diff --git a/test/amd/test_emu2_pcode.py b/test/amd/test_emu2_pcode.py
index dc20ff2fd1..ff6366372a 100644
--- a/test/amd/test_emu2_pcode.py
+++ b/test/amd/test_emu2_pcode.py
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ class TestDSPcodePatterns(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_global_atomic_add_f32_parsing(self):
     """Test GLOBAL_ATOMIC_ADD_F32 keeps memory values in float dtype."""
-    vmem = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uint32, (1024,))
+    vmem = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uint32, 1024)
     srcs = {
       'ADDR': UOp.const(0, dtypes.uint64),
       'DATA': UOp.const(0x3f800000, dtypes.uint32),
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ class TestDSPcodePatterns(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_mem_read_parsing(self):
     """Test MEM[addr].type read expression parsing."""
     # Create a mock LDS buffer
-    lds = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint32, (16384,))
+    lds = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint32, 16384)
     addr = UOp.const(0, dtypes.uint32)
     vrs = {'_lds': lds, 'ADDR': addr, 'OFFSET': UOp.const(0, dtypes.uint32)}
 
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ class TestDSPcodePatterns(unittest.TestCase):
     pcode = PCODE.get(DSOp.DS_LOAD_2ADDR_B32)
     self.assertIsNotNone(pcode)
     assert pcode is not None
-    lds = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint32, (16384,))
+    lds = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint32, 16384)
     srcs = {
       'ADDR': UOp.const(0, dtypes.uint32),
       'OFFSET0': UOp.const(0, dtypes.uint32),
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ class TestConcatWidthParsing(unittest.TestCase):
       self.assertIs(parsed.simplify(), UOp.const(expected, dtypes.uint32))
 
   def test_permlane64_wave64_pcode_indices(self):
-    vgpr = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (256,))
+    vgpr = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 256)
     srcs = {
       'SRC0': UOp.const(0, dtypes.uint32),
       'VDST': UOp.const(1, dtypes.uint32),
@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ class TestAllPcode(unittest.TestCase):
   def _make_srcs(self):
     """Create dummy source variables for pcode parsing."""
     u32, u64 = lambda v=0: UOp.const(v, dtypes.uint32), lambda v=0: UOp.const(v, dtypes.uint64)
-    lds = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint32, (16384,))
+    lds = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint32, 16384)
     return {'laneId': u32(), 'laneID': u32(), 'S0': u32(), 'S1': u32(), 'S2': u32(), 'S3': u32(), 'SRC0': u32(),
             'D0': u32(), 'D1': u32(), 'DST': u32(), 'VDST': u32(), 'SDST': u32(),
             'VCC': u64(), 'VCCZ': u32(), 'EXEC': u64(), 'EXEC_LO': u32(), 'EXECZ': u32(), 'SCC': u32(),
diff --git a/test/backend/test_isel.py b/test/backend/test_isel.py
index f219195a52..54033ba393 100644
--- a/test/backend/test_isel.py
+++ b/test/backend/test_isel.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ class TestIselX86(unittest.TestCase):
   # complex address is [base + index*scale + displacement]
   def test_complex_address(self):
     a = UOp.variable("a", 0, 0, dtypes.int32)
-    load = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int32, (16,)).index(a + UOp.cconst(1, dtypes.int32)).load()
+    load = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int32, 16).index(a + UOp.cconst(1, dtypes.int32)).load()
     n = self.isel_rewrite(load)
     # displacement is the constant in "a" scaled to the buffer element size, dtype is int8 when the value fits otherwise int32
     self.assertTrue(n.src[2].dtype is dtypes.int8 and n.src[2].src[0].op is Ops.CONST and n.src[2].src[0].val == 4)
diff --git a/test/backend/test_linearizer_dumb.py b/test/backend/test_linearizer_dumb.py
index 317f0abd3b..364bcc2578 100644
--- a/test/backend/test_linearizer_dumb.py
+++ b/test/backend/test_linearizer_dumb.py
@@ -11,16 +11,16 @@ from tinygrad.codegen import to_program
 class TestLinearizerFailure(unittest.TestCase):
   @unittest.skipUnless(Device.DEFAULT == "METAL", "only tested on METAL")
   def test_failure_beam_mnist(self):
-    c0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uchar, (4014080,))
+    c0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uchar, 4014080)
     c1 = UOp.range(UOp.const(512), 0, AxisType.GLOBAL)
     c2 = UOp.range(UOp.const(784), 1, AxisType.GLOBAL)
     c3 = UOp.range(UOp.const(10), 3, AxisType.GLOBAL)
-    c4 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (512,))
+    c4 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 512)
     c5 = c4.index(c1.valid(UOp.const(True)))
     c6 = UOp.range(UOp.const(6000), 1004, AxisType.REDUCE)
     c7 = UOp.range(UOp.const(3750), 2006, AxisType.REDUCE)
     c8 = UOp.range(UOp.const(16), 2007, AxisType.GROUP_REDUCE)
-    c9 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uchar, (47040000,))
+    c9 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uchar, 47040000)
     c10 = c9.index((((c3*UOp.const(4704000))+c2)+(c6*UOp.const(784))).valid(UOp.const(True)))
     c11 = c5.alu(Ops.CMPNE, ((((c3*UOp.const(6000))+c6)+((c7*UOp.const(16))+c8)).alu(Ops.CMPLT, UOp.const(59999)).where(UOp.const(0).cast(dtypes.int), UOp.const(1).cast(dtypes.int)).reduce(c7, c8, arg=Ops.ADD)+UOp.const(-1).cast(dtypes.int))).where(UOp.const(0).cast(dtypes.uchar), c10).reduce(c6, arg=Ops.ADD)
     c12 = c0.index((((c1*UOp.const(7840))+(c2*UOp.const(10)))+c3).valid(UOp.const(True))).store(c11).end(c1, c2, c3)
diff --git a/test/backend/test_renderer_failures.py b/test/backend/test_renderer_failures.py
index 9ec18c1a9b..8f5460d1b9 100644
--- a/test/backend/test_renderer_failures.py
+++ b/test/backend/test_renderer_failures.py
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ def _test_uop_result(inputs:list[Tensor], sink:UOp, local_size=None):
 
 def _setup_and_test_alu(alu_op:Ops, input_val:ConstType, *alu_src_uops:UOp):
   dtype = alu_src_uops[0].dtype
-  a = UOp.param(0, dtype, (1,))
-  b = UOp.param(1, dtype, (1,))
+  a = UOp.param(0, dtype, 1)
+  b = UOp.param(1, dtype, 1)
   idx = UOp.const(0)
   ld = b.index(idx).load()
   alu = ld.alu(alu_op, *alu_src_uops)
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ def _setup_and_test_alu(alu_op:Ops, input_val:ConstType, *alu_src_uops:UOp):
 class TestRendererFailures(unittest.TestCase):
   @unittest.skipIf(not isinstance(Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer, (PTXRenderer, PythonRenderer)), "test is for ptx or python renderer")
   def test_gated_store_with_alu(self):
-    a = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (4,))
+    a = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 4)
     gate_alu = (lidx0:=UOp.special(4, 'lidx0')).ne(0)
     gated_alu_store = UOp(Ops.STORE, src=(a.index(lidx0.valid(gate_alu)), UOp.const(1).cast(dtypes.int)))
     sink = UOp(Ops.SINK, src=(gated_alu_store,), arg=KernelInfo())
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ class TestRendererFailures(unittest.TestCase):
 
