---
title: "Step 5 Preview | Ethical Stack"
url: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/
catalog_version: f6baff2119d0e9158520da7fbe4232011dac79f25bd08757436d7a1dbd593db2
---

# Step 5 Preview

Flagship preview for long-horizon agentic work, software engineering, and professional tasks; the official card gives deployment configurations requiring 4 B300 or 8 H200 GPUs for FP8 examples.

Canonical profile: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/

Scope: StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.

Published overall: 3.4; 5/6 dimensions rated.

Round the equal-weight mean of available numerical ratings to one decimal; require at least four of six for an overall score. BDS status stays outside the mean; for eligible profiles, a boycott target caps the final score at 2/10 and a pressure target subtracts one point (minimum 1). Not listed and not checked do not adjust the score.

## Energy practices

Finding: 2/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/#energy

This is a practices and disclosure grade, not an estimate of energy or emissions for inference.

Reason: 1 + 1 reporting + 0 electricity + 0 controls = 2/10. This grades documented practices and transparency.

Argument: The model card gives GPU-count examples for deployment, which defines a runtime boundary. It provides no measured electricity, emissions, or water, so no impact estimate is supported.

Type: argument; confidence: low

Scope (dimension): StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: No training or per-request electricity, emissions, water, power sourcing, or independently reviewed footprint is established.

```json
{
  "method": "practices-transparency-v1",
  "scope": "StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.",
  "components": {
    "disclosure": {
      "score": 1,
      "reason": "The official release materials provide downloadable weights and a local serving path for Step 5 Preview; this establishes an operating boundary, not a measured footprint.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    },
    "electricity": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No model-specific electricity sourcing or hourly power evidence is published in the reviewed sources; zero means unestablished, not dirty electricity.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    },
    "demand": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "The card provides deployment configurations but no measured physical resource reductions or model-specific demand-control evidence.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    }
  },
  "actualImpactMeasured": false
}
```

- [Official Step 5 Preview model card and release repository](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Step 5 Preview published weights, code, and license files](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Training data

Finding: 2/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/#training-rights

The preview release publishes architecture and serving detail but no named-source training ledger or permission record.

Reason: 1 base + 1 source transparency + 0 documented corpus permission + 0 creator controls = 2/10; weight licensing is not treated as training-data permission.

Argument: The official Step 5 Preview materials focus on agentic capabilities, checkpoint details, and serving configurations. They do not identify the full training corpus or provide source-level permission evidence; a release license governs use of weights, not corpus rights.

Type: evidence; confidence: low

Scope (dimension): StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: Named dataset inventory, inherited base sources, rights for copyrighted or human-authored training material, and creator removal or retraining mechanisms remain unestablished.

```json
{
  "method": "training-rights-evidence-v1",
  "scope": "StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.",
  "components": {
    "provenance": {
      "score": 1,
      "reason": "The model card describes architecture and checkpoint variants but does not provide a named corpus manifest.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    },
    "permissions": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "The model card and license files do not establish permission for the full training corpus.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    },
    "creatorControls": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No source-level creator opt-out, removal, or retraining remedy is documented in the reviewed release materials.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    }
  },
  "routeDependency": null,
  "modelReference": null
}
```

- [Official Step 5 Preview model card and release repository](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Step 5 Preview published weights, code, and license files](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Your data & privacy

Finding: Not enough evidence

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/#privacy

Privacy depends on the hosting route; this preview checkpoint does not define a universal prompt-handling policy.

Reason: Depends on the selected inference host; do not transfer the model license to a hosting provider’s privacy practices.

Argument: The official card provides self-hosted inference configurations and public weights, but it does not set one inference host or data-retention policy for every user. Local and hosted deployments have different privacy controls, so a universal model-level privacy score would mislead.

Type: argument; confidence: high

Scope (profile): StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: The selected host, region, telemetry, logging, and provider training terms are separate from the checkpoint release and require route-specific review.

- [Official Step 5 Preview model card and release repository](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Step 5 Preview published weights, code, and license files](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Openness

Finding: 5/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/#openness

A downloadable preview checkpoint and model card are public, while model-specific license terms and preview status limit openness and stability.

Reason: The weights and technical details are published, but the “other” license and preview-only status leave important use and stability limits.

Argument: StepFun publishes model weights, inference code, and a detailed deployment guide, but the repository identifies the license as “other” and provides separate license files. The card labels the release Preview; review those terms and release status before reuse.

Type: argument; confidence: medium

Scope (profile): StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: The implications of the model-specific license for a particular deployment, preview-support timeline, and a full reproducible training recipe are not established here.

- [Official Step 5 Preview model card and release repository](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Step 5 Preview published weights, code, and license files](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Worker protections

Finding: 1/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/#labour

No worker protections or supply-chain labor assurance are established by the Step 5 Preview release materials.

