Connect LM Studio

LM Studio serves only the model you have loaded, not every model you downloaded - so load one, start the server, enable CORS, and give Big-AGI the address.

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LM Studio serves the model currently loaded in the app, so a model you downloaded but never loaded is visible to you and unreachable to Big-AGI. The connection is an address, with no key involved, and the hosted app uses it exactly as a self-hosted one does (models on your own machine).

Loaded, not just downloaded

Install the app from lmstudio.ai, download one model, and load it. Only the loaded one is served. Weights are large and speed follows your memory and GPU, so start small.

Starting the server and enabling CORS

Run lms server start, or open the app's Developer tab and switch Status from Stopped to Running (LM Studio's own instructions).
It listens on port 1234, making the base address http://localhost:1234. Opening http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1/models in a browser tab shows what it is serving, independently of Big-AGI.
Turn on Enable CORS under Developer -> Settings. Without it the server takes only same-origin requests and refuses your browser (server settings).

The address, prefilled

Open Models with Ctrl + Shift + M, press More Services if the Setup AI Models wizard shows, then Add -> LM Studio. Check LM Studio API, which arrives prefilled with http://localhost:1234, and press Models (add and manage your keys).

Direct Connection

Always eligible, and the mode this runtime's own help text is written for: "Connect directly to LM Studio from your browser. Requires CORS to be enabled in LM Studio." With it off, the fetch comes from the Big-AGI fast edge servers, which cannot see your localhost.

Note

Direct Connection works only with your API key stored in the browser, and with an AI service that permits direct browser calls (CORS). Where it cannot be used, requests route through the Big-AGI fast edge servers instead - everything still works, within the standard upload size and time limits.

When this doesn't work

What you see	What it means	What to do
`[LM Studio network issue]: Could not connect:`	The server is stopped, or the address is wrong.	I don't see the model I want
It answers in the terminal and not in Big-AGI	CORS is off, so the server refuses your browser's origin.	Enable it: my local models don't show up