Install & first run

TurboLLM is an npm package. The fastest way to try it is to run it without installing — one command starts a local daemon, opens the browser UI, and serves your models over an API.

Requirements

• Node.js 22 or newer — enforced at startup with a clear message. Get it from nodejs.org.
• Windows, macOS, or Linux.
• A GPU is recommended but not required — a CPU build is provisioned as a fallback.

Install

Prefer a global install?

# run without installing (recommended for first try)
npx turbollm

# or install globally
npm install -g turbollm
turbollm

What happens on first run

On first run the daemon:

1. Detects your GPU and downloads a matching engine

   CUDA for NVIDIA, ROCm for AMD, Metal for Apple, SYCL for Intel, Vulkan otherwise — with a CPU fallback. Nothing to compile.

2. Starts on http://127.0.0.1:6996

   And opens your browser automatically. Use --no-open to skip that, or --port to change the port.

3. Drops you on the Chat screen

   Ready to load a model.

Develop from source

Want to hack on TurboLLM itself?

npm install                  # daemon deps
cd web && npm install && cd ..

npm run build:web            # build the React UI -> src/webdist
npm run start                # run the daemon in dev -> :6996

npm run build                # production bundle -> dist/cli.js
node dist/cli.js --port 6996

Stack: Node ≥22 · TypeScript · Hono · node:sqlite · tsup — and a React 19 + Tailwind v4 + shadcn/ui frontend.