---
comments: true
description: Official documentation for YOLOv8 by Ultralytics. Learn how to train, validate, predict and export models in various formats. Including detailed performance stats.
keywords: YOLOv8, Ultralytics, object detection, pretrained models, training, validation, prediction, export models, COCO, ImageNet, PyTorch, ONNX, CoreML
---
# Object Detection
Object detection is a task that involves identifying the location and class of objects in an image or video stream.
The output of an object detector is a set of bounding boxes that enclose the objects in the image, along with class labels and confidence scores for each box. Object detection is a good choice when you need to identify objects of interest in a scene, but don't need to know exactly where the object is or its exact shape.
Watch: Object Detection with Pre-trained Ultralytics YOLOv8 Model.
!!! Tip "Tip"
YOLOv8 Detect models are the default YOLOv8 models, i.e. `yolov8n.pt` and are pretrained on [COCO](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics/blob/main/ultralytics/cfg/datasets/coco.yaml).
## [Models](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics/tree/main/ultralytics/cfg/models/v8)
YOLOv8 pretrained Detect models are shown here. Detect, Segment and Pose models are pretrained on the [COCO](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics/blob/main/ultralytics/cfg/datasets/coco.yaml) dataset, while Classify models are pretrained on the [ImageNet](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics/blob/main/ultralytics/cfg/datasets/ImageNet.yaml) dataset.
[Models](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics/tree/main/ultralytics/cfg/models) download automatically from the latest Ultralytics [release](https://github.com/ultralytics/assets/releases) on first use.
| Model | size (pixels) | mAPval 50-95 | Speed CPU ONNX (ms) | Speed A100 TensorRT (ms) | params (M) | FLOPs (B) |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|--------------------------------|-------------------------------------|--------------------|-------------------|
| [YOLOv8n](https://github.com/ultralytics/assets/releases/download/v8.2.0/yolov8n.pt) | 640 | 37.3 | 80.4 | 0.99 | 3.2 | 8.7 |
| [YOLOv8s](https://github.com/ultralytics/assets/releases/download/v8.2.0/yolov8s.pt) | 640 | 44.9 | 128.4 | 1.20 | 11.2 | 28.6 |
| [YOLOv8m](https://github.com/ultralytics/assets/releases/download/v8.2.0/yolov8m.pt) | 640 | 50.2 | 234.7 | 1.83 | 25.9 | 78.9 |
| [YOLOv8l](https://github.com/ultralytics/assets/releases/download/v8.2.0/yolov8l.pt) | 640 | 52.9 | 375.2 | 2.39 | 43.7 | 165.2 |
| [YOLOv8x](https://github.com/ultralytics/assets/releases/download/v8.2.0/yolov8x.pt) | 640 | 53.9 | 479.1 | 3.53 | 68.2 | 257.8 |
- **mAPval** values are for single-model single-scale on [COCO val2017](https://cocodataset.org) dataset. Reproduce by `yolo val detect data=coco.yaml device=0`
- **Speed** averaged over COCO val images using an [Amazon EC2 P4d](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/p4/) instance. Reproduce by `yolo val detect data=coco8.yaml batch=1 device=0|cpu`
## Train
Train YOLOv8n on the COCO8 dataset for 100 epochs at image size 640. For a full list of available arguments see the [Configuration](../usage/cfg.md) page.
!!! Example
=== "Python"
```python
from ultralytics import YOLO
# Load a model
model = YOLO('yolov8n.yaml') # build a new model from YAML
model = YOLO('yolov8n.pt') # load a pretrained model (recommended for training)
model = YOLO('yolov8n.yaml').load('yolov8n.pt') # build from YAML and transfer weights
# Train the model
results = model.train(data='coco8.yaml', epochs=100, imgsz=640)
```
=== "CLI"
```bash
# Build a new model from YAML and start training from scratch
yolo detect train data=coco8.yaml model=yolov8n.yaml epochs=100 imgsz=640
# Start training from a pretrained *.pt model
yolo detect train data=coco8.yaml model=yolov8n.pt epochs=100 imgsz=640
# Build a new model from YAML, transfer pretrained weights to it and start training
yolo detect train data=coco8.yaml model=yolov8n.yaml pretrained=yolov8n.pt epochs=100 imgsz=640
```
### Dataset format
YOLO detection dataset format can be found in detail in the [Dataset Guide](../datasets/detect/index.md). To convert your existing dataset from other formats (like COCO etc.) to YOLO format, please use [JSON2YOLO](https://github.com/ultralytics/JSON2YOLO) tool by Ultralytics.
