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server: add more tool isolation support (ssh remote + podman rootless) (#26774)
* server: add an ssh transport to the tools runtime

--tools-runtime ssh:<target> runs the built-in tools on a remote host,
where target is whatever ssh already resolves, a user@host or a config
alias, so no credentials live in llama.cpp.

Only build_argv and upload differ from the docker transport: the remote
shell re-parses the command line, so the argv travels through
shell_quote_join, and files go over scp with the same quoting on the
remote path. Authentication is key-based and the host key must already
be trusted, since the tools run without a console and any prompt would
hang them.

The target is validated before use. The spec can reach us from the
x-tool-runtime header, and a leading dash would turn it into an ssh
option, which is enough to run a command back on the host.

Nothing is created and nothing is reclaimed, so an ssh spec goes
straight to the tool call instead of through the container runtime.

Note that this is remoting rather than isolation: the tools can do
whatever the target account can do, and the isolation is whatever runs
them on the far side.

* server: support podman in the tools runtime

docker and podman expose the same run, exec, cp and inspect verbs with the
same argument order, so a single implementation drives both and the engine
is carried by the spec prefix: podman:<image> and podman-container:<id> sit
next to the docker forms.

tools_io_docker becomes tools_io_container and the runtime spawner becomes
server_tools_container_runtime, both holding the client binary chosen at
parse time. A single parse_container_runtime() resolves every spec, so
adding another engine is one string in the table.

make_tools_io() now rejects the spawning forms. The spec also reaches it
from the x-tool-runtime header, which is client controlled, and only the
runtime that owns a container is allowed to create one: a tool call can
attach to a running container, nothing more.

* ./build/bin/llama-gen-docs

* server: simplify the tools runtime and drop the file copy step

A server_tools_runtime base with one virtual spec() replaces the
container runtime and the bare spec string that ssh needed next to it,
so server_tools is back to a single pointer and neither setup nor the
handler tests which of the two is set.

write_file used to spill its content into a temporary file on the host
and copy it in, because run_subprocess had no way to feed a child. It
now takes an optional stdin payload and creates the parent directory
and the file in a single round trip through a shell in the isolate.

That removes the upload virtual and both implementations: no more
container cp or scp, no second binary on the host, no sftp subsystem on
the target, no predictable temporary in a shared tmp, and none of the
content reaching an argv the remote shell re-parses. It also fixes
write_file over ssh, which never worked: scp speaks sftp and takes the
remote path literally, so quoting it kept the quotes in the file name.

Writing the payload before reading the output relies on the child
draining stdin as it goes, which holds for cat, its only user today.

* ./build/bin/llama-gen-docs

* server: harden the tools runtime against argv injection and a stdin stall

Validate the container id from x-tool-runtime and --tools-runtime the
same way the ssh target already is, so an id shaped like an option
(docker-container:--privileged) is rejected before it reaches the
engine's exec command line instead of running against a hardened
container. Feed the child's stdin after the watchdog is armed, so a
transport that stalls mid-write is terminated at the deadline rather
than blocking the request forever.

Cover both guards and fix the unknown-scheme test, which used ssh: as
its example and now names a real runtime.

* tests: exercise the tools runtime tests on podman as well as docker

Follow-up #26507. The container runtime drives docker and podman
through one implementation, so parametrize the availability helper,
the container fixture and the attach test on the engine, and cover
both engine prefixes in the container id injection test. Each engine
skips on its own when it is not installed.

The spawn cleanup test stays docker only: it recovers the spawned id
from the container hostname, which docker sets to the short id and
podman rootless does not guarantee. Podman keeps its coverage through
the attach path.

* server: release the container handle before respawning

Follow-up #26507. create() writes over the handle it is given, so a
respawn after the container died on its own leaked the pipes and the
process handle of the previous one.

* server: trim the tools runtime comments

* server: read tool output as raw bytes and harden the runtime on Windows

The stdout pipe is read with read() instead of fgets(), so a chunk
can hold any byte, including NUL, and still streams as soon as data
is available. Past the size cap the pipe keeps draining so the child
never blocks on a full pipe. Both pipe fds are forced to binary mode
on Windows, where the CRT defaults them to text mode and translates
line endings in both directions. Stdin is now always closed after
the feed: the child reads a deterministic EOF, and the Windows
docker and ssh clients stop outliving their command on a stdin pipe
that never closes.

The attach form of --tools-runtime has no lifecycle to own, so it
becomes a static target validated once at startup. This removes the
 subprocess that ran on every tool call and
serialized calls behind a mutex; a stopped container now surfaces
the engine's own error at exec time.

The cidfile path is passed as UTF-8, matching the encoding the
subprocess layer expects for the CreateProcessW command line, so
the spawn form works from a non-ASCII Windows profile.

The SIGPIPE note in server.cpp now names the tools runtime children
as well as the MCP ones.

