Can I run Command R (08-2024) locally?

Cohere | 128,000 token context | $0.15/M input, $0.60/M output. command-r-08-2024 is an update of the [Command R](/models/cohere/command-r) with improved performance for multilingual retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and tool use. More broadly, it is better at math, code and reasoning and...

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Captain's notes

Written by Captain, the house editor

Notes from 2026-10-13

Command R (08-2024) is Cohere's August 2024 refresh of their mid-tier Command R, built around retrieval-augmented generation and tool use across multiple languages. The update sharpens math, code and reasoning relative to the original. At $0.15 per million input tokens it sits at the cheaper end of hosted models, making it a practical pick for RAG pipelines and agentic workflows rather than open-ended chat.

Known for

Multilingual RAG: a stated design priority, not an afterthought.
Tool use and agentic workflows baked into the training.
Improved math and code over the original Command R.
128k context window at a low per-token price.
Cohere's enterprise-oriented API ecosystem behind it.

Watch out for

Weights are not public; you run it through Cohere's API only, no local deployment.
Better-rounded rivals exist at similar prices if RAG and tool use are not your focus.

Best for

Prompts to try

RAG answer with citations

Here are three document excerpts: [Doc 1] Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity via the photovoltaic effect. [Doc 2] Installation costs have dropped 90% since 2010. [Doc 3] Grid-tied systems can sell surplus power back to utilities. Answer this question using only the documents above, citing each source: Is solar power a practical investment today?

Tool-use planning

You have access to three tools: web_search(query), calculator(expression), and send_email(to, subject, body). A user asks: 'Find today's EUR/USD rate, calculate how much 2,500 EUR is in USD, then email the result to finance@example.com.' Write out the exact sequence of tool calls you would make, with arguments, to complete this task.

Multilingual data extraction

Extract the company name, invoice number, total amount and due date from the following invoice text, then return a JSON object. The invoice may be in French, Spanish or German — handle whichever it is: 'Facture n° 2024-0891 | Client: Dupont & Fils | Montant total: 4 320,00 € | Date d'échéance: 15 septembre 2024'

Compare with

Command A
Open-weights model
256,000 token context · $2.50/M input, $10.00/M output
Command R7B (12-2024)
API-only model
128,000 token context · $0.04/M input, $0.15/M output
Nemotron 3 Ultra
Open-weights model
262,144 token context · $0.60/M input, $2.40/M output
Step 5 Preview
Open-weights model
1,048,576 token context · $1.00/M input, $2.70/M output

More text models from cohere

Questions people ask

Can I run Command R (08-2024) locally?: No. Cohere has not released the weights publicly, so the model is available only through Cohere's API.
What does it cost and how long is the context?: Pricing is $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens, with a 128,000-token context window.
How does this differ from the original Command R?: This August 2024 update improves multilingual RAG, tool use, math and code performance over the base Command R, while keeping the same price tier.

Captain's verdict
A solid, cheap workhorse for multilingual RAG and tool-use pipelines — just don't expect open weights or frontier reasoning.

Captain writes these notes from the model's own description and model card. Prices and context sizes are the provider's at the time of writing and can change.

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Command R (08 2024) is a text model for the Text / LLM family listed on ModelTrends.ai, a read-only catalog of open source AI image, video and text models. Compare it with other Text / LLM models and check its heat score to see how it is trending.

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