{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "bitrun", "name": "BitRun", "vendor": "Abhishek Khanra (IshekKhal on GitHub)", "vendorUrl": "https://github.com/IshekKhal", "kind": "http-api", "category": "local-ai", "summary": "BitRun is an open-source command-line runner for 1-bit and 1.58-bit ternary language models such as BitNet b1.58, Falcon3 1.58-bit and Bonsai on CPUs, with a model downloader and a local OpenAI-compatible server.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bitrun", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bitrun.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bitrun.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bitrun.json", "repo": "https://github.com/IshekKhal/bitrun", "license": "MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No credential. `bitrun serve` starts a patched llama-server on 127.0.0.1 (default port 11435, changed with `--port`) and passes no `--api-key`, so any process on the machine can call it. The bind address is fixed in the code, with no flag to expose it on the network. The README's SDK example sets `api_key` to any string.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under MIT with nothing to buy. Models are downloaded from Hugging Face under each model's own licence.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the source, the README or the release notes (checked 2026-10-15). Nothing is sold.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 5, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-15" }, "docsUrl": "https://github.com/IshekKhal/bitrun#readme", "capabilities": [ "inference.local", "inference.open-weights" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "local", "self-hosted", "free", "no-card", "mit", "openai-compatible", "go", "pre-1.0", "macos", "windows", "cli" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-15", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 37.9, "grade": "F", "agentReady": false, "rank": 1018, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1094, "categoryRank": 18, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 40, "maintenance": 59, "payments": 60, "reliability": 38, "schema": 30, "security": 28, "transparency": 50 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-15" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "Misleading claim, 15 October 2026. The README's \"Verified Hardware Benchmarks\", described as physical hardware runs, list package power of 11.70 W, 22.60 W and 8.50 W for every model on each machine, and joules per token from them. These equal the fixed estimates in power.go (2.5 + 1.15 per thread on macOS without battery data, 5.0 + 2.2 per thread on Windows, 4.5 + 2.0 per thread on Linux without RAPL) at the default thread counts of 8, 8 and 2. The README also says Windows power is measured through PPM and that `pull` resumes downloads, and the source does neither (https://github.com/IshekKhal/bitrun/blob/0fec65a/pkg/telemetry/power.go#L137-L163, https://github.com/IshekKhal/bitrun/blob/0fec65a/pkg/models/downloader.go#L57-L60, https://github.com/IshekKhal/bitrun/blob/0fec65a/README.md). Judgement call, -3." ], "verdict": "BitRun packages patched llama.cpp builds for ternary models into one download for macOS on Apple silicon, Windows and Linux, with a loopback-only OpenAI-compatible server. It is three days old with three pre-release versions, one maintainer and no CI, and its published power figures come from a fixed formula rather than measurement.", "bestFor": "A developer who wants to try ternary models on a laptop CPU behind an OpenAI-style endpoint without building bitnet.cpp.", "strengths": [ "One archive per platform (macOS arm64, Linux amd64, Windows amd64) with llama-server, so no compiler, Python or Docker is needed", "The server binds 127.0.0.1 with no flag to expose it, and works with OpenAI SDKs by changing the base URL", "A catalogue of six ternary and compact models, 79 MB to 2.08 GB, pulled from their Hugging Face repositories by tag", "MIT licence, and no network telemetry found in the Go source. Outbound calls are model downloads on `pull`" ], "weaknesses": [ "First released on 12 October 2026. Three pre-release versions in four days, one maintainer and no CI workflow", "The README's package power and joules-per-token figures match a fixed per-thread formula in the code, not a counter reading", "No API key option, so any local process can call the server, and model downloads and the installer verify no checksum", "The server documentation covers one route, `/v1/chat/completions`, with no error responses, OpenAPI file or llms.txt", "Context windows of the catalogue models run from 768 to 8,192 tokens, and one server process serves one model" ], "agentNotes": [ "Ask the user to install BitRun and run `bitrun pull \u003ctag\u003e` and `bitrun serve \u003ctag\u003e` first. Then call http://127.0.0.1:11435/v1 with any API key string", "Poll `/health` before the first request. The server loads the model in the background and answers only when ready", "Use a model tag from the catalogue (bitnet-70m, bonsai-1.7b, falcon3-1b, bitnet-2b, falcon3-3b, bonsai-8b) and keep prompts within its context window", "Treat the README's energy figures as estimates, and don't report them as measured power", "Expect small research checkpoints. Check outputs before relying on them for code or facts" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "F", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 37.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 40, "maintenance": 59, "payments": 60, "reliability": 38, "schema": 30, "security": 28, "transparency": 46 }, "provenanceScore": 53 }, "connect": { "install": "curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IshekKhal/bitrun/main/install.sh | sh\nbitrun pull falcon3-1b\nbitrun serve falcon3-1b --port 11435", "http": "curl -s http://127.0.0.1:11435/v1/chat/completions \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\": \"falcon3-1b\", \"messages\": [{\"role\": \"user\", \"content\": \"How do 1-bit models conserve memory bandwidth?