* clean up comments

* less pollute global scope

* nits

* tests: name the container image after both engines

---------

Co-authored-by: Xuan Son Nguyen <son@huggingface.co>
2026-08-10 13:31:09 +02:00
.devops ci: rm GGML_HIP_ROCWMMA_FATTN (#26760) 2026-08-09 18:15:28 +08:00
.gemini contributing: tighten AI usage policy (#18388) 2025-12-29 16:01:32 +01:00
.github ci: Add support for CUDA 13.4 ARM64 builds for Windows (#26650) 2026-08-10 11:46:44 +03:00
.pi/gg pi : remove docs from system prompt (#24791) 2026-06-19 09:34:00 +03:00
app app : allow --version, --licenses & --help (#25054) 2026-06-26 23:18:11 +02:00
benches benches : add Nemotron 3 Nano on DGX Spark (#20652) 2026-03-16 21:50:43 +02:00
ci ci: rm GGML_HIP_ROCWMMA_FATTN (#26760) 2026-08-09 18:15:28 +08:00
cmake ci: Add support for CUDA 13.4 ARM64 builds for Windows (#26650) 2026-08-10 11:46:44 +03:00
common server: add more tool isolation support (ssh remote + podman rootless) (#26774) 2026-08-10 13:31:09 +02:00
conversion model: Muse Glimmer Support (#26841) 2026-08-10 13:07:27 +02:00
docs sycl : Support DSv4 OPs: LIGHTNING_INDEXER,DSV4_HC_COMB,DSV4_HC_POST,DSV4_HC_PRE (#26568) 2026-08-07 08:22:23 +03:00
examples sycl : update guide Q&A and script for device setting (#26442) 2026-08-07 08:18:47 +03:00
ggml ggml-webgpu : refactor several wgsl files and simplify flash_attn wgsl. (#26134) 2026-08-10 09:29:41 +03:00
gguf-py model: Muse Glimmer Support (#26841) 2026-08-10 13:07:27 +02:00
grammars docs : fix typos in CUDA-FEDORA.md and grammars/README.md (#24459) 2026-06-15 01:33:38 +08:00
include sampler : remove "full-context windows" from history-based samplers (#26524) 2026-08-04 21:28:55 +03:00
licenses refactor : remove libcurl, use OpenSSL when available (#18828) 2026-01-14 18:02:47 +01:00
media media : add transparent icon svg and png [no ci] (#15891) 2025-09-10 14:51:28 +03:00
models chat : Align Laguna-S-2.1 chat template to huggingface (#26232) 2026-08-10 05:20:59 -05:00
pocs libs : rename libcommon -> libllama-common (#21936) 2026-04-17 11:11:46 +03:00
requirements model: add Mellum architecture (#23966) 2026-06-02 22:11:12 +03:00
scripts vendor: sync subprocess.h and drop local patches (#26808) 2026-08-10 11:59:08 +02:00
skills mtmd: support Qwen3-TTS (note: breaking change to llama-tts binary) (#26254) 2026-08-04 17:26:15 +02:00
src model: Muse Glimmer Support (#26841) 2026-08-10 13:07:27 +02:00
tests model: Muse Glimmer Support (#26841) 2026-08-10 13:07:27 +02:00
tools server: add more tool isolation support (ssh remote + podman rootless) (#26774) 2026-08-10 13:31:09 +02:00
vendor vendor: sync subprocess.h and drop local patches (#26808) 2026-08-10 11:59:08 +02:00
.clang-format fix: apply clang-format to CUDA macros (#16017) 2025-09-16 08:59:19 +02:00
.clang-tidy clang-tidy : disable warning about performance enum size (#16127) 2025-09-22 19:57:46 +02:00
.dockerignore docker : prebuild web UI for s390x build [no release] (#24829) 2026-06-20 05:54:42 -05:00
.ecrc common : Update stb_image.h to latest version (#9161) 2024-08-27 08:58:50 +03:00
.editorconfig ui: Restructure repo to use tools/ui folder and ui / UI / llama-ui / LLAMA_UI naming (#23064) 2026-05-16 02:02:40 +02:00
.flake8 llama : move end-user examples to tools directory (#13249) 2025-05-02 20:27:13 +02:00
.gitignore ui: PWA support (#23871) 2026-06-12 15:53:26 +02:00
.gitmodules ggml : remove kompute backend (#14501) 2025-07-03 07:48:32 +03:00
.pre-commit-config.yaml convert.py : add python logging instead of print() (#6511) 2024-05-03 22:36:41 +03:00
AGENTS.md agents: clarify comment style and jinja knowledge (#26405) 2026-08-01 18:45:46 +02:00
AUTHORS authors : update (#19263) 2026-02-02 08:51:25 +02:00
build-xcframework.sh build : remove GGML_METAL_USE_BF16 from all build scripts (#26604) 2026-08-05 10:44:34 +02:00
CLAUDE.md contributing: tighten AI usage policy (#18388) 2025-12-29 16:01:32 +01:00
CMakeLists.txt common: add subproc.h wrapper, disabled on android/ios (#26102) 2026-07-26 20:54:25 +02:00
CMakePresets.json cmake : Add CMake presets for Linux and GCC (#14656) 2025-07-13 08:12:36 +03:00
CODEOWNERS HIP: remove rocWMMA FlashAttention (#26046) 2026-07-24 17:53:54 +02:00
CONTRIBUTING.md contrib : add guideline about the "merge ready" label (#26178) 2026-07-28 08:41:04 +03:00
convert_hf_to_gguf.py convert: add option to create separate dspark GGUF (#26452) 2026-08-02 23:16:31 +08:00
convert_hf_to_gguf_update.py Add support for Laguna XS.2 & M.1 (#25165) 2026-07-22 09:54:08 +08:00
convert_llama_ggml_to_gguf.py ci : switch from pyright to ty (#20826) 2026-03-21 08:54:34 +01:00
convert_lora_to_gguf.py convert : fix lora base model arch retrieval (#24621) 2026-06-15 00:55:26 +02:00
flake.nix fix(nix): remove non-functional llama-cpp cachix cache from flake.nix (#15295) 2025-08-13 11:21:31 -07:00
LICENSE docs : Minor cleanups (#19252) 2026-02-02 08:38:55 +02:00
Makefile make : remove make in favor of CMake (#15449) 2025-08-20 13:31:16 +03:00
mypy.ini convert : partially revert PR #4818 (#5041) 2024-01-20 18:14:18 -05:00
pyproject.toml model: add Mellum architecture (#23966) 2026-06-02 22:11:12 +03:00
pyrightconfig.json ci : switch from pyright to ty (#20826) 2026-03-21 08:54:34 +01:00
README.md readme : remove dev branches (#26832) 2026-08-10 09:53:26 +03:00
requirements.txt tool-call: fix Qwen 2.5 Coder support, add micro benchmarks, support trigger patterns for lazy grammars (#12034) 2025-03-05 13:05:13 +00:00
SECURITY.md security : clarify about AI-generated reports (#26579) 2026-08-05 13:27:06 +02:00
ty.toml mtmd : DeepSeek-OCR image processing fixes, img_tool::resize padding refactor (#23345) 2026-05-20 17:37:10 +02:00

