Deep Network Designer

Design and visualize deep learning networks

Description

The Deep Network Designer app lets you import, build, visualize, and edit deep learning networks. Using this app, you can:

• Build, edit, and combine networks.

• Load pretrained networks and edit them for transfer learning.

• Import networks from PyTorch^® and TensorFlow™.

• Analyze networks to ensure that the architecture is defined correctly.

• Analyze networks for memory reduction using compression techniques.

• Export networks to Simulink^®.

• Generate MATLAB^® code for building networks.

Open the Deep Network Designer App

• MATLAB Toolstrip: On the Apps tab, under Machine Learning and Deep Learning, click the app icon.

• MATLAB command prompt: Enter deepNetworkDesigner.

Examples

Build Deep Neural Network

Create a classification network for numeric feature data.

Open Deep Network Designer.

deepNetworkDesigner

To create a blank network, pause on Blank Network and click New. The app opens a blank canvas where you can drag and drop layers.

From the Layer Library, drag a featureInputLayer onto the canvas. You can use the Layer Library filter to help you find layers. Select the layer. In the Properties pane, set Normalization to "zscore" and InputSize to the number of features in your data. Next, drag a fullyConnectedLayer onto the canvas. To connect the layers, pause on the featureInputLayer and click the out port. Drag the arrow to the in port of the fullyConnectedLayer.

Add a layerNormalizationLayer followed by a reluLayer to the canvas and connect them sequentially.

Finally, add a fullyConnectedLayer followed by a softmaxLayer and connect them. For the last fullyConnectedLayer, select the layer and set the OutputSize to the number of classes in your data.

To automatically align the layers, click Auto Arrange.

To check that the network is ready for training, select Analyze. The Deep Learning Network Analyzer shows that the network has zero warnings or errors.

To export the network to the workspace, click Export. To generate code to recreate the network, click Export > Generate Network Code Without Parameters.

Prepare Pretrained Network for Transfer Learning

Prepare a network for transfer learning by editing it in Deep Network Designer.

Transfer learning is the process of taking a pretrained deep learning network and fine-tuning it to learn a new task. You can quickly transfer learned features to a new task using a smaller number of training images. Transfer learning is therefore often faster and easier than training a network from scratch. To use a pretrained network for transfer learning, you must change the number of classes to match your new data set.

Deep Network Designer provides a selection of pretrained image and audio networks. To explore the pretrained networks, open Deep Network Designer.

deepNetworkDesigner

For this example, pause on SqueezeNet and click Open.

To prepare the network for transfer learning:

• Set the Number of classes to the new number of classes. This sets the NumFilters property in the last learnable layer. The NumFilters property defines the number of classes for classification problems.

• Increase the Learning rate in the last learnable layer so that learning is faster in the last learnable layer than in the transferred layers. This sets the WeightLearnRateFactor and BiasLearnRateFactor properties of the last learnable layer.

• Click Import.

Before R2025b: To adapt the network to the new data, you must click the last learnable layer in Designer pane, click Unlock Layer, set its NumFilters property to the number of classes in the new data, and increase its WeightLearnRateFactor and BiasLearnRateFactor properties.

Check your network by clicking Analyze. The network is ready for training if Deep Learning Network Analyzer reports zero errors. To export the prepared network to the workspace, click Export. To generate MATLAB code to create the network, click Generate Network Code.

For an example showing how to train a network to classify new images, see Prepare Network for Transfer Learning Using Deep Network Designer.

Import Network from External Platform

Import a neural network from PyTorch® or TensorFlow™.

For this example, import the MNASNet (Copyright© Soumith Chintala 2016) PyTorch model. Download the mnasnet1_0 file, which is approximately 17 MB in size, from the MathWorks website.

modelfile = matlab.internal.examples.downloadSupportFile("nnet", ...
    "data/PyTorchModels/mnasnet1_0.pt");

To import a network from an external platform, use Deep Network Designer.

deepNetworkDesigner

You can import models from PyTorch® or TensorFlow™.

For PyTorch® models, click the From PyTorch icon. In the Import PyTorch Model dialog box, copy the location of the model file and then click Import.

When importing PyTorch networks using Deep Network Designer, you have the option to specify the input sizes of the network. This option is only available when specifying the input sizes might make the import more successful, for example, by reducing the number of custom layers.

The app imports the network and generates an Import Report. The Import Report displays any issues with the network that require attention before you use the network for training or inference. For example, the report shows a warning if the app is unable to infer the input sizes or if you need to complete any placeholder layers.

For an example that shows how to import a PyTorch® network into Deep Network Designer and fix any issues, see Import PyTorch Model Using Deep Network Designer.

Export Network to Simulink

Export a trained network from Deep Network Designer to Simulink®.

