diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 7b54dc0a33..8300411133 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run mypy
         run: mypy tinygrad/ --ignore-missing-imports --check-untyped-defs --explicit-package-bases --warn-unreachable
       - name: Install SLOCCount
-        run: sudo apt install sloccount
+        run: sudo apt-get install sloccount
       - name: Check <5000 lines
         run: sloccount tinygrad test examples extra; if [ $(sloccount tinygrad | sed -n 's/.*Total Physical Source Lines of Code (SLOC)[ ]*= \([^ ]*\).*/\1/p' | tr -d ',') -gt 5000 ]; then exit 1; fi
 
@@ -111,14 +111,16 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Code
         uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - name: Find faster apt mirror
+        uses: vegardit/fast-apt-mirror.sh@v1
       - name: Update packages
         run: |
           wget -O- https://apt.repos.intel.com/intel-gpg-keys/GPG-PUB-KEY-INTEL-SW-PRODUCTS.PUB | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/oneapi-archive-keyring.gpg > /dev/null
           echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/oneapi-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.repos.intel.com/oneapi all main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/oneAPI.list
-          sudo apt update
+          sudo apt-get update
       - name: Install OpenCL
         #run: sudo apt-get install -y pocl-opencl-icd
-        run: sudo apt install -y intel-oneapi-runtime-compilers intel-oneapi-runtime-opencl
+        run: sudo apt-get install -y intel-oneapi-runtime-compilers intel-oneapi-runtime-opencl
       - name: Set up Python 3.8
         uses: actions/setup-python@v4
         with:
@@ -184,7 +186,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run webgpu pytest
         run: WEBGPU=1 WGPU_BACKEND_TYPE=Metal python -m pytest -n=auto -m 'webgpu'
       - name: Build WEBGPU Efficientnet
-        run: WEBGPU=1 WGPU_BACKEND_TYPE=Metal python -m examples.webgpu.compile_webgpu
+        run: WEBGPU=1 WGPU_BACKEND_TYPE=Metal python -m examples.compile_efficientnet
 
   testdocker:
     name: Docker Test
@@ -222,19 +224,20 @@ jobs:
           key: ${{ matrix.backend }}
       - name: Set env
         run: printf "${{ matrix.backend == 'llvm' && 'ENABLE_METHOD_CACHE=1\nLLVM=1' || matrix.backend == 'clang' && 'CLANG=1\nENABLED_METHOD_CACHE=1' || matrix.backend == 'gpu' && 'GPU=1' || matrix.backend == 'cuda' && 'FORWARD_ONLY=1\nJIT=1\nOPT=2\nCUDA=1\nCUDACPU=1\n'}}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      - name: Find faster apt mirror
+        uses: vegardit/fast-apt-mirror.sh@v1
       - name: Install packages (gpu)
         if: matrix.backend == 'gpu'
         run: |
           wget -O- https://apt.repos.intel.com/intel-gpg-keys/GPG-PUB-KEY-INTEL-SW-PRODUCTS.PUB | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/oneapi-archive-keyring.gpg > /dev/null
           echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/oneapi-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.repos.intel.com/oneapi all main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/oneAPI.list
-          sudo apt update && \
-          sudo apt install -y intel-oneapi-runtime-compilers intel-oneapi-runtime-opencl
+          sudo apt-get update -y && \
+          sudo apt-get install -y intel-oneapi-runtime-compilers intel-oneapi-runtime-opencl
       - name: Install packages (cuda)
         if: matrix.backend == 'cuda'
         run: |
-          export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
-          sudo apt update -y && \
-          sudo apt install -y --no-install-recommends git g++ cmake ninja-build llvm-15-dev zlib1g-dev libglew-dev flex bison libfl-dev libboost-thread-dev libboost-filesystem-dev nvidia-cuda-toolkit-gcc
+          sudo apt-get update -y && \
+          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git g++ cmake ninja-build llvm-15-dev zlib1g-dev libglew-dev flex bison libfl-dev libboost-thread-dev libboost-filesystem-dev nvidia-cuda-toolkit-gcc
       - name: Cache gpuocelot
         if: matrix.backend == 'cuda'
         id: cache-build
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 12795a145d..8c0328220f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ dist
 /env
 a.out
 boxes.jpg
-weights/*
 pandecode.dump
 vertex.bin
 recognize*
@@ -31,9 +30,8 @@ extra/datasets/kits/
 extra/datasets/COCO/
 extra/datasets/audio*
 venv
-examples/webgpu/net.js
-examples/webgpu/net.safetensors
+examples/net.*[js,json,safetensors]
 node_modules
 package.json
 package-lock.json
-temp
\ No newline at end of file
+temp
diff --git a/docs/env_vars.md b/docs/env_vars.md
index 2dd04f5512..dfb56f1595 100644
--- a/docs/env_vars.md
+++ b/docs/env_vars.md
@@ -5,11 +5,26 @@ Most of these are self-explanatory, and are usually used to set an option at run
 
 Example: `GPU=1 DEBUG=4 python3 -m pytest`
 
-The columns are: Variable, Possible Value(s) and Description.
+However you can also decorate a function to set a value only inside that function.
 
-- A `#` means that the variable can take any integer value.
+```python
+# in tensor.py (probably only useful if you are a tinygrad developer)
+@Context(DEBUG=4)
+def numpy(self) -> ...
+```
+
+Or use contextmanager to temporarily set a value inside some scope:
+
+```python
+with Context(DEBUG=0):
+  a = Tensor.ones(10, 10)
+  a *= 2
+```
 
 ## Global Variables
+The columns of this list are are: Variable, Possible Value(s) and Description.
+
+- A `#` means that the variable can take any integer value.
 
 These control the behavior of core tinygrad even when used as a library.
 
diff --git a/docs/quickstart.md b/docs/quickstart.md
index ae06caef84..ac26c42cec 100644
--- a/docs/quickstart.md
+++ b/docs/quickstart.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ We need some imports to get started:
 
 ```python
 import numpy as np
-import time
+from tinygrad.helpers import Timing
 ```
 
 ## Tensors
@@ -221,23 +221,22 @@ We will be using the same batch size of 64 and will be evaluating for 1000 of th
 # set training flag to false
 Tensor.training = False
 
-st = time.perf_counter()
-avg_acc = 0
-for step in range(1000):
-  # random sample a batch
-  samp = np.random.randint(0, X_test.shape[0], size=(64))
-  batch = Tensor(X_test[samp], requires_grad=False)
-  # get the corresponding labels
-  labels = Y_test[samp]
+with Timing("Time: "):
+  avg_acc = 0
+  for step in range(1000):
+    # random sample a batch
+    samp = np.random.randint(0, X_test.shape[0], size=(64))
+    batch = Tensor(X_test[samp], requires_grad=False)
+    # get the corresponding labels
+    labels = Y_test[samp]
 
-  # forward pass
-  out = net(batch)
+    # forward pass
+    out = net(batch)
 
-  # calculate accuracy
-  pred = np.argmax(out.numpy(), axis=-1)
-  avg_acc += (pred == labels).mean()
-print(f"Test Accuracy: {avg_acc / 1000}")
-print(f"Time: {time.perf_counter() - st}")
+    # calculate accuracy
+    pred = np.argmax(out.numpy(), axis=-1)
+    avg_acc += (pred == labels).mean()
+  print(f"Test Accuracy: {avg_acc / 1000}")
 ```
 
 ## And that's it
@@ -266,23 +265,22 @@ from tinygrad.jit import TinyJit
 def jit(x):
   return net(x).realize()
 
-st = time.perf_counter()
-avg_acc = 0
-for step in range(1000):
-  # random sample a batch
-  samp = np.random.randint(0, X_test.shape[0], size=(64))
-  batch = Tensor(X_test[samp], requires_grad=False)
-  # get the corresponding labels
-  labels = Y_test[samp]
+with Timing("Time: "):
+  avg_acc = 0
+  for step in range(1000):
+    # random sample a batch
+    samp = np.random.randint(0, X_test.shape[0], size=(64))
+    batch = Tensor(X_test[samp], requires_grad=False)
+    # get the corresponding labels
+    labels = Y_test[samp]
 
-  # forward pass with jit
-  out = jit(batch)
+    # forward pass with jit
+    out = jit(batch)
 
-  # calculate accuracy
-  pred = np.argmax(out.numpy(), axis=-1)
-  avg_acc += (pred == labels).mean()
-print(f"Test Accuracy: {avg_acc / 1000}")
-print(f"Time: {time.perf_counter() - st}")
+    # calculate accuracy
+    pred = np.argmax(out.numpy(), axis=-1)
+    avg_acc += (pred == labels).mean()
+  print(f"Test Accuracy: {avg_acc / 1000}")
 ```
 
 You will find that the evaluation time is much faster than before and that your accelerator utilization is much higher.
diff --git a/examples/compile_efficientnet.py b/examples/compile_efficientnet.py
index 10cfd9fcb6..bf7ade2d44 100644
--- a/examples/compile_efficientnet.py
+++ b/examples/compile_efficientnet.py
@@ -1,109 +1,67 @@
 from models.efficientnet import EfficientNet
 from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor
-from tinygrad.jit import TinyJit
+from tinygrad.state import safe_save
 from extra.utils import fetch
-import ast
-
-def compile_net(run, special_names):
-  functions, bufs, bufs_to_save, statements, bufnum = {}, {}, {}, [], 0
-  for fxn,args in run.jit_cache:
-    functions[fxn.name] = fxn.prg   # NOTE: this assumes all with the same name are the same
-    cargs = []
-    for i,arg in enumerate(args):
-      key = id(arg)
-      if key not in bufs:
-        if key in special_names:
-          bufs[key] = (special_names[key], arg._memsz, key)
-        else:
-          bufs[key] = (f"buf_{bufnum}", arg._memsz, key)
-          bufnum += 1
-          if i > 0: bufs_to_save[bufs[key][0]] = arg   # if first usage of a buffer is not an output, and it's not a special name
-      cargs.append(bufs[key][0])
-    statements.append((fxn.name, cargs, fxn.global_size))
-
-  return functions, statements, bufs, bufs_to_save
-
-def jit_model(model, the_input):
-  @TinyJit
-  def run(x): return model.forward(x).realize()
-
-  # twice to run the JIT
-  the_output = run(the_input)
-  the_output = run(the_input)
-
-  # hack to put the inputs back
-  assert len(run.input_replace) == 1, f"didn't get one input to replace {run.input_replace}"
-  for (j,i),idx in run.input_replace.items():
-    run.jit_cache[j][1][i] = the_input.lazydata.realized
-
-  # TODO: fetch this from the jit in self.input_replace and self.ret (hint: use get_parameters on self.ret)
-  special_names = {id(the_input.lazydata.realized): "input", id(the_output.lazydata.realized): "outputs"}
-  return run, special_names
+from extra.export_model import export_model
+from tinygrad.helpers import getenv
+import ast, os
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
   model = EfficientNet(0)
   model.load_from_pretrained()
-  run, special_names = jit_model(model, Tensor.randn(1,3,224,224))
-  functions, statements, bufs, bufs_to_save = compile_net(run, special_names)
+  mode = "clang" if getenv("CLANG", "") != "" else "webgpu" if getenv("WEBGPU", "") != "" else ""
+  prg, inp_size, out_size, state = export_model(model, Tensor.randn(1,3,224,224), mode)
+  if getenv("CLANG", "") == "":
+    safe_save(state, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "net.safetensors"))
+    ext = "js" if getenv("WEBGPU", "") != "" else "json"
+    with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), f"net.{ext}"), "w") as text_file:
+      text_file.write(prg)
+  else:
+    cprog = [prg]
+    # image library!
+    cprog += ["#define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION", fetch("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nothings/stb/master/stb_image.h").decode('utf-8').replace("half", "_half")]
 
-  # c header
-  cprog = ["#include <stdio.h>", "#include <math.h>", "#define max(x,y) ((x>y)?x:y)"]
+    # imagenet labels, move to datasets?
+    lbls = fetch("https://gist.githubusercontent.com/yrevar/942d3a0ac09ec9e5eb3a/raw/238f720ff059c1f82f368259d1ca4ffa5dd8f9f5/imagenet1000_clsidx_to_labels.txt")
+    lbls = ast.literal_eval(lbls.decode('utf-8'))
+    lbls = ['"'+lbls[i]+'"' for i in range(1000)]
+    cprog.append(f"char *lbls[] = {{{','.join(lbls)}}};")
+    cprog.append(f"float input[{inp_size}];")
+    cprog.append(f"float outputs[{out_size}];")
 
-  # save the weights
-  for name,cl in bufs_to_save.items():
-    weight = ''.join(["\\x%02X"%x for x in bytes(cl._buf)])
-    cprog.append(f"unsigned char {name}_data[] = \"{weight}\";")
-
-  # image library!
-  cprog += ["#define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION", fetch("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nothings/stb/master/stb_image.h").decode('utf-8')]
-
-  # imagenet labels, move to datasets?
-  lbls = fetch("https://gist.githubusercontent.com/yrevar/942d3a0ac09ec9e5eb3a/raw/238f720ff059c1f82f368259d1ca4ffa5dd8f9f5/imagenet1000_clsidx_to_labels.txt")
-  lbls = ast.literal_eval(lbls.decode('utf-8'))
-  lbls = ['"'+lbls[i]+'"' for i in range(1000)]
-  cprog.append(f"char *lbls[] = {{{','.join(lbls)}}};")
-
-  # buffers (empty + weights)
-  cprog += [f"float {name}[{len}];" if name not in bufs_to_save else f"float *{name} = (float *){name}_data;" for name,len,_key in bufs.values()]
-
-  # the functions
-  cprog += list(functions.values())
-
-  # the net
-  cprog += ["void net() {"] + [f"{name}({', '.join(args)});" for (name, args, _global_size) in statements] + ["}"]
-
-  cprog += ["""
-int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
-  int DEBUG = getenv("DEBUG") != NULL ? atoi(getenv("DEBUG")) : 0;
-  int X=0, Y=0, chan=0;
-  stbi_uc *image = (argc > 1) ? stbi_load(argv[1], &X, &Y, &chan, 3) : stbi_load_from_file(stdin, &X, &Y, &chan, 3);
-  assert(image != NULL);
-  if (DEBUG) printf("loaded image %dx%d channels %d\\n", X, Y, chan);
-  assert(chan == 3);
-  // resize to input[1,3,224,224] and rescale
-  for (int y = 0; y < 224; y++) {
-    for (int x = 0; x < 224; x++) {
-      // get sample position
-      int tx = (x/224.)*X;
-      int ty = (y/224.)*Y;
-      for (int c = 0; c < 3; c++) {
-        input[c*224*224 + y*224 + x] = (image[ty*X*chan + tx*chan + c] / 255.0 - 0.45) / 0.225;
+    # buffers (empty + weights)
+    cprog.append("""
+  int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
+    int DEBUG = getenv("DEBUG") != NULL ? atoi(getenv("DEBUG")) : 0;
+    int X=0, Y=0, chan=0;
+    stbi_uc *image = (argc > 1) ? stbi_load(argv[1], &X, &Y, &chan, 3) : stbi_load_from_file(stdin, &X, &Y, &chan, 3);
+    assert(image != NULL);
+    if (DEBUG) printf("loaded image %dx%d channels %d\\n", X, Y, chan);
+    assert(chan == 3);
+    // resize to input[1,3,224,224] and rescale
+    for (int y = 0; y < 224; y++) {
+      for (int x = 0; x < 224; x++) {
+        // get sample position
+        int tx = (x/224.)*X;
+        int ty = (y/224.)*Y;
+        for (int c = 0; c < 3; c++) {
+          input[c*224*224 + y*224 + x] = (image[ty*X*chan + tx*chan + c] / 255.0 - 0.45) / 0.225;
+        }
       }
     }
-  }
-  net();
-  float best = -INFINITY;
-  int best_idx = -1;
-  for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
-    if (outputs[i] > best) {
-      best = outputs[i];
-      best_idx = i;
+    net(input, outputs);
+    float best = -INFINITY;
+    int best_idx = -1;
+    for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
+      if (outputs[i] > best) {
+        best = outputs[i];
+        best_idx = i;
+      }
     }
-  }
-  if (DEBUG) printf("category : %d (%s) with %f\\n", best_idx, lbls[best_idx], best);
-  else printf("%s\\n", lbls[best_idx]);
-}"""]
+    if (DEBUG) printf("category : %d (%s) with %f\\n", best_idx, lbls[best_idx], best);
+    else printf("%s\\n", lbls[best_idx]);
+  }""")
 
