YOLO26 is a real-time object detection model developed by Ultralytics, released in October 2025. It introduces a native end-to-end, NMS-free architecture that eliminates the Non-Maximum Suppression post-processing step, reducing CPU latency by up to 43% for the Nano variant compared to NMS-dependent versions. The model incorporates the MuSGD optimizer and ProgLoss with STAL for improved training stability and small-object detection, and removes Distribution Focal Loss to ensure maximum compatibility with ONNX and TensorRT export targets.
YOLO26 supports object detection, instance segmentation, pose estimation, and oriented bounding box detection within a unified framework, with model sizes available from Nano to Extra Large. Its NMS-free design makes it particularly well suited for deployment scenarios where post-processing overhead is a bottleneck, such as embedded systems and real-time edge inference pipelines.
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Usage
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YOLO26 runs as a hosted REST endpoint through Roboflow Workflows. Pick a task, then hand the prompt to your coding agent or copy the code. Deploying the workflow into a free Roboflow workspace replaces the your-workspace and YOUR_API_KEY placeholders with your own.
Add the Roboflow MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http roboflow https://mcp.roboflow.com/mcp
Run /mcp and authorize Roboflow in your browser when the OAuth flow opens.
Start a new Claude Code session so the MCP loads, then paste the prompt below (it works the same in any agent).
Deploy this workflow to your Roboflow workspace to use it.
Integrate the Roboflow "YOLO26" workflow into my app.
- Endpoint: POST https://serverless.roboflow.com/<your-workspace>/workflows/yolo26-object-detection-coco-medium
- Auth: send my Roboflow API key as `api_key` in the request body, read from the ROBOFLOW_API_KEY env var (never hardcode).
- Body: { "api_key": ..., "inputs": { `image`: { type: "url" | "base64", value } } }.
With the Roboflow MCP connected, call `workflows_get` on "yolo26-object-detection-coco-medium" to read the exact input schema (the source of truth), then `workflows_run` on a sample image to confirm the output shape before writing code (the MCP is authenticated, so this needs no key). Without the MCP, use the contract above.
Before running the app, set up these keys so it does not error at runtime:
- `ROBOFLOW_API_KEY` (sent as `api_key`) from https://app.roboflow.com/settings/api
Create a .gitignore'd .env with these variables, using placeholder values for any I haven't given you. Then pause and tell me directly, in your reply: the full path to the .env file, exactly which keys I need to paste in, and the link to get each one. Wait for me to confirm I've added them before you run anything. Do not run the app until I confirm.
Then add the integration to my codebase: match my project's language, framework, and conventions; read every key from environment variables (never hardcode); add basic error handling; and include a small runnable example. If you can't tell what language my project uses, ask me.pip install inference-sdkDeploy this workflow to your Roboflow workspace to use it.
# 1. Import the library
from inference_sdk import InferenceHTTPClient
# 2. Connect to your workflow
client = InferenceHTTPClient(
api_url="https://serverless.roboflow.com",
api_key="YOUR_API_KEY"
)
# 3. Run your workflow on an image
result = client.run_workflow(
workspace_name="your-workspace",
workflow_id="yolo26-object-detection-coco-medium",
images={
"image": "YOUR_IMAGE.jpg" # Path to your image file
},
use_cache=True # cache workflow definition for 15 minutes
)
# 4. Get your results
print(result)Deploy this workflow to your Roboflow workspace to use it.
const response = await fetch('https://serverless.roboflow.com/your-workspace/workflows/yolo26-object-detection-coco-medium', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
body: JSON.stringify({
api_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
inputs: {
"image": {"type": "url", "value": "IMAGE_URL"}
}
})
});
const result = await response.json();
console.log(result);Deploy this workflow to your Roboflow workspace to use it.
curl --location 'https://serverless.roboflow.com/your-workspace/workflows/yolo26-object-detection-coco-medium' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
"inputs": {
"image": {"type": "url", "value": "IMAGE_URL"}
}
}'Add the Roboflow MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http roboflow https://mcp.roboflow.com/mcp
Run /mcp and authorize Roboflow in your browser when the OAuth flow opens.
Start a new Claude Code session so the MCP loads, then paste the prompt below (it works the same in any agent).
Deploy this workflow to your Roboflow workspace to use it.
Integrate the Roboflow "YOLO26" workflow into my app.
- Endpoint: POST https://serverless.roboflow.com/<your-workspace>/workflows/yolo26-instance-segmentation-coco-medium
- Auth: send my Roboflow API key as `api_key` in the request body, read from the ROBOFLOW_API_KEY env var (never hardcode).
- Body: { "api_key": ..., "inputs": { `image`: { type: "url" | "base64", value } } }.
With the Roboflow MCP connected, call `workflows_get` on "yolo26-instance-segmentation-coco-medium" to read the exact input schema (the source of truth), then `workflows_run` on a sample image to confirm the output shape before writing code (the MCP is authenticated, so this needs no key). Without the MCP, use the contract above.
Before running the app, set up these keys so it does not error at runtime:
- `ROBOFLOW_API_KEY` (sent as `api_key`) from https://app.roboflow.com/settings/api
Create a .gitignore'd .env with these variables, using placeholder values for any I haven't given you. Then pause and tell me directly, in your reply: the full path to the .env file, exactly which keys I need to paste in, and the link to get each one. Wait for me to confirm I've added them before you run anything. Do not run the app until I confirm.
Then add the integration to my codebase: match my project's language, framework, and conventions; read every key from environment variables (never hardcode); add basic error handling; and include a small runnable example. If you can't tell what language my project uses, ask me.pip install inference-sdkDeploy this workflow to your Roboflow workspace to use it.
# 1. Import the library
from inference_sdk import InferenceHTTPClient
# 2. Connect to your workflow
client = InferenceHTTPClient(
api_url="https://serverless.roboflow.com",
api_key="YOUR_API_KEY"
)
# 3. Run your workflow on an image
result = client.run_workflow(
workspace_name="your-workspace",
workflow_id="yolo26-instance-segmentation-coco-medium",
images={
"image": "YOUR_IMAGE.jpg" # Path to your image file
},
use_cache=True # cache workflow definition for 15 minutes
)
# 4. Get your results
print(result)Deploy this workflow to your Roboflow workspace to use it.
const response = await fetch('https://serverless.roboflow.com/your-workspace/workflows/yolo26-instance-segmentation-coco-medium', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
body: JSON.stringify({
api_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
inputs: {
"image": {"type": "url", "value": "IMAGE_URL"}
}
})
});
const result = await response.json();
console.log(result);Deploy this workflow to your Roboflow workspace to use it.
curl --location 'https://serverless.roboflow.com/your-workspace/workflows/yolo26-instance-segmentation-coco-medium' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
"inputs": {
"image": {"type": "url", "value": "IMAGE_URL"}
}
}'YOLO26 is released under AGPL-3.0, the most restrictive of the common model licenses. AGPL-3.0 requires the user to open-source any code changes they make, including the code of any other projects that connect directly to the model, so the YOLO26 license usually means a separate commercial license for business use.
Serving YOLO26 behind an API or inside a hosted product counts: AGPL-3.0 reaches the code of other projects that connect directly to the model, which is what catches most commercial deployments by surprise.
Read the full AGPL-3.0 license ↗A commercial license is a separate license which gives you the right to use YOLO26 without an obligation to open-source related code changes. Roboflow plans include commercial licenses for the supported models listed on the licensing page, scoped by deployment method: Roboflow Managed Cloud on Public plans, a Self-Hosted Inference Server on Core, and deployment outside the Roboflow ecosystem on Enterprise.
Do not hesitate to reach out with questions for your commercial project — our team will help you start solving business problems on the first call. See Roboflow commercial licensing for the models included in each plan.
Talk to salesThis model is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0), a strong copyleft license. Like GPL-3.0, derivative works must be released under the same license, and AGPL-3.0 extends this requirement to network deployment.
Commercial use is permitted under AGPL-3.0, but if you offer this model as part of a network service (such as a public API or web app), you must make the complete source code of your modified version available to all users of that service. Many commercial users prefer to acquire a separate license from the model authors to avoid this requirement.
AGPL-3.0 closes the "SaaS loophole" in GPL-3.0: even hosting the model behind an API counts as distribution and triggers the source-disclosure requirement.
To use YOLO26 in a commercial project without the AGPL-3.0 conditions, you need a commercial license. As a paid Roboflow customer, you're automatically granted commercial-use rights for YOLO26 models trained on or uploaded to our platform. See the Roboflow Licensing guide for the deployment-method by plan matrix.
If you're a free Roboflow customer, you can use YOLO26 through our serverless hosted API at no cost. Self-hosted commercial use requires a paid plan.
License information is provided as a guide and is not legal advice.
YOLO26 is a pretrained computer vision model for object detection and instance segmentation. Unlike a general vision language model, it returns structured predictions for its task rather than free text.
YOLO26 comes in 6 sizes: Nano (640×640), Small (640×640), Medium (640×640), Large (640×640), XL (640×640), Extra Large (640×640). Smaller variants run faster on constrained hardware; larger ones trade speed for accuracy. You can switch sizes in the demo to compare them on the same image.
Yes. The demo on this page runs YOLO26 in the free Roboflow Playground: upload an image and see results in seconds. A free account unlocks unlimited runs.