   @unittest.skipIf(not isinstance(Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer, (PTXRenderer, PythonRenderer)), "test is for ptx or python renderer")
   def test_gated_store_with_alu_2d(self):
-    a = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (8,))
+    a = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 8)
     gate_alu_0 = (lidx0:=UOp.special(4, 'lidx0')).ne(0)
     gate_alu_1 = (lidx1:=UOp.special(2, 'lidx1')).ne(0)
     gated_alu_store = UOp(Ops.STORE, src=(a.index((lidx0+lidx1*4).valid(gate_alu_0&gate_alu_1)), UOp.const(1).cast(dtypes.int)))
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ class TestCStyleFailures(unittest.TestCase):
 @unittest.skipUnless(isinstance(Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer, WGSLRenderer), "tests for wgsl renderer")
 class TestWGSLFailures(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_folded_packed_store(self):
-    b = UOp.param(0, dtypes.char, (4,))
+    b = UOp.param(0, dtypes.char, 4)
     idx = b.index(UOp.const(0).cast(dtypes.int))
     store = UOp.store(idx, idx.cast(dtypes.uint32).load() & UOp.const(0xffffff00).cast(dtypes.uint32))
     src = Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer.render(UOp.sink(store, arg=KernelInfo()).toposort())
@@ -93,9 +93,9 @@ class TestWGSLFailures(unittest.TestCase):
 
   # WGSL has a specific select(alt, val, gate) ternary operator instead of gate?val:alt
   def test_gated_load(self):
-    a = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (4,))
-    b = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (4,))
-    c = UOp.param(2, dtypes.int, (4,))
+    a = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 4)
+    b = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 4)
+    c = UOp.param(2, dtypes.int, 4)
     lidx0 = UOp.special(4, "lidx0")
     gate = lidx0.ne(0)
     alt = c.index(lidx0).load()
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ class TestWGSLFailures(unittest.TestCase):
 class TestPTXFailures(unittest.TestCase):
   @unittest.skip("INDEX can only have a gate ALU parent, not an IF")
   def test_gated_store_with_if(self):
-    a = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (4,))
+    a = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 4)
     gate_alu = (lidx0:=UOp.special(4, 'lidx0')).ne(0)
     val = UOp.const(1).cast(dtypes.int)
     if_uop = UOp(Ops.IF, src=(gate_alu,))
diff --git a/test/backend/test_uops.py b/test/backend/test_uops.py
index e1c0c32443..d966f8eb47 100644
--- a/test/backend/test_uops.py
+++ b/test/backend/test_uops.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def run_uops(uops_list:list[UOp], bufs:list[Buffer]):
 
 def uop(uops:list[UOp], op:Ops, dtype:Optional[DType], src:tuple[UOp, ...], arg:Any=None) -> UOp:
   if op is Ops.CONST: uops.append(UOp.const(arg).cast(dtype))
-  elif op is Ops.PARAM: uops.append(UOp.param(arg, dtype, shape=(1,)))
+  elif op is Ops.PARAM: uops.append(UOp.param(arg, dtype, 1))
   else: uops.append(UOp(op, dtype, tuple(src), arg))
   return uops[-1]
 
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ def _test_uops_result(output_dtype, uops, res):
 class TestBitcastBufferView(unittest.TestCase):
   @Context(SPEC=2)
   def test_render(self):
-    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (4,))
+    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 4)
     uops = to_uops_list([buf.shrink(((1, 3),)).bitcast(dtypes.uint64).index(0).store(1)], ren=Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer)
     idx = next(u for u in uops if u.op is Ops.INDEX and u.src[0].op is Ops.BITCAST)
     self.assertEqual(idx.src[0].src[0].op, Ops.SHRINK)
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ class TestBitcastBufferView(unittest.TestCase):
   @Context(SPEC=2)
   def test_load(self):
     val = 0x1122334455667788
-    src, out = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (4,)), UOp.param(1, dtypes.uint64, (1,))
+    src, out = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 4), UOp.param(1, dtypes.uint64, 1)
     ibuf = Buffer(Device.DEFAULT, 4, dtypes.uint32, initial_value=np.array([0, 0x55667788, 0x11223344, 0], dtype=np.uint32).tobytes())
     obuf = Buffer(Device.DEFAULT, 1, dtypes.uint64).allocate()
     run_uops([out.index(0).store(src.shrink(((1, 3),)).bitcast(dtypes.uint64).index(0))], [ibuf, obuf])
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class TestBitcastBufferView(unittest.TestCase):
   @Context(SPEC=2)
   def test_store(self):
     val = 0x1122334455667788
-    dst = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (6,))
+    dst = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 6)
     buf = Buffer(Device.DEFAULT, 6, dtypes.uint32, initial_value=bytes(24))
     view = dst.shrink(((1, 5),)).bitcast(dtypes.uint64)  # two stores through one view: it must inline, not get a declared vector-pointer
     run_uops([view.index(0).store(val ^ 0xff), view.index(1).store(val)], [buf])
@@ -249,8 +249,8 @@ class TestLocalAccess(unittest.TestCase):
 @unittest.skipUnless(isinstance(Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer, PTXRenderer), "This only tests assembly backends")
 class TestAssembly(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_bitshift_left(self):
-    g1 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int32, shape=(3,))
-    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int32, shape=(2,))
+    g1 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int32, 3)
+    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int32, 2)
     c1 = UOp.const(2)
     c2 = UOp.const(3)
     l1 = g1.index(c1)
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ class TestAssembly(unittest.TestCase):
     self.assertGreaterEqual(len([x.op for x in uops if x.op is Ops.MULACC]), 4)
 
   def test_mulacc_shl(self):
-    g1 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int32, shape=(2,))
+    g1 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int32, 2)
     c1 = UOp.const(0)
     c2 = UOp.const(1)
     expr = g1.index(c1) * UOp.const(4096) + g1.index(c2)
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ class TestAssembly(unittest.TestCase):
     self.assertIn(Ops.MULACC, [x.op for x in uops])
 
   def test_use_cmpeq(self):
-    g = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, shape=(8,))
+    g = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 8)
     c = UOp.const(7)
     comp = g.index(c).ne(c).ne(True)
     uops = to_uops_list([comp], ren=Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer)
diff --git a/test/backend/test_wait_loop.py b/test/backend/test_wait_loop.py
index 83e0543e61..6073c9422b 100644
--- a/test/backend/test_wait_loop.py
+++ b/test/backend/test_wait_loop.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def nested_loop_kernel(C:UOp) -> UOp:
   return C[0].store(i[0].load()).sink(arg=KernelInfo(name="nested_loop", opts_to_apply=()))
 
 def wait_ext_kernel() -> UOp:
-  sig = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (1,), volatile=True)
+  sig = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 1, volatile=True)
   l = UOp.loop(0)
   v = sig.after(l)[0].load()
   e = v.end(l, v < 1)
diff --git a/test/external/external_benchmark_op_conv.py b/test/external/external_benchmark_op_conv.py
index 4076facd5d..9280ef4a05 100644
--- a/test/external/external_benchmark_op_conv.py
+++ b/test/external/external_benchmark_op_conv.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ def vision_conv_143():
   c48 = (c24&c32).where(c34.index(c45), UOp.const(0.0, dtypes.float))
   c49 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.half, shape=(64, 49, 4))
   c61 = c48*c49.index((c26*4+c5%2+c16*28+c38*196))
-  c63 = UOp.param(3, dtypes.float, (128,))
+  c63 = UOp.param(3, dtypes.float, 128)
   c65 = c61.reduce(c16, c26, arg=Ops.ADD)+c63.index(c5)
   c67 = c0.index((c2*128+c5+c8*4096)).store(c65).end(c8, c2, c5)
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ def vision_conv_153():
   c48 = (c24&c32).where(c34.index(c45), UOp.const(0.0, dtypes.float))
   c49 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.half, shape=(128, 49, 4))
   c61 = c48*c49.index((c26*4+c5%2+c16*28+c38*196))
-  c63 = UOp.param(3, dtypes.float, (256,))
+  c63 = UOp.param(3, dtypes.float, 256)
   c65 = c61.reduce(c16, c26, arg=Ops.ADD)+c63.index(c5)
   c67 = c0.index((c2*256+c5+c8*4096)).store(c65).end(c8, c2, c5)
 