Open Deep Network Designer.

deepNetworkDesigner

The app has two types of Simulink export:

• Export to a single network block, for example, a Predict block

• Export to multiple layer blocks

For small networks with all layers supported as layer blocks, exporting to layer blocks is recommended. For large networks or networks with layers not supported as layer blocks, exporting to a single network block is recommended. If your network has layers that are not supported as layer blocks, then you will see a warning.

Export as Layer Blocks

For this example, pause on LSTM and click Open. To export the network to Simulink, select Export > Export to Simulink. In the Export to Simulink dialog, select Export as to be Multiple Layer Blocks. Select a location to save the Simulink file with the network parameters and then click Export. During export, if the network is not initialized, then the app attempts to initialize it.

The app creates a Simulink model.

Click inside my_model_1 to see the individual layer blocks.

For a list of layers supported as layer blocks, see List of Deep Learning Layer Blocks and Subsystems.

Export as Network Block

You can also export your model as a single network block. In Deep Network Designer, select Export as to be Single Network Block. In this example, the app exports the network as a Stateful Predict block.

For stateful neural networks, the exported model uses a discrete solver with a fixed time step. Ensure that the step time that you specify in the Stateful Predict block or local solver matches the times used to train the model.

Generate MATLAB Code for Network Architecture

The Deep Network Designer app enables you to generate MATLAB® code that recreates the network architecture.

• To recreate the layers in your network, including any initial parameters, select Export > Generate Network Code. The app creates a live script and a MAT file containing the initial parameters (weights and biases) from your network. Run the script to recreate the network layers, including the learnable parameters from the MAT file. Use this option to preserve the weights if you want to perform transfer learning.

• To recreate only the layers in your network, select Export > Generate Network Code Without Parameters. This network does not contain initial parameters, such as pretrained weights.

Running the generated script returns the network architecture as a dlnetwork object. For an example of training a network exported from Deep Network Designer, see Get Started with Deep Network Designer. To learn more about generating code, see Generate MATLAB Code from Deep Network Designer.

Related Examples

• Prepare Network for Transfer Learning Using Deep Network Designer
• Build Networks with Deep Network Designer
• Import PyTorch Model Using Deep Network Designer
• Profile Deep Learning Network for Deployment

Programmatic Use

deepNetworkDesigner opens the Deep Network Designer app. If Deep Network Designer is already open, deepNetworkDesigner brings focus to the app.

deepNetworkDesigner(net) opens the Deep Network Designer app and loads the specified network into the app. The network can be an array of layers or a dlnetwork object. If you import a DAGNetwork or SeriesNetwork object, then the app attempts to convert the network into a dlnetwork object. For more information, see dag2dlnetwork. If you import a LayerGraph object, then the app to attempts to convert it into a dlnetwork object.

If Deep Network Designer is already open, deepNetworkDesigner(net) brings focus to the app and prompts you to add to or replace any existing network.

deepNetworkDesigner(___,"-v1") opens the legacy (before R2024a) version of the app. This version supports DAGNetwork, SeriesNetwork, and LayerGraph objects. For more information, see Change in default behavior.

Tips

To interactively build and train deep learning neural networks for time series tasks, use the Time Series Modeler app. For more information, see Get Started with Time Series Forecasting.

Version History

Introduced in R2018b

R2026a: Import Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox objects

You can now import these objects into Deep Network Designer:

• ClassificationNeuralNetwork (Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox)

• CompactClassificationNeuralNetwork (Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox)

• RegressionNeuralNetwork (Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox)

• CompactRegressionNeuralNetwork (Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox)

During import, the app converts these objects to dlnetwork objects.

R2026a: Import PyTorch exported program format models

You can now import ExportedProgram objects from PyTorch that are exported using torch.export.export(). The model must be exported using PyTorch version 2.8.

R2026a: Enhanced usability and workflow improvements

There are several improvements to the Deep Network Designer app:

• Select a part of the network and zoom into it by using the Fit to Selection button.

• Import networks directly into the app from MAT files (*.mat).

• Import networks and individual layers from the MATLAB workspace in fewer clicks using the From Workspace button in the app toolstrip.

• Display long descriptions for custom layers in the Property panel. Long description names are common when importing networks from external platforms.

• Quickly view inside network layers by using the Open Subnetwork button.

• Improvements to the Simulink export workflow. The app now uses the network inputs to automatically configure the Predict block for simulation. For networks with sequence inputs, the app also configures the simulation solver to use a fixed time step.

• When you export a network that includes nested layers (for example, networkLayer) to Simulink, the app automatically expands the nested layers for compatibility with code generation workflows.

• Improvements to the layout of connections on the canvas minimize the overlap of layers and connections.