-  # CLANG=1 python3 examples/compile_efficientnet.py | clang -O2 -lm -x c - -o recognize && DEBUG=1 time ./recognize docs/showcase/stable_diffusion_by_tinygrad.jpg
-  # category : 281 (tabby, tabby cat) with 9.452788
-  print('\n'.join(cprog))
+    # CLANG=1 python3 examples/compile_efficientnet.py | clang -O2 -lm -x c - -o recognize && DEBUG=1 time ./recognize docs/showcase/stable_diffusion_by_tinygrad.jpg
+    # category : 281 (tabby, tabby cat) with 9.452788
+    print('\n'.join(cprog))
diff --git a/examples/webgpu/index.html b/examples/index.html
similarity index 100%
rename from examples/webgpu/index.html
rename to examples/index.html
diff --git a/examples/webgpu/compile_webgpu.py b/examples/webgpu/compile_webgpu.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 0fd00a5aa0..0000000000
--- a/examples/webgpu/compile_webgpu.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,87 +0,0 @@
-from os import path
-from examples.compile_efficientnet import compile_net, jit_model
-from models.efficientnet import EfficientNet
-from tinygrad.state import get_state_dict, safe_save
-from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor
-
-if __name__ == "__main__":
-  model = EfficientNet(0)
-  model.load_from_pretrained()
-  run, special_names = jit_model(model, Tensor.randn(1,3,224,224))
-  functions, statements, bufs, _bufs_to_save = compile_net(run, special_names)
-  
-  state = get_state_dict(model)
-  weights = {id(x.lazydata.realized): name for name, x in state.items()}
-  safe_save(state, path.join(path.dirname(__file__), "net.safetensors"))
-
-  kernel_code = '\n\n'.join([f"const {key} = `{code.replace(key, 'main')}`;" for key, code in functions.items()])
-  kernel_names = ', '.join([name for (name, _args, _global_size) in statements])
-  kernel_calls = '\n    '.join([f"addComputePass(device, commandEncoder, piplines[{i}], [{', '.join(args)}], {global_size});" for i, (_name, args, global_size) in enumerate(statements) ])
-  bufs =  '\n    '.join([f"const {buf[0]} = " + (f"createEmptyBuf(device, {buf[1]});" if buf[2] not in weights else f"createWeightBuf(device, {buf[1]}, getTensorBuffer(safetensor, metadata['{weights[buf[2]]}']))") + ";"  for buf in bufs.values()])
-
-  prg = f"""const getTensorMetadata = (safetensorBuffer) => {{
-  const metadataLength = Number(new DataView(safetensorBuffer.buffer).getBigUint64(0, true));
-  const metadata = JSON.parse(new TextDecoder("utf8").decode(safetensorBuffer.subarray(8, 8 + metadataLength)));
-  return Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(metadata).filter(([k, v]) => k !== "__metadata__").map(([k, v]) => [k, {{...v, data_offsets: v.data_offsets.map(x => 8 + metadataLength + x)}}]));
-}};
-
-const getTensorBuffer = (safetensorBuffer, tensorMetadata) => {{
-  return safetensorBuffer.subarray(...tensorMetadata.data_offsets);
-}}
-  
-const createEmptyBuf = (device, size) => {{
-    return device.createBuffer({{size, usage: GPUBufferUsage.STORAGE | GPUBufferUsage.COPY_SRC | GPUBufferUsage.COPY_DST }});
-}};
-
-const createWeightBuf = (device, size, data) => {{
-  const buf = device.createBuffer({{ mappedAtCreation: true, size, usage: GPUBufferUsage.STORAGE }});
-  new Uint8Array(buf.getMappedRange()).set(data);
-  buf.unmap();
-  return buf;
-}};
-
-const addComputePass = (device, commandEncoder, pipeline, bufs, workgroup) => {{
-  const bindGroup = device.createBindGroup({{layout: pipeline.getBindGroupLayout(0), entries: bufs.map((buffer, index) => ({{ binding: index, resource: {{ buffer }} }}))}});
-  const passEncoder = commandEncoder.beginComputePass();
-  passEncoder.setPipeline(pipeline);
-  passEncoder.setBindGroup(0, bindGroup);
-  passEncoder.dispatchWorkgroups(...workgroup);
-  passEncoder.end();
-}};
-
-{kernel_code}
-      
-const setupNet = async (device, safetensor) => {{
-    const metadata = getTensorMetadata(safetensor);
-
-    {bufs}
-
-    const gpuWriteBuffer = device.createBuffer({{size:input.size, usage: GPUBufferUsage.COPY_SRC | GPUBufferUsage.MAP_WRITE }});
-    const gpuReadBuffer = device.createBuffer({{ size: outputs.size, usage: GPUBufferUsage.COPY_DST | GPUBufferUsage.MAP_READ }});
-
-    const kernels = [{kernel_names}];
-    const piplines = await Promise.all(kernels.map(name => device.createComputePipelineAsync({{layout: "auto", compute: {{ module: device.createShaderModule({{ code: name }}), entryPoint: "main" }}}})));
-
-    return async (data) => {{
-        await gpuWriteBuffer.mapAsync(GPUMapMode.WRITE);
-        new Float32Array(gpuWriteBuffer.getMappedRange()).set(data);
-        gpuWriteBuffer.unmap();
-
-        const commandEncoder = device.createCommandEncoder();
-        commandEncoder.copyBufferToBuffer(gpuWriteBuffer, 0, input, 0, gpuWriteBuffer.size);
-        {kernel_calls}
-        commandEncoder.copyBufferToBuffer(outputs, 0, gpuReadBuffer, 0, outputs.size);
-        const gpuCommands = commandEncoder.finish();
-        device.queue.submit([gpuCommands]);
-
-        await gpuReadBuffer.mapAsync(GPUMapMode.READ);
-        const resultBuffer = new Float32Array(gpuReadBuffer.size);
-        resultBuffer.set(new Float32Array(gpuReadBuffer.getMappedRange()));
-        gpuReadBuffer.unmap();
-        return resultBuffer;
-    }}
-}}
-"""
-
-  with open(path.join(path.dirname(__file__), "net.js"), "w") as text_file:
-    text_file.write(prg)
diff --git a/examples/whisper.py b/examples/whisper.py
index 54e341fed2..1692071127 100644
--- a/examples/whisper.py
+++ b/examples/whisper.py
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ from tinygrad.state import torch_load, load_state_dict
 from tinygrad.helpers import getenv
 import tinygrad.nn as nn
 from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor
+import itertools
+import librosa
 
 # TODO: you have written this fifteen times
 class MultiHeadAttention:
@@ -104,30 +106,22 @@ class Whisper:
   def __call__(self, mel:Tensor, tokens:Tensor):
     return self.decoder(tokens, self.encoder(mel))
 
-# TODO: this is tragic. remove this
-import functools
-import itertools
-import torch
-import torchaudio
-import librosa
+RATE = 16000
+CHUNK = 1600
+RECORD_SECONDS = 10
 
-@functools.lru_cache(None)
-def get_filters(sample_rate, n_fft, n_mels):return torch.tensor(librosa.filters.mel(sr=sample_rate, n_fft=n_fft, n_mels=n_mels))
-@functools.lru_cache(None)
-def get_window(n_fft): return torch.hann_window(n_fft)
-
-def prep_audio(waveform, sample_rate) -> Tensor:
+def prep_audio(waveform=None, sr=RATE) -> Tensor:
   N_FFT = 400
   HOP_LENGTH = 160
   N_MELS = 80
-  stft = torch.stft(waveform, N_FFT, HOP_LENGTH, window=get_window(N_FFT), return_complex=True)
-  magnitudes = stft[..., :-1].abs() ** 2
-  mel_spec = get_filters(sample_rate, N_FFT, N_MELS) @ magnitudes
-  log_spec = torch.clamp(mel_spec, min=1e-10).log10()
-  log_spec = torch.maximum(log_spec, log_spec.max() - 8.0)
+  if waveform is None: waveform = np.zeros(N_FFT, dtype=np.float32)
+  stft = librosa.stft(waveform, n_fft=N_FFT, hop_length=HOP_LENGTH, window='hann', dtype=np.float32)
+  magnitudes = stft[..., :-1] ** 2
+  mel_spec = librosa.filters.mel(sr=sr, n_fft=N_FFT, n_mels=N_MELS) @ magnitudes
+  log_spec = np.log10(np.clip(mel_spec, 1e-10, mel_spec.max() + 1e8))
   log_spec = (log_spec + 4.0) / 4.0
   #print(waveform.shape, log_spec.shape)
-  return log_spec.numpy()
+  return log_spec
 
 LANGUAGES = {
   "en": "english", "zh": "chinese", "de": "german", "es": "spanish", "ru": "russian", "ko": "korean", "fr": "french", "ja": "japanese", "pt": "portuguese", "tr": "turkish",
@@ -175,12 +169,8 @@ def img(x):
   plt.imshow(x.numpy())
   plt.show()
 
-RATE = 16000
-CHUNK = 1600
-RECORD_SECONDS = 10
-
 def listener(q):
-  prep_audio(torch.zeros(300), RATE)
+  prep_audio()
   import pyaudio
   p = pyaudio.PyAudio()
   stream = p.open(format=pyaudio.paInt16, channels=1, rate=RATE, input=True, frames_per_buffer=CHUNK)
@@ -205,7 +195,7 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
 
