Restructuring an existing function or module without changing behavior. The chat-only local desktop apps category runs open weights on your own hardware, as Outlier does, so the deciding difference for refactoring is not the data path but the surface around the model: local model UIs that lack agent or code execution surfaces. Outlier answers it with the on-device code tier and an agent loop. This page is the side-by-side specifically for refactoring workloads.
For refactoring, the deciding axis between Outlier and chat-only local desktop apps is the data path. Local model UIs that lack agent or code execution surfaces. Outlier holds the prompt and response for refactoring on the Mac and delivers tokens at the local memory bandwidth of the chip; on the code-recommended tier, that means working out of the on-disk checkpoint without a network round-trip per turn.
Local execution, varies by tool. For a refactoring workflow against chat-only local desktop apps, the prompt stays on the machine on both sides, so neither tail latency nor provider-side logging separates them. Outlier’s chat path on the code tier issues no outbound HTTPS once the model is on disk; the only network request in the lifecycle is the one-time 15.13 GB tier download from Hugging Face.
If you are coming from chat-only local desktop apps for refactoring, the right starting point on Outlier is the code tier — 15.13 GB on disk, sitting at the quality-vs-speed inflection point for refactoring-shaped prompts. chat-only local desktop apps users typically want what they had plus privacy; the code tier is the closest match for that without giving up answer quality. Heavier work moves up to the higher tiers in the same app; the Quick tier’s weak code performance rules it out for code-shaped refactoring.
Moving a refactoring workflow from chat-only local desktop apps to Outlier is a one-time DMG install plus a 15.13 GB pull for the code tier. The sign-in step that chat-only local desktop apps typically requires has no equivalent on the Outlier side: there is no account, no per-token meter, and no rate-limit page to redirect through. The refactoring loop after install is open-prompt to local-decode.
For a refactoring workload moving off chat-only local desktop apps onto the code tier: Core is the coding tier. It was briefly split into a separate “Code” entry that shared the identical weights; that split is gone and Core carries the code-first defaults. The MLX explainer has the per-tier breakdown if you want to see how it compares with chat-only local desktop apps. The one formally measured Outlier accuracy figure is Nano HumanEval 81.1% (pass@1, full 164-set), and for refactoring specifically: that figure measures writing a function from a description, which is adjacent to but not the same as rewriting one that already exists and must keep its behaviour.
Refactoring runs are long-prompt, long-output: paste a function and ask for the rewrite. Core sizes its context window to the memory your Mac actually has free rather than to a fixed number, so a whole file and its imports fit without truncation.
For refactoring specifically, chat-only local desktop apps tools share a common operational shape: a sign-in, an auth token bound to that sign-in, some kind of metered usage, and a content policy that applies to the refactoring prompts you submit. Outlier’s local-only chat path does not surface any of those: the refactoring workflow runs against the on-disk code tier, no token leaves the device.
This page positions Outlier as an alternative to chat-only local desktop apps for refactoring workflows, not as a drop-in replacement. Specific product surfaces in the chat-only local desktop apps category — IDE-integrated suggestions, web-based shared sessions, team-managed prompt libraries — are out of scope for the local app loop and we do not claim equivalence for those when refactoring is part of a larger team workflow.
For refactoring: one network round-trip per prompt with chat-only local desktop apps versus zero round-trips with Outlier on the code tier — the difference is unbounded latency variance against bandwidth-bound, repeatable local throughput.
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.