# Model Preparation

## Overview

Before uploading a custom model to the Model Registry, you need to prepare two components: the Model File(s) and an accompanying
Model Card. This section walks you through how to prepare them properly.

## Model File(s) Preparation

 * Train a model of choice or obtain an existing model of interest.

 * If the model is in ONNX (.onnx), OpenVINO IR (.xml and .bin), or TensorFlow Lite (.tflite) format, you can skip this step. If
   the model is one of the [supported PyTorch YOLO
   models](#Model%2520Preparation-Model%2520File(s)%2520Preparation-Supported%2520PyTorch%2520YOLO%2520Models), you can also skip
   this step. Else convert it to one of the formats mentioned above. For more information, see the guidelines in the Model Source
   Preparation section on the [Model Conversion](https://docs.luxonis.com/software-v3/ai-inference/conversion.md) page.

 * Optionally, package the model file(s) it into a [NN Archive](https://docs.luxonis.com/software-v3/ai-inference/nn-archive.md).
   This will ease the model conversion for the appropriate RVC platform.

### Supported PyTorch YOLO Models

Hub supports a defined subset of PyTorch YOLO models for direct upload and conversion. The currently supported families include
YOLOv5, YOLOv6, YOLOv7, YOLOv8, YOLOv9, YOLOv10, YOLO11, YOLO12, YOLO26, YOLOE, and Gold-YOLO. For the exact set of supported YOLO
families, variants, and current limitations, refer to the upstream [supported models
table](https://github.com/luxonis/tools?tab=readme-ov-file#-supported-models).

## Model Card Preparation

Model card can be abribtrary for private (team-owned) models. For public models, however, it should follow the structure and
contain the information described in the Model Card section on the main page. It's adviced to consult the model release paper,
GitHub repositories, and other relevant resources to obtain the required information. To get a better idea of the Model Card
structure and what information should be included, we suggest checking our [Model Card
Template](https://docs.luxonis.com/cloud/hubai/model-registry/modelcard-template.md) or looking at the Model Cards of existing
entries in Hub.