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US inference platform for open, fine-tuned and custom models on autoscaling GPUs, with Model APIs, training and self-hosting.
Axolotl overview and key facts (October 2026)
Open-source tool for fine-tuning and post-training language models, driven by a YAML configuration, with multi-GPU support.
Free
What is Axolotl?
Axolotl is an open-source framework for fine-tuning and post-training language models. Teams describe data, model and training method in one YAML file and run the whole pipeline on one or many GPUs, which makes experiments repeatable.
Axolotl covers preprocessing, training, evaluation, quantization and inference. It supports many model families from the Hugging Face Hub, including Llama, Mistral, Qwen and Gemma, and scales across GPUs with FSDP2 and DeepSpeed. It needs NVIDIA GPUs from the Ampere generation or AMD GPUs. The repository had about 12,500 stars and a last push on September 28, 2026.
Axolotl AI features and use cases
- Makes training runs repeatableAll settings live in a YAML file that can be versioned and reviewed. Teams reproduce a training run exactly and compare variants.
- Aligns models with preferencesPreference tuning methods such as DPO, KTO and ORPO and reinforcement learning with GRPO adjust model behavior to preferred answers. Companies can shape tone and quality for their use case.
- Scales to large modelsFSDP2 and DeepSpeed spread training across several GPUs. Larger models can be adapted when one GPU is not enough.
What sets Axolotl apart
- Configuration-first approach with one YAML file for the full pipeline.
- Supports multimodal training, including vision-language and audio models.
Where Axolotl is strongest
United States Available internationally
Axolotl is an open-source project by Axolotl AI from the United States and can be used worldwide without country ties.
Questions to ask before you buy Axolotl
Axolotl requires recent GPUs and a current Python and PyTorch setup, so plan the infrastructure. Check the license of the base model you fine-tune, which may differ from Axolotl's Apache-2.0 license. Clarify the legal basis for training data that contains personal data.
Axolotl reviews
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Questions about Axolotl
Is Axolotl free?
Yes. Axolotl is open source under Apache-2.0. You pay only for the compute you use.
Which hardware does Axolotl need?
According to the README, an NVIDIA GPU of the Ampere generation or newer for bf16 and Flash Attention, or an AMD GPU.
Which models can I fine-tune?
The README lists many families from the Hugging Face Hub, including Llama, Mistral, Mixtral, Qwen and Gemma, as well as vision-language models.
Axolotl update historyno updates yet
No changes recorded for Axolotl yet.
Changes the vendor made and confirmed user reports, each checked against the vendor's own pages. We review every tool monthly.
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