   if len(sys.argv) > 1:
     # offline
-    waveform, sample_rate = torchaudio.load(sys.argv[1], normalize=True)
+    waveform, sample_rate = librosa.load(sys.argv[1], normalize=True)
     log_spec = prep_audio(waveform, sample_rate)
     lst = [enc._special_tokens["<|startoftranscript|>"]]
     dat = model.encoder(Tensor(log_spec)).realize()
@@ -234,7 +224,7 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
         did_read = True
       if did_read:
         last_total = total.shape[1]
-        log_spec = prep_audio(torch.Tensor(total), RATE)
+        log_spec = prep_audio(waveform=Tensor(total).numpy(), sr=RATE)
         encoded_audio = model.encoder(Tensor(log_spec)).realize()
       out = model.decoder(Tensor([lst]), encoded_audio).realize()
       idx = out[0,-1].numpy().argmax()
diff --git a/extra/export_model.py b/extra/export_model.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fcf9fcb299
--- /dev/null
+++ b/extra/export_model.py
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+from typing import Tuple, Dict, List
+from tinygrad.helpers import DType
+from tinygrad.tensor import Device, Tensor
+from tinygrad.jit import TinyJit
+from tinygrad.state import get_state_dict
+import json
+
+def compile_net(run:TinyJit, special_names:Dict[int,str]) -> Tuple[Dict[str,str],List[Tuple[str,List[str],List[int]]],Dict[str,Tuple[int,DType,int]],Dict[str,Tensor]]:
+  functions, bufs, bufs_to_save, statements, bufnum = {}, {}, {}, [], 0
+  for fxn,args in run.jit_cache:
+    functions[fxn.name] = fxn.prg   # NOTE: this assumes all with the same name are the same
+    cargs = []
+    for i,arg in enumerate(args):
+      key = id(arg)
+      if key not in bufs:
+        if key in special_names:
+          bufs[key] = (special_names[key], arg._memsz, arg.dtype, key)
+        else:
+          bufs[key] = (f"buf_{bufnum}", arg._memsz, arg.dtype, key)
+          bufnum += 1
+          if i > 0: bufs_to_save[bufs[key][0]] = arg   # if first usage of a buffer is not an output, and it's not a special name
+      cargs.append(bufs[key][0])
+    statements.append((fxn.name, cargs, fxn.global_size, fxn.local_size))
+
+  return functions, statements, {name:(size, dtype, key) for (name,size,dtype,key) in bufs.values()}, bufs_to_save
+
+def jit_model(model, the_input:Tensor) -> Tuple[TinyJit,Dict[int,str]]:
+  assert hasattr(model, "forward") or callable(model), "model needs a forward function"
+  @TinyJit
+  def run(x): return (model.forward(x) if hasattr(model, "forward") else model(x)).realize()
+
+  # twice to run the JIT
+  for _ in range(2): the_output = run(the_input)
+
+  # hack to put the inputs back
+  assert len(run.input_replace) == 1, f"didn't get one input to replace {run.input_replace}"
+  for (j,i),idx in run.input_replace.items():
+    run.jit_cache[j][1][i] = the_input.lazydata.realized
+
+  # TODO: fetch this from the jit in self.input_replace and self.ret (hint: use get_parameters on self.ret)
+  special_names = {id(the_input.lazydata.realized): "input", id(the_output.lazydata.realized): "outputs"}
+  return run, special_names
+
+def export_model_clang(functions:Dict[str,str], statements:Dict[str,Tuple[str,int,int]], bufs:Dict[str,Tuple[str,int,int]], bufs_to_save:Dict[str,Tensor]) -> str:
+  from tinygrad.runtime.ops_clang import CLANG_PROGRAM_HEADER
+  cprog = [CLANG_PROGRAM_HEADER]
+
+  for name,cl in bufs_to_save.items():
+    weight = ''.join(["\\x%02X"%x for x in bytes(cl._buf)])
+    cprog.append(f"unsigned char {name}_data[] = \"{weight}\";")
+
+  cprog += [f"float {name}[{len}];" if name not in bufs_to_save else f"float *{name} = (float *){name}_data;" for name,(len,dtype,_key) in bufs.items() if name not in ['input', 'outputs']]
+  cprog += list(functions.values())
+  cprog += ["void net(float* input, float* outputs) {"] + [f"{name}({', '.join(args)});" for (name, args, _global_size, _local_size) in statements] + ["}"]
+  return '\n'.join(cprog)
+
+def export_model_webgpu(functions, statements, bufs, bufs_to_save, weight_names) -> Tuple[str,int,int]:
+  kernel_code = '\n\n'.join([f"const {key} = `{code.replace(key, 'main')}`;" for key, code in functions.items()])
+  kernel_names = ', '.join([name for (name, _args, _global_size, _local_size) in statements])
+  kernel_calls = '\n    '.join([f"addComputePass(device, commandEncoder, piplines[{i}], [{', '.join(args)}], {global_size});" for i, (_name, args, global_size, _local_size) in enumerate(statements) ])
+  _bufs =  '\n    '.join([f"const {name} = " + (f"createEmptyBuf(device, {size});" if _key not in weight_names else f"createWeightBuf(device, {size}, getTensorBuffer(safetensor, metadata['{weight_names[_key]}']))") + ";"  for name,(size,dtype,_key) in bufs.items()])
+  return f"""
+const getTensorMetadata = (safetensorBuffer) => {{
+  const metadataLength = Number(new DataView(safetensorBuffer.buffer).getBigUint64(0, true));
+  const metadata = JSON.parse(new TextDecoder("utf8").decode(safetensorBuffer.subarray(8, 8 + metadataLength)));
+  return Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(metadata).filter(([k, v]) => k !== "__metadata__").map(([k, v]) => [k, {{...v, data_offsets: v.data_offsets.map(x => 8 + metadataLength + x)}}]));
+}};
+
+const getTensorBuffer = (safetensorBuffer, tensorMetadata) => {{
+  return safetensorBuffer.subarray(...tensorMetadata.data_offsets);
+}}
+
+const createEmptyBuf = (device, size) => {{
+    return device.createBuffer({{size, usage: GPUBufferUsage.STORAGE | GPUBufferUsage.COPY_SRC | GPUBufferUsage.COPY_DST }});
+}};
+
+const createWeightBuf = (device, size, data) => {{
+  const buf = device.createBuffer({{ mappedAtCreation: true, size, usage: GPUBufferUsage.STORAGE }});
+  new Uint8Array(buf.getMappedRange()).set(data);
+  buf.unmap();
+  return buf;
+}};
+
+const addComputePass = (device, commandEncoder, pipeline, bufs, workgroup) => {{
+  const bindGroup = device.createBindGroup({{layout: pipeline.getBindGroupLayout(0), entries: bufs.map((buffer, index) => ({{ binding: index, resource: {{ buffer }} }}))}});
+  const passEncoder = commandEncoder.beginComputePass();
+  passEncoder.setPipeline(pipeline);
+  passEncoder.setBindGroup(0, bindGroup);
+  passEncoder.dispatchWorkgroups(...workgroup);
+  passEncoder.end();
+}};
+
+{kernel_code}
+
+const setupNet = async (device, safetensor) => {{
+    const metadata = getTensorMetadata(safetensor);
+
+    {_bufs}
+
+    const gpuWriteBuffer = device.createBuffer({{size:input.size, usage: GPUBufferUsage.COPY_SRC | GPUBufferUsage.MAP_WRITE }});
+    const gpuReadBuffer = device.createBuffer({{ size: outputs.size, usage: GPUBufferUsage.COPY_DST | GPUBufferUsage.MAP_READ }});
+
+    const kernels = [{kernel_names}];
+    const piplines = await Promise.all(kernels.map(name => device.createComputePipelineAsync({{layout: "auto", compute: {{ module: device.createShaderModule({{ code: name }}), entryPoint: "main" }}}})));
+
+    return async (data) => {{
+        await gpuWriteBuffer.mapAsync(GPUMapMode.WRITE);
+        new Float32Array(gpuWriteBuffer.getMappedRange()).set(data);
+        gpuWriteBuffer.unmap();
+
+        const commandEncoder = device.createCommandEncoder();
+        commandEncoder.copyBufferToBuffer(gpuWriteBuffer, 0, input, 0, gpuWriteBuffer.size);
+        {kernel_calls}
+        commandEncoder.copyBufferToBuffer(outputs, 0, gpuReadBuffer, 0, outputs.size);
+        const gpuCommands = commandEncoder.finish();
+        device.queue.submit([gpuCommands]);
+
+        await gpuReadBuffer.mapAsync(GPUMapMode.READ);
+        const resultBuffer = new Float32Array(gpuReadBuffer.size);
+        resultBuffer.set(new Float32Array(gpuReadBuffer.getMappedRange()));
+        gpuReadBuffer.unmap();
+        return resultBuffer;
+    }}
+}}
+  """ + f"\n\nconst loadNet = async (device) => {{ return await fetch('net.safetensors').then(x => x.arrayBuffer()).then(x => setupNet(device, new Uint8Array(x))); }}"
+
+def export_model(model, input:Tensor, target:str):
+  assert Device.DEFAULT in ["WEBGPU", "CLANG", "CUDA", "GPU", "METAL"], "only WEBGPU, CLANG, CUDA, GPU, METAL are supported"
+  run,special_names = jit_model(model, input)
+  functions, statements, bufs, bufs_to_save = compile_net(run, special_names)
+  state = get_state_dict(model)
+  weight_names = {id(x.lazydata.realized): name for name, x in state.items()}
+  prg = ""
+  if target == "clang":
+    prg = export_model_clang(functions, statements, bufs, bufs_to_save)
+  elif target == "webgpu":
+    prg = export_model_webgpu(functions, statements, bufs, bufs_to_save, weight_names)
+  else:
+    prg = json.dumps({
+      "backend": Device.DEFAULT,
+      "input": {
+        "size": bufs['input'][0],
+        "dtype": bufs['input'][1].name
+      },
+      "output": {
+        "size": bufs["outputs"][0],
+        "dtype": bufs["outputs"][1].name
+      },
+      "functions": functions,
+      "statements": [{
+        "kernel": kernel,
+        "args": args,
+        "global_size": global_size,
+        "local_size": local_size
+      } for (kernel, args, global_size, local_size) in statements],
+      "buffers": {
+        name: {
+          "size": size,
+          "dtype": dtype.name,
+          "id": weight_names[_key] if _key in weight_names else ""
+        } for name, (size,dtype,_key) in bufs.items() if name not in ["input", "outputs"]
+      }
+    })
+
+  return prg, bufs['input'][0], bufs['outputs'][0], state
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/extra/gemm/hip_matmul.py b/extra/gemm/hip_matmul.py
index 43af529171..6213fb88ee 100644
--- a/extra/gemm/hip_matmul.py
+++ b/extra/gemm/hip_matmul.py
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ extern "C" __global__ void test(float* c, __half* a, __half* b) {{
     }}
     for (int y = 0; y < {KY}; y++) {{
       for (int x = 0; x < {KX}; x++) {{
+        __syncthreads();
         c_frag[y][x] = __builtin_amdgcn_wmma_f32_16x16x16_f16_w32(a_frag[x], b_frag[y], c_frag[y][x]);
       }}
     }}
diff --git a/pytest.ini b/pytest.ini
index 0f6e52a427..d708b82e41 100644
--- a/pytest.ini
+++ b/pytest.ini
@@ -1,2 +1,6 @@
 [pytest]
-markers = ['exclude_cuda', 'exclude_gpu', 'exclude_clang', 'webgpu']
\ No newline at end of file
+markers =
+  exclude_cuda
+  exclude_gpu
+  exclude_clang
+  webgpu
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/test_assign.py b/test/test_assign.py
index 37b322168c..d979901cb5 100644
--- a/test/test_assign.py
+++ b/test/test_assign.py
@@ -5,9 +5,6 @@ from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor
 from tinygrad.lazy import LAZY
 from tinygrad.ops import GlobalCounters
 from tinygrad.graph import nm
-import pytest
-
-pytestmark = pytest.mark.webgpu
 
 N = 200  # has to be bigger than the cache to fail
 
diff --git a/test/test_conv.py b/test/test_conv.py
index 8042754b2f..cacb1a5f18 100644
--- a/test/test_conv.py
+++ b/test/test_conv.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import numpy as np
 from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor
 import pytest
 
