# What Is the Default Intervention Method in OBLITERATUS?

> Discover the default intervention method in OBLITERATUS. Learn about the advanced SVD-based approach and chat-template wrapping enabled for seamless operation. Find out how OBLITERATUS handles requests without explicit method s...

- Repository: [pliny/OBLITERATUS](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-22

---

**The default intervention method in OBLITERATUS is the "advanced" preset**, which applies a multi-direction, norm-preserving SVD-based approach with chat-template wrapping enabled when no specific method is explicitly requested.

When working with the OBLITERATUS library from elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS to remove refusal directions from language models, understanding the default intervention behavior is crucial for reproducible results. The default intervention method in OBLITERATUS automatically activates a sophisticated configuration designed to balance effectiveness and safety without requiring manual parameter tuning.

## The "Advanced" Preset: OBLITERATUS Default Intervention Method

Under the hood, OBLITERATUS defines all intervention strategies in a centralized `METHODS` dictionary located in [`obliteratus/abliterate.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/abliterate.py). When you invoke the abliteration pipeline without specifying a method parameter, the system automatically selects the entry keyed as **"advanced"**.

This preset configures a sophisticated refusal removal strategy with the following critical parameters:

- **n_directions**: 4 (multi-direction extraction)
- **direction_method**: "svd" (Singular Value Decomposition-based)
- **norm_preserve**: True (maintains embedding norms)
- **project_biases**: True (enables bias projection)
- **use_chat_template**: True (wraps inputs with chat formatting)

### Source Code Location

The configuration is explicitly defined at lines 31–45 of [`obliteratus/abliterate.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/abliterate.py):

```python
"advanced": {
    "label": "Advanced (Multi-direction + Norm-preserving)",
    "description": "SVD-based multi-direction extraction with norm preservation",
    "n_directions": 4,
    "direction_method": "svd",
    "norm_preserve": True,
    "regularization": 0.3,
    "embed_regularization": 0.5,
    "refinement_passes": 2,
    "project_biases": True,
    "use_chat_template": True,
    "use_whitened_svd": False,
    "true_iterative_refinement": False,
    "layer_adaptive_strength": True,
},

```

## How the Default Method Is Applied in Practice

The default intervention method in OBLITERATUS applies automatically across both programmatic API calls and command-line usage. In [`obliteratus/__main__.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/__main__.py), the argument parser does not enforce an explicit `--method` default, causing the `run` function to fall back to the **"advanced"** entry from the `METHODS` dictionary.

**Programmatic Usage:**

When calling the `run` function without a `method` argument, OBLITERATUS defaults to the advanced preset:

```python
from obliteratus.abliterate import run

# Uses default "advanced" method automatically

results = run(model)

```

**Command-Line Usage:**

Similarly, invoking the module without the `--method` flag triggers the default behavior:

```bash
python -m obliteratus --model my_model.ckpt

```

To override the default, explicitly specify a different preset:

```python

# Override with "aggressive" preset

results = run(model, method="aggressive")

```

Or via CLI:

```bash
python -m obliteratus --model my_model.ckpt --method aggressive

```

## Inspecting and Verifying the Default Configuration

You can programmatically inspect the exact configuration of the default intervention method by accessing the `METHODS` dictionary directly:

```python
from obliteratus.abliterate import METHODS

default_cfg = METHODS["advanced"]
print(default_cfg["description"])

# Output: SVD-based multi-direction extraction with norm preservation

print(f"Directions: {default_cfg['n_directions']}, Norm preserve: {default_cfg['norm_preserve']}")

```

This transparency allows you to verify that the multi-direction SVD approach with norm preservation and bias projection represents the library's recommended baseline for typical use cases.

## Summary

- The default intervention method in OBLITERATUS is the **"advanced"** preset defined in [`obliteratus/abliterate.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/abliterate.py).
- This method employs **SVD-based multi-direction extraction** with **norm preservation** and **chat-template wrapping** enabled.
- The default activates automatically when the `run()` function or CLI is invoked without explicit method specification.
- You can override the default by passing `method="aggressive"` or other available presets to the `run` function or `--method` CLI argument.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What happens if I don't specify a method in OBLITERATUS?

If you do not provide a `method` parameter to the `run()` function or omit the `--method` flag in the CLI, OBLITERATUS automatically applies the **"advanced"** preset. This behavior is hardcoded in the pipeline logic within [`obliteratus/abliterate.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/abliterate.py) and [`obliteratus/__main__.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/__main__.py).

### How does the "advanced" method differ from other presets?

The **"advanced"** method configures a multi-direction extraction using SVD with 4 directions, norm preservation, and bias projection enabled. Other presets like **"aggressive"** might use different regularization values, disable norm preservation, or employ alternative direction extraction methods. The advanced preset specifically balances effectiveness with safety through features like `layer_adaptive_strength` and `refinement_passes: 2`.

### Can I change the default intervention method permanently?

Currently, OBLITERATUS does not provide a configuration file or environment variable to permanently change the default method. To consistently use a different preset, you must explicitly pass the `method` parameter in your Python scripts or specify `--method` in your CLI commands. The default is statically defined in the `METHODS` dictionary at [`obliteratus/abliterate.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/abliterate.py) lines 31–45.

### Where is the default method defined in the source code?

The default intervention method is defined in the `METHODS` dictionary in [`obliteratus/abliterate.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/abliterate.py) (specifically lines 31–45), where the **"advanced"** key maps to the configuration object. The CLI entry point in [`obliteratus/__main__.py`](https://github.com/elder-plinius/OBLITERATUS/blob/main/obliteratus/__main__.py) references this dictionary when no explicit method argument is provided, effectively making "advanced" the system-wide default.