llama.cpp review

Q: How do I install llama.cpp?

Run curl -LsSf https://llama.app/install.sh | sh. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

llama.cpp is a plain C/C++ library and set of tools for running LLM and VLM inference locally or in the cloud on many kinds of hardware.

Updated Nov 1, 2026. Review written Oct 25, 2026 from the project's own sources; usage data refreshed every Monday.

TL;DR

llama.cpp runs large language and vision models with minimal setup across CPUs, GPUs and NPUs. It suits developers who want local inference, quantized models, or an OpenAI-compatible server. It is a dependency-free C/C++ implementation built on the ggml library, with many hardware backends.

133kGitHub stars
+844new stars, week of Oct 25
#12in Inference and training this week

llama.cpp at a glance

Category: Inference and training
Maintained by: ggml (organization, @ggml-org on GitHub)
License: MIT
Language: C++, C, Python
Repository: github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp
Website: llama.app
Latest release: b11887 on GitHub, Oct 25, 2026
First published: Mar 10, 2023

What llama.cpp does

llama.cpp downloads and runs GGUF models directly from Hugging Face through its command-line tool.
llama.cpp launches an OpenAI-compatible API server with a built-in web UI through llama serve.
llama.cpp supports 1.5-bit to 8-bit integer quantization for faster inference and reduced memory use.
llama.cpp runs CPU+GPU hybrid inference to partially accelerate models larger than total VRAM capacity.
llama.cpp supports backends including CUDA, HIP, Metal, Vulkan, SYCL, MUSA, CANN, OpenCL, WebGPU and RPC.
llama.cpp handles vision-language model sessions in its CLI, using a multimodal subsystem for image and audio decoding.
llama.cpp supports GBNF grammars to constrain model output.

How it works

llama.cpp is built on the ggml library and ships as a CLI and a server. You run llama cli or llama serve with a Hugging Face model. The server exposes an OpenAI-compatible API, so apps can connect to it. The Llama desktop app for Mac and Windows wraps llama.cpp and serves an API at localhost:9931/v1.

How to install and start using llama.cpp

With curl (macOS/Linux)

curl -LsSf https://llama.app/install.sh | sh

With PowerShell (Windows)

irm https://llama.app/install.ps1 | iex

Requirements

The Llama desktop app runs on Mac and Windows 11; Linux users install the command-line version.
GPU acceleration requires a supported backend, such as CUDA for Nvidia, HIP for AMD, or Metal for Apple Silicon.

First steps

Install llama.cpp with the install script, Docker, pre-built binaries, or by building from source.
Run a model from Hugging Face with: llama cli -hf ggml-org/Qwen3.5-0.8B-GGUF
Start an OpenAI-compatible server with: llama serve -hf ggml-org/Qwen3.5-0.8B-GGUF
Point an OpenAI-compatible app or SDK at the local server's API endpoint.

Who llama.cpp is for

Developers running open models locally on their own hardware, including Apple silicon.
Teams needing a local OpenAI-compatible API for coding agents, editors, and scripts.
Running models on limited memory through quantization or CPU+GPU hybrid inference.
Developers targeting varied hardware such as NPUs, Snapdragon, RISC-V, or IBM Z.

Limitations to know

llama.cpp's OpenVINO backend for Intel CPUs, GPUs and NPUs is marked as in progress.
llama.cpp's frequent builds are published as pre-releases.
llama.cpp's KleidiAI-enabled macOS Apple Silicon build is currently disabled in releases.

Is llama.cpp growing? Usage data

In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, llama.cpp ranked #109 on the Devtoolwatch Board and #12 in Inference and training, with a momentum score of 61 out of 100.

New GitHub stars per week for the last 12 weeks, from GitHub's stargazer history (today's stargazers by the week they starred).

Show the weekly numbers

New GitHub stars per week for llama.cpp
Week of	New stars
Aug 9, 2026	992
Aug 16, 2026	1.2k
Aug 23, 2026	1.1k
Aug 30, 2026	956
Sep 6, 2026	879
Sep 13, 2026	891
Sep 20, 2026	801
Sep 27, 2026	695
Oct 4, 2026	808
Oct 11, 2026	851
Oct 18, 2026	806
Oct 25, 2026	844

On Hacker News

Ggml.ai joins Hugging Face to ensure the long-term progress of Local AI, 839 points and 223 comments (Feb 20, 2026)
Vision Now Available in Llama.cpp, 550 points and 104 comments (May 10, 2025)
llama.cpp, 364 points and 164 comments (Aug 12, 2026)
Mistral Integration Improved in Llama.cpp, 95 points and 15 comments (Aug 11, 2025)
Llama.cpp: Add GPT-OSS, 35 points and 0 comments (Aug 5, 2025)

The Board ranks tools by four signals each week: new stars, new stars for the repo's size, added downloads and download growth beyond the market. How the ranking works.

llama.cpp alternatives

Other LLM inference and training tools on the Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum:

Inference and training ranked by momentum, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026
Rank	Tool	Stars	Downloads/wk
#1	dsh-our-free-modeldsh-our-free-model is a dsh plugin that provides DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Kimi K3 and other models without login, sign-up or API key.	54.3k	–
#2	magpiemagpie is a local gateway and app that lets coding agents like Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI use any provider's model.	26.9k	–
#3	StrataStrata is a local inference engine and app that runs large open models like Qwen3.8-Flash-Next on consumer hardware with…	37.1k	–
#4	edge0edge0 is an open-source streaming inference framework that runs large sparse mixture-of-experts models on consumer hardware by streaming…	8.9k	–
#5	OmniRouteOmniRoute is an open-source AI gateway that routes requests across many model providers through one OpenAI-compatible endpoint, with…	83.2k	106k
#6	CLIProxyAPICLIProxyAPI is a Go proxy server that exposes CLI coding accounts like Codex, Claude Code and Gemini CLI through OpenAI, Gemini and…	57.1k	–

All LLM inference and training tools, ranked

Recent llama.cpp releases

b11887 (pre-release), Oct 25, 2026
b11886 (pre-release), Oct 25, 2026
b11884 (pre-release), Oct 25, 2026
b11883 (pre-release), Oct 25, 2026
b11882 (pre-release), Oct 25, 2026

llama.cpp FAQ

Is llama.cpp free and open source?

Yes. llama.cpp's source code is on GitHub (ggml-org/llama.cpp) under the MIT license, so you can use it for free.

How do I install llama.cpp?

Run curl -LsSf https://llama.app/install.sh | sh. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

Is llama.cpp still maintained?

Yes. The ggml-org/llama.cpp repository was last updated on Oct 25, 2026, and the latest release, b11887 on GitHub, came out on Oct 25, 2026.

How popular is llama.cpp?

llama.cpp has 133k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 844 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 906 a week. That made it #12 among LLM inference and training tools on the Devtoolwatch Board.

llama.cpp vs Ollama: how do they compare?

llama.cpp and Ollama are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as LLM inference and training tools. llama.cpp has 133k GitHub stars and Ollama has 185.5k. Ollama is a tool for running and building with open AI models locally or in the cloud on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Ollama review.

llama.cpp vs vLLM: how do they compare?

llama.cpp and vLLM are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as LLM inference and training tools. llama.cpp has 133k GitHub stars and vLLM has 96k. vLLM is an open-source Python library and engine for high-throughput, memory-efficient inference and serving of large language models. vLLM review.

What are the best alternatives to llama.cpp?

Other LLM inference and training tools on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: dsh-our-free-model (#1), magpie (#2), Strata (#3), edge0 (#4), OmniRoute (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

Is llama.cpp OpenAI compatible?

Yes. llama.cpp's llama serve command launches an OpenAI-compatible API server. The Llama app exposes the same kind of API at localhost:9931/v1, so apps that work with OpenAI can connect to it.

Does llama.cpp have a GUI?

Yes. llama.cpp's server includes a built-in web UI. The Llama app for Mac and Windows adds a menu bar or system tray app with a browser chat and model picker.

How do I use llama.cpp on Mac?

llama.cpp treats Apple silicon as a first-class platform, optimized via ARM NEON, Accelerate and Metal. Install it with the curl script or download the Llama Mac app, then run or serve a model.

How do I use llama.cpp on Windows?

llama.cpp installs on Windows with the PowerShell command irm https://llama.app/install.ps1 | iex. You can also download the Llama app for Windows 11 or pre-built binaries from the releases page.

How do I use the llama.cpp server?

llama.cpp starts its server with llama serve -hf followed by a Hugging Face model, such as ggml-org/Qwen3.5-0.8B-GGUF. The server provides an OpenAI-compatible REST API and a built-in web UI.

Sources

llama.cpp README badge

Maintainers can show the tool's weekly Board rank in their README:

[![Devtoolwatch](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/badge/llama-cpp.svg)](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/llama-cpp/)

How this page is made: Devtoolwatch writes each review from the project's README, releases, package metadata and website, with an AI model, then checks every claim against the source it cites and drops what the sources don't support. The numbers come from Devtoolwatch's daily GitHub snapshots, GitHub's stargazer history, and the npm and PyPI download APIs. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].