-pytestmark = [pytest.mark.exclude_cuda, pytest.mark.webgpu]
+pytestmark = [pytest.mark.exclude_cuda]
 
 class TestConv(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_simple(self):
diff --git a/test/test_helpers.py b/test/test_helpers.py
index 7350eec1f7..62822f1555 100644
--- a/test/test_helpers.py
+++ b/test/test_helpers.py
@@ -90,5 +90,14 @@ with Context(VARIABLE=1):
       self.assertEqual(VARIABLE.value, 1)
     self.assertEqual(VARIABLE.value, 0)
 
+  def test_decorator(self):
+    @Context(VARIABLE=1, DEBUG=4)
+    def test():
+      self.assertEqual(VARIABLE.value, 1)
+
+    self.assertEqual(VARIABLE.value, 0)
+    test()
+    self.assertEqual(VARIABLE.value, 0)
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':
   unittest.main()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/test_lazybuffer.py b/test/test_lazybuffer.py
index 489f994769..3c9a64ee7d 100644
--- a/test/test_lazybuffer.py
+++ b/test/test_lazybuffer.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import numpy as np
 import unittest
 from tinygrad.lazy import LazyBuffer
 from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor
+from tinygrad.shape.symbolic import Variable
 
 class TestLazyBuffer(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_fromcpu_buffer_sharing(self):
@@ -43,5 +44,29 @@ class TestLazyBuffer(unittest.TestCase):
     z = Tensor([1, np.e]).numpy()
     np.testing.assert_allclose(y, z)
 
+class TestVariableBuffer(unittest.TestCase):
+  def test_get_variable_buffers_no_variable(self):
+    t = Tensor.rand(2, 3)
+    assert t.lazydata.get_variable_buffers() == {}
+
+  def test_get_variable_buffers_one_variable(self):
+    v = Variable("v", 1, 10)
+    t = Tensor.rand(2, 3).reshape(v, 3)
+    buffers = t.lazydata.get_variable_buffers()
+    assert len(buffers) == 1 and buffers[v].realize().realized.toCPU() == 2
+    v = Variable("v", 1, 10)
+    t = Tensor.rand(2, 3).reshape(2, v)
+    buffers = t.lazydata.get_variable_buffers()
+    assert len(buffers) == 1 and buffers[v].realize().realized.toCPU() == 3
+
+  def test_get_variable_buffers_cat(self):
+    v1 = Variable("v1", 1, 10)
+    v2 = Variable("v2", 1, 10)
+    t1 = Tensor.rand(2, 3).reshape(v1, 3)
+    t2 = Tensor.rand(6, 3).reshape(v2, 3)
+    t = t1.cat(t2)
+    buffers = t.lazydata.get_variable_buffers()
+    assert len(buffers) == 2 and buffers[v1].realize().realized.toCPU() == 2 and buffers[v2].realize().realized.toCPU() == 6
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
   unittest.main()
diff --git a/test/test_nn.py b/test/test_nn.py
index dc91446550..ce98088a81 100755
--- a/test/test_nn.py
+++ b/test/test_nn.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ from tinygrad.nn import BatchNorm2d, Conv1d, ConvTranspose1d, Conv2d, ConvTransp
 import torch
 import pytest
 
-pytestmark = [pytest.mark.exclude_cuda, pytest.mark.webgpu]
+pytestmark = [pytest.mark.exclude_cuda]
 
 class TestNN(unittest.TestCase):
 
diff --git a/test/test_ops.py b/test/test_ops.py
index e0a419ca64..3b5f9366f7 100644
--- a/test/test_ops.py
+++ b/test/test_ops.py
@@ -6,9 +6,6 @@ import unittest
 from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor
 from tinygrad.helpers import getenv, IMAGE, DEBUG, CI
 from tinygrad.lazy import Device
-import pytest
-
-pytestmark = pytest.mark.webgpu
 
 if CI:
   import warnings
@@ -612,6 +609,12 @@ class TestOps(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_pad2d(self):
     helper_test_op([(3,3,3,3)], lambda x: torch.nn.functional.pad(x, (1,2,3,4)), lambda x: x.pad2d(padding=(1,2,3,4)))
+    helper_test_op([(3,3,3,3)], lambda x: torch.nn.functional.pad(x, (-1,2,-3,4)), lambda x: x.pad2d(padding=(-1,2,-3,4)))
+    helper_test_op([(3,3,3,3)], lambda x: torch.nn.functional.pad(x, (1,2,3,4), value=5), lambda x: x.pad2d(padding=(1,2,3,4),value=5))
+    helper_test_op([(3,3,3,3)], lambda x: torch.nn.functional.pad(x, (-1,2,-3,4), value=5), lambda x: x.pad2d(padding=(-1,2,-3,4),value=5))
+  def test_pad(self):
+    helper_test_op([(3,3)], lambda x: torch.nn.functional.pad(x, (1,2,3,4)),lambda x: x.pad(((3,4),(1,2))))
+    helper_test_op([(3,3)], lambda x: torch.nn.functional.pad(x, (1,2,3,4), value=5), lambda x: x.pad(((3,4), (1,2)), value=5))
 
   def test_transpose(self):
     helper_test_op([(3,3,3)], lambda x: x.transpose(1,2), lambda x: x.transpose(1,2))
@@ -804,7 +807,7 @@ class TestOps(unittest.TestCase):
       lambda x,w: torch.nn.functional.conv_transpose3d(x,w).relu(),
       lambda x,w: Tensor.conv_transpose2d(x,w).relu(), atol=1e-4, grad_rtol=1e-5)
 
-  @unittest.skipIf((IMAGE>0 or (Device.DEFAULT == "WEBGPU" and getenv("CI","") != "")), "no conv1d on images")
+  @unittest.skipIf((IMAGE>0), "no conv1d on images")
   def test_conv1d(self):
     for bs in [1,8]:
       for cin in [1,3]:
diff --git a/test/test_speed_v_torch.py b/test/test_speed_v_torch.py
index 6ba4d98ce4..cefacd34b1 100644
--- a/test/test_speed_v_torch.py
+++ b/test/test_speed_v_torch.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ from tinygrad.helpers import colored, getenv, DEBUG, CI
 from tinygrad.jit import TinyJit
 import pytest
 
-pytestmark = [pytest.mark.exclude_cuda, pytest.mark.exclude_gpu, pytest.mark.exclude_clang, pytest.mark.webgpu]
+pytestmark = [pytest.mark.exclude_cuda, pytest.mark.exclude_gpu, pytest.mark.exclude_clang]
 
 IN_CHANS = [int(x) for x in getenv("IN_CHANS", "4,16,64").split(",")]
 
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ class TestBigSpeed(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_large_conv_3x3(self): helper_test_conv(bs=4, in_chans=128, out_chans=128, kernel_size=3, img_size_y=130, img_size_x=130)
   def test_large_conv_5x5(self): helper_test_conv(bs=4, in_chans=128, out_chans=128, kernel_size=5, img_size_y=130, img_size_x=130)
 
-@unittest.skipIf((getenv("BIG") == 1 or Device.DEFAULT == "WEBGPU"), "only big tests")
+@unittest.skipIf((getenv("BIG") == 1), "only big tests")
 class TestSpeed(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_sub(self):
     def f(a, b): return a-b
diff --git a/test/test_symbolic_shapetracker.py b/test/test_symbolic_shapetracker.py
index 295638b90f..3f5182615e 100644
--- a/test/test_symbolic_shapetracker.py
+++ b/test/test_symbolic_shapetracker.py
@@ -30,7 +30,57 @@ class TestSymbolic(unittest.TestCase):
     st = t1.lazydata.st
     assert st.shape == (i+j+k, 4)
     assert st.real_strides() == (4, 1)
+    i = Variable("i", 1, 5)
+    j = Variable("j", 1, 5)
+    k = Variable("k", 1, 5)
     t1 = Tensor.rand(3, 4).reshape(3, i).cat(Tensor.rand(3, 4).reshape(3, j), dim=1).cat(Tensor.rand(3, 4).reshape(3, k), dim=1)
     st = t1.lazydata.st
     assert st.shape == (3, i+j+k)
-    assert st.real_strides() == (i+j+k, 1)
\ No newline at end of file
+    assert st.real_strides() == (i+j+k, 1)
+
+class TestSymbolicReshape(unittest.TestCase):
+  def test_reshape_into_symbols_simple(self):
+    for i in range(1, 5):
+      vi = Variable("i", 1, 10)
+      assert Tensor.rand(i, 4).reshape(vi, 4).shape == (vi, 4)
+      assert vi.val == i
+      vi = Variable("i", 1, 10)
+      assert Tensor.rand(i, 6).reshape(vi, 2, 3).shape == (vi, 2, 3)
+      assert vi.val == i
+
+  def test_reshape_symbols_reshape_ints(self):
+    for i in range(1, 5):
+      vi = Variable("i", 1, 10)
+      assert Tensor.rand(i, 4).reshape(vi, 4).reshape(i, 4).shape == (i, 4)
+      assert Tensor.rand(i, 4).reshape(vi, 4).reshape(i*4,).shape == (i*4,)
+      assert Tensor.rand(i, 6).reshape(vi, 6).reshape(i*2, 3).shape == (i*2, 3)
+      with self.assertRaises(AssertionError):
+        Tensor.rand(i, 6).reshape(vi, 6).reshape(1, 77).shape
+
+  def test_reshape_reuse_var_same_value_ok(self):
+    for i in range(1, 5):
+      vi = Variable("i", 1, 10)
+      a = Tensor.rand(i, 4).reshape(vi, 4)
+      b = Tensor.rand(i, 3).reshape(vi, 3)
+      assert vi.val == i
+
+  def test_reshape_reuse_var_different_value_fail(self):
+    for i in range(1, 5):
+      vi = Variable("i", 1, 10)
+      a = Tensor.rand(i, 4).reshape(vi, 2)
+      with self.assertRaises(AssertionError):
+        b = Tensor.rand(i, 3).reshape(vi, 3)
+
+  def test_reshape_into_symbols_bad_shape(self):
+    vi = Variable("i", 1, 10)
+    vj = Variable("j", 1, 10)
+    with self.assertRaises(AssertionError):
+      t = Tensor.rand(3, 4).reshape(vi, vj)
+    with self.assertRaises(AssertionError):
+      t = Tensor.rand(4, 4).reshape(vi, vi)
+    with self.assertRaises(AssertionError):
+      t = Tensor.rand(4, 6).reshape(vi, 6).reshape(vi, 4)
+    with self.assertRaises(AssertionError):
+      t = Tensor.rand(100, 4).reshape(Variable("too_small", 1, 10), 4)
+    with self.assertRaises(AssertionError):
+      t = Tensor.rand(3, 4).reshape(Variable("too_big", 100, 200), 4)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/test_tensor.py b/test/test_tensor.py
index 2336b34bba..a309cb652d 100644
--- a/test/test_tensor.py
+++ b/test/test_tensor.py
@@ -2,13 +2,9 @@ import dataclasses
 import numpy as np
 import torch
 import unittest
-import itertools
-from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor, Device
+from tinygrad.tensor import Tensor
 from tinygrad.helpers import dtypes
 from extra.gradcheck import numerical_jacobian, jacobian, gradcheck
-import pytest
-
-pytestmark = pytest.mark.webgpu
 