\"}], \"temperature\": 0.2}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.local", "tool": "https://letme.dev/bitrun" }, "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Abhishek Khanra (IshekKhal on GitHub)", "domain": "", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/IshekKhal/bitrun/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-15", "notes": [ "The project has no website. The GitHub account IshekKhal (created 17 December 2024) gives the name Abhishek Khanra, and the licence reads Copyright (c) 2026 Abhishek. The Show HN post was made by the HN account ishekofficial.", "No terms, privacy policy, SECURITY.md or security.txt. The repository has no .github folder.", "The software runs on the owner's machine, so there is no vendor endpoint or status page to check." ], "score": 53 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bitrun.json" }, "answer": "LM Studio scores 57.8 (C) on agent readiness against BitRun's 37.9 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "lm-studio", "name": "LM Studio", "vendor": "Element Labs, Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://lmstudio.ai", "kind": "http-api", "category": "local-ai", "summary": "Desktop app and headless daemon from Element Labs for running open-weight models on the owner's machine with llama.cpp and MLX, plus the Splash engine on Apple silicon M3 or newer since 0.4.25.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lm-studio", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lm-studio.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lm-studio.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lm-studio.json", "repo": "https://github.com/lmstudio-ai/lmstudio-js", "license": "Proprietary. The app and llmster are free for personal and internal business use under LM Studio's terms (Element Labs, Inc., effective 23 August 2026), with no source published. The `lms` CLI and the TypeScript and Python SDKs are MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@lmstudio/sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "lmstudio" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "No authentication by default. With Require Authentication on (Developer page, Server Settings, LM Studio 0.4.0 or later), every request needs an API token (`sk-lm-` prefix) as `Authorization: Bearer`, or `x-api-key` on the Anthropic-compatible endpoint. Tokens are named, carry permissions picked at creation, are shown once and can be edited or deleted. Calling the owner's mcp.json servers through the API needs authentication on. The server binds to localhost unless Serve on Local Network is on or `lms server start --bind 0.0.0.0` is used.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "The LM Studio app, llmster and the local server are free for personal and work use with no account or card (free at work since 8 July 2025, and the terms of 23 August 2026 cover internal business use). Element Labs sells cloud model plans for Bionic, its separate agent app, at $20 (Bionic+) and $100 (Pro) a month, which local use of LM Studio doesn't need (checked 2026-10-03).", "priceSummary": "Free", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the pricing page or the SDK source (checked 2026-10-03).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 69495, "pypiWeekly": 15195, "asOf": "2026-10-03" }, "docsUrl": "https://lmstudio.ai/docs/developer", "llmsTxt": "https://lmstudio.ai/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "inference.local", "inference.open-weights", "agent.mcp-client", "embed.text" ], "tags": [ "local", "closed-source", "free", "no-card", "account-free", "openai-compatible", "llms-txt", "typescript", "python", "streaming", "pre-1.0" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-19", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 57.8, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 634, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1094, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 69, "maintenance": 72, "payments": 60, "reliability": 34, "schema": 64, "security": 59, "transparency": 60 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-03" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "OpenAI-compatible chat completions, responses, completions and embeddings, Anthropic-compatible /v1/messages and a native /api/v1, all on one port. Authentication is off by default, so any local process can call the server.", "bestFor": "A machine that serves open models to several agents and tools at once, in whichever API shape each client already speaks, and for headless serving on Linux with llmster.", "strengths": [ "OpenAI-compatible chat completions, responses, completions and embeddings, Anthropic-compatible /v1/messages and a native /api/v1, all on one port", "llmster, a headless daemon installed with one command, with a documented systemd setup for Linux servers", "Named API tokens with permissions, and API access to MCP servers behind two switches, one of which also needs authentication on", "Stateful chats with `previous_response_id`, `allowed_tools` per MCP integration and typed error objects", "Seven releases in the 90 days to 3 October 2026, each with dated notes" ], "weaknesses": [ "Authentication is off by default, so any local process can call the server", "Closed-source app and daemon with no public CI or test suite", "The Python SDK's last stable release (1.5.0, 22 August 2025) can't send API tokens, and the docs name an environment variable no release reads", "No OpenAPI file, and the llms.txt we read covers the 0.3 app, not the v1 REST API, tokens, llmster or MCP", "1.7k open issues in the public bug tracker" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `Authorization: Bearer $LM_API_TOKEN` when the owner gives you a token. With Require Authentication on, every request needs it", "Pass `previous_response_id` to /api/v1/chat instead of resending the history, and `store: false` for one-off calls", "List models with `GET /api/v1/models` before naming one. A named model that's downloaded loads just in time", "Install the Python SDK pre-release (1.6.0b1) and pass `api_token` directly. It reads `LMSTUDIO_API_TOKEN`, not the `LM_API_TOKEN` the docs name", "Set `allowed_tools` on every MCP integration. Without it the model sees every tool on the server" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 2.