raphaelmansuy/edgecrab/gguf

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GGUF format and llama.cpp quantization for efficient CPU/GPU inference. Use when deploying models on consumer hardware, Apple Silicon, or when needing flexible quantization from 2-8 bit without GPU requirements.

Install

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SKILL.md

GGUF - Quantization Format for llama.cpp

The GGUF (GPT-Generated Unified Format) is the standard file format for llama.cpp, enabling efficient inference on CPUs, Apple Silicon, and GPUs with flexible quantization options.

When to use GGUF

Use GGUF when:

  • Deploying on consumer hardware (laptops, desktops)
  • Running on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) with Metal acceleration
  • Need CPU inference without GPU requirements
  • Want flexible quantization (Q2_K to Q8_0)
  • Using local AI tools (LM Studio, Ollama, text-generation-webui)

Key advantages:

  • Universal hardware: CPU, Apple Silicon, NVIDIA, AMD support
  • No Python runtime: Pure C/C++ inference
  • Flexible quantization: 2-8 bit with various methods (K-quants)
  • Ecosystem support: LM Studio, Ollama, koboldcpp, and more
  • imatrix: Importance matrix for better low-bit quality

Use alternatives instead:

  • AWQ/GPTQ: Maximum accuracy with calibration on NVIDIA GPUs
  • HQQ: Fast calibration-free quantization for HuggingFace
  • bitsandbytes: Simple integration with transformers library
  • TensorRT-LLM: Production NVIDIA deployment with maximum speed

Quick start

Installation
bash
# Clone llama.cpp
git clone https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp
cd llama.cpp
# Build (CPU)
make
# Build with CUDA (NVIDIA)
make GGML_CUDA=1
# Build with Metal (Apple Silicon)
make GGML_METAL=1
# Install Python bindings (optional)
pip install llama-cpp-python
Convert model to GGUF
bash
# Install requirements
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Convert HuggingFace model to GGUF (FP16)
python convert_hf_to_gguf.py ./path/to/model --outfile model-f16.gguf
# Or specify output type
python convert_hf_to_gguf.py ./path/to/model \
--outfile model-f16.gguf \
--outtype f16
Quantize model
bash
# Basic quantization to Q4_K_M
./llama-quantize model-f16.gguf model-q4_k_m.gguf Q4_K_M
# Quantize with importance matrix (better quality)
./llama-imatrix -m model-f16.gguf -f calibration.txt -o model.imatrix
./llama-quantize --imatrix model.imatrix model-f16.gguf model-q4_k_m.gguf Q4_K_M
Run inference
bash
# CLI inference
./llama-cli -m model-q4_k_m.gguf -p "Hello, how are you?"
# Interactive mode
./llama-cli -m model-q4_k_m.gguf --interactive
# With GPU offload
./llama-cli -m model-q4_k_m.gguf -ngl 35 -p "Hello!"

Quantization types

K-quant methods (recommended)
TypeBitsSize (7B)QualityUse Case
Q2_K2.5~2.8 GBLowExtreme compression
Q3_K_S3.0~3.0 GBLow-MedMemory constrained
Q3_K_M3.3~3.3 GBMediumBalance
Q4_K_S4.0~3.8 GBMed-HighGood balance
Q4_K_M4.5~4.1 GBHighRecommended default
Q5_K_S5.0~4.6 GBHighQuality focused
Q5_K_M5.5~4.8 GBVery HighHigh quality
Q6_K6.0~5.5 GBExcellentNear-original
Q8_08.0~7.2 GBBestMaximum quality
Legacy methods
TypeDescription
Q4_04-bit, basic
Q4_14-bit with delta
Q5_05-bit, basic
Q5_15-bit with delta

Recommendation: Use K-quant methods (Q4_K_M, Q5_K_M) for best quality/size ratio.

Conversion workflows

Workflow 1: HuggingFace to GGUF
bash
# 1. Download model
huggingface-cli download meta-llama/Llama-3.1-8B --local-dir ./llama-3.1-8b
# 2. Convert to GGUF (FP16)
python convert_hf_to_gguf.py ./llama-3.1-8b \
--outfile llama-3.1-8b-f16.gguf \
--outtype f16
# 3. Quantize
./llama-quantize llama-3.1-8b-f16.gguf llama-3.1-8b-q4_k_m.gguf Q4_K_M
# 4. Test
./llama-cli -m llama-3.1-8b-q4_k_m.gguf -p "Hello!" -n 50
Workflow 2: With importance matrix (better quality)
bash
# 1. Convert to GGUF
python convert_hf_to_gguf.py ./model --outfile model-f16.gguf
# 2. Create calibration text (diverse samples)
cat > calibration.txt << 'EOF'
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence.
Python is a popular programming language.
# Add more diverse text samples...
EOF
# 3. Generate importance matrix
./llama-imatrix -m model-f16.gguf \
-f calibration.txt \
--chunk 512 \
-o model.imatrix \
-ngl 35 # GPU layers if available
# 4. Quantize with imatrix
./llama-quantize --imatrix model.imatrix \
model-f16.gguf \
model-q4_k_m.gguf \
Q4_K_M
Workflow 3: Multiple quantizations
bash
#!/bin/bash
MODEL="llama-3.1-8b-f16.gguf"
IMATRIX="llama-3.1-8b.imatrix"
# Generate imatrix once
./llama-imatrix -m $MODEL -f wiki.txt -o $IMATRIX -ngl 35
# Create multiple quantizations
for QUANT in Q4_K_M Q5_K_M Q6_K Q8_0; do
OUTPUT="llama-3.1-8b-${QUANT,,}.gguf"
./llama-quantize --imatrix $IMATRIX $MODEL $OUTPUT $QUANT
echo "Created: $OUTPUT ($(du -h $OUTPUT | cut -f1))"
done

