pins
pins keeps adding a storage backend per release while retiring its original API
Comparison · Analytics
dials vs themis
A side-by-side editorial comparison of dials and themis — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:tidymodels
dials vs themis: at a glance
What is dials?
dials is quietly registering the tuning parameters for tidymodels' deep-learning push
dials defines the parameter objects and grid constructors that tidymodels tunes over, which makes its release notes a reliable early read on what the rest of the stack is about to support. The last two releases are dominated by attention-model parameters — SAINT and tabular deep learning via brulee, TabPFN via parsnip's tab_pfn() — alongside catboost parameters for bonsai and calibration parameters for tailor.
What is themis?
themis is back to adding real resampling algorithms after a documentation-heavy stretch.
themis supplies recipes steps for handling class imbalance in tidymodels. The 1.0.x line was consumed by documentation accuracy, message translation and internal consistency work. Version 1.1.0 returns to substance with two new under-sampling methods.
dials vs themis: editorial side-by-side
dials
0.0ANALYTICS
dials is quietly registering the tuning parameters for tidymodels' deep-learning push
◆ Current state
dials defines the parameter objects and grid constructors that tidymodels tunes over, which makes its release notes a reliable early read on what the rest of the stack is about to support. The last two releases are dominated by attention-model parameters — SAINT and tabular deep learning via brulee, TabPFN via parsnip's tab_pfn() — alongside catboost parameters for bonsai and calibration parameters for tailor.
◆ Where it's heading
The grid machinery itself is settled: grid_space_filling() consolidated the older designs, and the grid_*() functions now error rather than warn on the wrong size argument. What keeps moving is the parameter catalog, and it is moving toward neural and foundation-model territory that tidymodels historically left alone. Error-message quality is a steady secondary theme.
◆ Prediction
Expect further parameter objects to land ahead of the parsnip and brulee releases that use them — the attention and tabular-foundation-model work in flight is the clearest thing the entries point to.
themis
2.5ANALYTICS
themis is back to adding real resampling algorithms after a documentation-heavy stretch.
◆ Current state
themis supplies recipes steps for handling class imbalance in tidymodels. The 1.0.x line was consumed by documentation accuracy, message translation and internal consistency work. Version 1.1.0 returns to substance with two new under-sampling methods.
◆ Where it's heading
The package grows by adding algorithms rather than restructuring itself. tomek() was rewritten to handle multiple classes and drop the unbalanced dependency, case weights arrived at 1.0.0, and cluster-centroid and condensed-nearest-neighbour under-sampling arrive now — each shipped as both a recipes step and a direct-implementation function.
◆ Prediction
Expect further under- and over-sampling methods in the same paired form, as the package fills out coverage of the standard class-imbalance literature.
Alternatives to dials and themis
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either dials or themis.
tsibble
tsibble shipped one release in five and a half years - the data structure is finished
yardstick
yardstick made fairness metrics a first-class part of tidymodels evaluation
tune
tune extends tuning past the model itself to postprocessors, and adds a second parallel backend
leaflet
leaflet relicensed to MIT and finished migrating off R's retired spatial stack
ggpubr
ggpubr reached 1.0.0 with p-value formatting presets for specific journals
See all dials alternatives → · See all themis alternatives →
Recent activity from dials and themis
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 10d agothemisthemis 1.1.0 adds cluster-centroid and CNN under-sampling
- 1mo agodialsAttention and tabular deep-learning parameters for brulee models
- 4mo agodialsParameters for ordinal_reg() and the tab_pfn() foundation model
- 11mo agodialsprop_terms() for supervised feature selection recipes
- 1y agodialsCalibration method parameters for classification and regression
- 1y agodialsPostprocessing parameters added; grid size mismatches now error
- 1y agothemisthemis 1.0.3 corrects resampling direction in documentation
- 2y agodialsgrid_space_filling() consolidates the space-filling designs
- 2y agothemisthemis 1.0.2 makes internal consistency and speed changes
- 3y agothemisthemis 1.0.1 fixes upsampling errors when none is needed
- 4y agothemisthemis 1.0.0 adds case weights to up- and down-sampling
- 4y agothemisthemis 0.2.2 rewrites tomek() for multiclass, drops a dependency
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between dials and themis?
Both compete on the same themes — tidymodels — within Analytics. themis is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is dials better than themis?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. themis is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to dials?
Top dials alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "dials alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dials for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to themis?
Top themis alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "themis alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/themis for the full list with editorial commentary on each.