 x_init = np.random.randn(1,3).astype(np.float32)
 U_init = np.random.randn(3,3).astype(np.float32)
diff --git a/test/unit/test_shapetracker.py b/test/unit/test_shapetracker.py
index b108049f73..e7d0851985 100644
--- a/test/unit/test_shapetracker.py
+++ b/test/unit/test_shapetracker.py
@@ -188,7 +188,6 @@ class TestIndexExpressions2d(unittest.TestCase):
       st.expand((base_shape[0], base_shape[1], base_shape[1]))
       self.node_exprs.append(lambda idx, base_shape=base_shape, offset=offset: idx//(base_shape[1]*base_shape[1])%base_shape[0]*base_shape[1] + idx%base_shape[1] + offset)
       self.idxs_exprs.append(lambda idxs, base_shape=base_shape, offset=offset: idxs[0]*base_shape[1] + idxs[2] + offset)
-
   def test_permute_reshape_1(self): # This tests multiple views
     for st, base_shape, offset in zip(self.sts, self.shapes, self.offset):
       st.permute((1, 0))
diff --git a/test/unit/test_symbolic.py b/test/unit/test_symbolic.py
index a471c9734c..59377a82eb 100644
--- a/test/unit/test_symbolic.py
+++ b/test/unit/test_symbolic.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 import unittest
-from tinygrad.shape.symbolic import MulNode, SumNode, Variable, NumNode, Node
+from tinygrad.shape.symbolic import MulNode, SumNode, Variable, NumNode, sym_vars
 
 class TestSymbolic(unittest.TestCase):
   def helper_test_variable(self, v, n, m, s):
@@ -240,6 +240,36 @@ class TestSymbolicNumeric(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_times_2_plus_3_div_4(self): self.helper_test_numeric(lambda x: (x*2 + 3)//4)
   def test_times_2_plus_3_div_4_mod_4(self): self.helper_test_numeric(lambda x: ((x*2 + 3)//4)%4)
 
+class TestSymbolicVars(unittest.TestCase):
+  def test_simple(self):
+    z = NumNode(0)
+    a = Variable("a", 0, 10)
+    b = Variable("b", 0, 10)
+    c = Variable("c", 0, 10)
+    assert z.vars() == z.vars() == []
+    assert a.vars() == a.vars() == [a]
+    m = MulNode(a, 3)
+    assert m.vars() == [a]
+    s = SumNode([a, b, c])
+    assert s.vars() == [a, b, c]
+
+  def test_compound(self):
+    a = Variable("a", 0, 10)
+    b = Variable("b", 0, 10)
+    c = Variable("c", 0, 10)
+    # TODO: update this after we support symbolic * symbolic
+    assert (a + b * c).vars() == [a, b]
+    assert (a % 3 + b // 5).vars() == [a, b]
+    assert (a + b + c - a).vars() == [b, c]
+
+  def test_sym_vars(self):
+    a = Variable("a", 0, 10)
+    b = Variable("b", 0, 10)
+    assert sym_vars(1) == []
+    assert sym_vars(a) == [a]
+    assert sym_vars(a+b) == [a, b]
+    assert sym_vars(a*3) == [a]
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':
   unittest.main()
 
diff --git a/tinygrad/codegen/cstyle.py b/tinygrad/codegen/cstyle.py
index a4d913662a..94cae77316 100644
--- a/tinygrad/codegen/cstyle.py
+++ b/tinygrad/codegen/cstyle.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ class CStyleLanguage(NamedTuple):
   gid: List[str] = []
   lid: List[str] = []
   global_max: List[int] = []
+  local_max: List[int] = []
   extra_args: List[str] = []
   float4: Optional[str] = None
   half_prekernel: Optional[str] = None
@@ -195,7 +196,7 @@ class CStyleCodegen(Linearizer):
 
   def codegen(self):
     self.process()
-    if self.lang.global_max: self.limit_global_dims(len(self.lang.gid), self.lang.global_max)  # NOTE: this is optional now
+    if self.lang.global_max: self.limit_global_dims(len(self.lang.gid), self.lang.global_max, self.lang.local_max)  # NOTE: this is optional now
     self.linearize()
 
     prg, global_size, local_size = uops_to_cstyle(self.uops, self.lang)
diff --git a/tinygrad/codegen/linearizer.py b/tinygrad/codegen/linearizer.py
index a1b899a36e..53844a0309 100644
--- a/tinygrad/codegen/linearizer.py
+++ b/tinygrad/codegen/linearizer.py
@@ -595,8 +595,20 @@ class Linearizer:
     for i,x in enumerate(rets): self.sts[i].reshape(tuple([y[0] for y in x]))
 
   # ******************** GPU simplifiers ********************
+  def _limit_size(self, x: Tuple[int], max_size: List) -> Tuple[int, ...]:
+    new_shape,dims = list(x), len(x)
+    for i in range(dims):
+      next_idx = (i + 1) % dims
+      while new_shape[i] > max_size[i]:
+        new_shape[i] = new_shape[i] // 2
+        if (new_shape[next_idx] <= max_size[next_idx]):
+          new_shape[next_idx] = new_shape[next_idx] * 2
+        else:
+          next_idx = (next_idx + 1) % dims
+          new_shape[next_idx] = new_shape[next_idx] * 2
+    return tuple(new_shape)
 
-  def limit_global_dims(self, limit, global_max):
+  def limit_global_dims(self, limit: int, global_max: List[int], local_max: List[int]):
     # sometimes, there's more dimensions than len(self.lang.gid).
     # compact all the dimensions into the first
     # NOTE: this might make multiview shapetrackers
@@ -607,8 +619,11 @@ class Linearizer:
     # Check the global allocation limit, current the global_size will be flipped during codegen 
     # and then padded right with 1s if its length < 3 which makes this part a bit awkward to write
     global_dims = self.first_reduce-self.local_dims
-    if global_dims > 0: 
-      assert max(global_max) >= max(self.full_shape[0:global_dims]), f"device max allocation {max(self.full_shape[0:global_dims])} exceeds global dim maximum {max(global_max)}"
+    if global_dims > 0:
+      if global_max:
+        tmp = global_max[:global_dims] + (local_max[:self.local_dims] if local_max else [])
+        if max(global_max) < max(self.full_shape[:global_dims]): self.reshape_and_permute(lambda x: self._limit_size(x, tmp + [math.inf] * (len(self.full_shape)-len(tmp))), None)
+        assert max(global_max) >= max(self.full_shape[:global_dims]), f"device max allocation {max(self.full_shape[:global_dims])} exceeds global dim maximum {max(global_max)}"
       for i in range(global_dims-1):
         if self.full_shape[i] > global_max[i]:
           order = list(range(len(self.full_shape)))
diff --git a/tinygrad/codegen/optimizer.py b/tinygrad/codegen/optimizer.py
index faed405549..82c634a267 100644
--- a/tinygrad/codegen/optimizer.py
+++ b/tinygrad/codegen/optimizer.py
@@ -30,9 +30,9 @@ def kernel_optimize_search(k:Linearizer, create_k:Callable[[], Linearizer], runt
       k.process()
       apply_opt(k, x)
       prg = k.codegen().build(runtime)
-      first_tm = prg.exec(k.bufs, force_wait=True)
+      first_tm = prg.exec(k.bufs, force_wait=True, optimizing=True)
       if baseline*5 < first_tm*1000: return first_tm*1000  # very slow
-      tm = min([first_tm]+[prg.exec(k.bufs, force_wait=True) for _ in range(2)])*1000
+      tm = min([first_tm]+[prg.exec(k.bufs, force_wait=True, optimizing=True) for _ in range(2)])*1000
       return tm
     except Exception:
       if DEBUG >= 3:
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ def kernel_optimize(k:Linearizer, create_k:Callable[[], Linearizer], runtime):
       k = create_k()
       hand_coded_optimizations(k)
       prg = k.codegen().build(runtime)
-      return min([prg.exec(k.bufs, force_wait=True) for _ in range(5)])*1000
+      return min([prg.exec(k.bufs, force_wait=True, optimizing=True) for _ in range(5)])*1000
     choice = kernel_optimize_search(k, create_k, runtime, get_baseline())
     if global_db is not None:
       global_db[skey] = choice
diff --git a/tinygrad/codegen/wgsl.py b/tinygrad/codegen/wgsl.py
index 54cef8f1f4..5e936c74a6 100644
--- a/tinygrad/codegen/wgsl.py
+++ b/tinygrad/codegen/wgsl.py
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ class WGSLLanguage(CStyleLanguage):
   gid = [f"i32(gindex.{'xyz'[x]})" for x in range(3)]
   lid = [f"i32(lindex.{'xyz'[x]})" for x in range(3)]
   size_prefix = "let"
+  global_max = [65535, 65535, 65535]
+  local_max = [256, 256, 64]
   barrier="workgroupBarrier();"
   generic_var_prefix = "var "
   external_local_bufs = True
diff --git a/tinygrad/helpers.py b/tinygrad/helpers.py
index 9d504688b8..ffca0eee16 100644
--- a/tinygrad/helpers.py
+++ b/tinygrad/helpers.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
-import os, functools, platform, time, re
+import os, functools, platform, time, re, contextlib
 from weakref import KeyedRef, ref
 from _weakref import _remove_dead_weakref # type: ignore
 import numpy as np
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def fromimport(mod, frm): return getattr(__import__(mod, fromlist=[frm]), frm)
 @functools.lru_cache(maxsize=None)
 def getenv(key, default=0): return type(default)(os.getenv(key, default))
 