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ def dm_conv_172():
   c18 = UOp.range(8, 2, AxisType.REDUCE)
   c23 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.half, shape=(240, 128, 4))
   c35 = c5.index((c7*4+c10+c13*128+c18*1536))*c23.index((c10*4+c2%4+c7*16+c2//4*512))
-  c37 = UOp.param(3, dtypes.float, (960,))
+  c37 = UOp.param(3, dtypes.float, 960)
   c39 = c35.reduce(c7, c10, arg=Ops.ADD)+c37.index(c2)
   c50 = (1.0+((c39+0.044708251953125*(c39*(c39*c39)))*-2.3021129851685216).exp2()).reciprocal()*c39
   c53 = c50.reduce(c18, c13, arg=Ops.ADD)*0.010416666666666666
diff --git a/test/external/external_test_gpu_crash.py b/test/external/external_test_gpu_crash.py
index ebe0f1eb2d..238cdc8c2e 100644
--- a/test/external/external_test_gpu_crash.py
+++ b/test/external/external_test_gpu_crash.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class TestGPUCrash(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def _run_insts(self, insts: list[Inst]):
     buf = UOp.new_buffer("AMD", 64, dtypes.uint8)
-    sink = UOp.sink(UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint8, (64,), device="AMD"), UOp.special(1, "lidx0"), arg=KernelInfo("test"))
+    sink = UOp.sink(UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint8, 64, device="AMD"), UOp.special(1, "lidx0"), arg=KernelInfo("test"))
     prg = UOp(Ops.PROGRAM, src=(sink, UOp(Ops.LINEAR, src=tuple(UOp(Ops.INS, arg=i) for i in insts))))
     run_linear(UOp(Ops.LINEAR, src=(prg.call(buf),)), wait=True)
 
diff --git a/test/helpers.py b/test/helpers.py
index e6d9916d4e..8bdd7d9bbf 100644
--- a/test/helpers.py
+++ b/test/helpers.py
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ def eval_uop(uop:UOp, inputs:list[tuple[DType, list[Any]]]|None=None, vals:tuple
   for buf_dt, data in inputs or []:
     bufs.append(buf:=allocator.alloc(len(data) * buf_dt.itemsize))
     allocator._copyin(buf, memoryview(struct.pack(str(len(data)) + (buf_dt.fmt or ""), *data)))
-  g = UOp.param(0, uop.dtype, (1,))
+  g = UOp.param(0, uop.dtype, 1)
   prg = to_program(UOp.store(g.index(UOp.const(0)), uop).sink(arg=KernelInfo()), PythonRenderer(Target("PYTHON")))
   prog = dev.runtime(prg.to_elf())
   prog(out_buf:=allocator.alloc(uop.dtype.itemsize), *bufs, vals=vals)
diff --git a/test/mockgpu/amd/emu.py b/test/mockgpu/amd/emu.py
index 6c8b3380f4..9d0ac9ef60 100644
--- a/test/mockgpu/amd/emu.py
+++ b/test/mockgpu/amd/emu.py
@@ -321,10 +321,10 @@ def _int_clamp(op_name: str, srcs: dict) -> UOp | None:
 class _Ctx:
   """Context for instruction compilation - holds buffers and helpers."""
   __slots__ = ('inst_size', 'dyn_fields', '_axis_id', 'wave_size', 'vgpr', 'accvgpr')
-  sgpr = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (SGPR_COUNT,))
-  vmem = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uint32, (1 << 46,))
-  lds = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint32, (16384,))
-  scratch = UOp.param(4, dtypes.uint8, (1 << 30,))
+  sgpr = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, SGPR_COUNT)
+  vmem = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uint32, 1 << 46)
+  lds = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint32, 16384)
+  scratch = UOp.param(4, dtypes.uint8, 1 << 30)
   # Cache PARAM UOps by wave_size so all _Ctx instances with same wave_size share identical UOp references
   _vgpr_cache: dict[int, UOp] = {}
   _accvgpr_cache: dict[int, UOp] = {}
@@ -332,10 +332,10 @@ class _Ctx:
   def __init__(self, inst_size: int, wave_size: int = 32):
     self.inst_size, self._axis_id, self.wave_size = inst_size, 0, wave_size
     self.dyn_fields: list[tuple[int, int]] = []  # (lo, hi) of fields read dynamically
-    if wave_size not in _Ctx._vgpr_cache: _Ctx._vgpr_cache[wave_size] = UOp.param(1, dtypes.uint32, (256 * wave_size,))
+    if wave_size not in _Ctx._vgpr_cache: _Ctx._vgpr_cache[wave_size] = UOp.param(1, dtypes.uint32, 256 * wave_size)
     self.vgpr = _Ctx._vgpr_cache[wave_size]
     if wave_size == 64:
-      if wave_size not in _Ctx._accvgpr_cache: _Ctx._accvgpr_cache[wave_size] = UOp.param(5, dtypes.uint32, (256 * wave_size,))
+      if wave_size not in _Ctx._accvgpr_cache: _Ctx._accvgpr_cache[wave_size] = UOp.param(5, dtypes.uint32, 256 * wave_size)
       self.accvgpr = _Ctx._accvgpr_cache[wave_size]
     else:
       self.accvgpr = self.vgpr
diff --git a/test/null/test_gpudims.py b/test/null/test_gpudims.py
index 8d73d907bc..cde27aadcd 100644
--- a/test/null/test_gpudims.py
+++ b/test/null/test_gpudims.py
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ class TestGroupedDims(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_global_prod_max(self):
     g, l = UOp.range(256, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL), UOp.range(256, 1, AxisType.LOCAL)
-    sink = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (512,)).index(g + l).store(UOp.const(1.0)).end(g, l).sink(arg=KernelInfo())
+    sink = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 512).index(g + l).store(UOp.const(1.0)).end(g, l).sink(arg=KernelInfo())
     class R(Renderer): global_max, local_max, global_prod_max = (256, 256, 256), (128, 128, 128), (128, 128, 128)
     specials = [u for u in add_gpudims(R(Target()), sink).toposort() if u.op is Ops.SPECIAL]
     self.assertGreater(len([s for s in specials if "lidx" in s.arg]), 1)
diff --git a/test/null/test_linearizer_failures.py b/test/null/test_linearizer_failures.py
index 620cd8d0f3..5c89d4c3d8 100644
--- a/test/null/test_linearizer_failures.py
+++ b/test/null/test_linearizer_failures.py
@@ -7,14 +7,14 @@ from tinygrad.codegen import to_program
 
