spec, and also copy in the necessary build/run yaml files. Accessing an external provider should be as easy as possible, and pointing to its installable module aligns more with the rest of our build and dependency management process. For now, `external_providers_dir` still exists as an alternate more declarative method of using external providers. ## Test Plan added an integration test installing an external provider from module and more unit test coverage for `get_provider_registry` ( the warning in yellow is expected, the module is installed inside of the build env, not where we are running the command) <img width="1119" height="400" alt="Screenshot 2025-07-24 at 11 30 48 AM" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1efbaf45-b9e8-451a-bd63-264ed664706d" /> <img width="1154" height="618" alt="Screenshot 2025-07-24 at 11 31 14 AM" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/feb2b3ea-c5dd-418e-9662-9a3bd5dd6bdc" /> --------- Signed-off-by: Charlie Doern <cdoern@redhat.com>
2025-07-27 06:28:50 +00:00 · 2025-07-25 09:41:26 -04:00 · 2025-07-25 09:41:26 -04:00 · de6919ecdd
commit de6919ecdd
parent 85223ccc4d
44 changed files with 1687 additions and 595 deletions
--- a/llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/build.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/build.yaml
@ -3,57 +3,98 @@ distribution_spec:
  description: CI tests for Llama Stack
  providers:
    inference:
-    - remote::cerebras
-    - remote::ollama
-    - remote::vllm
-    - remote::tgi
-    - remote::hf::serverless
-    - remote::hf::endpoint
-    - remote::fireworks
-    - remote::together
-    - remote::bedrock
-    - remote::databricks
-    - remote::nvidia
-    - remote::runpod
-    - remote::openai
-    - remote::anthropic
-    - remote::gemini
-    - remote::groq
-    - remote::llama-openai-compat
-    - remote::sambanova
-    - remote::passthrough
-    - inline::sentence-transformers
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_CEREBRAS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::cerebras
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_OLLAMA:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::ollama
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_VLLM:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::vllm
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_TGI:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::tgi
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_HF_SERVERLESS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::hf::serverless
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_HF_ENDPOINT:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::hf::endpoint
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_FIREWORKS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::fireworks
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_TOGETHER:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::together
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_BEDROCK:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::bedrock
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_DATABRICKS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::databricks
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_NVIDIA:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::nvidia
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_RUNPOD:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::runpod
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_OPENAI:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::openai
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_ANTHROPIC:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::anthropic
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_GEMINI:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::gemini
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_GROQ:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::groq
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_LLAMA_OPENAI_COMPAT:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::llama-openai-compat
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_SAMBANOVA:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::sambanova
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_PASSTHROUGH:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::passthrough
+    - provider_id: sentence-transformers
+      provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
    vector_io:
-    - inline::faiss
-    - inline::sqlite-vec
-    - inline::milvus
-    - remote::chromadb
-    - remote::pgvector
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_FAISS:=faiss}
+      provider_type: inline::faiss
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_SQLITE_VEC:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: inline::sqlite-vec
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_MILVUS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: inline::milvus
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_CHROMADB:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::chromadb
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_PGVECTOR:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::pgvector
    files:
-    - inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
    safety:
-    - inline::llama-guard
+    - provider_id: llama-guard
+      provider_type: inline::llama-guard
    agents:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    telemetry:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    post_training:
-    - inline::huggingface
+    - provider_id: huggingface
+      provider_type: inline::huggingface
    eval:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    datasetio:
-    - remote::huggingface
-    - inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: huggingface
+      provider_type: remote::huggingface
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
    scoring:
-    - inline::basic
-    - inline::llm-as-judge
-    - inline::braintrust
+    - provider_id: basic
+      provider_type: inline::basic
+    - provider_id: llm-as-judge
+      provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
+    - provider_id: braintrust
+      provider_type: inline::braintrust
    tool_runtime:
-    - remote::brave-search
-    - remote::tavily-search
-    - inline::rag-runtime
-    - remote::model-context-protocol
+    - provider_id: brave-search
+      provider_type: remote::brave-search
+    - provider_id: tavily-search
+      provider_type: remote::tavily-search
+    - provider_id: rag-runtime
+      provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
+    - provider_id: model-context-protocol
+      provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
 image_type: conda
+image_name: ci-tests
 additional_pip_packages:
 - aiosqlite
 - asyncpg
--- a/llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/run.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/run.yaml
@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ providers:
      api_key: ${env.TOGETHER_API_KEY}
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_BEDROCK:=__disabled__}
    provider_type: remote::bedrock
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_DATABRICKS:=__disabled__}
    provider_type: remote::databricks
    config:
@ -107,7 +106,6 @@ providers:
      api_key: ${env.PASSTHROUGH_API_KEY}
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_SENTENCE_TRANSFORMERS:=sentence-transformers}
    provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
-    config: {}
  vector_io:
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_FAISS:=faiss}
    provider_type: inline::faiss
@ -208,10 +206,8 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: llm-as-judge
    provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: braintrust
    provider_type: inline::braintrust
    config:
@ -229,10 +225,8 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: model-context-protocol
    provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/ci-tests}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/dell/build.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/dell/build.yaml
@ -4,32 +4,50 @@ distribution_spec:
    container
  providers:
    inference:
-    - remote::tgi
-    - inline::sentence-transformers
+    - provider_id: tgi
+      provider_type: remote::tgi
+    - provider_id: sentence-transformers
+      provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
    vector_io:
-    - inline::faiss
-    - remote::chromadb
-    - remote::pgvector
+    - provider_id: faiss
+      provider_type: inline::faiss
+    - provider_id: chromadb
+      provider_type: remote::chromadb
+    - provider_id: pgvector
+      provider_type: remote::pgvector
    safety:
-    - inline::llama-guard
+    - provider_id: llama-guard
+      provider_type: inline::llama-guard
    agents:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    telemetry:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    eval:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    datasetio:
-    - remote::huggingface
-    - inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: huggingface
+      provider_type: remote::huggingface
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
    scoring:
-    - inline::basic
-    - inline::llm-as-judge
-    - inline::braintrust
+    - provider_id: basic
+      provider_type: inline::basic
+    - provider_id: llm-as-judge
+      provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
+    - provider_id: braintrust
+      provider_type: inline::braintrust
    tool_runtime:
-    - remote::brave-search
-    - remote::tavily-search
-    - inline::rag-runtime
+    - provider_id: brave-search
+      provider_type: remote::brave-search
+    - provider_id: tavily-search
+      provider_type: remote::tavily-search
+    - provider_id: rag-runtime
+      provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
 image_type: conda
+image_name: dell
 additional_pip_packages:
 - aiosqlite
 - sqlalchemy[asyncio]
--- a/llama_stack/templates/dell/dell.py
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/dell/dell.py
@ -19,18 +19,32 @@ from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettin

