Install `lms` [#install-lms]

`lms` ships with LM Studio, so you don't need to do any additional installation steps if you have LM Studio installed.

Just open a terminal window and run `lms`:

```shell
lms --help
```

Open source [#open-source]

`lms` is **MIT Licensed** and is developed in this repository on GitHub: [https://github.com/lmstudio-ai/lms](https://github.com/lmstudio-ai/lms)

Command quick links [#command-quick-links]

| Command                       | Syntax             | Docs                                  |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------------- |
| Chat in the terminal          | `lms chat`         | [Guide](/docs/cli/local-models/chat)  |
| Download models               | `lms get`          | [Guide](/docs/cli/local-models/get)   |
| List your models              | `lms ls`           | [Guide](/docs/cli/local-models/ls)    |
| See models loaded into memory | `lms ps`           | [Guide](/docs/cli/local-models/ps)    |
| Control the server            | `lms server start` | [Guide](/docs/cli/serve/server-start) |
| Manage the inference runtime  | `lms runtime`      | [Guide](/docs/cli/runtime)            |
| Manage the headless daemon    | `lms daemon`       | [Guide](/docs/cli/daemon/daemon-up)   |
| Manage LM Link                | `lms link`         | [Guide](/docs/cli/link/link-enable)   |

Verify the installation [#verify-the-installation]

<Callout type="info" title="Info">
  👉 You need to run LM Studio *at least once* before you can use `lms`.
</Callout>

Open a terminal window and run `lms`.

```bash title="Terminal"
$ lms

lms is LM Studio's CLI utility for your models, server, and inference runtime. (v0.0.47)

Usage: lms [options] [command]

Local models
   chat               Start an interactive chat with a model
   get                Search and download models
   load               Load a model
   unload             Unload a model
   ls                 List the models available on disk
   ps                 List the models currently loaded in memory
   import             Import a model file into LM Studio

Serve
   server             Commands for managing the local server
   log                Log incoming and outgoing messages

Runtime
   runtime            Manage and update the inference runtime

Develop & Publish (Beta)
   clone              Clone an artifact from LM Studio Hub to a local folder
   push               Uploads the artifact in the current folder to LM Studio Hub
   dev                Starts a plugin dev server in the current folder
   login              Authenticate with LM Studio

Learn more:           https://lmstudio.ai/docs/developer
Join our Discord:     https://discord.gg/lmstudio
```

Use `lms` to automate and debug your workflows [#use-lms-to-automate-and-debug-your-workflows]

Start and stop the local server [#start-and-stop-the-local-server]

```bash
lms server start
lms server stop
```

Learn more about [`lms server`](/docs/cli/serve/server-start).

List the local models on the machine [#list-the-local-models-on-the-machine]

```bash
lms ls
```

Learn more about [`lms ls`](/docs/cli/local-models/ls).

This will reflect the current LM Studio models directory, which you set in **📂 My Models** tab in the app.

List the currently loaded models [#list-the-currently-loaded-models]

```bash
lms ps
```

Learn more about [`lms ps`](/docs/cli/local-models/ps).

Load a model (with options) [#load-a-model-with-options]

```bash
lms load [--gpu=max|auto|0.0-1.0] [--context-length=1-N]
```

`--gpu=1.0` means 'attempt to offload 100% of the computation to the GPU'.

* Optionally, assign an identifier to your local LLM:

```bash
lms load openai/gpt-oss-20b --identifier="my-model-name"
```

This is useful if you want to keep the model identifier consistent.

Unload a model [#unload-a-model]

```
lms unload [--all]
```

Learn more about [`lms load and unload`](/docs/cli/local-models/load).