Python usage

llama-cpp-python
python
from llama_cpp import Llama
# Load model
llm = Llama(
model_path="./model-q4_k_m.gguf",
n_ctx=4096, # Context window
n_gpu_layers=35, # GPU offload (0 for CPU only)
n_threads=8 # CPU threads
)
# Generate
output = llm(
"What is machine learning?",
max_tokens=256,
temperature=0.7,
stop=["</s>", "\n\n"]
)
print(output["choices"][0]["text"])
Chat completion
python
from llama_cpp import Llama
llm = Llama(
model_path="./model-q4_k_m.gguf",
n_ctx=4096,
n_gpu_layers=35,
chat_format="llama-3" # Or "chatml", "mistral", etc.
)
messages = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
{"role": "user", "content": "What is Python?"}
]
response = llm.create_chat_completion(
messages=messages,
max_tokens=256,
temperature=0.7
)
print(response["choices"][0]["message"]["content"])
Streaming
python
from llama_cpp import Llama
llm = Llama(model_path="./model-q4_k_m.gguf", n_gpu_layers=35)
# Stream tokens
for chunk in llm(
"Explain quantum computing:",
max_tokens=256,
stream=True
):
print(chunk["choices"][0]["text"], end="", flush=True)

Server mode

Start OpenAI-compatible server
bash
# Start server
./llama-server -m model-q4_k_m.gguf \
--host 0.0.0.0 \
--port 8080 \
-ngl 35 \
-c 4096
# Or with Python bindings
python -m llama_cpp.server \
--model model-q4_k_m.gguf \
--n_gpu_layers 35 \
--host 0.0.0.0 \
--port 8080
Use with OpenAI client
python
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
base_url="http://localhost:8080/v1",
api_key="not-needed"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="local-model",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
max_tokens=256
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Hardware optimization

Apple Silicon (Metal)
bash
# Build with Metal
make clean && make GGML_METAL=1
# Run with Metal acceleration
./llama-cli -m model.gguf -ngl 99 -p "Hello"
# Python with Metal
llm = Llama(
model_path="model.gguf",
n_gpu_layers=99, # Offload all layers
n_threads=1 # Metal handles parallelism
)
NVIDIA CUDA
bash
# Build with CUDA
make clean && make GGML_CUDA=1
# Run with CUDA
./llama-cli -m model.gguf -ngl 35 -p "Hello"
# Specify GPU
CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=0 ./llama-cli -m model.gguf -ngl 35
CPU optimization
bash
# Build with AVX2/AVX512
make clean && make
# Run with optimal threads
./llama-cli -m model.gguf -t 8 -p "Hello"
# Python CPU config
llm = Llama(
model_path="model.gguf",
n_gpu_layers=0, # CPU only
n_threads=8, # Match physical cores
n_batch=512 # Batch size for prompt processing
)

Integration with tools

Ollama
bash
# Create Modelfile
cat > Modelfile << 'EOF'
FROM ./model-q4_k_m.gguf
TEMPLATE """{{ .System }}
{{ .Prompt }}"""
PARAMETER temperature 0.7
PARAMETER num_ctx 4096
EOF
# Create Ollama model
ollama create mymodel -f Modelfile
# Run
ollama run mymodel "Hello!"
LM Studio
  1. Place GGUF file in ~/.cache/lm-studio/models/
  2. Open LM Studio and select the model
  3. Configure context length and GPU offload
  4. Start inference
text-generation-webui
bash
# Place in models folder
cp model-q4_k_m.gguf text-generation-webui/models/
# Start with llama.cpp loader
python server.py --model model-q4_k_m.gguf --loader llama.cpp --n-gpu-layers 35

Best practices

  1. Use K-quants: Q4_K_M offers best quality/size balance
  2. Use imatrix: Always use importance matrix for Q4 and below
  3. GPU offload: Offload as many layers as VRAM allows
  4. Context length: Start with 4096, increase if needed
  5. Thread count: Match physical CPU cores, not logical
  6. Batch size: Increase n_batch for faster prompt processing

Common issues

Model loads slowly:

bash
# Use mmap for faster loading
./llama-cli -m model.gguf --mmap

Out of memory:

bash
# Reduce GPU layers
./llama-cli -m model.gguf -ngl 20 # Reduce from 35
# Or use smaller quantization
./llama-quantize model-f16.gguf model-q3_k_m.gguf Q3_K_M

Poor quality at low bits:

bash
# Always use imatrix for Q4 and below
./llama-imatrix -m model-f16.gguf -f calibration.txt -o model.imatrix
./llama-quantize --imatrix model.imatrix model-f16.gguf model-q4_k_m.gguf Q4_K_M

References

  • [Advanced Usage](references/advanced-usage.md) - Batching, speculative decoding, custom builds
  • [Troubleshooting](references/troubleshooting.md) - Common issues, debugging, benchmarks

Resources

  • Repository: https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp
  • Python Bindings: https://github.com/abetlen/llama-cpp-python
  • Pre-quantized Models: https://huggingface.co/TheBloke
  • GGUF Converter: https://huggingface.co/spaces/ggml-org/gguf-my-repo
  • License: MIT

Security

  • Security scanPassed, 95 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
  • Model reviewPassed

Quality evaluation

  • Task evaluationNot runNo evaluation yet. Run one in Skill Studio.

Source

Popularity

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58
Repository forks
6
7-day trend score
20

Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Refreshed 23 May 2026, 5 months ago.

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