 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:
    providers = {
-        "inference": ["remote::tgi", "inline::sentence-transformers"],
-        "vector_io": ["inline::faiss", "remote::chromadb", "remote::pgvector"],
-        "safety": ["inline::llama-guard"],
-        "agents": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "telemetry": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "eval": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "datasetio": ["remote::huggingface", "inline::localfs"],
-        "scoring": ["inline::basic", "inline::llm-as-judge", "inline::braintrust"],
+        "inference": [
+            Provider(provider_id="tgi", provider_type="remote::tgi"),
+            Provider(provider_id="sentence-transformers", provider_type="inline::sentence-transformers"),
+        ],
+        "vector_io": [
+            Provider(provider_id="faiss", provider_type="inline::faiss"),
+            Provider(provider_id="chromadb", provider_type="remote::chromadb"),
+            Provider(provider_id="pgvector", provider_type="remote::pgvector"),
+        ],
+        "safety": [Provider(provider_id="llama-guard", provider_type="inline::llama-guard")],
+        "agents": [Provider(provider_id="meta-reference", provider_type="inline::meta-reference")],
+        "telemetry": [Provider(provider_id="meta-reference", provider_type="inline::meta-reference")],
+        "eval": [Provider(provider_id="meta-reference", provider_type="inline::meta-reference")],
+        "datasetio": [
+            Provider(provider_id="huggingface", provider_type="remote::huggingface"),
+            Provider(provider_id="localfs", provider_type="inline::localfs"),
+        ],
+        "scoring": [
+            Provider(provider_id="basic", provider_type="inline::basic"),
+            Provider(provider_id="llm-as-judge", provider_type="inline::llm-as-judge"),
+            Provider(provider_id="braintrust", provider_type="inline::braintrust"),
+        ],
        "tool_runtime": [
-            "remote::brave-search",
-            "remote::tavily-search",
-            "inline::rag-runtime",
+            Provider(provider_id="brave-search", provider_type="remote::brave-search"),
+            Provider(provider_id="tavily-search", provider_type="remote::tavily-search"),
+            Provider(provider_id="rag-runtime", provider_type="inline::rag-runtime"),
        ],
    }
    name = "dell"
--- a/llama_stack/templates/dell/run-with-safety.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/dell/run-with-safety.yaml
@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ providers:
      url: ${env.DEH_SAFETY_URL}
  - provider_id: sentence-transformers
    provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
-    config: {}
  vector_io:
  - provider_id: chromadb
    provider_type: remote::chromadb
@ -74,10 +73,8 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: llm-as-judge
    provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: braintrust
    provider_type: inline::braintrust
    config:
@ -95,7 +92,6 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/dell}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/dell/run.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/dell/run.yaml
@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ providers:
      url: ${env.DEH_URL}
  - provider_id: sentence-transformers
    provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
-    config: {}
  vector_io:
  - provider_id: chromadb
    provider_type: remote::chromadb
@ -70,10 +69,8 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: llm-as-judge
    provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: braintrust
    provider_type: inline::braintrust
    config:
@ -91,7 +88,6 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/dell}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/meta-reference-gpu/build.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/meta-reference-gpu/build.yaml
@ -3,32 +3,50 @@ distribution_spec:
  description: Use Meta Reference for running LLM inference
  providers:
    inference:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    vector_io:
-    - inline::faiss
-    - remote::chromadb
-    - remote::pgvector
+    - provider_id: faiss
+      provider_type: inline::faiss
+    - provider_id: chromadb
+      provider_type: remote::chromadb
+    - provider_id: pgvector
+      provider_type: remote::pgvector
    safety:
-    - inline::llama-guard
+    - provider_id: llama-guard
+      provider_type: inline::llama-guard
    agents:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    telemetry:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    eval:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    datasetio:
-    - remote::huggingface
-    - inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: huggingface
+      provider_type: remote::huggingface
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
    scoring:
-    - inline::basic
-    - inline::llm-as-judge
-    - inline::braintrust
+    - provider_id: basic
+      provider_type: inline::basic
+    - provider_id: llm-as-judge
+      provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
+    - provider_id: braintrust
+      provider_type: inline::braintrust
    tool_runtime:
-    - remote::brave-search
-    - remote::tavily-search
-    - inline::rag-runtime
-    - remote::model-context-protocol
+    - provider_id: brave-search
+      provider_type: remote::brave-search
+    - provider_id: tavily-search
+      provider_type: remote::tavily-search
+    - provider_id: rag-runtime
+      provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
+    - provider_id: model-context-protocol
+      provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
 image_type: conda
+image_name: meta-reference-gpu
 additional_pip_packages:
 - aiosqlite
 - sqlalchemy[asyncio]
--- a/llama_stack/templates/meta-reference-gpu/meta_reference.py
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/meta-reference-gpu/meta_reference.py
@ -25,19 +25,91 @@ from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettin

 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:
    providers = {
-        "inference": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "vector_io": ["inline::faiss", "remote::chromadb", "remote::pgvector"],
-        "safety": ["inline::llama-guard"],
-        "agents": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "telemetry": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "eval": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "datasetio": ["remote::huggingface", "inline::localfs"],
-        "scoring": ["inline::basic", "inline::llm-as-judge", "inline::braintrust"],
+        "inference": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "vector_io": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="faiss",
+                provider_type="inline::faiss",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="chromadb",
+                provider_type="remote::chromadb",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="pgvector",
+                provider_type="remote::pgvector",
+            ),
+        ],
+        "safety": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="llama-guard",
+                provider_type="inline::llama-guard",
+            )
+        ],
+        "agents": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "telemetry": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "eval": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "datasetio": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="huggingface",
+                provider_type="remote::huggingface",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="localfs",
+                provider_type="inline::localfs",
+            ),
+        ],
+        "scoring": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="basic",
+                provider_type="inline::basic",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="llm-as-judge",
+                provider_type="inline::llm-as-judge",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="braintrust",
+                provider_type="inline::braintrust",
+            ),
+        ],
        "tool_runtime": [
-            "remote::brave-search",
-            "remote::tavily-search",
-            "inline::rag-runtime",
-            "remote::model-context-protocol",
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="brave-search",
+                provider_type="remote::brave-search",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="tavily-search",
+                provider_type="remote::tavily-search",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="rag-runtime",
+                provider_type="inline::rag-runtime",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="model-context-protocol",
+                provider_type="remote::model-context-protocol",
+            ),
        ],
    }
    name = "meta-reference-gpu"
--- a/llama_stack/templates/meta-reference-gpu/run-with-safety.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/meta-reference-gpu/run-with-safety.yaml
@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ providers:
      max_seq_len: ${env.MAX_SEQ_LEN:=4096}
  - provider_id: sentence-transformers
    provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: meta-reference-safety
    provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    config:
@ -88,10 +87,8 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: llm-as-judge
    provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: braintrust
    provider_type: inline::braintrust
    config:
@ -109,10 +106,8 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: model-context-protocol
    provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/meta-reference-gpu}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/meta-reference-gpu/run.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/meta-reference-gpu/run.yaml
@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ providers:
      max_seq_len: ${env.MAX_SEQ_LEN:=4096}
  - provider_id: sentence-transformers
    provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
-    config: {}
  vector_io:
  - provider_id: faiss
    provider_type: inline::faiss
@ -78,10 +77,8 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: llm-as-judge
    provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: braintrust
    provider_type: inline::braintrust
    config:
@ -99,10 +96,8 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: model-context-protocol
    provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/meta-reference-gpu}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/nvidia/build.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/nvidia/build.yaml
@ -3,27 +3,39 @@ distribution_spec:
  description: Use NVIDIA NIM for running LLM inference, evaluation and safety
  providers:
    inference:
-    - remote::nvidia
+    - provider_id: nvidia
+      provider_type: remote::nvidia
    vector_io:
-    - inline::faiss
+    - provider_id: faiss
+      provider_type: inline::faiss
    safety:
-    - remote::nvidia
+    - provider_id: nvidia
+      provider_type: remote::nvidia
    agents:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    telemetry:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    eval:
-    - remote::nvidia
+    - provider_id: nvidia
+      provider_type: remote::nvidia
    post_training:
-    - remote::nvidia
+    - provider_id: nvidia
+      provider_type: remote::nvidia
    datasetio:
-    - inline::localfs
-    - remote::nvidia
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: nvidia
+      provider_type: remote::nvidia
    scoring:
-    - inline::basic
+    - provider_id: basic
+      provider_type: inline::basic
    tool_runtime:
-    - inline::rag-runtime
+    - provider_id: rag-runtime
+      provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
 image_type: conda
+image_name: nvidia
 additional_pip_packages:
 - aiosqlite
 - sqlalchemy[asyncio]
--- a/llama_stack/templates/nvidia/nvidia.py
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/nvidia/nvidia.py
@ -17,16 +17,65 @@ from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettin

 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:
    providers = {
-        "inference": ["remote::nvidia"],
-        "vector_io": ["inline::faiss"],
-        "safety": ["remote::nvidia"],
-        "agents": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "telemetry": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "eval": ["remote::nvidia"],
-        "post_training": ["remote::nvidia"],
-        "datasetio": ["inline::localfs", "remote::nvidia"],
-        "scoring": ["inline::basic"],
-        "tool_runtime": ["inline::rag-runtime"],
+        "inference": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="nvidia",
+                provider_type="remote::nvidia",
+            )
+        ],
+        "vector_io": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="faiss",
+                provider_type="inline::faiss",
+            )
+        ],
+        "safety": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="nvidia",
+                provider_type="remote::nvidia",
+            )
+        ],
+        "agents": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "telemetry": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "eval": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="nvidia",
+                provider_type="remote::nvidia",
+            )
+        ],
+        "post_training": [Provider(provider_id="nvidia", provider_type="remote::nvidia", config={})],
+        "datasetio": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="localfs",
+                provider_type="inline::localfs",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="nvidia",
+                provider_type="remote::nvidia",
+            ),
+        ],
+        "scoring": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="basic",
+                provider_type="inline::basic",
+            )
+        ],
+        "tool_runtime": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="rag-runtime",
+                provider_type="inline::rag-runtime",
+            )
+        ],
    }

