LM Studio

---
schema: "https://insidethemachine.ai/schema/listing.schema.json"
slug: "lm-studio"
name: "LM Studio"
category: "Runtimes / Inference"
stack_layer: "runtime"
homepage: "https://lmstudio.ai/"
repo: "https://github.com/lmstudio-ai/lms"
docs: "https://lmstudio.ai/docs"
license: "lms CLI: MIT (LM Studio desktop app is proprietary freeware)"
platforms: ["macos-apple-silicon", "linux", "windows"]
mac_studio_fit: "Primary"
stars: 5352
stars_as_of: "2026-10-15"
last_push: "2026-10-14"
gap_score: null
gap_score_status: "pending test on Mac Studio"
benchmarks_status: "pending test on Mac Studio"
verified_on: "2026-10-15"
sponsored: false
---

# LM Studio

> Desktop app for discovering and running local models, plus the lms CLI and a local server.

**What:** A desktop app for local models. **Why:** Browse, download and chat with no terminal needed.

**Stack layer:** runtime (model → runtime → harness → memory → tools)

A desktop application for downloading and running local LLMs, with a CLI (lms) for scripting: status, server start/stop, list and load models.

**Gap role:** Point-and-click model management with an OpenAI-compatible local server; good for comparing GGUF vs MLX builds of the same model on a Mac.

## Gap Score

null (pending test on Mac Studio)

## Prerequisites

- LM Studio 0.2.22 or newer (ships lms)

## Install

### macOS (Apple Silicon)

1. Homebrew cask (0.4.26 as of 2026-10-15) or download from https://lmstudio.ai/:

```bash
brew install --cask lm-studio
```

2. only if `lms` is not on PATH; then open a new terminal:

```bash
npx lmstudio install-cli
```

### Linux

1. Run:

```bash
# download the Linux build from https://lmstudio.ai/ then run: npx lmstudio install-cli
```

### Windows

1. Run:

```bash
# download the installer from https://lmstudio.ai/ then run: npx lmstudio install-cli
```

## Configure

1. start the local API server:

```bash
lms server start
```

2. list downloaded models:

```bash
lms ls
```

## Verify

1. Expect: shows LM Studio status

```bash
lms status
```

2. Expect: machine-readable model list

```bash
lms ls --json
```

3. Expect: JSON model list (1234 is LM Studio's usual server port; check the app if changed)

```bash
curl -s http://localhost:1234/v1/models
```

## Rollback

1. Run:

```bash
lms server stop
```

2. if installed via Homebrew:

```bash
brew uninstall --cask lm-studio
```

3. Run:

```bash
# downloaded models and settings live under ~/.lmstudio; delete only if you want them gone
```

## One-command install

Status: docs-checked (Not run: commands checked against the official docs only). The wrapper scripts are generated from the site data. Every .sh passed bash -n and shellcheck and ran in plan mode on Linux (Debian 13). Every .ps1 passed the PowerShell parser and chat.ps1 ran in plan, verify and rollback mode under PowerShell 7 on Linux with Windows calls mocked. Not run on macOS or real Windows.

```bash
curl -fsSL https://insidethemachine.ai/install/lm-studio.sh | bash            # install, then check
curl -fsSL https://insidethemachine.ai/install/lm-studio.sh | bash -s -- plan    # print only
curl -fsSL https://insidethemachine.ai/install/lm-studio.sh | bash -s -- rollback --yes
```

Details and Windows: https://insidethemachine.ai/install/lm-studio.md

## Caveats

- Desktop app is not open source; only the CLI repo is.

## Benchmarks

Status: pending test on Mac Studio. Rig: Mac Studio, Apple Silicon, 128GB unified memory. No results published yet.

## Works with

- open-webui (https://insidethemachine.ai/setups/open-webui.md)
- litellm (https://insidethemachine.ai/setups/litellm.md)
- aider (https://insidethemachine.ai/setups/aider.md)

## Sources

- https://github.com/lmstudio-ai/lms
- https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/lm-studio
- https://lmstudio.ai/