Headless setup

LM Studio’s llmster daemon runs models without its desktop interface. It is separate from the LLMster Apple app, which connects to the daemon’s API server.

Install the daemon

Run the appropriate official installer on the host computer:

macOS or Linux

Terminal

curl -fsSL https://lmstudio.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows

PowerShell

irm https://lmstudio.ai/install.ps1 | iex

These commands download and run LM Studio’s installer. Follow any installer instructions for making lms available in your terminal. Source: LM Studio’s headless guide.

Start and verify the host

1. Start the daemon.

   lms daemon up

2. Download and load a model. Use the interactive commands to choose a chat model that fits your host, then check what is loaded.

   lms get
   lms load
   lms ps

3. Start the API server. For another device on your trusted network to connect:

   lms server start --bind 0.0.0.0 --port 1234
   lms server status

4. Connect the client. Save the host’s real network IP and port in LLMster’s Server settings. Do not enter 0.0.0.0 as the client address.

Before allowing network clients

Configure authentication using LM Studio’s current authentication instructions. Binding to 0.0.0.0 allows your iPhone or iPad to reach the server over the network. Binding only to 127.0.0.1 prevents connections from other devices. Do not open a router port for this setup.

Keep the service available

The daemon and the API server have separate status checks. If the client cannot connect, inspect lms server status, the host firewall, and whether the host is asleep. A running daemon alone does not prove the API server is listening.

For automatic startup, use LM Studio’s Linux service guide or its documented desktop background-service settings. See the CLI reference for lms daemon and model-management commands.

To stop serving requests:

lms server stop

The server command reference describes port and binding options.