StarCoder2 on Apple M1 · 8GB

✅ Runs (tight) — StarCoder2 3B @ Q4_K_M
StarCoder2 3B at Q4_K_M needs ~2.4 GB (weights 1.7 GB + KV 240 MB + overhead 512 MB @ 8K ctx) of your 2.9 GB usable (of 8.0 GB unified memory) — fits, but little headroom — close other apps or trim context. Expect ~19–30 tok/s (fast).
context @ Q4_K_M: comfortable to 2K · runs to its full 16K
quantneedsspeed
~ Q8_03.7 GB~1–2 tok/s (slow)
✓ Q4_K_M2.4 GB~19–30 tok/s (fast)
$runlocal install starcoder2:3b
runlocal verdict card
download card share on x share on reddit drop it in your model-drop post
StarCoder2: Runs (tight)
for your own README — links back here

Same model, other machines: Apple M1 Pro · Apple M2 · Apple M3 Pro · Apple M2 Pro · Apple M4 Pro · Apple M3 Max

Also runs on a Apple M1: DeepSeek-R1 (distill) · Qwen2.5 · Qwen3 · Llama 3.2 · Gemma 2

Best models for a Apple M1 · 8GB →

Architecturally similar

These share StarCoder2's KV-cache geometry — they size memory the same way, so here's how they fit on a Apple M1 · 8GB too:

modelsharesverdict here
Qwen2.5-Coder 2kv/128hd4kv/128hd ✅ Runs comfortably
Yi 1.5 4kv/128hd 🐢 CPU-only (slow)
Qwen3 Coder 30B-A3B 4kv/128hd ❌ Won't fit
SmolLM3 3B 4kv/128hd ✅ Runs (tight)
Yi-Coder 9B 4kv/128hd 🐢 CPU-only (slow)

Check any combo yourself: open the checker →