-class Context:
+class Context(contextlib.ContextDecorator):
   stack: ClassVar[List[dict[str, int]]] = [{}]
   def __init__(self, **kwargs): self.kwargs = kwargs
   def __enter__(self):
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ class ContextVar:
 DEBUG, IMAGE = ContextVar("DEBUG", 0), ContextVar("IMAGE", 0)
 GRAPH, PRUNEGRAPH, GRAPHPATH = getenv("GRAPH", 0), getenv("PRUNEGRAPH", 0), getenv("GRAPHPATH", "/tmp/net")
 
-class Timing(object):
+class Timing(contextlib.ContextDecorator):
   def __init__(self, prefix="", on_exit=None, enabled=True): self.prefix, self.on_exit, self.enabled = prefix, on_exit, enabled
   def __enter__(self): self.st = time.perf_counter_ns()
   def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
diff --git a/tinygrad/lazy.py b/tinygrad/lazy.py
index 3c8fcda986..b09679c8b8 100644
--- a/tinygrad/lazy.py
+++ b/tinygrad/lazy.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from tinygrad.helpers import GRAPH, DEBUG, prod, getenv, DType, dtypes, flatten,
 from tinygrad.runtime.ops_cpu import RawNumpyBuffer
 from tinygrad.runtime.ops_disk import RawDiskBuffer
 from tinygrad.shape.shapetracker import MovementOps, ShapeTracker, View, get_contraction
+from tinygrad.shape.symbolic import Variable, sym_vars
 from tinygrad.ops import Compiled, Interpreted, UnaryOps, BinaryOps, TernaryOps, ReduceOps, LoadOps, OpType, LazyOp
 from tinygrad.runtime.lib import RawBufferMapped, RawConst, RawBuffer
 
@@ -270,6 +271,7 @@ class LazyBuffer:
   def buffers(self) -> Tuple[LazyBuffer, ...]: return (self,)
   def map_buffers(self, real_srcs: Dict[Any, Any]): return real_srcs.get(self, self)
   def get_lazyops(self) -> List[Any]: return []
+  def get_variable_buffers(self) -> Dict[Variable, LazyBuffer]: return {v:LazyBuffer.loadop(LoadOps.FROM, (1,), dtypes.int32, self.device, src=LazyBuffer.fromCPU(np.array([v.val], dtype=np.int32))) for s in self.shape for v in sym_vars(s)}
   def replace_with_movement_ops(self: LazyBuffer, ops:List[Tuple[MovementOps, Any]]) -> LazyBuffer:
     y = self
     for op, arg in ops: y = MOVEMENT_OPS_DISPATCHER[op](y, arg)
diff --git a/tinygrad/ops.py b/tinygrad/ops.py
index 78647dca9e..567d535bdc 100644
--- a/tinygrad/ops.py
+++ b/tinygrad/ops.py
@@ -133,9 +133,9 @@ class ASTRunner:
     self.clprg = runtime(self.name, self.prg, **self.runtime_args)
     return self
 
-  def exec(self, bufs, force_wait=False) -> Optional[float]:
+  def exec(self, bufs, force_wait=False, optimizing=False) -> Optional[float]:
     rawbufs = dedup([x.realized for x in bufs if buf_is_kernel_arg(x)])
-    if GlobalCounters.cache is not None: GlobalCounters.cache.append((self, rawbufs))
+    if GlobalCounters.cache is not None and not optimizing: GlobalCounters.cache.append((self, rawbufs))
     return self(rawbufs, force_wait=force_wait)
 
   def __call__(self, rawbufs:List[RawBuffer], jit=False, force_wait=False) -> Optional[float]:
diff --git a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_clang.py b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_clang.py
index 9450abf4e9..2f3c14f9a7 100644
--- a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_clang.py
+++ b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_clang.py
@@ -9,9 +9,11 @@ args = {
   'Linux': {'cflags':'-lm -fPIC --rtlib=compiler-rt ', 'ext':'so', 'exp':''},
   'Darwin': {'cflags':'-lm -fPIC --rtlib=compiler-rt ', 'ext':'dylib', 'exp':''}
 }[platform.system()]
-
+CLANG_PROGRAM_HEADER = '#include <math.h>\n#define max(x,y) ((x>y)?x:y)\n#define int64 long\n#define half __fp16\n#define uchar unsigned char\n#define bool uchar\n'
 class ClangProgram:
   def __init__(self, name:str, prg:str, binary:bool=False):
+    prg = CLANG_PROGRAM_HEADER + prg
+    # TODO: is there a way to not write this to disk?
     fn = f"{tempfile.gettempdir()}/clang_{hashlib.md5(prg.encode('utf-8')).hexdigest()}.{args['ext']}"
     if not binary:
       prg = '#include <math.h>\n#define max(x,y) ((x>y)?x:y)\n#define int64 long\n#define half __fp16\n#define uchar unsigned char\n#define bool uchar\n' + prg
diff --git a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_gpu.py b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_gpu.py
index 21833ac6a3..4d901c8310 100644
--- a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_gpu.py
+++ b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_gpu.py
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ if DEBUG >= 5:
   early_exec = fromimport("extra.helpers", "enable_early_exec")()
 
 class _CL:
-  def __init__(self): self.events_in_flight = []
   def post_init(self, device=None):
     platforms: List[List[cl.Device]] = [y for y in ([x.get_devices(device_type=cl.device_type.GPU) for x in cl.get_platforms()] + [x.get_devices(device_type=cl.device_type.CPU) for x in cl.get_platforms()]) if len(y)]
     self.cl_platform = cl.get_platforms()[getenv('CL_PLATFORM', 0)]
@@ -25,8 +24,6 @@ class _CL:
     if DEBUG >= 1: print(f"using devices: {[ctx.devices[0].hashable_model_and_version_identifier for ctx in self.cl_ctxs]}")
     self.cl_queue: List[cl.CommandQueue] = [cl.CommandQueue(ctx, device=ctx.devices[0], properties=cl.command_queue_properties.PROFILING_ENABLE) for ctx in self.cl_ctxs]
   def synchronize(self):
-    for evt in self.events_in_flight: evt.wait()
-    self.events_in_flight.clear()
     for q in self.cl_queue: q.finish()
 CL = _CL()
 CL.post_init() if not getenv("DELAYED_RUNTIME_INIT", False) else None
@@ -43,13 +40,14 @@ class CLBuffer(RawBufferCopyInOut):
     setattr(buf, 'device', int(device))  # device is tracked on the underlying buffer
     super().__init__(size, dtype, buf)
 
-  def _copyin(self, x: np.ndarray):
+  def _copyin(self, x:np.ndarray):
     assert not self.dtype.name.startswith("image"), f"can't copyin images {self.dtype}"
-    CL.events_in_flight.append(cl.enqueue_copy(CL.cl_queue[self._buf.device], self._buf, np.require(x, requirements='C'), is_blocking=False))
+    self.event = cl.enqueue_copy(CL.cl_queue[self._buf.device], self._buf, np.require(x, requirements='C'), is_blocking=False)
   def _copyout(self, x:np.ndarray):
-    CL.synchronize()
     assert not self.dtype.name.startswith("image"), f"can't copyout images {self.dtype}"
-    cl.enqueue_copy(CL.cl_queue[self._buf.device], x, self._buf, is_blocking=True)
+    buf = cl.Buffer(CL.cl_ctxs[self._buf.device], cl.mem_flags.WRITE_ONLY | cl.mem_flags.USE_HOST_PTR, 0, hostbuf=x.data)
+    mapped, event = cl.enqueue_map_buffer(CL.cl_queue[self._buf.device], buf, cl.map_flags.WRITE, 0, self.size, dtype=self.dtype.np, is_blocking=False)
+    with mapped.base: cl.enqueue_copy(CL.cl_queue[self._buf.device], mapped, self._buf, is_blocking=True, wait_for=[event])
 
 class CLProgram:
   def __init__(self, name:str, prg:str, binary=False, argdtypes=None, options=None):
@@ -78,7 +76,7 @@ class CLProgram:
 