 class TestLinearizerFailures(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_fail_1(self):
-    c0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (64,))
+    c0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 64)
     c1 = UOp.range(UOp.const(2), 1, AxisType.WEAK)
     c2 = UOp.range(UOp.const(32), 2, AxisType.WEAK)
     c3 = ((c1*UOp.const(32))+c2)
-    c4 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, (163840,))
+    c4 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, 163840)
     c5 = UOp.range(UOp.const(2560), 0, AxisType.REDUCE)
     c6 = c4.index(((((((c5//UOp.const(8))%UOp.const(8))*UOp.const(8))+(c5%UOp.const(8)))+(((c2*UOp.const(40))+(c5//UOp.const(64)))*UOp.const(64)))+(c1*UOp.const(81920))))
-    c7 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.float, (64,))
+    c7 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.float, 64)
     c8 = c7.index(c3)
     c9 = ((((c6+(c8*UOp.const(-1.0)))*(c6+(c8*UOp.const(-1.0)))).reduce(c5, arg=Ops.ADD)*UOp.const(0.000390625))+UOp.const(1e-05)).sqrt().reciprocal()
     c10 = c0.index(c3).store(c9).end(c1, c2)
diff --git a/test/null/test_simplify_valid_idx.py b/test/null/test_simplify_valid_idx.py
index 2166e69e8a..05f831fb83 100644
--- a/test/null/test_simplify_valid_idx.py
+++ b/test/null/test_simplify_valid_idx.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ def simplify_valid_idx(sink: UOp) -> UOp: return graph_rewrite(sink, sym+pm_move
 def simplify_image_idx(sink: UOp) -> UOp: return graph_rewrite(sink, sym+pm_move_where_on_load+indexing_simplify, name="simplify_image_idx")
 
 def get_gated_load_uop(valid:UOp, idx:UOp):
-  return UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (1024,)).index(idx.valid(valid)).load()
+  return UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 1024).index(idx.valid(valid)).load()
 
 def get_load_image_uop(image_shape:tuple[int, ...], valid:UOp, idx:tuple[UOp, UOp]):
   return UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, image_shape).index(idx[1].valid(valid), idx[0].valid(valid)).load()
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ class TestDropTrueGate(unittest.TestCase):
     from tinygrad.codegen.late.coalesce import indexing_simplify
     from tinygrad.uop.ops import graph_rewrite
     from tinygrad.uop.symbolic import sym
-    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (1,))
+    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 1)
     idx = UOp.const(0)
     true_gate = UOp.const(True)
     index_with_gate = buf.index(idx.valid(true_gate))
@@ -551,7 +551,7 @@ class TestRangeShrink(unittest.TestCase):
     # one load guards r < 4, but another load uses r without a gate -> no shrink
     r = Range(0, 204)
     load1 = get_gated_load_uop(r < UOp.const(4), r)
-    load2 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, (204,)).index(r).load()
+    load2 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, 204).index(r).load()
     ranges = self.get_ranges(UOp.sink(load1, load2))
     self.assert_range_end(ranges, 204)
 
@@ -575,7 +575,7 @@ class TestRangeShrink(unittest.TestCase):
     from tinygrad.dtype import Invalid
     r = Range(0, 204)
     x = (r < 4).where(UOp.const(1.0), Invalid)
-    ranges = self.get_ranges(UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (204,)).index(r).store((r < 4).where(x, Invalid)).sink())
+    ranges = self.get_ranges(UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 204).index(r).store((r < 4).where(x, Invalid)).sink())
     self.assert_range_end(ranges, 4)
 
   def test_range_shrink_store_where_invalid_flipped(self):
@@ -583,7 +583,7 @@ class TestRangeShrink(unittest.TestCase):
     from tinygrad.dtype import Invalid
     r = Range(0, 204)
     x = (r < 4).where(UOp.const(1.0), Invalid)
-    ranges = self.get_ranges(UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (204,)).index(r).store((r >= 4).where(Invalid, x)).sink())
+    ranges = self.get_ranges(UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 204).index(r).store((r >= 4).where(Invalid, x)).sink())
     self.assert_range_end(ranges, 4)
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
diff --git a/test/null/test_transcendental_helpers.py b/test/null/test_transcendental_helpers.py
index 1653b176c7..7602184241 100644
--- a/test/null/test_transcendental_helpers.py
+++ b/test/null/test_transcendental_helpers.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ class TestTranscendentalFunctions(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_payne_hanek_reduction(self):
     # TODO: Test constant input when constant folding is fixed (or maybe test both variants)
     # Load input value from a buffer to prevent constant folding
-    input_buf = UOp.param(1, dtypes.double, (1,))
+    input_buf = UOp.param(1, dtypes.double, 1)
     loaded_value = input_buf.index(UOp.const(0)).load()
     def eval_payne_hanek_reduction(v:float) -> tuple[float, int]:
       return tuple(eval_uop(u, [(dtypes.float64, [v])]) for u in payne_hanek_reduction(loaded_value))
diff --git a/test/null/test_uop_graph.py b/test/null/test_uop_graph.py
index 9cc3f88688..602144f6e3 100644
--- a/test/null/test_uop_graph.py
+++ b/test/null/test_uop_graph.py
@@ -214,8 +214,8 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
       for i, const in enumerate(consts): self.assertIs(vec.index(i), const)
 
   def test_cast_alu_fold(self):
-    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, (1,))
-    d1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (1,))
+    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, 1)
+    d1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 1)
     idx = UOp.const(0)
     ld = d1.index(idx)
     alu = (ld<1).cast(dtypes.bool)
@@ -224,8 +224,8 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
     self.assertEqual(len([x for x in uops if x.op is Ops.CAST and x.src[0].op is not Ops.CONST]), 0)
 
   def test_double_cast_fold(self):
-    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (1,))
-    d1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (1,))
+    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 1)
+    d1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 1)
     idx = UOp.const(0, dtypes.int)
     ld = d1.index(idx)
     alu = ld.cast(dtypes.float).cast(dtypes.float)
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_bitcast_to_same_dtype_fold(self):
     for dt in dtypes.ints + dtypes.floats + (dtypes.bool,):
-      d0 = UOp.param(0, dt, (1,))
+      d0 = UOp.param(0, dt, 1)
       v = d0.index(UOp.const(0))
       uops = to_uops_list([v.bitcast(dt)])
       self.assertEqual(len([x for x in uops if x.op is Ops.BITCAST and x.dtype is dt]), 0, f"dtype = {dt}")
@@ -255,10 +255,10 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_where_on_gated_load_fold(self):
     ridx0 = UOp.range(100, 0)
-    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.long, (100,))
+    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.long, 100)
     ld = d0.index(ridx0.valid(ridx0<50))
     w = (ridx0<50).where(ld, 5)
-    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.long, (100,))
+    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.long, 100)
     uops = to_uops_list([out.index(ridx0).store(w)])
     expected = full_rewrite(UOp.const(5, dtypes.long).sink()).src[0]
     for u in uops:
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_where_on_gated_load_folds_swapped_branches(self):
     ridx0 = UOp.range(100, 0)
-    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.long, (100,))
+    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.long, 100)
     ld = d0.index(ridx0.valid((ridx0<50).logical_not()))
     w = (ridx0<50).where(5, ld)
     uops = to_uops_list([w])
@@ -278,11 +278,11 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_where_on_gated_load_with_cast(self):
     ridx0 = UOp.range(100, 0)
-    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (100,))
+    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 100)
     gate_idx = ridx0.valid((ridx0<50))
     ld = d0.index(gate_idx).cast(dtypes.float)
     w = (ridx0<50).where(ld, 5.0)
-    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, (100,))
+    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, 100)
     uops = to_uops_list([out.index(ridx0).store(w)])
     expected = full_rewrite(UOp.const(5, dtypes.int).sink()).src[0]
     for u in uops:
@@ -291,27 +291,27 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_where_on_casted_gated_load_extra_cond(self):
     ridx0 = UOp.range(100, 0)
-    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (100,))
+    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 100)
     ld = d0.index(ridx0.valid(ridx0<50))
     w = ((ridx0<50) & (ridx0>30)).where(ld, UOp.const(0.0)).cast(dtypes.half)
-    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.half, (100,))
+    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.half, 100)
     uops = to_uops_list([out.index(ridx0).store(w)])
     for u in uops:
       assert u.op is not Ops.WHERE
 
   def test_where_on_casted_gated_load_extra_cond_swapped(self):
     ridx0 = UOp.range(100, 0)
-    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (100,))
+    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 100)
     ld = d0.index(ridx0.valid(ridx0<50))
     w = ((ridx0<50) & (ridx0>30)).where(UOp.const(0.0), ld).cast(dtypes.half)
-    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.half, (100,))
+    out = UOp.param(1, dtypes.half, 100)
     uops = to_uops_list([out.index(ridx0).store(w)])
     for u in uops:
       assert u.op is not Ops.WHERE
 
   def test_where_in_store_becomes_gate(self):
     ridx0 = UOp.range(100, 0)
-    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.long, (100,))
+    d0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.long, 100)
     idx = d0.index(ridx0)
     ld = idx.load()
     val = (ridx0<50).where(5, ld)
@@ -325,14 +325,14 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_load_idx_becomes_int(self):
     # mnist indexing with split reduceop
     # Make sure we are not doign math on the loaded index, which would promote it to long
-    c0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uchar, (128000,))
+    c0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uchar, 128000)
     c1 = UOp.range(UOp.const(512), 1, AxisType.WEAK)
     c2 = UOp.range(UOp.const(250), 2, AxisType.WEAK)
-    c3 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (512,))
+    c3 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 512)
     c4 = c3.index(c1)
     c5 = UOp.range(UOp.const(240), 0, AxisType.REDUCE)
     c6 = ((c2*UOp.const(240))+c5)
-    c7 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uchar, (60000,))
+    c7 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uchar, 60000)
     c8 = c7.index(c6)
     c9 = ((c4<0).where((c4+60000), c4)!=c6.cast(dtypes.int)).where(0, c8.cast(dtypes.uint).cast(dtypes.uchar)).reduce(c5, arg=Ops.ADD)
     c10 = c0.index(((c1*UOp.const(250))+c2)).store(c9).end(c1, c2)
@@ -342,14 +342,14 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_load_idx_no_math_on_loaded(self):
     # test the (x+y)<c pattern where x has loads - we shouldn't do math on loaded indices
-    c0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uchar, (128000,))
+    c0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uchar, 128000)
     c1 = UOp.range(UOp.const(512), 1, AxisType.WEAK)
     c2 = UOp.range(UOp.const(250), 2, AxisType.WEAK)
-    c3 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (512,))
+    c3 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 512)
     c4 = c3.index(c1)  # c4 is a load
     c5 = UOp.range(UOp.const(240), 0, AxisType.REDUCE)
     c6 = ((c2*UOp.const(240))+c5)
-    c7 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uchar, (60000,))
+    c7 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.uchar, 60000)
     c8 = c7.index(c6)
     # (loaded + range) < const pattern - loaded value shouldn't be promoted to long
     loaded_idx = c4.cast(dtypes.weakint)
@@ -361,9 +361,9 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
       self.assertNotEqual(u.dtype, dtypes.long)
 
   def test_fold_gated_load(self):
-    glbl0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (1,))
-    glbl1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (1,))
-    glbl2 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.int, (1,))
+    glbl0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 1)
+    glbl1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 1)
+    glbl2 = UOp.param(2, dtypes.int, 1)
     idx = UOp.const(0)
     ld0 = glbl1.index(UOp.invalid())
     ld1 = glbl2.index(idx.valid(UOp.const(True)))
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
     self.assertEqual(len([u for u in uops if u.op is Ops.LOAD]), 1)
 
   def test_fold_gated_load_local(self):
-    glbl0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+    glbl0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
     smem = UOp.placeholder((18,), dtypes.int, slot=0, addrspace=AddrSpace.LOCAL)
     lidx = UOp.special(16, "lidx0")
     st = smem.index(lidx).store(glbl0.index(lidx).load())
@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@ class TestUOpGraph(unittest.TestCase):
     self.assertEqual(len([u for u in uops if u.op is Ops.LOAD]), 2)
 
   def test_fold_gated_store(self):
-    glbl = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (1,))
+    glbl = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 1)
     idx0 = UOp.const(0)
     val = UOp.const(42)
     st0 = glbl.index(UOp.invalid()).store(val)
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ class TestReduceCollapse(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_reduce_shapeless_const_unroll(self):
     """a REDUCE over a shapeless CONST (e.g. x*0 folded late in codegen) must collapse before the expander"""
-    out = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (1,))
+    out = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 1)
     red = UOp.const(3.0).cast(dtypes.float).reduce(UOp.range(4, 0, AxisType.UNROLL), arg=(Ops.ADD, 0))
     ast = UOp.sink(out.index(UOp.const(0)).store(red)).replace(arg=KernelInfo())
     uops = full_rewrite_to_sink(ast, Device["CPU"].renderer, optimize=False).toposort()
diff --git a/test/null/test_uop_symbolic.py b/test/null/test_uop_symbolic.py
index cc5fe2d601..790d1ec92a 100644
--- a/test/null/test_uop_symbolic.py
+++ b/test/null/test_uop_symbolic.py
@@ -1392,7 +1392,7 @@ class TestInvalidIndex(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_gated_load_keeps_index_valid(self):
     # the load executes even on gated-off iterations: gated_given_valid must not erase its mask (PADTO OOB shape)
-    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, (17,))
+    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, 17)
     ridx = Variable("ridx", 0, 31)
     cond = ridx < 17
     load = buf.index(ridx.valid(cond))
@@ -1404,7 +1404,7 @@ class TestStoreLoadFolding(unittest.TestCase):
   """Tests for store(index, load(index)) -> NOOP rule. This rule matches patterns that EMERGE during simplification."""
   def test_store_load_folding(self):
     # store(idx, load(idx)) -> NOOP, including emergent patterns like store(idx, load(idx) + 0)
-    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (1,))
+    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 1)
     index = buf.index(UOp.const(0))
     # Direct: store(idx, load(idx)) -> NOOP
     self.assertEqual(graph_rewrite(index.store(index.load()), sym).op, Ops.NOOP)
@@ -1417,7 +1417,7 @@ class TestStoreLoadFolding(unittest.TestCase):
 
 class TestMoveWhereOnLoad(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_bool_index_preserves_dtype(self):
-    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, (8,))
+    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, 8)
     a = Variable("a", 0, 7)
     r = UOp.range(8, 0)
     # cond has a range that the rewrite can move into the valid: gate (a<4) goes into load valid
@@ -1475,7 +1475,7 @@ class TestRangeSplitting(unittest.TestCase):
     from tinygrad.codegen.simplify import pm_split_ranges, pm_flatten_range
     r0 = UOp.range(uconst(8), 0)
     # create a simple expression using the range with mod: store range%2 to a buffer
-    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (1,))
+    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 1)
     val = (r0 % uconst(2)).cast(dtypes.int)
     store = UOp(Ops.STORE, src=(buf.index(uconst(0)), val))
     sink = UOp(Ops.SINK, src=(UOp(Ops.END, src=(store, r0)),))
diff --git a/test/null/test_uop_vmin_vmax.py b/test/null/test_uop_vmin_vmax.py
index 6398c28bb2..fcc7834089 100644
--- a/test/null/test_uop_vmin_vmax.py
+++ b/test/null/test_uop_vmin_vmax.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class TestVminVmaxProperties(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_vmin_vmax_multiplication_0_inf(self):
     # vmin and vmax for multiplication with a variable
     x = UOp.const(0.0)
-    y = UOp.load(UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (1,)), UOp.const(0))
+    y = UOp.load(UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 1), UOp.const(0))
     uop = x * y
     # TODO: these should be 0, but definitely should not be nan
     self.assertEqual(uop.vmin, -math.inf)
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ class TestVminVmaxVConst(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_vmin_vmax_vector_with_gep(self):
     # vmin and vmax for a vector constant of bool values
-    d1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (1,))
+    d1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 1)
     idx = UOp.const(0)
     val = UOp(Ops.LOAD, src=(d1.index(idx),))
     uop = (val // 32)
diff --git a/test/null/test_uops.py b/test/null/test_uops.py
index f4230bf9e8..636dfb0957 100644
--- a/test/null/test_uops.py
+++ b/test/null/test_uops.py
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ class TestDTypeFromUOp(unittest.TestCase):
     for u in (UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, ()).where(value, invalid), value+invalid, UOp.stack(value, invalid)): self.assertIs(u.src[-1], invalid)
     for u in (UOp(Ops.STACK, src=(value, invalid)), UOp(Ops.ADD, src=(value, invalid)),
               UOp.const(True).where(value, invalid), UOp(Ops.CMPLT, src=(invalid, value)), UOp(Ops.CMPLT, src=(value, invalid)),
-              UOp.param(0, dtypes.float32, (4,)).index(invalid)): type_verify(u, spec_shared)
+              UOp.param(0, dtypes.float32, 4).index(invalid)): type_verify(u, spec_shared)
     gate, value = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, ()), UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, ())
     self.assertIs((out:=graph_rewrite(gate.where(value, UOp.invalid()), pm_remove_invalid)).src[2], UOp.const(0, dtypes.float))
     type_verify(out.sink(), spec_program)
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ class TestLowerIndexDtype(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_gated_shrink_lowers_to_selected_width(self):
     # coalesce builds gated SHRINKs for masked vectorized loads; lowering must resolve them at the
     # width the offset bounds select (this one needs long)
-    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (2**31+64,))
+    buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 2**31+64)
     i = UOp.variable("i", 0, 2**28)
     shrink = UOp(Ops.SHRINK, src=(buf, (i*24).valid(i < 2**28), UOp.const(4)))
     lowered = graph_rewrite(shrink.sink(), pm_lower_weak)
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ class TestExecALU(unittest.TestCase):
 
 class TestGatedStoreRewrite(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_tiny_gate_store(self):
-    gmem = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (8,))
+    gmem = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 8)
     gidx0 = UOp.special(4, 'gidx0')
     gate = gidx0<UOp.const(1)
     idx = UOp(Ops.INDEX, src=(gmem, (gidx0 * UOp.const(2)).valid(gate)))
@@ -237,8 +237,8 @@ class TestGatedStoreRewrite(unittest.TestCase):
     self.assertEqual(len(gated_uops[-1].src), 2)
 
   def test_gate_some_stores(self):
-    gmem0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (8,))
-    gmem1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, (8,))
+    gmem0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 8)
+    gmem1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, 8)
     gidx0 = UOp.special(4, 'gidx0')
     idx = gidx0 * UOp.const(2)
     idx0 = UOp(Ops.INDEX, src=(gmem0, idx.valid(gidx0<UOp.const(1))))
@@ -257,8 +257,8 @@ class TestGatedStoreRewrite(unittest.TestCase):
   # scaled down version of TestLinearizerDumb.test_unmerged_ifs
   @unittest.skip("we don't merge ifs anymore")
   def test_merge_ifs_alt(self):
-    gmem0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, (8,))
-    gmem1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, (8,))
+    gmem0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float, 8)
+    gmem1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.float, 8)
     gidx0 = UOp.special(4, 'gidx0')
     idx = gidx0*UOp.const(2)
     gate = gidx0<UOp.const(1)
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ class TestGatedStoreRewrite(unittest.TestCase):
 class TestFastIdiv(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_division_power_of_two(self):
     for dt in (dtypes.int32, dtypes.uint32):
-      g = UOp.param(0, dt, (3,))
+      g = UOp.param(0, dt, 3)
       c = UOp.const(2)
       l = g.index(c)
       a = UOp(Ops.CDIV, src=(l, c))
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ class TestFastIdiv(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_floormod_power_of_two(self):
     # FLOORMOD by a power of two lowers to AND (correct floor mod for any sign in two's complement)
     for dt in (dtypes.int32, dtypes.uint32):
-      g = UOp.param(0, dt, (9,))
+      g = UOp.param(0, dt, 9)
       c = UOp.const(8)
       a = UOp(Ops.FLOORMOD, src=(g.index(c), c))
       uops = to_uops_list([a], ren=Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer)
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ class TestFastIdiv(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_floordiv_power_of_two(self):
     # FLOORDIV by a power of two lowers to a shift, with no round toward zero correction (a shift is exactly floor division)
     for dt in (dtypes.int32, dtypes.uint32, dtypes.int64, dtypes.uint64):
-      g = UOp.param(0, dt, (3,))
+      g = UOp.param(0, dt, 3)
       c = UOp.const(2)
       a = UOp(Ops.FLOORDIV, src=(g.index(c), c))
       uops = to_uops_list([a], ren=Device[Device.DEFAULT].renderer)
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ class TestFastIdiv(unittest.TestCase):
   @Context(DISABLE_FAST_IDIV=0)
   @unittest.skipIf(Device.DEFAULT == "WEBGPU", "WEBGPU doesn't support long")
   def test_fast_idiv_and_mod(self):
-    g = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (4,))
+    g = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 4)
     c = UOp.const(3)
     l = g.index(c)
     a = UOp(Ops.CDIV, src=(l, c))
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ class TestFastIdiv(unittest.TestCase):
   @unittest.expectedFailure
   def test_fast_idiv_overflow(self):
     # This will be possible with a slightly different method for fast_idiv
-    g = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (8,))
+    g = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 8)
     c = UOp.const(7).cast(dtypes.uint)
     l = UOp(Ops.LOAD, src=(g.index(c),))
     a = UOp(Ops.CDIV, src=(l, c))
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ class TestFastIdiv(unittest.TestCase):
     self.assertNotIn(Ops.CDIV, ops)
 
   def test_disable_fast_idiv(self):
-    g = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (4,))
+    g = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 4)
     c = UOp.const(3)
     l = g.index(c)
     a = UOp(Ops.CDIV, src=(l, c))
@@ -407,8 +407,8 @@ class TestUOpMethod(unittest.TestCase):
       self.assertIs((x != x).simplify(), x.const_like(False, dtypes.bool))
 