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 57.8 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 69, "maintenance": 72, "payments": 60, "reliability": 34, "schema": 64, "security": 59, "transparency": 55 }, "provenanceScore": 64 }, "connect": { "install": "curl -fsSL https://lmstudio.ai/install.sh | bash # llmster, the headless daemon. Windows: irm https://lmstudio.ai/install.ps1 | iex", "http": "curl http://localhost:1234/api/v1/chat \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $LM_API_TOKEN\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\": \"ibm/granite-4-micro\", \"input\": \"Write a short haiku about sunrise.\"}'", "claudeCode": "export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:1234\nexport ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=lmstudio\nexport CLAUDE_CODE_ATTRIBUTION_HEADER=0\nclaude --model openai/gpt-oss-20b" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.local", "tool": "https://letme.dev/lm-studio" }, "area": "models", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Element Labs, Inc.", "domain": "lmstudio.ai", "domainRegistered": "2023-05-03", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://lmstudio.ai/app-terms", "privacy": "https://lmstudio.ai/app-privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://lmstudio.ai/changelog/lmstudio", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-03", "notes": [ "The terms (effective 23 August 2026) and the privacy policy (effective June 2026) name Element Labs, Inc., a Delaware corporation at 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington.", "There's no hosted endpoint. The server answers on the owner's machine, at localhost:1234 by default.", "lmstudio.ai/.well-known/security.txt returns a Hub web page rather than a security.txt, and we found no security page or SECURITY.md in the public repositories.", "RDAP for lmstudio.ai gives a registration date of 2023-05-03.", "lmstudio.ai/changelog opens on Bionic, the separate agent app. LM Studio's releases are at /changelog/lmstudio." ], "score": 64 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lm-studio.json", "live": { "slug": "lm-studio", "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@lmstudio/sdk", "version": "2.1.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-15T00:02:51.481576297Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "lmstudio", "version": "1.5.0", "released": "2025-08-22", "seenAt": "2026-10-15T00:02:54.099848534Z" } ], "githubStars": 1790, "npmWeekly": 45762, "pypiWeekly": 30887, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://lmstudio.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-14T15:47:25.70329757Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://lmstudio.ai/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-14T14:14:24.106565198Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "lmstudio.ai", "registered": "2023-05-03", "source": "https://rdap.identitydigital.services/rdap/domain/lmstudio.ai", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T13:26:19.217750899Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://lmstudio.ai/changelog/lmstudio", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-14T21:02:47.31821602Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-13T20:19:03.169479228Z", "fingerprint": "efc3c4bca97e" }, { "url": "https://lmstudio.ai/app-privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-14T21:02:43.213626927Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "2be7166b913e" }, { "url": "https://lmstudio.ai/app-terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-14T21:02:45.829043258Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "90222f50fb4b" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T00:02:54.328722142Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Abhishek Khanra (IshekKhal on GitHub)", "b": "Element Labs, Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Proprietary. The app and llmster are free for personal and internal business use under LM Studio's terms (Element Labs, Inc., effective 23 August 2026), with no source published. The `lms` CLI and the TypeScript and Python SDKs are MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-15", "b": "2026-09-19", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-06-01", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "5 stars", "b": "69k npm/wk, 15k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "2.5/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "LM Studio scores 57.8 (C) on agent readiness against BitRun's 37.9 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, BitRun or LM Studio?" }, { "answer": "BitRun needs no key. LM Studio needs an API key.", "question": "Do BitRun and LM Studio need an API key?" }, { "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for BitRun. No hosted endpoint is listed for LM Studio.", "question": "Can an agent call BitRun and LM Studio without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "BitRun is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for LM Studio.", "question": "Are BitRun and LM Studio open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": null, "also": [ "No key needed to call it", "Open source" ], "goodFor": "A developer who wants to try ternary models on a laptop CPU behind an OpenAI-style endpoint without building