StarCoder2 on Apple M2 · 16GB

✅ Runs (tight) — StarCoder2 7B @ Q8_0
StarCoder2 7B at Q8_0 needs ~8.1 GB (weights 7.1 GB + KV 512 MB + overhead 512 MB @ 8K ctx) of your 8.2 GB usable (of 16.0 GB unified memory) — fits, but little headroom — close other apps or trim context. Expect ~7–12 tok/s (usable).
context @ Q8_0: runs to its full 16K
quantneedsspeed
✓ Q8_08.1 GB~7–12 tok/s (usable)
✓ Q5_K_M5.8 GB~11–18 tok/s (usable)
✓ Q4_K_M5.1 GB~13–20 tok/s (usable)
$runlocal install starcoder2:7b
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 M3 Pro · Apple M2 Pro · Apple M4 Pro · Apple M3 Max

Also runs on a Apple M2: DeepSeek-R1 (distill) · Qwen3 · Llama 3.1 · Qwen2.5 · Gemma 3

Best models for a Apple M2 · 16GB →

Architecturally similar

These share StarCoder2's KV-cache geometry — they size memory the same way, so here's how they fit on a Apple M2 · 16GB too:

modelsharesverdict here
Qwen2.5-Coder 2kv/128hd4kv/128hd ✅ Runs (tight)
Yi 1.5 4kv/128hd ✅ Runs (tight)
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 →