yolov8/docs/index.md

---
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description: Explore Ultralytics YOLOv8, a cutting-edge real-time object detection and image segmentation model for various applications and hardware platforms.
keywords: YOLOv8, object detection, image segmentation, computer vision, machine learning, deep learning, AGPL-3.0 License, Enterprise License
---

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Introducing [Ultralytics](https://ultralytics.com) [YOLOv8](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics), the latest version of the acclaimed real-time object detection and image segmentation model. YOLOv8 is built on cutting-edge advancements in deep learning and computer vision, offering unparalleled performance in terms of speed and accuracy. Its streamlined design makes it suitable for various applications and easily adaptable to different hardware platforms, from edge devices to cloud APIs.

Explore the YOLOv8 Docs, a comprehensive resource designed to help you understand and utilize its features and capabilities. Whether you are a seasoned machine learning practitioner or new to the field, this hub aims to maximize YOLOv8's potential in your projects

## Where to Start

- **Install** `ultralytics` with pip and get up and running in minutes &nbsp; [:material-clock-fast: Get Started](quickstart.md){ .md-button }
- **Predict** new images and videos with YOLOv8 &nbsp; [:octicons-image-16: Predict on Images](modes/predict.md){ .md-button }
- **Train** a new YOLOv8 model on your own custom dataset &nbsp; [:fontawesome-solid-brain: Train a Model](modes/train.md){ .md-button }
- **Explore** YOLOv8 tasks like segment, classify, pose and track &nbsp; [:material-magnify-expand: Explore Tasks](tasks/index.md){ .md-button }

## YOLO: A Brief History

[YOLO](https://arxiv.org/abs/1506.02640) (You Only Look Once), a popular object detection and image segmentation model, was developed by Joseph Redmon and Ali Farhadi at the University of Washington. Launched in 2015, YOLO quickly gained popularity for its high speed and accuracy.

- [YOLOv2](https://arxiv.org/abs/1612.08242), released in 2016, improved the original model by incorporating batch normalization, anchor boxes, and dimension clusters.
- [YOLOv3](https://pjreddie.com/media/files/papers/YOLOv3.pdf), launched in 2018, further enhanced the model's performance using a more efficient backbone network, multiple anchors and spatial pyramid pooling.
- [YOLOv4](https://arxiv.org/abs/2004.10934) was released in 2020, introducing innovations like Mosaic data augmentation, a new anchor-free detection head, and a new loss function.
- [YOLOv5](https://github.com/ultralytics/yolov5) further improved the model's performance and added new features such as hyperparameter optimization, integrated experiment tracking and automatic export to popular export formats.
- [YOLOv6](https://github.com/meituan/YOLOv6) was open-sourced by [Meituan](https://about.meituan.com/) in 2022 and is in use in many of the company's autonomous delivery robots.
- [YOLOv7](https://github.com/WongKinYiu/yolov7) added additional tasks such as pose estimation on the COCO keypoints dataset.
- [YOLOv8](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics) is the latest version of YOLO by Ultralytics. As a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art (SOTA) model, YOLOv8 builds on the success of previous versions, introducing new features and improvements for enhanced performance, flexibility, and efficiency. YOLOv8 supports a full range of vision AI tasks, including [detection](tasks/detect.md), [segmentation](tasks/segment.md), [pose estimation](tasks/pose.md), [tracking](modes/track.md), and [classification](tasks/classify.md). This versatility allows users to leverage YOLOv8's capabilities across diverse applications and domains.

## YOLO Licenses: How is Ultralytics YOLO licensed?

Ultralytics YOLO repositories like YOLOv3, YOLOv5, or YOLOv8 are available under two different licenses:

- **AGPL-3.0 License**: See [LICENSE](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics/blob/main/LICENSE) file for details.
- **Enterprise License**: Provides greater flexibility for commercial product development without the open-source requirements of AGPL-3.0. Typical use cases are embedding Ultralytics software and AI models in commercial products and applications. Request an Enterprise License at [Ultralytics Licensing](https://ultralytics.com/license).

Please note our licensing approach ensures that any enhancements made to our open-source projects are shared back to the community. We firmly believe in the principles of open source, and we are committed to ensuring that our work can be used and improved upon in a manner that benefits everyone.