    inference_provider = Provider(
--- a/llama_stack/templates/nvidia/run-with-safety.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/nvidia/run-with-safety.yaml
@ -85,11 +85,9 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  tool_runtime:
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/nvidia}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/nvidia/run.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/nvidia/run.yaml
@ -74,11 +74,9 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  tool_runtime:
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/nvidia}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/build.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/build.yaml
@ -3,36 +3,58 @@ distribution_spec:
  description: Distribution for running open benchmarks
  providers:
    inference:
-    - remote::openai
-    - remote::anthropic
-    - remote::gemini
-    - remote::groq
-    - remote::together
+    - provider_id: openai
+      provider_type: remote::openai
+    - provider_id: anthropic
+      provider_type: remote::anthropic
+    - provider_id: gemini
+      provider_type: remote::gemini
+    - provider_id: groq
+      provider_type: remote::groq
+    - provider_id: together
+      provider_type: remote::together
    vector_io:
-    - inline::sqlite-vec
-    - remote::chromadb
-    - remote::pgvector
+    - provider_id: sqlite-vec
+      provider_type: inline::sqlite-vec
+    - provider_id: chromadb
+      provider_type: remote::chromadb
+    - provider_id: pgvector
+      provider_type: remote::pgvector
    safety:
-    - inline::llama-guard
+    - provider_id: llama-guard
+      provider_type: inline::llama-guard
    agents:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    telemetry:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    eval:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    datasetio:
-    - remote::huggingface
-    - inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: huggingface
+      provider_type: remote::huggingface
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
    scoring:
-    - inline::basic
-    - inline::llm-as-judge
-    - inline::braintrust
+    - provider_id: basic
+      provider_type: inline::basic
+    - provider_id: llm-as-judge
+      provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
+    - provider_id: braintrust
+      provider_type: inline::braintrust
    tool_runtime:
-    - remote::brave-search
-    - remote::tavily-search
-    - inline::rag-runtime
-    - remote::model-context-protocol
+    - provider_id: brave-search
+      provider_type: remote::brave-search
+    - provider_id: tavily-search
+      provider_type: remote::tavily-search
+    - provider_id: rag-runtime
+      provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
+    - provider_id: model-context-protocol
+      provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
 image_type: conda
+image_name: open-benchmark
 additional_pip_packages:
 - aiosqlite
 - sqlalchemy[asyncio]
--- a/llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/open_benchmark.py
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/open_benchmark.py
@ -96,19 +96,33 @@ def get_inference_providers() -> tuple[list[Provider], dict[str, list[ProviderMo
 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:
    inference_providers, available_models = get_inference_providers()
    providers = {
-        "inference": [p.provider_type for p in inference_providers],
-        "vector_io": ["inline::sqlite-vec", "remote::chromadb", "remote::pgvector"],
-        "safety": ["inline::llama-guard"],
-        "agents": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "telemetry": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "eval": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "datasetio": ["remote::huggingface", "inline::localfs"],
-        "scoring": ["inline::basic", "inline::llm-as-judge", "inline::braintrust"],
+        "inference": inference_providers,
+        "vector_io": [
+            Provider(provider_id="sqlite-vec", provider_type="inline::sqlite-vec"),
+            Provider(provider_id="chromadb", provider_type="remote::chromadb"),
+            Provider(provider_id="pgvector", provider_type="remote::pgvector"),
+        ],
+        "safety": [Provider(provider_id="llama-guard", provider_type="inline::llama-guard")],
+        "agents": [Provider(provider_id="meta-reference", provider_type="inline::meta-reference")],
+        "telemetry": [Provider(provider_id="meta-reference", provider_type="inline::meta-reference")],
+        "eval": [Provider(provider_id="meta-reference", provider_type="inline::meta-reference")],
+        "datasetio": [
+            Provider(provider_id="huggingface", provider_type="remote::huggingface"),
+            Provider(provider_id="localfs", provider_type="inline::localfs"),
+        ],
+        "scoring": [
+            Provider(provider_id="basic", provider_type="inline::basic"),
+            Provider(provider_id="llm-as-judge", provider_type="inline::llm-as-judge"),
+            Provider(provider_id="braintrust", provider_type="inline::braintrust"),
+        ],
        "tool_runtime": [
-            "remote::brave-search",
-            "remote::tavily-search",
-            "inline::rag-runtime",
-            "remote::model-context-protocol",
+            Provider(provider_id="brave-search", provider_type="remote::brave-search"),
+            Provider(provider_id="tavily-search", provider_type="remote::tavily-search"),
+            Provider(provider_id="rag-runtime", provider_type="inline::rag-runtime"),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="model-context-protocol",
+                provider_type="remote::model-context-protocol",
+            ),
        ],
    }
    name = "open-benchmark"
--- a/llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/run.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/run.yaml
@ -106,10 +106,8 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: llm-as-judge
    provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: braintrust
    provider_type: inline::braintrust
    config:
@ -127,10 +125,8 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: model-context-protocol
    provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/open-benchmark}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/postgres-demo/build.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/postgres-demo/build.yaml
@ -3,22 +3,33 @@ distribution_spec:
  description: Quick start template for running Llama Stack with several popular providers
  providers:
    inference:
-    - remote::vllm
-    - inline::sentence-transformers
+    - provider_id: vllm-inference
+      provider_type: remote::vllm
+    - provider_id: sentence-transformers
+      provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
    vector_io:
-    - remote::chromadb
+    - provider_id: chromadb
+      provider_type: remote::chromadb
    safety:
-    - inline::llama-guard
+    - provider_id: llama-guard
+      provider_type: inline::llama-guard
    agents:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    telemetry:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    tool_runtime:
-    - remote::brave-search
-    - remote::tavily-search
-    - inline::rag-runtime
-    - remote::model-context-protocol
+    - provider_id: brave-search
+      provider_type: remote::brave-search
+    - provider_id: tavily-search
+      provider_type: remote::tavily-search
+    - provider_id: rag-runtime
+      provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
+    - provider_id: model-context-protocol
+      provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
 image_type: conda
+image_name: postgres-demo
 additional_pip_packages:
 - asyncpg
 - psycopg2-binary
--- a/llama_stack/templates/postgres-demo/postgres_demo.py
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/postgres-demo/postgres_demo.py
@ -34,16 +34,24 @@ def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:
        ),
    ]
    providers = {
-        "inference": ([p.provider_type for p in inference_providers] + ["inline::sentence-transformers"]),
-        "vector_io": ["remote::chromadb"],
-        "safety": ["inline::llama-guard"],
-        "agents": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "telemetry": ["inline::meta-reference"],
+        "inference": inference_providers
+        + [
+            Provider(provider_id="sentence-transformers", provider_type="inline::sentence-transformers"),
+        ],
+        "vector_io": [
+            Provider(provider_id="chromadb", provider_type="remote::chromadb"),
+        ],
+        "safety": [Provider(provider_id="llama-guard", provider_type="inline::llama-guard")],
+        "agents": [Provider(provider_id="meta-reference", provider_type="inline::meta-reference")],
+        "telemetry": [Provider(provider_id="meta-reference", provider_type="inline::meta-reference")],
        "tool_runtime": [
-            "remote::brave-search",
-            "remote::tavily-search",
-            "inline::rag-runtime",
-            "remote::model-context-protocol",
+            Provider(provider_id="brave-search", provider_type="remote::brave-search"),
+            Provider(provider_id="tavily-search", provider_type="remote::tavily-search"),
+            Provider(provider_id="rag-runtime", provider_type="inline::rag-runtime"),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="model-context-protocol",
+                provider_type="remote::model-context-protocol",
+            ),
        ],
    }
    name = "postgres-demo"
--- a/llama_stack/templates/postgres-demo/run.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/postgres-demo/run.yaml
@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ providers:
      tls_verify: ${env.VLLM_TLS_VERIFY:=true}
  - provider_id: sentence-transformers
    provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
-    config: {}
  vector_io:
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_CHROMADB:+chromadb}
    provider_type: remote::chromadb
@ -70,10 +69,8 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: model-context-protocol
    provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: postgres
  host: ${env.POSTGRES_HOST:=localhost}
--- a/llama_stack/templates/starter/build.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/starter/build.yaml
@ -3,57 +3,98 @@ distribution_spec:
  description: Quick start template for running Llama Stack with several popular providers
  providers:
    inference:
-    - remote::cerebras
-    - remote::ollama
-    - remote::vllm
-    - remote::tgi
-    - remote::hf::serverless
-    - remote::hf::endpoint
-    - remote::fireworks
-    - remote::together
-    - remote::bedrock
-    - remote::databricks
-    - remote::nvidia
-    - remote::runpod
-    - remote::openai
-    - remote::anthropic
-    - remote::gemini
-    - remote::groq
-    - remote::llama-openai-compat
-    - remote::sambanova
-    - remote::passthrough
-    - inline::sentence-transformers
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_CEREBRAS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::cerebras
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_OLLAMA:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::ollama
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_VLLM:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::vllm
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_TGI:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::tgi
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_HF_SERVERLESS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::hf::serverless
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_HF_ENDPOINT:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::hf::endpoint
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_FIREWORKS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::fireworks
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_TOGETHER:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::together
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_BEDROCK:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::bedrock
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_DATABRICKS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::databricks
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_NVIDIA:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::nvidia
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_RUNPOD:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::runpod
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_OPENAI:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::openai
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_ANTHROPIC:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::anthropic
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_GEMINI:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::gemini
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_GROQ:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::groq
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_LLAMA_OPENAI_COMPAT:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::llama-openai-compat
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_SAMBANOVA:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::sambanova
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_PASSTHROUGH:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::passthrough
+    - provider_id: sentence-transformers
+      provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
    vector_io:
-    - inline::faiss
-    - inline::sqlite-vec
-    - inline::milvus
-    - remote::chromadb
-    - remote::pgvector
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_FAISS:=faiss}
+      provider_type: inline::faiss
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_SQLITE_VEC:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: inline::sqlite-vec
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_MILVUS:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: inline::milvus
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_CHROMADB:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::chromadb
+    - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_PGVECTOR:=__disabled__}
+      provider_type: remote::pgvector
    files:
-    - inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
    safety:
-    - inline::llama-guard
+    - provider_id: llama-guard
+      provider_type: inline::llama-guard
    agents:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    telemetry:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    post_training:
-    - inline::huggingface
+    - provider_id: huggingface
+      provider_type: inline::huggingface
    eval:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    datasetio:
-    - remote::huggingface
-    - inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: huggingface
+      provider_type: remote::huggingface
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
    scoring:
-    - inline::basic
-    - inline::llm-as-judge
-    - inline::braintrust
+    - provider_id: basic
+      provider_type: inline::basic
+    - provider_id: llm-as-judge
+      provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
+    - provider_id: braintrust
+      provider_type: inline::braintrust
    tool_runtime:
-    - remote::brave-search
-    - remote::tavily-search
-    - inline::rag-runtime
-    - remote::model-context-protocol
+    - provider_id: brave-search
+      provider_type: remote::brave-search
+    - provider_id: tavily-search
+      provider_type: remote::tavily-search
+    - provider_id: rag-runtime
+      provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
+    - provider_id: model-context-protocol
+      provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
 image_type: conda
+image_name: starter
 additional_pip_packages:
 - aiosqlite
 - asyncpg
--- a/llama_stack/templates/starter/run.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/starter/run.yaml
@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ providers:
      api_key: ${env.TOGETHER_API_KEY}
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_BEDROCK:=__disabled__}
    provider_type: remote::bedrock
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_DATABRICKS:=__disabled__}
    provider_type: remote::databricks
    config:
@ -107,7 +106,6 @@ providers:
      api_key: ${env.PASSTHROUGH_API_KEY}
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_SENTENCE_TRANSFORMERS:=sentence-transformers}
    provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
-    config: {}
  vector_io:
  - provider_id: ${env.ENABLE_FAISS:=faiss}
    provider_type: inline::faiss
@ -208,10 +206,8 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: llm-as-judge
    provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: braintrust
    provider_type: inline::braintrust
    config:
@ -229,10 +225,8 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: model-context-protocol
    provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/starter}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/starter/starter.py
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/starter/starter.py
@ -253,21 +253,91 @@ def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:
    ]

