StarCoder2 on Apple M3 Pro · 18GB

✅ Runs (tight) — StarCoder2 15B @ Q3_K_M
StarCoder2 15B at Q3_K_M needs ~8.4 GB (weights 7.3 GB + KV 640 MB + overhead 512 MB @ 8K ctx) of your 9.1 GB usable (of 18.0 GB unified memory) — fits, but little headroom — close other apps or trim context. Expect ~10–16 tok/s (usable).
context @ Q3_K_M: runs to its full 16K
quantneedsspeed
✗ Q8_017.2 GB—
~ Q5_K_M11.7 GB~0.9–1 tok/s (slow)
~ Q4_K_M10.1 GB~1–2 tok/s (slow)
✓ Q3_K_M8.4 GB~10–16 tok/s (usable)
$runlocal install starcoder2:15b
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 · Apple M1 Pro · Apple M2 · Apple M2 Pro · Apple M4 Pro · Apple M3 Max

Also runs on a Apple M3 Pro: DeepSeek-R1 (distill) · Qwen2.5 · Mistral 7B · Qwen3 · Llama 3.1

Best models for a Apple M3 Pro · 18GB →

Architecturally similar

These share StarCoder2's KV-cache geometry — they size memory the same way, so here's how they fit on a Apple M3 Pro · 18GB too:

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

Check any combo yourself: open the checker →