   def test_replace(self):
-    x = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (1,))
-    self.assertEqual(x.replace(arg=UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (1,)).arg).arg.slot, 1)
+    x = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 1)
+    self.assertEqual(x.replace(arg=UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 1).arg).arg.slot, 1)
     with self.assertRaises(AssertionError): x.replace(field="a")
 
   def test_const_zero_neg_zero_different(self):
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ class TestUOpRender(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_render_ssimplified_marg_outside_toposort(self):
     r = UOp.range(UOp.const(16, dtypes.int), 2, AxisType.WEAK, dtype=dtypes.int)
     offset = (r * 2) + (r * 2)
-    shrink = UOp(Ops.SHRINK, src=(UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint, (32,)), offset, UOp.const(2, dtypes.int)))
+    shrink = UOp(Ops.SHRINK, src=(UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint, 32), offset, UOp.const(2, dtypes.int)))
     self.assertIsNot(shrink.src[1], shrink.marg[0][0])
     self.assertEqual(shrink.render(simplify=False), "p0.shrink((((r2*4), 2),))")
     self.assertEqual(UOp.range(1, 0, src=(shrink,), dtype=dtypes.int).render(simplify=False), "r0")
diff --git a/test/null/test_uops_stats.py b/test/null/test_uops_stats.py
index edab948072..94dd2d0957 100644
--- a/test/null/test_uops_stats.py
+++ b/test/null/test_uops_stats.py
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ class TestUOpsStats(unittest.TestCase):
 
   #MULACC should have the same stats as MUL + ADD
   def test_mulacc(self):
-    globl = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (3,))
+    globl = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 3)
     o1 = UOp.const(1, dtypes.int)
     o2 = UOp.const(2, dtypes.int)
     u1 = globl.index(o1)
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ class TestUOpsStats(unittest.TestCase):
     u5 = UOp(Ops.ADD, src=(u4,u3))
     uops = tuple(u5.toposort())
 
-    globl = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (3,))
+    globl = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 3)
     o1 = UOp.const(1, dtypes.int)
     o2 = UOp.const(2, dtypes.int)
     u1 = globl.index(o1)
diff --git a/test/null/test_validate_oob.py b/test/null/test_validate_oob.py
index 5a256f8db6..00295880a6 100644
--- a/test/null/test_validate_oob.py
+++ b/test/null/test_validate_oob.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
   # basic index patterns
   def test_const_index(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(UOp.const(0)).load()])  # valid
       to_uops_list([buf.index(UOp.const(15)).load()])  # valid (last element)
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_variable_index(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(Variable("i", 0, 15)).load()])  # valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
         to_uops_list([buf.index(Variable("i", 0, 20)).load()])  # oob
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_range_with_mask(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       r = UOp.range(42, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(r.valid(r < 16)).load()])  # valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_variable_with_mask(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       v = Variable("v", -5, 80)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(v.valid((v >= 0) & (v < 16))).load()])  # valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_gated_store(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       v = Variable("v", 0, 20)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(v.valid(v < 16)).store(0)])  # valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -57,14 +57,14 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
   # ALU ops in index
   def test_floordiv(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(UOp.range(32, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL) // 2).load()])  # 0..15 valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
         to_uops_list([buf.index(UOp.range(34, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL) // 2).load()])  # 0..16 oob
 
   def test_mod(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       r = UOp.range(100, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(r % 16).load()])  # 0..15 valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -72,14 +72,14 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_shr(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(UOp.range(64, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL) >> 2).load()])  # 0..15 valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
         to_uops_list([buf.index(UOp.range(128, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL) >> 2).load()])  # 0..31 oob
 
   def test_shl(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (64,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 64)
       r = UOp.range(8, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(r << 2).load()])  # 0..28 valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_and(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       r = UOp.range(100, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(r & 15).load()])  # 0..15 valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -102,14 +102,14 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_max(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(Variable("v", -10, 15).maximum(0)).load()])  # 0..15 valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
         to_uops_list([buf.index(Variable("v2", -10, 20).maximum(0)).load()])  # 0..20 oob
 
   def test_xor_in_mask(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       r = UOp.range(32, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(r.valid((r < 8) ^ ((r >= 8) & (r < 16)))).load()])  # 0..15 valid
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -118,22 +118,22 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
   # cast patterns
   def test_float_cast_in_index(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
       r = UOp.range(20, 0)
       i = (r.cast(dtypes.float) * 0.68).trunc().cast(dtypes.int)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(i.valid((i >= 0) & (i < 16))).load()])
 
   def test_bool_cast_in_mask(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (1,))
+      buf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 1)
       r = UOp.range(20, 0)
       to_uops_list([buf.index(r.valid(r.cast(dtypes.bool).logical_not())).load()])  # only r=0 valid
 
   # load result as index/mask
   def test_load_as_index(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
-      buf1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (64,))
+      buf0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
+      buf1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 64)
       r = UOp.range(42, 0, AxisType.GLOBAL)
       ld0 = buf0.index(r.valid(r < 8)).load().cast(dtypes.weakint)
       to_uops_list([buf1.index((ld0 * 2).valid((ld0 >= 0) & (ld0 < 32))).load()])  # valid
@@ -142,16 +142,16 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_load_from_shrink_as_index(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
-      buf1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (64,))
+      buf0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
+      buf1 = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 64)
       shrink = UOp(Ops.SHRINK, src=(buf0, UOp.const(0, dtypes.int), UOp.const(4)))
       ld0 = shrink.load().index(0)
       to_uops_list([buf1.index(ld0.valid((ld0 >= 0) & (ld0 < 64))).load()])
 
   def test_load_bool_as_mask(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1, SPEC=2):
-      buf_bool = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, (16,))
-      buf_int = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (8,))
+      buf_bool = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, 16)
+      buf_int = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, 8)
       gidx = UOp(Ops.SPECIAL, src=(UOp.const(16),), arg="gidx0")
       ld_bool = buf_bool.index(gidx).load()
       with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError):
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
   def test_in_bounds_access_gated_local(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1):
       # Define buffers
-      gbuf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint, (400,))
+      gbuf = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint, 400)
       sbuf = UOp.placeholder((8,), dtypes.uint, slot=0, addrspace=AddrSpace.LOCAL)
 
       # Define indices, valids and barrier
@@ -186,8 +186,8 @@ class TestValidateOOB(unittest.TestCase):
   @unittest.skip("Bool load is not supported yet")
   def test_load_mask(self):
     with Context(CHECK_OOB=1):
-      glbl0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, (16,))
-      mask = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, (16,))
+      glbl0 = UOp.param(0, dtypes.int, 16)
+      mask = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bool, 16)
       ridx = UOp.range(20, 0)
       ld0 = UOp(Ops.LOAD, src=(glbl0.index(UOp.const(ridx<16&mask, ridx))))
       to_uops_list([ld0])
diff --git a/test/unit/test_dtype_weak.py b/test/unit/test_dtype_weak.py
index 5ed5f379c4..88025ef476 100644
--- a/test/unit/test_dtype_weak.py
+++ b/test/unit/test_dtype_weak.py
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ class TestWeakPromotion(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_store_weak_value_uses_destination_dtype(self):
     with Context(DEFAULT_FLOAT=dtypes.float16):
-      dst = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bfloat16, (1,)).index(UOp.const(0).cast(dtypes.int32))
+      dst = UOp.param(0, dtypes.bfloat16, 1).index(UOp.const(0).cast(dtypes.int32))
       gate = UOp.const(True)
       out = graph_rewrite(dst.store(UOp.const(5.0), gate), pm_commit_weak)
     # a bare weak CONST commits directly: the pass runs without symbolic, so a CAST here would survive it
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ class TestWeakPromotion(unittest.TestCase):
 
