# Yolo Tuning

> Use when improving or comparing Ultralytics YOLO models in Platform or code, or running hyperparameter search/autotraining — Platform experiment comparison, the systematic improvement playbook, model.tune() genetic evolution, Ray Tune, search spaces, and deciding whether tuning is worthwhile. For one training run and its arguments, see yolo-training.

- Skill: `ultralytics/yolo-tuning` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ultralytics/yolo-tuning`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ultralytics/yolo-tuning/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: ultralytics (https://skillmd.com/u/ultralytics)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ultralytics/yolo-tuning

---


# Improving models & hyperparameter tuning

## The improvement playbook (follow in order — tuning is the LAST step)

Hyperparameter tuning is expensive and usually not the bottleneck. Escalate in this
order, re-validating after each step:

1. **Fix the data** — check `confusion_matrix.png` and `train_batch*.jpg` for label
   noise; review the top false-negative/false-positive val images; add examples of
   failing classes and true-background images. Data quality beats every other lever.
2. **Train longer** — if val mAP was still rising at the end: more `epochs`, higher
   `patience`.
3. **Bigger input** — small objects or mAP50 ≫ mAP50-95: raise `imgsz` (640 → 960/1280).
4. **Bigger model** — underfitting (train and val both mediocre): n → s → m → l.
5. **Domain-matched augmentation** — aerial `degrees=180 flipud=0.5`, crowded scenes
   `copy_paste=0.3`/`mixup=0.1`, color-critical classes lower `hsv_h`
   (see yolo-training's `training-args.md`).
6. **Only now: hyperparameter tuning** — worth ~0.5–2 mAP when everything above is
   exhausted.

Decision signals: overfitting (val drops while train improves) → more data/aug or
smaller model, NOT tuning. Underfitting → bigger model/longer, NOT tuning. Label noise
in the confusion matrix → nothing else matters until fixed.

## Compare experiments in Platform

Keep candidates in one [Platform project](https://docs.ultralytics.com/platform/train/projects).
Train from the **New Model** dialog, or stream local runs by setting
`project=username/project-slug` and a unique `name`. Select models together in the
project charts, or use **Table > Diff** to compare training arguments and final metrics.

Platform is the experiment owner and visualization layer; the built-in genetic tuner and
Ray Tune below remain Python workflows. Use a completed Platform model as the next base
checkpoint, or download its `.pt` file, after the comparison identifies a winner.

## Built-in genetic tuner

```python
from ultralytics import YOLO

model = YOLO("yolo26n.pt")
model.tune(data="data.yaml", epochs=30, iterations=300, plots=False, save=False, val=False)
```

Tuning is Python-only — there is no `yolo tune` CLI mode (MODES are
train/val/predict/export/track/benchmark).

- Each iteration = one full (short) training with mutated hyperparameters; fitness is
  read from the run's val metrics.
- Default search space: 26 keys — `lr0`, `lrf`, `momentum`, `weight_decay`,
  `warmup_epochs`, `warmup_momentum`, loss weights (`box`, `cls`, `cls_pw`, `dfl`), all
  augmentation knobs (`hsv_*`, `degrees`, `translate`, `scale`, `shear`, `perspective`,
  `flipud`, `fliplr`, `bgr`, `mosaic`, `mixup`, `cutmix`, `copy_paste`), `close_mosaic`.
- Custom space (subset + ranges as `(min, max)`):
  ```python
  model.tune(data="data.yaml", epochs=30, iterations=100, space={"lr0": (1e-5, 1e-1), "mosaic": (0.5, 1.0)})
  ```
- Results: `runs/<task>/tune/` — `best_hyperparameters.yaml`, `tune_results.ndjson`,
  fitness plots. Load the yaml and retrain fully with it.
- Distributed tuning across machines: pass `mongodb_uri=` (+ optional `mongodb_db=`,
  `mongodb_collection=`) — workers share one result pool via MongoDB.

## Ray Tune (advanced search algorithms, parallel trials)

```python
model = YOLO("yolo26n.pt")
result_grid = model.tune(use_ray=True, data="data.yaml", iterations=20, epochs=30, gpu_per_trial=1)
```

- Requires `pip install "ray[tune]"`. Default scheduler is ASHA (early-kills bad
  trials after `grace_period` epochs, default 10).
- `search_alg=` accepts Ax, BOHB, Nevergrad, ZOOpt, Optuna, HyperOpt, HEBO, BayesOpt,
  or `"random"` (string, or an object for Ax/BOHB/ZOOpt) instead of random search.
- Optional W&B logging if `wandb` is installed. Use Ray when you have multiple GPUs to
  parallelize trials or want smarter-than-genetic search; the built-in tuner is simpler
  and has no extra dependency.

## Evolution best practices ("autotraining" recipe)

- **Search cheap, retrain expensive**: tune with a small model (`n`/`s`), reduced
  `epochs` (~30), `plots=False save=False val=False`; then retrain the best config at
  full size/epochs.
- Budget: iterations × epochs × time-per-epoch. 100–300 iterations is a realistic
  minimum for the genetic tuner to beat defaults.
- Keep `data` fixed during the search — changing data invalidates all prior fitness.
- One fitness target: the tuner optimizes the task's default metric (e.g.
  mAP50-95(B)); confirm that matches what you actually care about before burning GPU
  days.
- Sanity-check the winner on the val AND test split — tuned configs can overfit the
  val split when iterations are high.

If the installed version rejects an argument (`yolo checks` shows the version), trust
the error text and `yolo cfg` over this file.