# Cohere Aya Expanse 8B — deprecation status

> Yes — Aya Expanse 8B is retired. Cohere deprecated it on April 4, 2026 and shut it down on April 4, 2026; API requests to it now fail. The recommended replacement is Command A.

The small half of Cohere Labs' 23-language Aya Expanse release, and a model a lot of people picked precisely because 8B was the size they could self-host. It was retired on 4 April 2026, the same day it was announced. The 32B version survives; this one does not.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Provider | Cohere |
| Model id | `c4ai-aya-expanse-8b` |
| Status | Retired |
| Deprecated | April 4, 2026 |
| Shutdown | April 4, 2026 (121 days ago) |
| Last verified | August 3, 2026 |

## Replacement

- **Command A** (`command-a-03-2025`) · recommended — https://modeldeprecations.dev/cohere/command-a-03-2025
  - Cohere names command-a-03-2025 and command-a-reasoning-08-2025, both far larger than 8B. If size was the point, command-r7b-12-2024 is the nearest supported model.
  - Parameters it accepts: https://modelparams.dev/models/cohere/command-a-03-2025

```diff
- "model": "c4ai-aya-expanse-8b"
+ "model": "command-a-03-2025"
```

## FAQ

### When did Cohere Aya Expanse 8B shut down?

Cohere Aya Expanse 8B shut down on April 4, 2026. API requests to it fail from that date onward.

### What replaces Cohere Aya Expanse 8B?

Cohere recommends Command A (`command-a-03-2025`) as the replacement for Cohere Aya Expanse 8B. Cohere names command-a-03-2025 and command-a-reasoning-08-2025, both far larger than 8B. If size was the point, command-r7b-12-2024 is the nearest supported model.

### Is Cohere Aya Expanse 8B still available?

No. Cohere Aya Expanse 8B is retired and no longer served — it was shut down on April 4, 2026. Calls to it return an error.

### How do I migrate from Cohere Aya Expanse 8B to command-a-03-2025?

Swap the model id in your API call: replace "c4ai-aya-expanse-8b" with "command-a-03-2025". Cohere names command-a-03-2025 and command-a-reasoning-08-2025, both far larger than 8B. If size was the point, command-r7b-12-2024 is the nearest supported model.

## Sources

- [Cohere deprecations](https://docs.cohere.com/docs/deprecations) — accessed 2026-08-03

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Canonical page: https://modeldeprecations.dev/cohere/c4ai-aya-expanse-8b
JSON: https://modeldeprecations.dev/api/v1/models/cohere/c4ai-aya-expanse-8b.json