bitnet.cpp.", "slug": "bitrun", "watchFor": "First released on 12 October 2026. Three pre-release versions in four days, one maintainer and no CI workflow" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 64 against 30", "Agent ergonomics, 69 against 40", "Security \u0026 auth, 59 against 28", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 72 against 59", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 60 against 50" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where BitRun loses 3 points for them" ], "goodFor": "A machine that serves open models to several agents and tools at once, in whichever API shape each client already speaks, and for headless serving on Linux with llmster.", "slug": "lm-studio", "watchFor": "Authentication is off by default, so any local process can call the server" } ], "job": { "capability": "inference.local", "name": "Local inference" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-bitrun.json", "title": "AnythingLLM vs BitRun", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-bitrun" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "AnythingLLM vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-docker-model-runner.json", "title": "BitRun vs Docker Model Runner", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-docker-model-runner" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-foundry-local.json", "title": "BitRun vs Foundry Local", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-foundry-local" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-ghost-core.json", "title": "BitRun vs Core", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-ghost-core" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-gpt4all.json", "title": "BitRun vs GPT4All", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-gpt4all" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-jan.json", "title": "BitRun vs Jan", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-jan" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-khoj.json", "title": "BitRun vs Khoj", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-khoj" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-koboldcpp.json", "title": "BitRun vs KoboldCpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-koboldcpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lemonade.json", "title": "BitRun vs Lemonade", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lemonade" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-llama-cpp.json", "title": "BitRun vs llama.cpp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-llama-cpp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-localai.json", "title": "BitRun vs LocalAI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-localai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-mlx-lm.json", "title": "BitRun vs MLX LM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-mlx-lm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-ollama.json", "title": "BitRun vs Ollama", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-ollama" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-open-webui.json", "title": "BitRun vs Open WebUI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-open-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-screenpipe.json", "title": "BitRun vs screenpipe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-screenpipe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-text-generation-webui.json", "title": "BitRun vs TextGen", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-text-generation-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-vllm.json", "title": "BitRun vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Docker Model Runner vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Foundry Local vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Core vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "GPT4All vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Jan vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Khoj vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "KoboldCpp vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lemonade-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "Lemonade vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lemonade-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-lm-studio.json", "title": "llama.cpp vs LM Studio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-lm-studio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-localai.json", "title": "LM Studio vs LocalAI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-localai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-mlx-lm.json", "title": "LM Studio vs MLX LM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-mlx-lm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-ollama.json", "title": "LM Studio vs Ollama", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-ollama" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-open-webui.json", "title": "LM Studio vs Open WebUI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-open-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-screenpipe.json", "title": "LM Studio vs screenpipe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-screenpipe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-text-generation-webui.json", "title": "LM Studio vs TextGen", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-text-generation-webui" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-vllm.json", "title": "LM Studio vs vLLM", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-vllm" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-underdog.json", "title": "BitRun vs Underdog", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-underdog" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-underdog.json", "title": "LM Studio vs Underdog", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-underdog" } ], "scores": [ { "bitrun": 