MLX LM
Run and fine-tune LLMs on Apple Silicon with Apple’s MLX framework.
- Stars
- 7.3K
- Forks
- 1.1K
- Open issues
- 236
- Last commit
- 2026-10-10
Live from the GitHub API · updated 2026-10-15
What is MLX LM?
MLX LM uses Apple’s MLX array framework to run LLMs efficiently on M-series Macs, with quantization, LoRA fine-tuning and direct access to thousands of mlx-community models on Hugging Face.
Key features
- Optimized for Apple Silicon unified memory
- Quantize and convert Hugging Face models
- LoRA and full fine-tuning
- OpenAI-compatible server
System requirements
- Platforms
- macOS
- GPU
- Apple Silicon (M1 or newer)
- Python
- 3.9+
How to install MLX LM
Summarized from the project’s README. Projects change quickly — check the GitHub page for the latest instructions.
pip
- 1Install.
pip install mlx-lm - 2Generate text.
mlx_lm.generate --model mlx-community/Llama-3.2-3B-Instruct-4bit --prompt "Write a haiku about the sea"
Strengths
- Fastest option on Macs
- Easy fine-tuning
Limitations
- Apple Silicon only
MLX LM alternatives compared
| Software | Stars | License | Platforms | VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLX LM Run and fine-tune LLMs on Apple Silicon with Apple’s MLX framework. | 7.3K | MIT | — | |
| Ollama Get up and running with large language models locally. | 183.2K | MIT | — | |
| llama.cpp LLM inference in C/C++ — the engine behind most local AI apps. | 131.2K | MIT | — | |
| Jan Open-source ChatGPT-style desktop app that runs 100% offline. | 45K | AGPL-3.0 | — | |
| GPT4All Private, on-device chat with local document Q&A. | 77.4K | MIT | — | |
| LocalAI Self-hosted, OpenAI-compatible API for text, images, audio and more. | 49.5K | MIT | — |
FAQ
Is MLX LM free?
Yes — MLX LM is open-source software released under the MIT license. Check the license (and any model weight licenses) before commercial use.
Does MLX LM run on Windows, Mac and Linux?
MLX LM supports: macOS.
What hardware do I need for MLX LM?
Apple Silicon (M1 or newer)
How do I install MLX LM?
1. Install. 2. Generate text.
What are the best MLX LM alternatives?
Popular alternatives include Ollama, llama.cpp, Jan, GPT4All. See the comparison table on this page.