# No Positional Embeddings (NoPE)

> Some or all layers drop explicit positional encodings and rely on the causal mask.

Category: Positions & normalization

Because a decoder's causal mask already prevents tokens from seeing the future, the model can infer order implicitly. NoPE layers omit RoPE entirely.

Studies suggest this can help length generalisation. SmolLM3 removes RoPE from every fourth layer; Kimi K3 goes NoPE throughout.

**Trade-off:** Potentially better extrapolation to longer contexts; less explicit positional signal.

## Models using NoPE (18)

- [Mistral Large 4 (1T)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/mistral-large-4.md) — Mistral AI, 2026-10-29
- [Recursive Flint (40B-A2.5B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/recursive-flint-40b-a2-5b.md) — Recursive, 2026-10-18
- [Reflection Beam (501B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/reflection-beam-501b.md) — Reflection, 2026-10-16
- [Muse Spark Open (816B-A42B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/muse-spark-open-816b-a42b.md) — Meta, 2026-10-15
- [Kolibri-1 (78B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/kolibri-1-78b.md) — Aleph Alpha, 2026-10-03
- [Ember-1 (2.8T)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/ember-1.md) — Fireworks AI, 2026-09-23
- [GLM-5.3-Flash (320B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/glm-5-3-flash.md) — Z.ai, 2026-08-26
- [Muse Glimmer (30B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/muse-glimmer-30b.md) — Meta, 2026-08-10
- [Kimi K3 (2.8T)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/kimi-k3.md) — Moonshot AI, 2026-07-27
- [Solar Open 2 (250B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/solar-open-2.md) — Upstage, 2026-07-22
- [Soofi S (30B-A3B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/soofi-s-30b-a3b.md) — SOOFI Consortium, 2026-07-10
- [North Mini Code (30B-A3B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/north-mini-code-30b-a3b.md) — Cohere, 2026-06-05
- [Command A+ (218B-A25B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/command-a-218b-a25b.md) — Cohere, 2026-05-20
- [Sarvam (105B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/sarvam-105b.md) — Sarvam AI, 2026-03-03
- [Tiny Aya (3.35B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/tiny-aya-3-35b.md) — Cohere, 2026-02-13
- [Arcee AI Trinity Large (400B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/arcee-ai-trinity-large-400b.md) — Arcee AI, 2026-01-27
- [Kimi Linear (48B-A3B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/kimi-linear-48b-a3b.md) — Moonshot AI, 2025-10-30
- [SmolLM3 (3B)](https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/models/smollm3-3b.md) — Hugging Face, 2025-06-19

Full explainer with figures by Sebastian Raschka: https://sebastianraschka.com/llm-architecture-gallery/nope/
Web page: https://llm-atlas-7or.pages.dev/concepts/nope/