Training & fine-tuningApache-2.0Python

Axolotl

Config-driven LLM fine-tuning for many models and techniques.

Live from the GitHub API · updated 2026-10-15

What is Axolotl?

Axolotl streamlines fine-tuning with YAML configs covering full fine-tunes, LoRA/QLoRA, DPO and more, with multi-GPU support via DeepSpeed and FSDP.

Summarized from the project’s README. Projects change quickly — check the GitHub page for the latest instructions.

Install with extras.

pip3 install --no-build-isolation axolotl[flash-attn,deepspeed]

Fetch examples and train.

axolotl fetch examples
axolotl train examples/llama-3/lora-1b.yml

Software	Stars	License	VRAM
Axolotl Config-driven LLM fine-tuning for many models and techniques.	12.6K	Apache-2.0	—
Unsloth Fine-tune LLMs 2× faster with up to 70% less memory.	78K	Apache-2.0	3 GB+ depending on model size
LLaMA-Factory Unified fine-tuning for 100+ LLMs and VLMs with a no-code web UI.	75.5K	Apache-2.0	—
TRL Hugging Face’s library for post-training LLMs: SFT, DPO, GRPO.	19.5K	Apache-2.0	—
Kohya’s GUI GUI for training LoRA, DreamBooth and fine-tunes for SD, SDXL and FLUX.	12.6K	Apache-2.0	8 GB+ for SD1.5 LoRA; 12–24 GB for SDXL/FLUX
OneTrainer One-stop trainer for diffusion models with a desktop UI.	3.2K	AGPL-3.0	8 GB+

Is Axolotl free?

Yes — Axolotl is open-source software released under the Apache-2.0 license. Check the license (and any model weight licenses) before commercial use.

Does Axolotl run on Windows, Mac and Linux?

Axolotl supports: Linux, Docker.

What hardware do I need for Axolotl?

NVIDIA (Ampere+ recommended)

How do I install Axolotl?

1. Install with extras. 2. Fetch examples and train.

What are the best Axolotl alternatives?

Popular alternatives include Unsloth, LLaMA-Factory, TRL, Kohya’s GUI. See the comparison table on this page.