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How to download and install LM Studio on Mac

LM Studio runs AI language models on your own Mac, with a chat window and a local server, and it comes from LM Studio’s website. Here is whether your Mac can run it, how to install it and how to get your first model.

LM Studio

  • macOS 14 or later
  • Apple Silicon only
  • Free for personal and work use
Official LM Studio websitelmstudio.ai ↗

Or the installer straight from the developer’s server:

For Apple Silicon.dmg

The links go to the developer’s website (lmstudio.ai). MacWashing is not affiliated with the developer and keeps no installers.

Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities) and run:

brew install --cask lm-studio

Homebrew downloads the app from the developer’s server, checks the file and puts the app in Applications.

No Homebrew yet? How to install Homebrew: one command from brew.sh.

Before you download

LM Studio runs only on Macs with Apple Silicon and needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Intel Macs are not supported. LM Studio recommends 16 GB of memory or more: on an 8 GB Mac, stick to small models. To check your Mac:

  1. Choose Apple menu › About This Mac.
  2. If you see Chip with Apple M1, M2 or later, LM Studio will run. If you see Processor with Intel, it won’t.

The download page also offers LM Studio Bionic, a separate agent app. This guide is about LM Studio itself. Download it only from lmstudio.ai.

How to install LM Studio

  1. Open the downloaded LM-Studio-….dmg in your Downloads folder.
  2. In the window that opens, drag LM Studio to the Applications folder.
The LM Studio disk image window: LM Studio and the Applications folder to drag it to
  1. Eject the LM Studio disk: click the eject button next to it in the Finder sidebar.
  2. Open LM Studio from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.

What to set up after the first launch

  • Your first model. Open the Discover tab, pick one of the suggested models or search by name, and download it. Searching and downloading need the internet. Chatting with a downloaded model doesn’t.
  • Where models live. Models are stored in ~/.lmstudio/models in your home folder. To keep them elsewhere, for example on an external drive, change the folder in the My Models tab.
  • Model size. Each model takes gigabytes, the biggest tens of them. Keep only the ones you use.
  • The installer. Once LM Studio runs, move the .dmg from Downloads to the Trash: it takes over half a gigabyte.

If LM Studio won’t install or open

  • «LM Studio is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete the file and download it again from LM Studio’s website.
  • LM Studio doesn’t start. Check About This Mac: LM Studio needs Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or later.
  • Nothing helps. Remove LM Studio completely and install it again: see how to uninstall LM Studio on Mac.

Alternatives to LM Studio

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Questions and answers

Is LM Studio free?

Yes. LM Studio is free to use for personal purposes and for internal use at work.

Is LM Studio in the Mac App Store?

No. LM Studio for Mac comes from lmstudio.ai. Download it there or install it with Homebrew.

Does LM Studio work without the internet?

Yes, once a model is on your Mac. You need the internet only to search for models and download them.