BaseRT is a local large language model inference runtime optimized for Apple Silicon computers. It accelerates model execution through hand-written Metal kernels and requires an M1 or newer Mac running macOS 14 or later. A unified command-line interface can download models from Hugging Face, convert checkpoints, launch chats, benchmark performance, and inspect model packages. Its server implements OpenAI-compatible chat, completion, embedding, transcription, tool-calling, and multimodal endpoints. The custom .base format supports affine quantization from Q2 through Q8, optional AWQ calibration, and signed model bundles. Stable C interfaces connect the engine with Python, Node.js, Rust, and Swift applications. The repository contains the open CLI, format specifications, bindings, documentation, and benchmarks, while the prebuilt inference engine uses a separate license.
Features
- Metal-accelerated Apple Silicon inference
- Unified model management CLI
- OpenAI-compatible local API server
- Text, image, and audio model support
- Q2 through Q8 model quantization
- Python, Node.js, Rust, and Swift bindings