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malibu-cli

The provider CLI. Runs MLX inference and connects outbound to the Malibu network.
malibu-cli is the command-line provider behind the Malibu app. The app bundles the same binary and drives it for you. Use the CLI directly for headless installs, diagnostics, or scripted setups. The installer puts two names in ~/.local/bin:
  • malibu-cli: the Malibu-branded command. This page uses it throughout.
  • macprovider-cli: the shipped binary name. It behaves identically and stays supported. The installed binary, the process you see in Activity Monitor, the launchd service arguments, and the log and state paths all use the macprovider-cli / macprovider name.
If ~/.local/bin is not on your PATH, call ~/.local/bin/malibu-cli directly or add the directory to your shell profile.

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What it does

  • Loads one MLX model into unified memory. The model comes from the signed catalog, and the CLI checks the weights against the catalog’s SHA-256 artifact hash before serving paid traffic.
  • Opens an outbound WebSocket to the Malibu network. You need no port forwarding, static IP, or inbound firewall rule.
  • Reports the loaded model, hardware summary, and free slots, then streams inference results back on request.
  • Signs responses with the provider’s Ed25519 receipt key when receipts are enabled. Fresh invite installs turn receipts on.
  • Holds a caffeinate sleep assertion while serving.
  • Serves a local HTTP endpoint on 127.0.0.1 (port 8080 by default) for status and diagnostics.

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Commands

Run malibu-cli help <command> for every flag of a command.

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serve

Starts the provider. serve is also the default when you give no subcommand. The installer’s launchd service runs it for you, so you rarely run it by hand.
Flags and config keys are listed in Flags & config.

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status

Shows local provider status: running state, model, and network connection.

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doctor

Read-only diagnostics.
In the Malibu app, the menu-bar Export Diagnostics… item writes a redacted bundle you can share with support.

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models

Inspect or change the model this Mac serves.
models browse lists Hugging Face models that fit your RAM. A browsed model does not earn unless it is also in the signed catalog. See Model catalog.

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autotune

Benchmarks this Mac and recommends a model plus serve settings.
--recommend picks the best paid model for this Mac from the signed catalog and rate card. It checks each candidate’s RAM floor and its measured throughput and time-to-first-token gates. If no paid model clears, it offers donor mode (unpaid serving) instead. The installer and the Malibu app run autotune --recommend --apply during setup. Add --calibrate-context to measure the largest interactive context the selected model handles before config is written. malibu-cli autotune without --recommend runs classic autotune: it looks for the biggest feasible model from a candidate list (--candidate-models, --min-model-size, --max-model-size).

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claim

Links this Mac to a GitHub account. This is optional and separate from invite-based admission.

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update

Most providers never need to run this, because autoupdate applies new releases automatically. If an update was interrupted and the provider will not serve, run malibu-cli recover-update. It clears an abandoned update transaction and leaves a genuinely in-progress one alone. Headless installs do not self-update. See Headless install.

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self-test

Loads the configured model and runs a local inference smoke test.

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uninstall

Stops the provider and removes installed files. Your provider identity (provider_id and its credential) is preserved, so a later reinstall does not need a new invite. Details: Headless install → Uninstall.

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Logs

The launchd service writes stdout and stderr to:
Logs can contain request metadata. Share malibu-cli status --advanced or malibu-cli doctor report --json with support rather than raw logs.