Practical overview
When it fits
Use Labllm when you want a local, visual workflow for learning about or experimenting with small language-model training, from model setup and data selection through checkpoints and sampling.
Who it is for
- Learners exploring model architecture, tokenization and training.
- Researchers and developers experimenting with small models and custom datasets on an Apple Silicon Mac.
Documented uses
- Create GPT-style decoder models from presets and adjust model settings.
- Import or browse datasets and configure training data.
- Pretrain or fine-tune models using supervised fine-tuning, LoRA or DPO.
- Monitor training metrics and samples, then save, resume and compare checkpoints.
- Inspect tokens and embeddings, sample from a model, or chat with a trained model.
Requirements & limits
Labllm is described as free, open source under the MIT license, and available as a native macOS app. The repository documents macOS 14 or later and Apple Silicon M1 or newer as requirements, and labels the software beta.
- Requires an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 14 or later; the project documents no Intel Mac path.
- MLX provides the documented Apple Silicon acceleration, and the first MLX build may take time.
- The app is in beta, so its feature set and behavior may change.
- Source builds use Swift Package Manager; Xcode 15 or later is recommended.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Build and launch Labllm from source
Compile and open the native macOS app using the documented Swift Package Manager commands.
Before you start
- macOS 14 or later
- Apple Silicon Mac, M1 or newer
- Swift Package Manager
- Xcode 15 or later is recommended
- Time for the first MLX build to complete
Steps
Open the Labllm repository in a terminal.
Run
swift build.Run
swift run LabLLMto launch the app.
Expected outcome
The repository is built and the Labllm macOS app is launched.
Guide limitations
- The project describes this build as beta software and notes that bugs, missing features and fast-moving updates should be expected.
- Full Xcode is recommended if rebuilding MLX itself.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 14 October 2026
- Original website title
- Greninja9257/LabLLM · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