    providers = {
-        "inference": ([p.provider_type for p in remote_inference_providers] + ["inline::sentence-transformers"]),
-        "vector_io": ([p.provider_type for p in vector_io_providers]),
-        "files": ["inline::localfs"],
-        "safety": ["inline::llama-guard"],
-        "agents": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "telemetry": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "post_training": ["inline::huggingface"],
-        "eval": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "datasetio": ["remote::huggingface", "inline::localfs"],
-        "scoring": ["inline::basic", "inline::llm-as-judge", "inline::braintrust"],
+        "inference": remote_inference_providers
+        + [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="sentence-transformers",
+                provider_type="inline::sentence-transformers",
+            )
+        ],
+        "vector_io": vector_io_providers,
+        "files": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="localfs",
+                provider_type="inline::localfs",
+            )
+        ],
+        "safety": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="llama-guard",
+                provider_type="inline::llama-guard",
+            )
+        ],
+        "agents": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "telemetry": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "post_training": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="huggingface",
+                provider_type="inline::huggingface",
+            )
+        ],
+        "eval": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "datasetio": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="huggingface",
+                provider_type="remote::huggingface",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="localfs",
+                provider_type="inline::localfs",
+            ),
+        ],
+        "scoring": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="basic",
+                provider_type="inline::basic",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="llm-as-judge",
+                provider_type="inline::llm-as-judge",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="braintrust",
+                provider_type="inline::braintrust",
+            ),
+        ],
        "tool_runtime": [
-            "remote::brave-search",
-            "remote::tavily-search",
-            "inline::rag-runtime",
-            "remote::model-context-protocol",
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="brave-search",
+                provider_type="remote::brave-search",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="tavily-search",
+                provider_type="remote::tavily-search",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="rag-runtime",
+                provider_type="inline::rag-runtime",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="model-context-protocol",
+                provider_type="remote::model-context-protocol",
+            ),
        ],
    }
    files_provider = Provider(
--- a/llama_stack/templates/template.py
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/template.py
@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 # the root directory of this source tree.

 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Literal
+from typing import Any, Literal

 import jinja2
 import rich
@ -35,6 +35,51 @@ from llama_stack.providers.utils.sqlstore.sqlstore import SqliteSqlStoreConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.utils.sqlstore.sqlstore import get_pip_packages as get_sql_pip_packages


+def filter_empty_values(obj: Any) -> Any:
+    """Recursively filter out specific empty values from a dictionary or list.
+
+    This function removes:
+    - Empty strings ('') only when they are the 'module' field
+    - Empty dictionaries ({}) only when they are the 'config' field
+    - None values (always excluded)
+    """
+    if obj is None:
+        return None
+
+    if isinstance(obj, dict):
+        filtered = {}
+        for key, value in obj.items():
+            # Special handling for specific fields
+            if key == "module" and isinstance(value, str) and value == "":
+                # Skip empty module strings
+                continue
+            elif key == "config" and isinstance(value, dict) and not value:
+                # Skip empty config dictionaries
+                continue
+            elif key == "container_image" and not value:
+                # Skip empty container_image names
+                continue
+            else:
+                # For all other fields, recursively filter but preserve empty values
+                filtered_value = filter_empty_values(value)
+                # if filtered_value is not None:
+                filtered[key] = filtered_value
+        return filtered
+
+    elif isinstance(obj, list):
+        filtered = []
+        for item in obj:
+            filtered_item = filter_empty_values(item)
+            if filtered_item is not None:
+                filtered.append(filtered_item)
+        return filtered
+
+    else:
+        # For all other types (including empty strings and dicts that aren't module/config),
+        # preserve them as-is
+        return obj
+
+
 def get_model_registry(
    available_models: dict[str, list[ProviderModelEntry]],
 ) -> tuple[list[ModelInput], bool]:
@ -138,31 +183,26 @@ class RunConfigSettings(BaseModel):
    def run_config(
        self,
        name: str,
-        providers: dict[str, list[str]],
+        providers: dict[str, list[Provider]],
        container_image: str | None = None,
    ) -> dict:
        provider_registry = get_provider_registry()
-
        provider_configs = {}
-        for api_str, provider_types in providers.items():
+        for api_str, provider_objs in providers.items():
            if api_providers := self.provider_overrides.get(api_str):
                # Convert Provider objects to dicts for YAML serialization
-                provider_configs[api_str] = [
-                    p.model_dump(exclude_none=True) if isinstance(p, Provider) else p for p in api_providers
-                ]
+                provider_configs[api_str] = [p.model_dump(exclude_none=True) for p in api_providers]
                continue

            provider_configs[api_str] = []
-            for provider_type in provider_types:
-                provider_id = provider_type.split("::")[-1]
-
+            for provider in provider_objs:
                api = Api(api_str)
-                if provider_type not in provider_registry[api]:
-                    raise ValueError(f"Unknown provider type: {provider_type} for API: {api_str}")
+                if provider.provider_type not in provider_registry[api]:
+                    raise ValueError(f"Unknown provider type: {provider.provider_type} for API: {api_str}")

-                config_class = provider_registry[api][provider_type].config_class
+                config_class = provider_registry[api][provider.provider_type].config_class
                assert config_class is not None, (
-                    f"No config class for provider type: {provider_type} for API: {api_str}"
+                    f"No config class for provider type: {provider.provider_type} for API: {api_str}"
                )

                config_class = instantiate_class_type(config_class)
@ -171,14 +211,9 @@ class RunConfigSettings(BaseModel):
                else:
                    config = {}

-                provider_configs[api_str].append(
-                    Provider(
-                        provider_id=provider_id,
-                        provider_type=provider_type,
-                        config=config,
-                    ).model_dump(exclude_none=True)
-                )
-
+                provider.config = config
+                # Convert Provider object to dict for YAML serialization
+                provider_configs[api_str].append(provider.model_dump(exclude_none=True))
        # Get unique set of APIs from providers
        apis = sorted(providers.keys())

@ -222,7 +257,7 @@ class DistributionTemplate(BaseModel):
    description: str
    distro_type: Literal["self_hosted", "remote_hosted", "ondevice"]

-    providers: dict[str, list[str]]
+    providers: dict[str, list[Provider]]
    run_configs: dict[str, RunConfigSettings]
    template_path: Path | None = None

@ -255,13 +290,28 @@ class DistributionTemplate(BaseModel):
        if self.additional_pip_packages:
            additional_pip_packages.extend(self.additional_pip_packages)

+        # Create minimal providers for build config (without runtime configs)
+        build_providers = {}
+        for api, providers in self.providers.items():
+            build_providers[api] = []
+            for provider in providers:
+                # Create a minimal provider object with only essential build information
+                build_provider = Provider(
+                    provider_id=provider.provider_id,
+                    provider_type=provider.provider_type,
+                    config={},  # Empty config for build
+                    module=provider.module,
+                )
+                build_providers[api].append(build_provider)
+
        return BuildConfig(
            distribution_spec=DistributionSpec(
                description=self.description,
                container_image=self.container_image,
-                providers=self.providers,
+                providers=build_providers,
            ),
-            image_type="conda",  # default to conda, can be overridden
+            image_type="conda",
+            image_name=self.name,
            additional_pip_packages=sorted(set(additional_pip_packages)),
        )

