Monday, October 26, 2026 · Edition updated 6:00 AM ETMON, OCT 26 editionNext edition in Next in --:--:--
Intelligence Verdict
Run it yourself · Meta

Can I run Muse Glimmer 30B on my computer?

Yes, on a machine with about 24 GB of memory or more.

  • 18 GBits usual download (Q4_K_M), from Ollama's library
  • 24 GBof memory to run it comfortably, by our rule of thumb
  • 11 of 16machines we list can be bought with that much memory
The short answer

How much memory it needs.

Its usual download, the Q4_K_M file, is 18 GB. It runs comfortably with about 24 GB of memory or more, and is a tight fit from 18 GB up to 24 GB.

Our rule of thumb, not the makers': a file up to three quarters of the memory runs comfortably, leaving room for the system, other apps and the conversation. A tight fit means it fits, with little room left: close other apps and keep conversations short. Ollama says longer conversations need more memory. On a Mac, and on PCs with shared memory, the model uses the computer's main memory; with a graphics card, it runs fastest when the whole file fits in the card's own memory.

Which machines

Machines with enough memory.

For each machine we list, the smallest memory it can be ordered with that fits the 18 GB file, by the same rule. Worked out from sizes alone: no one ran Muse Glimmer 30B on each of these.

MachineMemory it comes withFor Muse Glimmer 30BStarting price
Mac mini (M6)desktop, shared memory16, 24, 32 GBRuns comfortably with 24 GB$899with 16 GB, maker's price, Aug 25, 2026
Mac mini (M5 Pro)desktop, shared memory24, 48, 64 GBRuns comfortably with 24 GB$1,699with 24 GB, maker's price, Aug 25, 2026
MacBook Air 13-inch (M5)laptop, shared memory16, 24, 32 GBRuns comfortably with 24 GB$1,099with 16 GB, maker's price, Mar 3, 2026
MacBook Air 15-inch (M5)laptop, shared memory16, 24, 32 GBRuns comfortably with 24 GB$1,299with 16 GB, maker's price, Mar 3, 2026
MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5)laptop, shared memory16, 24, 32 GBRuns comfortably with 24 GB$1,599with 16 GB, maker's price, Oct 15, 2025
MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5 Pro / M5 Max)laptop, shared memory24, 36, 48, 64, 128 GBRuns comfortably with 24 GB$2,199with 24 GB, maker's price, Mar 3, 2026
MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro / M5 Max)laptop, shared memory24, 36, 48, 64, 128 GBRuns comfortably with 24 GB$2,699with 24 GB, maker's price, Mar 3, 2026
Mac Studio (M5 Max / M5 Ultra)desktop, shared memory36, 48, 64, 96, 128, 256, 512 GBRuns comfortably with 36 GB$2,499with 36 GB, maker's price, Aug 25, 2026
GeForce RTX 5090graphics card, memory on the card32 GBRuns comfortably with 32 GB$1,999with 32 GB, launch price, Jan 6, 2025
NVIDIA DGX Sparkmini PC, shared memory64, 128 GBRuns comfortably with 64 GB$4,999with 64 GB, maker's price, Oct 20, 2026
Framework Desktop (AMD Ryzen AI Max / Max+)desktop, shared memory32, 64, 128 GBRuns comfortably with 32 GB$1,269with 32 GB, maker's price, Oct 20, 2026
GeForce RTX 5080graphics card, memory on the card16 GBToo big, even at 16 GB$999with 16 GB, launch price, Jan 6, 2025
GeForce RTX 5070 Tigraphics card, memory on the card16 GBToo big, even at 16 GB$749with 16 GB, launch price, Jan 6, 2025
GeForce RTX 5070graphics card, memory on the card12 GBToo big, even at 12 GB$549with 12 GB, launch price, Jan 6, 2025
GeForce RTX 5060 Tigraphics card, memory on the card8, 16 GBToo big, even at 16 GB$379with 8 GB, launch price, Apr 15, 2025
GeForce RTX 5060graphics card, memory on the card8 GBToo big, even at 8 GB$299with 8 GB, launch price, Apr 15, 2025

The starting price buys the smallest memory; more memory costs more, and makers' stores show those prices only as you configure. Graphics card prices are NVIDIA's launch prices from 2025, and a card also needs a PC to go in. Copilot+ PCs are left out: Microsoft's pages give no memory minimum. All machines and prices

The downloads

Every file size, and where to get it.

Listed on Ollama's library, read Oct 20, 2026. Fewer bits per number makes a smaller file. The usual home choice, its smallest 4-bit file, is the one we size it by.

Download sizes
FileSizeComfortable from
Q4_K_Mmuse-glimmer:30b-q4_K_M, Oct 20, 202618 GBusual24 GB
Q8_0muse-glimmer:30b-q8_0, Oct 20, 202631 GB42 GB
BF16muse-glimmer:30b-bf16, Oct 20, 202657 GB76 GB
The model
Made by
MetaBased in US
Family
Muse Glimmer
Size
29.6B (including vision encoder) parameters
Reads at once
131K tokensLonger conversations take more memory
License
Apache 2.0
In the maker's words
“designed to run at practical speeds on consumer hardware”
Hugging Face: meta-models/Muse-Glimmer-30B, Aug 2026 · company-reported

Our note: Dense model released August 2026 on Meta's 'meta-models' Hugging Face account. LM Studio lists 'Minimum system memory' of 26GB (https://lmstudio.ai/models/meta/muse-glimmer). Meta's larger Muse Spark Open (816B total, 42B active) is offered on Ollama only as a cloud model.

How fast it runs

Speed, measured.

We haven't found a published speed test of Muse Glimmer 30B on a named machine. Bigger files run slower on the same machine. How chips compare on a small model

In the makers' words

What the apps say about memory.

“Setting a larger context length will increase the amount of memory required to run a model.”
Ollama docs: Context length
“16GB+ RAM recommended.”
LM Studio docs: System requirements
“(8GB RAM for 3B models, 16GB for 7B, 32GB for 13B)”
Jan on GitHub (README)
“When using GPU inference new models must be able to completely fit in VRAM to allow concurrent model loads.”
Ollama docs: FAQ
The apps

Apps that run downloaded models.

Free apps that download open models and run them on your machine. Muse Glimmer 30B's files are listed on Ollama's library; check an app's own library for the model before you rely on it.

What each app does

Ollama

Ollama

Price: Free (MIT-licensed); Ollama also offers cloud-hosted models

  • macOS 14 Sonoma or newer
  • Windows 10 22H2 or newer
  • Linux
  • Docker

Ollama on GitHub · company-reported

LM Studio

LM Studio

Price: Free tier $0 (Run local LLMs on your machine); paid Bionic+ $20/month and Pro $100/month add cloud models

  • macOS 14 or newer on Apple Silicon
  • Windows x64
  • Linux x64 and ARM64

LM Studio pricing page and system requirements · company-reported

llama.cpp

ggml-org (open-source project)

Price: Free

  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Docker
  • Android
  • Pre-built binaries or build from source

llama.cpp on GitHub · company-reported

Jan

Jan (janhq)

Price: Free (Free & Open source)

  • Windows 10 or later
  • macOS 13.6 or later
  • Linux

Jan on GitHub · company-reported

GPT4All

Nomic AI

Price: Free

  • Windows x64 and ARM
  • macOS 12.6 Monterey or newer
  • Linux x86-64

GPT4All on GitHub · company-reported

Foundry Local

Microsoft

Price: There are no per-token costs and No Azure subscription is required.

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux

Microsoft Learn · company-reported