BitNet

BitNet is an official inference framework for 1-bit large language models that provides optimized kernels for fast CPU and GPU execution.

Bitnet.cpp is the official inference framework for 1-bit large language models, such as BitNet b1.58. It provides a suite of optimized kernels that support fast and lossless inference of 1.58-bit models on both CPU and GPU hardware. The framework achieves substantial speedups and reduces energy consumption compared to full-precision models on x86 and ARM architectures. It supports various models including BitNet-b1.58-2B-4T and embedding models like BitNet-embedding-0.6B and BitNet-embedding-270M. It is designed for developers and researchers who want to run efficient ternary models on local devices.

BitNet at a glance

Best for: Software engineer, Researcher
Runs on: Windows, Linux, CLI, self-hosted, open source
Pricing: Free
Released: August 2024
Category: AI coding tool
Website: github.com/microsoft/BitNet

Key features

Optimized kernels for 1-bit models
CPU and GPU inference support
I2S conversion for embedding models
Configurable tiling and parallel execution
Conversational mode for chat models
Command-line setup and run scripts

Use it for

Running local 1-bit large language models
Generating text from prompts on edge devices
Running 1-bit embedding models on CPUs
Executing chat-ready conversational models

Alternatives to BitNet

ncnn — No runtime dependencies and supports CPU and Vulkan GPU backends.
MNN — It delivers high-performance inference and training with a lightweight footprint.
AirLLM — Runs massive 70B+ parameter models on small 4GB consumer GPUs.
LMDeploy — Accelerates inference with high-performance engines and quantization tools.
Infernix — Serves massive Qwen models quickly on a single consumer GPU with advanced caching.
fal — Access 1,000+ generative models and high-performance serverless GPUs.
TensorRT — Speeds up inference by 36X compared to CPU-only platforms.
Magnitude — Performance gains up to 2x faster than llama.cpp on local hardware.
vLLM — Maximizes throughput with PagedAttention and continuous batching.
Strata — Runs large AI models locally on consumer gaming PCs without server reliance.
Text Embeddings Inference — High-performance serving for open-source embedding models.
Bito — It cuts agent spend in half by grounding requests in code and routing to the best model.

All BitNet alternatives