38, "by": 4, "edge": "bitrun", "key": "reliability", "lm-studio": 34, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "bitrun": 30, "by": 34, "edge": "lm-studio", "key": "schema", "lm-studio": 64, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "bitrun": 40, "by": 29, "edge": "lm-studio", "key": "ergonomics", "lm-studio": 69, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "bitrun": 28, "by": 31, "edge": "lm-studio", "key": "security", "lm-studio": 59, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "bitrun": 60, "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "lm-studio": 60, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "bitrun": 59, "by": 13, "edge": "lm-studio", "key": "maintenance", "lm-studio": 72, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "bitrun": 50, "by": 10, "edge": "lm-studio", "key": "transparency", "lm-studio": 60, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "LM Studio scores 57.8 (C) on agent readiness against BitRun's 37.9 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do local inference.", "verdicts": { "bitrun": "BitRun packages patched llama.cpp builds for ternary models into one download for macOS on Apple silicon, Windows and Linux, with a loopback-only OpenAI-compatible server. It is three days old with three pre-release versions, one maintainer and no CI, and its published power figures come from a fixed formula rather than measurement.", "lm-studio": "OpenAI-compatible chat completions, responses, completions and embeddings, Anthropic-compatible /v1/messages and a native /api/v1, all on one port. Authentication is off by default, so any local process can call the server." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lm-studio", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lm-studio.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lm-studio.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lm-studio.min.md" }, "markdown": "LM Studio scores 57.8 (C) on agent readiness against BitRun's 37.9 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do local inference.\n\n- BitRun: grade F, 37.9/100, rank #1018 of 1094. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bitrun.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bitrun.json\n- LM Studio: grade C, 57.8/100, rank #634 of 1094. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lm-studio.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lm-studio.json\n- Best local AI models and assistants: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/local-ai/index.md\n- All 204 local ai comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/local-ai/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### BitRun (F)\n\nGood for: A developer who wants to try ternary models on a laptop CPU behind an OpenAI-style endpoint without building bitnet.cpp.\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: First released on 12 October 2026. Three pre-release versions in four days, one maintainer and no CI workflow\n\n### LM Studio (C)\n\nGood for: A machine that serves open models to several agents and tools at once, in whichever API shape each client already speaks, and for headless serving on Linux with llmster.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 64 against 30\n- Agent ergonomics, 69 against 40\n- Security \u0026 auth, 59 against 28\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 72 against 59\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 60 against 50\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where BitRun loses 3 points for them\n\nWatch for: Authentication is off by default, so any local process can call the server\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | BitRun | LM Studio | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 38 | 34 | BitRun +4 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 30 | 64 | LM Studio +34 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 40 | 69 | LM Studio +29 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 28 | 59 | LM Studio +31 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 72 | LM Studio +13 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 50 | 60 | LM Studio +10 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **37.9 · F** | **57.8 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | BitRun | LM Studio |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Abhishek Khanra (IshekKhal on GitHub) | Element Labs, Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | None | API key |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Proprietary. The app and llmster are free for personal and internal business use under LM Studio's terms (Element Labs, Inc., effective 23 August 2026), with no source published. The `lms` CLI and the TypeScript and Python SDKs are MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-15 | 2026-09-19 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-06-01 |\n| Customer content may train models | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 5 stars | 69k npm/wk, 15k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**BitRun.** BitRun packages patched llama.cpp builds for ternary models into one download for macOS on Apple silicon, Windows and Linux, with a loopback-only OpenAI-compatible server. It is three days old with three pre-release versions, one maintainer and no CI, and its published power figures come from a fixed formula rather than measurement.\n\n**LM Studio.** OpenAI-compatible chat completions, responses, completions and embeddings, Anthropic-compatible /v1/messages and a native /api/v1, all on one port. Authentication is off by default, so any local process can call the server.