   def __call__(self, global_size, local_size, *bufs, wait=False) -> Optional[float]:
     cl_bufs = [x._buf if isinstance(x, CLBuffer) else x for x in bufs]
-    e = self.clprgs[cl_bufs[0].device](CL.cl_queue[cl_bufs[0].device], [g*l for g,l in zip(global_size, local_size)] if local_size is not None else global_size, local_size, *cl_bufs)
+    e = self.clprgs[cl_bufs[0].device](CL.cl_queue[cl_bufs[0].device], [g*l for g,l in zip(global_size, local_size)] if local_size is not None else global_size, local_size, *cl_bufs, wait_for=[x.event for x in bufs if isinstance(x, CLBuffer) and hasattr(x, "event")])
     if wait:
       e.wait()
       try:
diff --git a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_metal.py b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_metal.py
index 7b364dd35d..a4c6a7126c 100644
--- a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_metal.py
+++ b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_metal.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # pip3 install pyobjc-framework-Metal pyobjc-framework-Cocoa pyobjc-framework-libdispatch
 import os, subprocess, pathlib
 import Metal, Cocoa, libdispatch # type: ignore
+from typing import List, Any
 from tinygrad.codegen.cstyle import CStyleCodegen, CStyleLanguage
 from tinygrad.helpers import prod, getenv, DEBUG, DType
 from tinygrad.ops import Compiled
@@ -10,17 +11,13 @@ METAL_XCODE = getenv("METAL_XCODE")
 
 class _METAL:
   def __init__(self):
+    self.mtl_buffers_in_flight: List[Any] = []
     self.device = Metal.MTLCreateSystemDefaultDevice()
-    self.dispatch_group = libdispatch.dispatch_group_create() 
     self.mtl_queue = self.device.newCommandQueue()
-  def command_buffer(self):
-    command_buffer = self.mtl_queue.commandBuffer()
-    libdispatch.dispatch_group_enter(self.dispatch_group)
-    def leave(_): libdispatch.dispatch_group_leave(self.dispatch_group)
-    command_buffer.addCompletedHandler_(leave)
-    return command_buffer
+  # TODO: is there a better way to do this?
   def synchronize(self):
-    libdispatch.dispatch_group_wait(self.dispatch_group, libdispatch.DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER)
+    for cbuf in self.mtl_buffers_in_flight: cbuf.waitUntilCompleted()
+    self.mtl_buffers_in_flight.clear()
 METAL = _METAL()
 
 class RawMetalBuffer(RawBufferMapped):
@@ -63,7 +60,7 @@ class MetalProgram:
 
   def __call__(self, global_size, local_size, *bufs, wait=False):
     assert prod(local_size) <= self.pipeline_state.maxTotalThreadsPerThreadgroup(), f"local size {local_size} bigger than {self.pipeline_state.maxTotalThreadsPerThreadgroup()} with exec width {self.pipeline_state.threadExecutionWidth()} memory length {self.pipeline_state.staticThreadgroupMemoryLength()}"
-    command_buffer = METAL.command_buffer()
+    command_buffer = METAL.mtl_queue.commandBuffer()
     encoder = command_buffer.computeCommandEncoder()
     encoder.setComputePipelineState_(self.pipeline_state)
     for i,a in enumerate(bufs): encoder.setBuffer_offset_atIndex_(a._buf, 0, i)
@@ -73,6 +70,7 @@ class MetalProgram:
     if wait:
       command_buffer.waitUntilCompleted()
       return command_buffer.GPUEndTime() - command_buffer.GPUStartTime()
+    METAL.mtl_buffers_in_flight.append(command_buffer)
 
 class MetalCodegen(CStyleCodegen):
   lang = CStyleLanguage(
diff --git a/tinygrad/shape/shapetracker.py b/tinygrad/shape/shapetracker.py
index c4c0626ae0..af697f90aa 100644
--- a/tinygrad/shape/shapetracker.py
+++ b/tinygrad/shape/shapetracker.py
@@ -235,12 +235,21 @@ class ShapeTracker:
     self.views[-1] = View(new_shape, self.views[-1].strides, self.views[-1].offset, mask)
     return self
 
-  def reshape(self, new_shape: Tuple[int, ...]):
+  def reshape(self, new_shape: Tuple[Union[Node,int], ...]):
+    # reshape into symbolic shape, update the variable value
+    if all(isinstance(s, int) for s in self.shape) and len(new_vars:=list(s for s in new_shape if isinstance(s, Variable))) > 0:
+      assert len(new_vars) == 1, "only one variable is supported in a shape"
+      new_var, new_val = new_vars[0], prod(self.shape) // prod(s for s in new_shape if isinstance(s, int))
+      if new_var.val is None:
+        assert new_var.min <= new_val <= new_var.max, f"variable value {new_val} out of range [{new_var.min}, {new_var.max}]"
+        new_var.val = new_val
+      else: assert new_var.val == new_val, f"value conflicts, was {new_var.val}, set to {new_val}"
+
     if self.views[-1].shape == new_shape: return self
     assert all(is_sym_int(x) and x > 0 for x in new_shape), f"shape must be symbolic ints and can't contain 0 or negative numbers {new_shape}"
     # only check size for int shapes. we don't check symbolic here as long as the reshape itself can be done
     if all(isinstance(s, int) for s in self.shape) and all(isinstance(s, int) for s in new_shape):
-      assert prod(self.shape) == prod(new_shape), f"can't reshape {self.shape} -> {new_shape}"
+      assert prod(self.shape) == prod(new_shape), f"can't reshape {self.shape} -> {new_shape}" # type: ignore  # mypy cannot resolve, all ints here
     new_view, extra = _reshape(self.views[-1], new_shape)
     if extra: self.views.append(new_view)
     else: self.views[-1] = new_view
diff --git a/tinygrad/shape/symbolic.py b/tinygrad/shape/symbolic.py
index 0a15746e1e..bd918eede5 100644
--- a/tinygrad/shape/symbolic.py
+++ b/tinygrad/shape/symbolic.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from typing import List, Dict, Callable, Tuple, Type, Union, Optional, Any
 # symbolic matches the Python behavior, but the code output is agnostic, and will never have negative numbers in div or mod
 
 def is_sym_int(x: Any) -> bool: return isinstance(x, int) or isinstance(x, Node)
+def sym_vars(x: Union[Node, int]) -> List[Variable]: return [] if isinstance(x, int) else x.vars()
 
 class Node:
   b: Union[Node, int]
@@ -134,6 +135,7 @@ class Variable(Node):
 
   def __init__(self, expr:Optional[str], nmin:int, nmax:int):
     self.expr, self.min, self.max = expr, nmin, nmax
+    self.val: Optional[int] = None
   def vars(self): return [self]
 
 class NumNode(Node):
diff --git a/tinygrad/tensor.py b/tinygrad/tensor.py
index 7148a73c06..1be8b7eaea 100644
--- a/tinygrad/tensor.py
+++ b/tinygrad/tensor.py
@@ -243,16 +243,18 @@ class Tensor:
   def expand(self, shape, *args) -> Tensor: return mlops.Expand.apply(self, shape=tuple([x if x != -1 else s for s,x in zip(self.shape, argfix(shape, *args))]))
   def permute(self, order, *args) -> Tensor: return mlops.Permute.apply(self, order=argfix(order, *args))
   def flip(self, axis, *args) -> Tensor: return mlops.Flip.apply(self, axis=[x if x >= 0 else x+len(self.shape) for x in argfix(axis, *args)])
-  def pad(self, arg:Tuple[Tuple[int, int], ...]) -> Tensor: return mlops.Pad.apply(self, arg=arg) if any(x != (0,0) for x in arg) else self
   def shrink(self, arg:Tuple[Tuple[int, int], ...]) -> Tensor: return mlops.Shrink.apply(self, arg=arg) if any(x != (0,s) for x,s in zip(arg, self.shape)) else self
+  def pad(self, arg: Tuple[Tuple[int, int], ...], value:float=0) -> Tensor:
+    ret = mlops.Pad.apply(self, arg=arg) if any(x != (0, 0) for x in arg) else self
+    return ret if 0 == value else ret + (value - mlops.Pad.apply(Tensor.full(self.shape, value), arg=arg))
 
   # ***** movement hlops *****
 
   # NOTE: using slice is discouraged and things should migrate to pad and shrink
-  def slice(self, arg:Sequence[Optional[Tuple[int, int]]]) -> Tensor:
+  def slice(self, arg:Sequence[Optional[Tuple[int, int]]], value:float=0) -> Tensor:
     arg_ = tuple([a if a is not None else (0,s) for s,a in zip(self.shape, arg)])
     padding = tuple([(max(0, -p[0]), max(0, p[1]-self.shape[i])) for i,p in enumerate(arg_)])
-    return self.pad(padding).shrink(tuple([(p[0] + padding[i][0], p[1] + padding[i][0]) for i,p in enumerate(arg_)]))
+    return self.pad(padding, value=value).shrink(tuple([(p[0] + padding[i][0], p[1] + padding[i][0]) for i,p in enumerate(arg_)]))
 
   # - Negative indices are taken relative to the end of the sequence, so X[-2] returns the 2nd-to-last element
   # - A slice i:j returns the elements with indices in [i, j)
@@ -375,9 +377,9 @@ class Tensor:
     return self.reshape(self.shape[:dim] + (1,) + self.shape[dim:])
 
   # (padding_left, padding_right, padding_top, padding_bottom)
-  def pad2d(self, padding:Union[List[int], Tuple[int, ...]]):
+  def pad2d(self, padding:Union[List[int], Tuple[int, ...]], value:float=0):
     slc = [(-p0, s+p1) for p0,p1,s in zip(padding[::2], padding[1::2], self.shape[::-1])][::-1]
-    return self.slice([(0,s) for s in self.shape[:-(len(padding)//2)]] + slc)
+    return self.slice([(0,s) for s in self.shape[:-(len(padding)//2)]] + slc, value=value)
 
   @property
   def T(self) -> Tensor: return self.transpose()
diff --git a/weights/.gitignore b/weights/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..72e8ffc0db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/weights/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+*