Axolotl

tool active open-source

A tool for fine-tuning LLMs with a focus on ease of use and flexibility. Axolotl supports various fine-tuning methods (full, LoRA, QLoRA), multiple model architectures, and different dataset formats. It provides YAML-based configuration for reproducible training runs.

Implements

Concepts this tool claims to implement:

  • Full fine-tuning and parameter-efficient methods (LoRA, QLoRA, ReLoRA). Support for Llama, Mistral, Mixtral, Falcon, and other architectures. Flash attention, gradient checkpointing, DeepSpeed integration.

  • Dataset formats for instruction tuning (Alpaca, ShareGPT, completion). Chat template support. Multi-turn conversation training.

  • RLHF secondary

    DPO (Direct Preference Optimization) support. Reward model training capabilities. RLHF-style alignment methods.

Integration Surfaces

  • CLI
  • YAML configuration
  • Python API
  • Docker
  • Hugging Face integration

Details

Vendor
OpenAccess AI Collective (community)
License
Apache-2.0
Runs On
local, cloud
Used By
human, system

Notes

Axolotl is the go-to tool for fine-tuning open LLMs. Balances power and usability - YAML configs make runs reproducible while supporting advanced features. Active community with frequent updates for new models and methods. Often used with runpod or Lambda Labs for GPU access.