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### BitRun\n\n1. Ask the user to install BitRun and run `bitrun pull \u003ctag\u003e` and `bitrun serve \u003ctag\u003e` first. Then call http://127.0.0.1:11435/v1 with any API key string\n2. Poll `/health` before the first request. The server loads the model in the background and answers only when ready\n3. Use a model tag from the catalogue (bitnet-70m, bonsai-1.7b, falcon3-1b, bitnet-2b, falcon3-3b, bonsai-8b) and keep prompts within its context window\n4. Treat the README's energy figures as estimates, and don't report them as measured power\n5. Expect small research checkpoints. Check outputs before relying on them for code or facts\n\n### LM Studio\n\n1. Send `Authorization: Bearer $LM_API_TOKEN` when the owner gives you a token. With Require Authentication on, every request needs it\n2. Pass `previous_response_id` to /api/v1/chat instead of resending the history, and `store: false` for one-off calls\n3. List models with `GET /api/v1/models` before naming one. A named model that's downloaded loads just in time\n4. Install the Python SDK pre-release (1.6.0b1) and pass `api_token` directly. It reads `LMSTUDIO_API_TOKEN`, not the `LM_API_TOKEN` the docs name\n5. Set `allowed_tools` on every MCP integration. Without it the model sees every tool on the server\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, BitRun or LM Studio?\n\nLM Studio scores 57.8 (C) on agent readiness against BitRun's 37.9 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Do BitRun and LM Studio need an API key?\n\nBitRun needs no key. LM Studio needs an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call BitRun and LM Studio without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for BitRun. No hosted endpoint is listed for LM Studio.\n\n### Are BitRun and LM Studio open source?\n\nBitRun is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for LM Studio.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lm-studio.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lm-studio.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"bitrun\", \"b\": \"lm-studio\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare bitrun lm-studio`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bitrun.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lm-studio.json\n\n## Other comparisons with BitRun or LM Studio\n\n- [AnythingLLM vs BitRun](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-bitrun.md)\n- [AnythingLLM vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [BitRun vs Docker Model Runner](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-docker-model-runner.md)\n- [BitRun vs Foundry Local](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-foundry-local.md)\n- [BitRun vs Core](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-ghost-core.md)\n- [BitRun vs GPT4All](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-gpt4all.md)\n- [BitRun vs Jan](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-jan.md)\n- [BitRun vs Khoj](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-khoj.md)\n- [BitRun vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-koboldcpp.md)\n- [BitRun vs Lemonade](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lemonade.md)\n- [BitRun vs llama.cpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-llama-cpp.md)\n- [BitRun vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-localai.md)\n- [BitRun vs MLX LM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-mlx-lm.md)\n- [BitRun vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-ollama.md)\n- [BitRun vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-open-webui.md)\n- [BitRun vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-screenpipe.md)\n- [BitRun vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-text-generation-webui.md)\n- [BitRun vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-vllm.md)\n- [Docker Model Runner vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [Foundry Local vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [Core vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [GPT4All vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [Jan vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [Khoj vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [KoboldCpp vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [Lemonade vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lemonade-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [llama.cpp vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-lm-studio.md)\n- [LM Studio vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-localai.md)\n- [LM Studio vs MLX LM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-mlx-lm.md)\n- [LM Studio vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-ollama.md)\n- [LM Studio vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-open-webui.md)\n- [LM Studio vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-screenpipe.md)\n- [LM Studio vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-text-generation-webui.md)\n- [LM Studio vs vLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-vllm.md)\n- [BitRun vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-underdog.md)\n- [LM Studio vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-underdog.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author.", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-15", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "BitRun vs LM Studio", "url": "" } ], "description": "LM Studio scores 57.8 (C) to BitRun's 37.9 (F) for local inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "BitRun F 37.9", "LM Studio C 57.8", "scores" ], "h1": "BitRun vs LM Studio", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-bitrun-vs-lm-studio.png", "path": "/compare/bitrun-vs-lm-studio", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "BitRun vs LM Studio for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-15", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitrun-vs-lm-studio" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2650, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }