llama
Version, currently 92977 versions
github.com/kojix2/llama.cr
No description declared in shard.yml.
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License: MIT
Installation
# Add this to your shard.yml
dependencies:
llama:
github: kojix2/llama.cr
version: ~> 9297Then run:
shards installshard.yml
- Crystal
>= 1.15.1- License
- MIT
- Author
- kojix2 <2xijok@gmail.com>
Dependencies
This version declares no dependencies.
README
# llama.cr
[](https://github.com/kojix2/llama.cr/actions/workflows/test.yml)
[](https://github.com/kojix2/llama.cr/actions/workflows/examples.yml)
[](https://kojix2.github.io/llama.cr)
[](https://tokei.kojix2.net/github/kojix2/llama.cr)

Crystal bindings for [llama.cpp](https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp), a C/C++ implementation of LLaMA, Falcon, GPT-2, and other large language models.
The version in `shard.yml` corresponds to the compatible llama.cpp build number.
This project is under active development and may change rapidly.
## Versioning Policy
- This library version tracks the upstream `llama.cpp` build number.
- The version in `shard.yml` uses the numeric build value (for example `9297`).
- Git tags use the `v<build>` format (for example `v9297`).
- Compatibility target is one upstream build at a time.
- Consumers should pin an exact shard version (for example `9297`), not a version range.
## Features
- Low-level bindings to the llama.cpp C API
- High-level Crystal wrapper classes for easy usage
- Memory management for C resources
- Simple text generation interface
- Advanced sampling methods (Min-P, Typical, Mirostat, etc.)
- Batch processing for efficient token handling
- KV cache management for optimized inference
- State saving and loading
## Installation
### Prerequisites
You need the llama.cpp shared library (libllama) available on your system.
#### 1. Download Prebuilt Binary (Recommended)
```sh
LLAMA_BUILD="b$(shards version)"
curl -L "https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/releases/download/${LLAMA_BUILD}/llama-${LLAMA_BUILD}-bin-ubuntu-x64.tar.gz" -o llama.tar.gz
tar -xzf llama.tar.gz
sudo cp llama-${LLAMA_BUILD}/*.so* /usr/local/lib/
sudo ldconfig
```
For macOS, replace `ubuntu-x64` with `macos-arm64` and `*.so` with `*.dylib`.
**Alternative: Use local libraries with standard linker flags**
If you prefer not to install system-wide, point Crystal and the runtime loader to your local llama.cpp library directory:
```sh
export LLAMA_LIB_DIR=/path/to/llama.cpp
LIBRARY_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR" crystal build examples/simple.cr --link-flags "-L$LLAMA_LIB_DIR -Wl,-rpath,$LLAMA_LIB_DIR -lllama -lggml"
LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR" ./simple --model models/tiny_model.gguf
```
On macOS, replace `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` with `DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH`.
If backend auto-detection fails in newer llama.cpp builds, also set `GGML_BACKEND_PATH` to a backend shared library file (not a directory), for example:
```sh
export GGML_BACKEND_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR/libggml-cpu-haswell.so"
```
For local development/tests, a full example is:
```sh
MODEL_PATH=/path/to/model.gguf \
LIBRARY_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR" \
LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR" \
GGML_BACKEND_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR/libggml-cpu-haswell.so" \
crystal spec
```
Minimal examples:
```sh
# Linux
LIBRARY_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR" crystal build examples/simple.cr --link-flags "-L$LLAMA_LIB_DIR -Wl,-rpath,$LLAMA_LIB_DIR -lllama -lggml"
LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR" ./simple --model models/tiny_model.gguf
# macOS
LIBRARY_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR" crystal build examples/simple.cr --link-flags "-L$LLAMA_LIB_DIR -Wl,-rpath,$LLAMA_LIB_DIR -lllama -lggml"
DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH="$LLAMA_LIB_DIR" ./simple --model models/tiny_model.gguf
```
<details>
<summary>Build from source (advanced users)</summary>
```bash
git clone https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp.git
cd llama.cpp
LLAMA_BUILD="b$(shards version ..)"
git checkout "${LLAMA_BUILD}"
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. && cmake --build . --config Release
sudo cmake --install . && sudo ldconfig
```
</details>
### Obtaining GGUF Model Files
You'll need a model file in GGUF format. For testing, smaller quantized models (1-3B parameters) with Q4_K_M quantization are recommended.
Popular options:
- [TinyLlama 1.1B](https://huggingface.co/TheBloke/TinyLlama-1.1B-Chat-v1.0-GGUF) [[raw]](https://huggingface.co/TheBloke/TinyLlama-1.1B-Chat-v1.0-GGUF/resolve/main/tinyllama-1.1b-chat-v1.0.Q4_K_M.gguf)
- [Llama 3 8B Instruct](https://huggingface.co/mmnga/Meta-Llama-3-70B-Instruct-gguf)
- [Mistral 7B Instruct v0.2](https://huggingface.co/TheBloke/Mistral-7B-Instruct-v0.2-GGUF)
### Adding to Your Project
Add the dependency to your `shard.yml`:
We strongly recommend pinning an exact version because llama.cpp updates can include breaking changes between build numbers.
```yaml
dependencies:
llama:
github: kojix2/llama.cr
version: 9297
```
Then run `shards install`.
## Usage
### Basic Text Generation
```crystal
require "llama"
# Load a model
model = Llama::Model.new("/path/to/model.gguf")
# Create a context
context = model.context
# Generate text
response = context.generate("Once upon a time", max_tokens: 100, temperature: 0.8)
puts response
# Or use the convenience method
response = Llama.generate("/path/to/model.gguf", "Once upon a time")
puts response
```
### Advanced Sampling
```crystal
require "llama"
model = Llama::Model.new("/path/to/model.gguf")
context = model.context
# Create a sampler chain with multiple sampling methods
chain = Llama::SamplerChain.new
chain.add(Llama::Sampler::TopK.new(40))
chain.add(Llama::Sampler::MinP.new(0.05, 1))
chain.add(Llama::Sampler::Temp.new(0.8))
chain.add(Llama::Sampler::Dist.new(42))
# Generate text with the custom sampler chain
result = context.generate_with_sampler("Write a short poem about AI:", chain, 150)
puts result
```
### Chat Conversations
```crystal
require "llama"
require "llama/chat"
model = Llama::Model.new("/path/to/model.gguf")
context = model.context
# Create a chat conversation
messages = [
Llama::ChatMessage.new("system", "You are a helpful assistant."),
Llama::ChatMessage.new("user", "Hello, who are you?")
]
# Generate a response
response = context.chat(messages)
puts "Assistant: #{response}"
# Continue the conversation
messages << Llama::ChatMessage.new("assistant", response)
messages << Llama::ChatMessage.new("user", "Tell me a joke")
response = context.chat(messages)
puts "Assistant: #{response}"
```
### Embeddings
```crystal
require "llama"
model = Llama::Model.new("/path/to/model.gguf")
# Create a context with embeddings enabled
context = model.context(embeddings: true)
# Get embeddings for text
text = "Hello, world!"
tokens = model.vocab.tokenize(text)
batch = Llama::Batch.get_one(tokens)
context.decode(batch)
embeddings = context.get_embeddings_seq(0)
puts "Embedding dimension: #{embeddings.size}"
```
### Utilities
#### System Info
```crystal
puts Llama.system_info
```
#### Tokenization Utility
```crystal
model = Llama::Model.new("/path/to/model.gguf")
puts Llama.tokenize_and_format(model.vocab, "Hello, world!", ids_only: true)
```
## Examples
The `examples` directory contains sample code demonstrating various features:
- `simple.cr` - Basic text generation
- `chat.cr` - Chat conversations with models
- `tokenize.cr` - Tokenization and vocabulary features
## API Documentation
See [kojix2.github.io/llama.cr](https://kojix2.github.io/llama.cr) for full API docs.
### Core Classes
- **Llama::Model** - Represents a loaded LLaMA model
- **Llama::Context** - Handles inference state for a model
- **Llama::Vocab** - Provides access to the model's vocabulary
- **Llama::Batch** - Manages batches of tokens for efficient processing
- **Llama::KvCache** - Controls the key-value cache for optimized inference
- **Llama::State** - Handles saving and loading model state
- **Llama::SamplerChain** - Combines multiple sampling methods
### Samplers
- **Llama::Sampler::TopK** - Keeps only the top K most likely tokens
- **Llama::Sampler::TopP** - Nucleus sampling (keeps tokens until cumulative probability exceeds P)
- **Llama::Sampler::Temp** - Applies temperature to logits
- **Llama::Sampler::Dist** - Samples from the final probability distribution
- **Llama::Sampler::MinP** - Keeps tokens with probability >= P \* max_probability
- **Llama::Sampler::Typical** - Selects tokens based on their "typicality" (entropy)
- **Llama::Sampler::Mirostat** - Dynamically adjusts sampling to maintain target entropy
- **Llama::Sampler::Penalties** - Applies penalties to reduce repetition
## Development
See [DEVELOPMENT.md](DEVELOPMENT.md) for development guidelines.
This software is primarily created through AI-generated code.
Do you need commit rights?
- If you need commit rights to my repository or want to get admin rights and take over the project, please feel free to contact @kojix2.
- Many OSS projects become abandoned because only the founder has commit rights to the original repository.
## Contributing
1. Fork it (<https://github.com/kojix2/llama.cr/fork>)
2. Create your feature branch (`git checkout -b my-new-feature`)
3. Commit your changes (`git commit -am 'Add some feature'`)
4. Push to the branch (`git push origin my-new-feature`)
5. Create a new Pull Request
## License
This project is available under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more info.
Documentation
Built from the current release. The first visit to a release nobody has asked for starts its build.
Links
This release
- Version
9297- Tagged
- May 24, 2026
- Commit
c041d8f6a803- Crystal
>= 1.15.1- Indexed
- yes
Dependents
No indexed shard depends on this one yet.
Repository
github.com/kojix2/llama.cr
Metadata
- Created
- Aug 12, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 12, 2026
- Synced
- Aug 12, 2026
- Versions
- 7