> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.cherryai.com.cn/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.cherryai.com.cn/docs/en-us/pre-basic/providers/lm-studio.md).

# LM Studio

LM Studio is a popular **local LLM GUI**, which supports downloading, quantizing, and running various open-source models locally. Cherry Studio can serve as a front end to connect to LM Studio's local service, providing a better chat experience while preserving local privacy.

## Prerequisites

1. from [Official website](https://lmstudio.ai/) Download and install the client
2. Download at least one model in LM Studio (Llama 3.x 8B or the Qwen series is recommended to try first)
3. Open the top of LM Studio **Server** tab, click **Start Server**(default port `1234`)

## Configure in Cherry Studio

* After opening `Settings → Model Services`, find **LM Studio** Provider to enter the details page
* **API Address** By default `http://localhost:1234`, if you've changed the LM Studio port, please update it accordingly
* **API key** Can be left blank (local inference does not require authentication), or fill it in after enabling authentication in LM Studio
* Click **Get model list**, Cherry Studio will automatically fetch the models loaded in LM Studio

{% hint style="info" %}
**Model list empty?** LM Studio only exposes **already `Load` into memory** models; those not loaded will not appear in the list. Go back to LM Studio, load the model first, then come back and "Get model list".
{% endhint %}

## Recommended usage

| Scenario                        | Recommendation                                                                      |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Privacy-sensitive conversations | Choose a small model (under 8B) to run locally, completely offline                  |
| Apple Silicon (M-series chips)  | LM Studio uses the MLX backend, with significantly higher efficiency than llama.cpp |
| Embedding model                 | LM Studio can also load embedding models for knowledge bases                        |

## Differences from Ollama

|                  | LM Studio                              | [Ollama](/docs/en-us/pre-basic/providers/ollama.md) |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| Form             | GUI + Server                           | Command line / background service                   |
| Model management | GUI browse/download                    | `ollama pull`                                       |
| API              | OpenAI-compatible                      | OpenAI-compatible                                   |
| Suitable for     | users who prefer graphical interaction | users who prefer command line / Docker deployment   |

Both can connect to Cherry Studio; just choose according to your preference.

## Common questions

* **Cherry Studio can't connect**: check whether Server in LM Studio has been started (green dot status)
* **Responses are extremely slow**: the model is too large / VRAM is insufficient; switch to a smaller model or a more aggressive quantization (e.g. Q4 → Q3)
* **Garbled text / truncated output**: the context length exceeds the model's limit; increase it in LM Studio `n_ctx`

***

### Get help and submit feedback

If you encounter any questions, bugs, or have suggestions for feature improvements during configuration or use, please refer to [Feedback and Suggestions](/docs/en-us/question-contact/suggestions.md) for the official channels provided.


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