Reason: 1 base + 0 conditions + 0 worker voice/remedy + 0 evidence/follow-through = 1/10; this is a disclosure finding, not proof of abuse.

Argument: The model page describes agentic capabilities, hardware, and deployment, not conditions for employees, data annotators, evaluators, moderators, or infrastructure contractors. This is a source-bounded disclosure gap, not evidence of mistreatment.

Type: argument; confidence: low

Scope (profile): StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: Worker locations, pay, supplier coverage, worker voice, labor audits, and remediation outcomes are not established by the cited model-release sources.

```json
{
  "method": "worker-safeguards-evidence-v1",
  "entity": "models/step-5-preview",
  "company": "",
  "scope": "The named developer or operator",
  "components": {
    "conditions": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No worker-level conditions or supply-chain safeguards are established in this model-family source set. This is a disclosure gap, not proof of mistreatment.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    },
    "voice": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "The model sources do not document a worker voice or remedy mechanism for data, evaluation, or infrastructure labor.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    },
    "assurance": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No independent worker-level audit or remediation outcome is established in the reviewed model sources.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    }
  },
  "disclosureLimited": true
}
```

- [Official Step 5 Preview model card and release repository](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Step 5 Preview published weights, code, and license files](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Military ties

Finding: 7/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/#military-contracts

No military relationship or release-specific use safeguards are established for Step 5 Preview in the reviewed sources.

Reason: 7 base + 0 safeguard adjustment = 7/10 (0 of 9 safeguard points; every 3 adds 1). No military relationship was established in the cited sources. This ranks above known defense ties without claiming a verified clean record.

Argument: The official Step 5 Preview card identifies capabilities, release files, and serving configurations but does not report a military customer, contract, deployment, or military-use safeguards. This source gap does not establish that none exists.

Type: argument; confidence: low

Scope (profile): StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: Undisclosed customer contracts, deployment, end-use restrictions, and independent enforcement outcomes are not established by this release review.

```json
{
  "method": "military-ties-priority-v2",
  "entity": "models/step-5-preview",
  "company": "",
  "scope": "The named developer or operator",
  "components": {
    "restrictions": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "The cited model license and release documents do not establish a model-specific binding ban on military or intelligence use. This is limited to this source set.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    },
    "oversight": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No military-specific monitoring, enforcement, or remedy mechanism is established in the reviewed model materials.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    },
    "transparency": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "The model materials do not disclose a model-specific military relationship or military-use record. This absence does not establish no relationship.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview",
        "https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main"
      ]
    }
  },
  "disclosureLimited": true,
  "relationship": "not-established",
  "relationshipReason": "The reviewed model-release sources do not establish a defense relationship; absence of disclosure is not a clean-record finding.",
  "score": 7,
  "baseScore": 7,
  "safeguardPoints": 0,
  "safeguardAdjustment": 0,
  "rawScore": 7,
  "cap": null
}
```

- [Official Step 5 Preview model card and release repository](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Step 5 Preview published weights, code, and license files](https://huggingface.co/stepfun-ai/Step-5-Preview/tree/main) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## BDS targets

Finding: Not listed

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/step-5-preview/#israel-palestine

StepFun is not named in the two official BNC campaign lists checked. This is a limited list check, not BDS approval.

Reason: Campaign category, excluded from numerical scoring.

Argument: The BNC consumer boycott/pressure guide and No Tech campaign page do not name StepFun among their targets. BDS uses selective campaigns, so absence from these two lists is neutral and does not establish a clean record or approval.

Type: argument; confidence: medium

Scope (profile): StepFun Step 5 Preview, a publicly downloadable but explicitly preview-stage 600B/27B-active multimodal checkpoint. It is not treated as a stable general release.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: This check covers only the named targets in the two cited BNC campaigns, not every BDS campaign, local group, investment, supplier, or downstream host. Lists and ownership may change.

- [BNC official consumer boycott and pressure guide](https://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [BNC No Tech campaign page](https://bdsmovement.net/no-tech-oppression-apartheid-or-genocide) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Reading the evidence

- Assessments are provisional editorial judgments. Cite the profile and the underlying sources, and retain confidence, scope and unknowns.

- Unknown, not-applicable and model-dependent are different states. Missing evidence does not establish good or bad conduct.

- Company-level evidence does not establish use of a particular product or model. Account plan, model, host and route can change an assessment.

- Energy scores describe documented practices and transparency, not measured request emissions. Zero component points can mean an evidence gap.

- Published overall scores require at least four of six numerical dimensions. Preserve coverage and BDS adjustments; BDS itself is categorical.

- No named BDS target found is limited to the reviewed campaign sources and is not approval. Personalized priorities do not change the published overall score.

- Review and source-check dates describe the research, not this deployment. Fetch current primary sources when the decision requires current verification.

Methodology: https://ethicalstack.ai/methodology/