llama.cpp

llama

Quick start

A few options to get llama.cpp installed on your machine:

Once installed:

# Download and run a model directly from Hugging Face
llama cli -hf ggml-org/Qwen3.5-0.8B-GGUF

# Launch OpenAI-compatible API server
llama serve -hf ggml-org/Qwen3.5-0.8B-GGUF
VLM session with `llama cli` VLM session with llama cli Built-in web UI against `llama serve` running Qwen 3.6 Built-in web UI against llama serve

Description

The main goal of llama.cpp is to enable LLM (and VLM) inference with minimal setup and state-of-the-art performance on a wide range of hardware - locally and in the cloud.

  • Plain C/C++ implementation without any dependencies
  • Apple silicon is a first-class citizen - optimized via ARM NEON, Accelerate and Metal frameworks
  • AVX, AVX2, AVX512 and AMX support for x86 architectures
  • RVV, ZVFH, ZFH, ZICBOP and ZIHINTPAUSE support for RISC-V architectures
  • 1.5-bit, 2-bit, 3-bit, 4-bit, 5-bit, 6-bit, and 8-bit integer quantization for faster inference and reduced memory use
  • Custom CUDA kernels for running LLMs on NVIDIA GPUs (support for AMD GPUs via HIP and Moore Threads GPUs via MUSA)
  • Vulkan and SYCL backend support
  • CPU+GPU hybrid inference to partially accelerate models larger than the total VRAM capacity

The llama.cpp project is build on top of the ggml library.

Supported backends

Backend Target devices
BLAS All
BLIS All
CANN Ascend NPU
CUDA Nvidia GPU
HIP AMD GPU
Hexagon [In Progress] Snapdragon
IBM zDNN IBM Z & LinuxONE
MUSA Moore Threads GPU
Metal Apple Silicon
OpenCL Adreno GPU
OpenVINO [In Progress] Intel CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs
RPC All
SYCL Intel GPU
VirtGPU VirtGPU APIR
Vulkan GPU
WebGPU All
ZenDNN AMD CPU

Documentation

Tools

Development

Contributing

  • Contributors can open PRs
  • Collaborators will be invited based on contributions
  • Maintainers can push to branches in the llama.cpp repo and merge PRs into the master branch
  • Any help with managing issues, PRs and projects is very appreciated!
  • Read the CONTRIBUTING.md for more information

Acknowledgements

  • yhirose/cpp-httplib - Single-header HTTP server, used by llama-server - MIT license
  • stb-image - Single-header image format decoder, used by multimodal subsystem - Public domain
  • nlohmann/json - Single-header JSON library, used by various tools/examples - MIT License
  • miniaudio.h - Single-header audio format decoder, used by multimodal subsystem - Public domain
  • subprocess.h - Single-header process launching solution for C and C++ - Public domain