Use the Code-tuned variant of the Core model for code review and refactor without a network round-trip. The whole sequence below stays on the Mac.
Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 12 or later, the unified-memory minimum that the chosen tier requires (6 GB for Nano, 12 GB for Lite, 16 GB for Quick, 24 GB for Core and Vision 3.8, 64 GB for Plus). Internet is required only for the one-time model download.
.outlierignore.Code mode in v1.11.469 was renamed from Agent mode. The system prompt is tuned for code-first responses, default temperature is lowered, and the autonomy mode toggles default to manual approval.
Core sizes its context window to the memory your Mac has free rather than to a fixed number, so a whole file plus its imports fits without truncation on a machine with room for it. It needs 24 GB of unified memory. Below that, drop to Quick and scope each question to a single function rather than a whole file.
Hosted coding assistants stream from a remote endpoint that your code went to. Outlier streams from a local sidecar at 127.0.0.1:8766.
Code mode in v1.11.469 was renamed from Agent mode. The system prompt is tuned for code-first responses, default temperature is lowered, and the autonomy mode toggles default to manual approval.
Core sizes its context window to the memory your Mac has free rather than to a fixed number, so a whole file plus its imports fits without truncation on a machine with room for it. It needs 24 GB of unified memory. Below that, drop to Quick and scope each question to a single function rather than a whole file.
Code mode in v1.11.469 was renamed from Agent mode. The system prompt is tuned for code-first responses, default temperature is lowered, and the autonomy mode toggles default to manual approval.
Core sizes its context window to the memory your Mac has free rather than to a fixed number, so a whole file plus its imports fits without truncation on a machine with room for it. It needs 24 GB of unified memory. Below that, drop to Quick and scope each question to a single function rather than a whole file.
This guide does not claim feature parity with cloud-side workflows for “how to run a local coding assistant on a mac”. Specifically, the product surface in v1.11.469 covers chat, file attachment, the local agent loop, project scoping, and the model picker. Cross-device sync, team workspaces, and shared session history are out of scope and are not on the v1.9 backlog either.
Code mode in v1.11.469 ships with a terser system prompt, a lower default sampling temperature, and a default project-scope chip that respects .outlierignore. The agent loop has manual approval on as the default; auto-approve and sandboxed modes are settings, not the default. The reason that distinction is non-trivial is that the agent loop can run shell commands; manual approval is the safe choice when starting out.
Code mode pairs naturally with the project chip and the .outlierignore file. A typical session opens a single file, asks for a refactor or test scaffold, then iterates inline; the chat history persists across mode switches.
4 steps, zero network requests after the model is downloaded. Core is one model; the separate Code entry that shared its safetensors has been folded back in.
Download Outlier for MacRequires Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, or M4) — Intel Macs are not supported. macOS 12+.
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Outlier runs entirely on your Mac. No prompts leave the device. macOS 12+ on Apple Silicon (arm64). Apache 2.0 model weights. Back to home.