New Release: Ultralytics v8.4.18

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Ultralytics v8.4.18 is out! :hammer_and_wrench::rocket: (Reliability + ExecuTorch upgrades)

Ultralytics v8.4.18 is a reliability-focused release that hardens downloads and dependency installs, and delivers a major ExecuTorch export refactor (now including smoother Pose support) for better edge/mobile deployment. :mobile_phone::high_voltage:

If you’re building with Ultralytics YOLO (especially YOLO26 for new projects), this update makes the tooling more robust and the export path cleaner.

:glowing_star: Highlights (what you’ll notice first)

:wrench: Priority reliability fix: safer downloads

safe_download() now handles URLs containing spaces by encoding them as %20, preventing broken downloads from links like file paths or hosted assets with spaces. :white_check_mark:

Implemented in PR #23736 by @glenn-jocher.

:mobile_phone: Major export upgrade: ExecuTorch refactor + Pose improvements

ExecuTorch export has been refactored into a first-class shared utility module:

  • New ultralytics/utils/export/executorch.py with reusable torch2executorch() and executorch_wrapper()
  • Export pipeline now uses the shared utility (cleaner + easier to maintain)
  • Added a Pose-safe decoding patch for better XNNPACK compatibility
  • Benchmarks no longer block Pose + ExecuTorch inference
  • Added a new reference docs page for ExecuTorch export

Merged via PR #23734 by @lakshanthad.

:package: Improvements

:puzzle_piece: Dependency handling: git+ requirements with version constraints

Fixes invalid install behavior by cleaning git URL requirement strings before install—less setup friction in custom environments. :toolbox:

PR #23737 by @fcakyon.

:ledger: Notebook/API modernization

The object tracking notebook was updated from deprecated Annotator.seg_bbox() to the modern plotting API Results.plot(color_mode="instance") for better forward compatibility. :movie_camera:

PR #23745 by @ahmet-f-gumustas.

:books: Docs updates

  • OBB docs now reference a newer YOLO26 tutorial video (PR #23738 by @RizwanMunawar)
  • Vercel Web Analytics added to the docs template to help the team prioritize what users need most (PR #23746 by @glenn-jocher)

:white_check_mark: How to update

pip install -U ultralytics

Then try your usual train, predict, or export workflows—especially if you’re exporting to ExecuTorch for mobile/embedded deployment.

:link: Release links

You can review the full release details in the Ultralytics v8.4.18 GitHub release, or browse the v8.4.17 → v8.4.18 full changelog diff for everything merged.

:speech_balloon: Feedback welcome

If you hit any download edge-cases, dependency install quirks, or ExecuTorch/Pose export issues, please reply with your command + logs (and device details for edge deployments). Your feedback helps keep Ultralytics YOLO rock-solid for everyone. :raising_hands: