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---
comments: true
description: Learn how to use Ultralytics YOLO for object tracking in video streams. Guides to use different trackers and customise tracker configurations.
keywords: Ultralytics, YOLO, object tracking, video streams, BoT-SORT, ByteTrack, Python guide, CLI guide
---
<img width="1024" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/26833433/243418637-1d6250fd-1515-4c10-a844-a32818ae6d46.png">
Object tracking is a task that involves identifying the location and class of objects, then assigning a unique ID to that detection in video streams.
The output of tracker is the same as detection with an added object ID.
## Available Trackers
Ultralytics YOLO supports the following tracking algorithms. They can be enabled by passing the relevant YAML configuration file such as `tracker=tracker_type.yaml`:
* [BoT-SORT](https://github.com/NirAharon/BoT-SORT) - Use `botsort.yaml` to enable this tracker.
* [ByteTrack](https://github.com/ifzhang/ByteTrack) - Use `bytetrack.yaml` to enable this tracker.
The default tracker is BoT-SORT.
## Tracking
To run the tracker on video streams, use a trained Detect, Segment or Pose model such as YOLOv8n, YOLOv8n-seg and YOLOv8n-pose.
!!! example ""
=== "Python"
```python
from ultralytics import YOLO
# Load an official or custom model
model = YOLO('yolov8n.pt') # Load an official Detect model
model = YOLO('yolov8n-seg.pt') # Load an official Segment model
model = YOLO('yolov8n-pose.pt') # Load an official Pose model
model = YOLO('path/to/best.pt') # Load a custom trained model
# Perform tracking with the model
results = model.track(source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc", show=True) # Tracking with default tracker
results = model.track(source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc", show=True, tracker="bytetrack.yaml") # Tracking with ByteTrack tracker
```
=== "CLI"
```bash
# Perform tracking with various models using the command line interface
yolo track model=yolov8n.pt source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc" # Official Detect model
yolo track model=yolov8n-seg.pt source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc" # Official Segment model
yolo track model=yolov8n-pose.pt source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc" # Official Pose model
yolo track model=path/to/best.pt source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc" # Custom trained model
# Track using ByteTrack tracker
yolo track model=path/to/best.pt tracker="bytetrack.yaml"
```
As can be seen in the above usage, tracking is available for all Detect, Segment and Pose models run on videos or streaming sources.
## Configuration
### Tracking Arguments
Tracking configuration shares properties with Predict mode, such as `conf`, `iou`, and `show`. For further configurations, refer to the [Predict](https://docs.ultralytics.com/modes/predict/) model page.
!!! example ""
=== "Python"
```python
from ultralytics import YOLO
# Configure the tracking parameters and run the tracker
model = YOLO('yolov8n.pt')
results = model.track(source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc", conf=0.3, iou=0.5, show=True)
```
=== "CLI"
```bash
# Configure tracking parameters and run the tracker using the command line interface
yolo track model=yolov8n.pt source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc" conf=0.3, iou=0.5 show
```
### Tracker Selection
Ultralytics also allows you to use a modified tracker configuration file. To do this, simply make a copy of a tracker config file (for example, `custom_tracker.yaml`) from [ultralytics/cfg/trackers](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics/tree/main/ultralytics/cfg/trackers) and modify any configurations (except the `tracker_type`) as per your needs.
!!! example ""
=== "Python"
```python
from ultralytics import YOLO
# Load the model and run the tracker with a custom configuration file
model = YOLO('yolov8n.pt')
results = model.track(source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc", tracker='custom_tracker.yaml')
```
=== "CLI"
```bash
# Load the model and run the tracker with a custom configuration file using the command line interface
yolo track model=yolov8n.pt source="https://youtu.be/Zgi9g1ksQHc" tracker='custom_tracker.yaml'
```
For a comprehensive list of tracking arguments, refer to the [ultralytics/cfg/trackers](https://github.com/ultralytics/ultralytics/tree/main/ultralytics/cfg/trackers) page.
## Python Examples
### Persisting Tracks Loop
Here is a Python script using OpenCV (`cv2`) and YOLOv8 to run object tracking on video frames. This script still assumes you have already installed the necessary packages (`opencv-python` and `ultralytics`).
!!! example "Streaming for-loop with tracking"
```python
import cv2
from ultralytics import YOLO
# Load the YOLOv8 model
model = YOLO('yolov8n.pt')
# Open the video file
video_path = "path/to/your/video/file.mp4"
cap = cv2.VideoCapture(video_path)
# Loop through the video frames
while cap.isOpened():
# Read a frame from the video
success, frame = cap.read()
if success:
# Run YOLOv8 tracking on the frame, persisting tracks between frames
results = model.track(frame, persist=True)
# Visualize the results on the frame
annotated_frame = results[0].plot()
# Display the annotated frame
cv2.imshow("YOLOv8 Tracking", annotated_frame)
# Break the loop if 'q' is pressed
if cv2.waitKey(1) & 0xFF == ord("q"):
break
else:
# Break the loop if the end of the video is reached
break
# Release the video capture object and close the display window
cap.release()
cv2.destroyAllWindows()
```
Please note the change from `model(frame)` to `model.track(frame)`, which enables object tracking instead of simple detection. This modified script will run the tracker on each frame of the video, visualize the results, and display them in a window. The loop can be exited by pressing 'q'.
### Multithreaded Tracking
Multithreaded tracking provides the capability to run object tracking on multiple video streams simultaneously. This is particularly useful when handling multiple video inputs, such as from multiple surveillance cameras, where concurrent processing can greatly enhance efficiency and performance.
In the provided Python script, we make use of Python's `threading` module to run multiple instances of the tracker concurrently. Each thread is responsible for running the tracker on one video file, and all the threads run simultaneously in the background.
To ensure that each thread receives the correct parameters (the video file and the model to use), we define a function `run_tracker_in_thread` that accepts these parameters and contains the main tracking loop. This function reads the video frame by frame, runs the tracker, and displays the results.
Two different models are used in this example: `yolov8n.pt` and `yolov8n-seg.pt`, each tracking objects in a different video file. The video files are specified in `video_file1` and `video_file2`.
The `daemon=True` parameter in `threading.Thread` means that these threads will be closed as soon as the main program finishes. We then start the threads with `start()` and use `join()` to make the main thread wait until both tracker threads have finished.
Finally, after all threads have completed their task, the windows displaying the results are closed using `cv2.destroyAllWindows()`.
!!! example "Streaming for-loop with tracking"
```python
import threading
import cv2
from ultralytics import YOLO
def run_tracker_in_thread(filename, model):
video = cv2.VideoCapture(filename)
frames = int(video.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_COUNT))
for _ in range(frames):
ret, frame = video.read()
if ret:
results = model.track(source=frame, persist=True)
res_plotted = results[0].plot()
cv2.imshow('p', res_plotted)
if cv2.waitKey(1) == ord('q'):
break
# Load the models
model1 = YOLO('yolov8n.pt')
model2 = YOLO('yolov8n-seg.pt')
# Define the video files for the trackers
video_file1 = 'path/to/video1.mp4'
video_file2 = 'path/to/video2.mp4'
# Create the tracker threads
tracker_thread1 = threading.Thread(target=run_tracker_in_thread, args=(video_file1, model1), daemon=True)
tracker_thread2 = threading.Thread(target=run_tracker_in_thread, args=(video_file2, model2), daemon=True)
# Start the tracker threads
tracker_thread1.start()
tracker_thread2.start()
# Wait for the tracker threads to finish
tracker_thread1.join()
tracker_thread2.join()
# Clean up and close windows
cv2.destroyAllWindows()
```
This example can easily be extended to handle more video files and models by creating more threads and applying the same methodology.