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arXiv · 2601.22285

Demystifying Mergeability: Interpretable Properties to Predict Model Merging Success

Luca Zhou·Bo Zhao·Rose Yu·Emanuele Rodolà
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Abstract

Model merging combines knowledge from separately fine-tuned models, yet the factors driving its success remain poorly understood. While recent work treats mergeability as an intrinsic property of the models, we show with an architecture-agnostic framework that it fundamentally depends on both the merging method and the partner tasks. Using L1-regularized linear optimization over a set of interpretable pairwise metrics (e.g., gradient L_2 distance), we uncover properties correlating with post-merge normalized accuracy across five merging methods. We find architecture- and method-specific variation in success drivers (64.0% average top-5 metric overlap; 79.3% sign agreement), with certain methods, notably TIES, exhibiting distinct ``fingerprints'' that diverge from the broader consensus. Crucially, however, gradient alignment metrics consistently emerge as the most fundamental signals of compatibility. These findings provide a diagnostic foundation for understanding mergeability and motivate future merge-aware fine-tuning strategies.

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Luca Zhou, Bo Zhao, Rose Yu, Emanuele Rodolà. 2026-01-29. Demystifying Mergeability: Interpretable Properties to Predict Model Merging Success. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22285

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