Environment:Ggml org Ggml Metal GPU Environment
| Knowledge Sources | |
|---|---|
| Domains | Infrastructure, GPU_Computing |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-10 07:40 GMT |
Overview
Apple Metal GPU environment for macOS/iOS, requiring Foundation, Metal, and MetalKit frameworks with Xcode metal shader compilation support.
Description
This environment provides GPU acceleration for GGML on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs via the Metal framework. It uses Metal compute shaders for tensor operations and supports operation fusion and concurrent command encoding for throughput optimization. The backend integrates with GGML's multi-backend scheduler, allowing transparent GPU offloading of computation graphs.
Usage
Use this environment for GPU-accelerated inference on Apple hardware. It is the recommended GPU backend for macOS users with Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) or Intel Macs with supported GPUs. It is enabled by default on macOS builds.
System Requirements
| Category | Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| OS | macOS (or iOS/tvOS) | Apple platform only |
| Hardware | Apple GPU | Apple Silicon (M1+) recommended; Intel Macs with Metal support also work |
| Xcode | Xcode with Metal SDK | Required for metal shader compilation |
Dependencies
System Frameworks
- Foundation framework
- Metal framework
- MetalKit framework
Build Tools
- Xcode Command Line Tools
- `xcrun` with `metal` and `metallib` shader compilation tools
Credentials
No credentials are required.
Quick Install
# Ensure Xcode Command Line Tools are installed
xcode-select --install
# Build GGML with Metal backend (enabled by default on macOS)
cmake -B build -DGGML_METAL=ON
cmake --build build --config Release
Code Evidence
Framework dependencies from `src/ggml-metal/CMakeLists.txt:1-3`:
find_library(FOUNDATION_LIBRARY Foundation REQUIRED)
find_library(METAL_FRAMEWORK Metal REQUIRED)
find_library(METALKIT_FRAMEWORK MetalKit REQUIRED)
CPU variant support for Apple Silicon from `src/ggml-cpu/CMakeLists.txt` (ARM Apple variants):
apple_m1 (DOTPROD)
apple_m2_m3 (DOTPROD, MATMUL_INT8)
apple_m4 (DOTPROD, MATMUL_INT8, NOSVE, SME)
Common Errors
| Error Message | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| `Metal framework not found` | Not building on macOS | Metal is macOS/iOS only; use CUDA or Vulkan on other platforms |
| `metallib compilation failed` | Xcode not properly installed | Run `xcode-select --install` and ensure Metal SDK is available |
| `MTLDevice not found` | No Metal-capable GPU detected | Ensure running on hardware with Metal support |
Compatibility Notes
- Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4): Full support with optimized kernels. Apple Accelerate framework also used for CPU BLAS operations.
- Intel Macs: Supported if GPU has Metal capability, but performance is lower than Apple Silicon.
- iOS/tvOS: Supported in principle via the same Metal backend.
- macOS CI: Tested on self-hosted macOS ARM64 runners with Metal and Vulkan backends.