@ -270,7 +320,7 @@ class DistributionTemplate(BaseModel):
        providers_table += "|-----|-------------|\n"

        for api, providers in sorted(self.providers.items()):
-            providers_str = ", ".join(f"`{p}`" for p in providers)
+            providers_str = ", ".join(f"`{p.provider_type}`" for p in providers)
            providers_table += f"| {api} | {providers_str} |\n"

        template = self.template_path.read_text()
@ -334,7 +384,7 @@ class DistributionTemplate(BaseModel):
        build_config = self.build_config()
        with open(yaml_output_dir / "build.yaml", "w") as f:
            yaml.safe_dump(
-                build_config.model_dump(exclude_none=True),
+                filter_empty_values(build_config.model_dump(exclude_none=True)),
                f,
                sort_keys=False,
            )
@ -343,7 +393,7 @@ class DistributionTemplate(BaseModel):
            run_config = settings.run_config(self.name, self.providers, self.container_image)
            with open(yaml_output_dir / yaml_pth, "w") as f:
                yaml.safe_dump(
-                    {k: v for k, v in run_config.items() if v is not None},
+                    filter_empty_values(run_config),
                    f,
                    sort_keys=False,
                )
--- a/llama_stack/templates/watsonx/build.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/watsonx/build.yaml
@ -3,31 +3,49 @@ distribution_spec:
  description: Use watsonx for running LLM inference
  providers:
    inference:
-    - remote::watsonx
-    - inline::sentence-transformers
+    - provider_id: watsonx
+      provider_type: remote::watsonx
+    - provider_id: sentence-transformers
+      provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
    vector_io:
-    - inline::faiss
+    - provider_id: faiss
+      provider_type: inline::faiss
    safety:
-    - inline::llama-guard
+    - provider_id: llama-guard
+      provider_type: inline::llama-guard
    agents:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    telemetry:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    eval:
-    - inline::meta-reference
+    - provider_id: meta-reference
+      provider_type: inline::meta-reference
    datasetio:
-    - remote::huggingface
-    - inline::localfs
+    - provider_id: huggingface
+      provider_type: remote::huggingface
+    - provider_id: localfs
+      provider_type: inline::localfs
    scoring:
-    - inline::basic
-    - inline::llm-as-judge
-    - inline::braintrust
+    - provider_id: basic
+      provider_type: inline::basic
+    - provider_id: llm-as-judge
+      provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
+    - provider_id: braintrust
+      provider_type: inline::braintrust
    tool_runtime:
-    - remote::brave-search
-    - remote::tavily-search
-    - inline::rag-runtime
-    - remote::model-context-protocol
+    - provider_id: brave-search
+      provider_type: remote::brave-search
+    - provider_id: tavily-search
+      provider_type: remote::tavily-search
+    - provider_id: rag-runtime
+      provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
+    - provider_id: model-context-protocol
+      provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
 image_type: conda
+image_name: watsonx
 additional_pip_packages:
- aiosqlite
 - sqlalchemy[asyncio]
+- aiosqlite
+- aiosqlite
--- a/llama_stack/templates/watsonx/run.yaml
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/watsonx/run.yaml
@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ providers:
      project_id: ${env.WATSONX_PROJECT_ID:=}
  - provider_id: sentence-transformers
    provider_type: inline::sentence-transformers
-    config: {}
  vector_io:
  - provider_id: faiss
    provider_type: inline::faiss
@ -74,10 +73,8 @@ providers:
  scoring:
  - provider_id: basic
    provider_type: inline::basic
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: llm-as-judge
    provider_type: inline::llm-as-judge
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: braintrust
    provider_type: inline::braintrust
    config:
@ -95,10 +92,8 @@ providers:
      max_results: 3
  - provider_id: rag-runtime
    provider_type: inline::rag-runtime
-    config: {}
  - provider_id: model-context-protocol
    provider_type: remote::model-context-protocol
-    config: {}
 metadata_store:
  type: sqlite
  db_path: ${env.SQLITE_STORE_DIR:=~/.llama/distributions/watsonx}/registry.db
--- a/llama_stack/templates/watsonx/watsonx.py
+++ b/llama_stack/templates/watsonx/watsonx.py
@ -18,19 +18,87 @@ from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettin

 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:
    providers = {
-        "inference": ["remote::watsonx", "inline::sentence-transformers"],
-        "vector_io": ["inline::faiss"],
-        "safety": ["inline::llama-guard"],
-        "agents": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "telemetry": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "eval": ["inline::meta-reference"],
-        "datasetio": ["remote::huggingface", "inline::localfs"],
-        "scoring": ["inline::basic", "inline::llm-as-judge", "inline::braintrust"],
+        "inference": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="watsonx",
+                provider_type="remote::watsonx",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="sentence-transformers",
+                provider_type="inline::sentence-transformers",
+            ),
+        ],
+        "vector_io": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="faiss",
+                provider_type="inline::faiss",
+            )
+        ],
+        "safety": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="llama-guard",
+                provider_type="inline::llama-guard",
+            )
+        ],
+        "agents": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "telemetry": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "eval": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="meta-reference",
+                provider_type="inline::meta-reference",
+            )
+        ],
+        "datasetio": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="huggingface",
+                provider_type="remote::huggingface",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="localfs",
+                provider_type="inline::localfs",
+            ),
+        ],
+        "scoring": [
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="basic",
+                provider_type="inline::basic",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="llm-as-judge",
+                provider_type="inline::llm-as-judge",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="braintrust",
+                provider_type="inline::braintrust",
+            ),
+        ],
        "tool_runtime": [
-            "remote::brave-search",
-            "remote::tavily-search",
-            "inline::rag-runtime",
-            "remote::model-context-protocol",
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="brave-search",
+                provider_type="remote::brave-search",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="tavily-search",
+                provider_type="remote::tavily-search",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="rag-runtime",
+                provider_type="inline::rag-runtime",
+            ),
+            Provider(
+                provider_id="model-context-protocol",
+                provider_type="remote::model-context-protocol",
+            ),
        ],
    }