   def test_derivable_const_rounds_at_the_derived_width(self):
     # re-rounds a derivable const in place (still bare) so value-keyed folds (x*1 -> x, x*-1 -> NEG) still fire
-    x = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float32, (1,)).index(UOp.const(0).cast(dtypes.int32)).load()
+    x = UOp.param(0, dtypes.float32, 1).index(UOp.const(0).cast(dtypes.int32)).load()
     mul = graph_rewrite(x * UOp.const(-0.9999999893980771), symbolic_simple+pm_commit_weak)
     self.assertIs(mul.src[1], UOp.const(-1.0))
     self.assertIs(graph_rewrite(x * UOp.const(1.0000000106), symbolic_simple+pm_commit_weak), x)
diff --git a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_cpu.py b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_cpu.py
index 1ce6b428ea..012781ca7b 100644
--- a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_cpu.py
+++ b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_cpu.py
@@ -26,24 +26,24 @@ MAX_ARGS, CMD_SIZE, RING_SLOTS, FUNCS = 63, 64, (16 << 10), (() if WIN else ('cl
 
 def signal_prog():
   val = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (), vmin_vmax=(0, dtypes.int.max), name="value", addrspace=AddrSpace.ALU)
-  return UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (1,))[0].store(val.cast(dtypes.uint32))
+  return UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 1)[0].store(val.cast(dtypes.uint32))
 
 def wait_prog():
   val = UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, (), vmin_vmax=(0, dtypes.int.max), name="value", addrspace=AddrSpace.ALU)
-  return (v:=UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, (1,), volatile=True).after(l:=UOp.loop(0))[0].load()).end(l, v < val.cast(dtypes.uint32))
+  return (v:=UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint32, 1, volatile=True).after(l:=UOp.loop(0))[0].load()).end(l, v < val.cast(dtypes.uint32))
 
 def timestamp_prog():
   if WIN: val = UOp.const(0, dtypes.uint64)
   else:
-    fn, ts = UOp.param(1, dtypes.uint64, (1,)), UOp.placeholder((2,), dtypes.uint64, slot=0, addrspace=AddrSpace.REG)
+    fn, ts = UOp.param(1, dtypes.uint64, 1), UOp.placeholder((2,), dtypes.uint64, slot=0, addrspace=AddrSpace.REG)
     call = fn[0].load().call(UOp.const(6 if OSX else 1, dtypes.int), ts[0], ret_dtype=dtypes.void) # clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts)
     val = ts.after(call)[0].load() * 1_000_000_000 + ts.after(call)[1].load()
-  return UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint64, (1,))[0].store(val)
+  return UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint64, 1)[0].store(val)
 
 def worker_prog():
-  ring = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint64, (RING_SLOTS * CMD_SIZE,), volatile=True)
-  wait, done = UOp.param(1, dtypes.uint64, (1,), volatile=True), UOp.param(2, dtypes.uint64, (1,), volatile=True)
-  sem, cur = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint64, (1,)), UOp.range(2**64-1, 0, dtype=dtypes.uint64) # sem is unused on windows, it has to come last
+  ring = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint64, RING_SLOTS * CMD_SIZE, volatile=True)
+  wait, done = UOp.param(1, dtypes.uint64, 1, volatile=True), UOp.param(2, dtypes.uint64, 1, volatile=True)
+  sem, cur = UOp.param(3, dtypes.uint64, 1), UOp.range(2**64-1, 0, dtype=dtypes.uint64) # sem is unused on windows, it has to come last
 
   # spin on windows, sem_wait to sleep on posix
   if WIN: ready = (v:=wait.after(lw:=UOp.loop(1), cur)[0].load()).end(lw, v <= cur)
diff --git a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_qcom.py b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_qcom.py
index 7b12d8cc82..63fc9badef 100644
--- a/tinygrad/runtime/ops_qcom.py
+++ b/tinygrad/runtime/ops_qcom.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ BUFTYPE_BUF, BUFTYPE_TEX, BUFTYPE_IBO = 0, 1, 2
 def dcache_flush():
   from tinygrad.uop.ops import UOp, Ops, KernelInfo
   from tinygrad.codegen import to_program
-  buf, n = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint8, shape=(1,)), UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, shape=(), name="n", addrspace=AddrSpace.ALU)
+  buf, n = UOp.param(0, dtypes.uint8, 1), UOp.param(1, dtypes.int, shape=(), name="n", addrspace=AddrSpace.ALU)
   i = UOp.range(n, 0, dtype=dtypes.int)
   flush = UOp(Ops.CUSTOM, src=(buf.index(i * 64),), arg=('__asm__ volatile("dc cvac, %0" :: "r"({0}) : "memory");', dtypes.void))
   sink = UOp.sink(flush.end(i), UOp(Ops.CUSTOM, arg=('__asm__ volatile("dsb sy" ::: "memory");', dtypes.void)),
diff --git a/tinygrad/runtime/support/hcq2.py b/tinygrad/runtime/support/hcq2.py
index 88c914bf66..3bc3806b29 100644
--- a/tinygrad/runtime/support/hcq2.py
+++ b/tinygrad/runtime/support/hcq2.py
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ def _get_enqueue_devs(call:UOp) -> Any|None:
 
 def copy_with_kernel(call:UOp, dst:UOp, src:UOp) -> UOp|None:
   if (devs:=_get_enqueue_devs(call)) is None or Device[(dev:=to_tuple(devs)[0])].has_copy_queue: return None
-  d, s = (UOp.param(i, dst.dtype, (n:=dst.max_numel(),), device=devs) for i in range(2))
+  d, s = (UOp.param(i, dst.dtype, n:=dst.max_numel(), device=devs) for i in range(2))
   ast = d.index(r:=UOp.range(n, 0)).store(s.index(r).load()).end(r).sink(arg=KernelInfo(name="copy"), tag=1)
   return call.replace(src=(to_program(ast, Device[dev].renderer), dst, src))
 
diff --git a/tinygrad/uop/ops.py b/tinygrad/uop/ops.py
index 28b7662de5..aafd8147c7 100644
--- a/tinygrad/uop/ops.py
+++ b/tinygrad/uop/ops.py
@@ -1166,9 +1166,10 @@ class UOp(RandMixin, metaclass=UOpMetaClass):
 
   # TODO: this should replace placeholder
   @staticmethod
-  def param(slot:int, dtype:DType, shape:tuple[sint, ...]|None=None, device=None, vmin_vmax:tuple[PyConst, PyConst]|None=None,
+  def param(slot:int, dtype:DType, shape:tuple[sint, ...]|sint|None=None, device=None, vmin_vmax:tuple[PyConst, PyConst]|None=None,
             multiple_of:int|None=None, name=None, addrspace=AddrSpace.GLOBAL, axis:int|None=None, volatile:bool=False):
     if dtype in dtypes.weaks: raise RuntimeError(f"cannot create param for weak dtype {dtype}")
+    if isinstance(shape, (int, UOp)): shape = (shape,)
     if shape is not None and axis is not None and isinstance(device, tuple):
       shape = tuple(s*len(device) if i == axis else s for i,s in enumerate(shape))
     src: tuple[UOp, ...] = (UOp(Ops.NOOP) if shape is None else shape_to_shape_arg(shape),)