R2026a: Prepare image networks for transfer learning

You can now easily adapt pretrained image networks for transfer learning in the Deep Network Designer app. When you open a pretrained image network in the Deep Network Designer start page, use the new Customize Pretrained Network dialog box to change the number of classes and learning rate in the last learnable layer.

For an example showing how to adapt a pretrained image network for transfer learning, see Get Started with Transfer Learning.

R2025a: View inside nested layers

Use Deep Network Designer to view inside nested layers. For example, you can now view inside NetworkLayer objects. Nested layers are common when importing networks from external platforms such as PyTorch and TensorFlow. To view inside a nested layer, double-click on the layer. For an example showing how to build, visualize, and train networks with nested layers, see Create and Train Network with Nested Layers.

Starting in R2025a, by default, Deep Network Designer represents PyTorch and TensorFlow network composition using NetworkLayer objects. Before R2025a, the app represents network composition using nested custom layers.

R2025a: Deep Network Designer: Export networks to Simulink layer blocks

Use Deep Network Designer to export deep neural networks to Simulink layer blocks. The app returns a Simulink model that contains blocks corresponding to the layers in your network. For more information about supported layers, see List of Deep Learning Layer Blocks and Subsystems.

Starting in R2025a, when exporting a network to Simulink, the app chooses the default behavior based on your network architecture. If all the layers are supported as layer blocks, then the default export type is layer blocks. Otherwise, the default export type is to network blocks such as the Predict or Stateful Predict blocks.

R2025a: Deep Network Designer: Analyzing networks for compression now includes quantization

Starting in R2025a, information about quantization is included in the report from the Analyze for Compression option.

The compression analysis report now contains:

• Maximum possible memory reduction by quantization

• Quantization support for layers of your network

For more information about neural network compression techniques, see Reduce Memory Footprint of Deep Neural Networks.

R2025a: Deep Network Designer: Improved usability

Deep Network Designer now includes several features that enhance the user experience when using the app:

• Use keyboard shortcuts to confirm or dismiss dialog boxes.

• Specify the export name of your network.

• View network analysis information directly within the app.

R2025a: Deep Network Designer: Multilayer perceptron neural network template

The Deep Network Designer Start Page now has a template for a multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network. You can use this template to quickly create MLP networks suitable for feature classification tasks.

R2024b: Analyze networks for compression

You can now use Deep Network Designer to analyze the compressibility of neural networks. For example, you can check the maximum memory reduction of your network layers using Taylor pruning or projection.

Open your network in Deep Network Designer. Then, click Analyze for Compression.

The compression analysis report contains information about:

• Maximum possible memory reduction

• Pruning and projection support

• Effect of the network architecture on the ability to prune individual layers

• Layer memory

R2024b: 1-D convolutional neural network templates

The Deep Network Designer Start Page now has templates for 1-D convolutional neural networks. You can use the templates to quickly create 1-D convolutional neural networks suitable for sequence-to-label and sequence-to-sequence classification tasks.

R2024a: Change in default behavior

Starting in R2024a, Deep Network Designer creates dlnetwork objects by default. If you import a DAGNetwork or SeriesNetwork object, then the app attempts to convert the network into a dlnetwork object. For more information, see dag2dlnetwork. If you import a LayerGraph object, then the app to attempts to convert it into a dlnetwork object.

dlnetwork objects have several advantages and are recommended instead of DAGNetwork, SeriesNetwork, or LayerGraph objects.

• dlnetwork objects are a unified data type that supports network building, prediction, built-in training, visualization, compression, verification, and custom training loops.

• dlnetwork objects support a wider range of network architectures that you can create or import from external platforms.

• The trainnet function supports dlnetwork objects, which enables you to easily specify loss functions. You can select from built-in loss functions or specify a custom loss function.

• Training and prediction with dlnetwork objects is typically faster than LayerGraph and trainNetwork workflows.

To replicate the app behavior from before R2024a, use the "-v1" flag.

deepNetworkDesigner("-v1")
deepNetworkDesigner(net,"-v1")

Comparison of Deep Network Designer Behavior

Not Recommended

Recommended

In the legacy version of Deep Network Designer, when you work with DAGNetwork, SeriesNetwork, and LayerGraph objects, you can: Import pretrained networks. Build networks from scratch. Analyze networks for issues. Train networks. Export networks trained in Deep Network Designer to Simulink. Generate MATLAB code for building and training networks. Create experiments for networks trained in Deep Network Designer.

In Deep Network Designer from R2024a onward, when you work with dlnetwork objects, you can: Import networks from PyTorch and TensorFlow. Import pretrained networks. Build networks from scratch. Analyze networks for issues. Export networks to Simulink. Generate MATLAB code for building networks.