## Val
Validate trained YOLOv8n model accuracy on the COCO8 dataset. No argument need to passed as the `model` retains it's training `data` and arguments as model attributes.
!!! Example
=== "Python"
```python
from ultralytics import YOLO
# Load a model
model = YOLO('yolov8n.pt') # load an official model
model = YOLO('path/to/best.pt') # load a custom model
# Validate the model
metrics = model.val() # no arguments needed, dataset and settings remembered
metrics.box.map # map50-95
metrics.box.map50 # map50
metrics.box.map75 # map75
metrics.box.maps # a list contains map50-95 of each category
```
=== "CLI"
```bash
yolo detect val model=yolov8n.pt # val official model
yolo detect val model=path/to/best.pt # val custom model
```
## Predict
Use a trained YOLOv8n model to run predictions on images.
!!! Example
=== "Python"
```python
from ultralytics import YOLO
# Load a model
model = YOLO('yolov8n.pt') # load an official model
model = YOLO('path/to/best.pt') # load a custom model
# Predict with the model
results = model('https://ultralytics.com/images/bus.jpg') # predict on an image
```
=== "CLI"
```bash
yolo detect predict model=yolov8n.pt source='https://ultralytics.com/images/bus.jpg' # predict with official model
yolo detect predict model=path/to/best.pt source='https://ultralytics.com/images/bus.jpg' # predict with custom model
```
See full `predict` mode details in the [Predict](../modes/predict.md) page.
## Export
Export a YOLOv8n model to a different format like ONNX, CoreML, etc.
!!! Example
=== "Python"
```python
from ultralytics import YOLO
# Load a model
model = YOLO('yolov8n.pt') # load an official model
model = YOLO('path/to/best.pt') # load a custom trained model
# Export the model
model.export(format='onnx')
```
=== "CLI"
```bash
yolo export model=yolov8n.pt format=onnx # export official model
yolo export model=path/to/best.pt format=onnx # export custom trained model
```
Available YOLOv8 export formats are in the table below. You can export to any format using the `format` argument, i.e. `format='onnx'` or `format='engine'`. You can predict or validate directly on exported models, i.e. `yolo predict model=yolov8n.onnx`. Usage examples are shown for your model after export completes.
| Format | `format` Argument | Model | Metadata | Arguments |
|---------------------------------------------------|-------------------|---------------------------|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [PyTorch](https://pytorch.org/) | - | `yolov8n.pt` | ✅ | - |
| [TorchScript](../integrations/torchscript.md) | `torchscript` | `yolov8n.torchscript` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `optimize`, `batch` |
| [ONNX](../integrations/onnx.md) | `onnx` | `yolov8n.onnx` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `half`, `dynamic`, `simplify`, `opset`, `batch` |
| [OpenVINO](../integrations/openvino.md) | `openvino` | `yolov8n_openvino_model/` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `half`, `int8`, `batch` |
| [TensorRT](../integrations/tensorrt.md) | `engine` | `yolov8n.engine` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `half`, `dynamic`, `simplify`, `workspace`, `int8`, `batch` |
| [CoreML](../integrations/coreml.md) | `coreml` | `yolov8n.mlpackage` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `half`, `int8`, `nms`, `batch` |
| [TF SavedModel](../integrations/tf-savedmodel.md) | `saved_model` | `yolov8n_saved_model/` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `keras`, `int8`, `batch` |
| [TF GraphDef](../integrations/tf-graphdef.md) | `pb` | `yolov8n.pb` | ❌ | `imgsz`, `batch` |
| [TF Lite](../integrations/tflite.md) | `tflite` | `yolov8n.tflite` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `half`, `int8`, `batch` |
| [TF Edge TPU](../integrations/edge-tpu.md) | `edgetpu` | `yolov8n_edgetpu.tflite` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `batch` |
| [TF.js](../integrations/tfjs.md) | `tfjs` | `yolov8n_web_model/` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `half`, `int8`, `batch` |
| [PaddlePaddle](../integrations/paddlepaddle.md) | `paddle` | `yolov8n_paddle_model/` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `batch` |
| [NCNN](../integrations/ncnn.md) | `ncnn` | `yolov8n_ncnn_model/` | ✅ | `imgsz`, `half`, `batch` |
See full `export` details in the [Export](../modes/export.md) page.