[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"howto:gguf:linux:en":3},{"resolvedFromAlias":4,"canonicalExt":5,"ext":5,"name":6,"category":7,"categoryName":8,"updatedAt":9,"os":10,"osLabel":11,"quickSolution":12,"stepByStep":13,"recommendedSoftware":17,"alternativeMethods":18,"commonIssues":19,"securityNote":38,"extensionPath":39,"extensionLabel":40,"breadcrumbs":41,"metaDescription":51},false,"gguf","GGUF (GGML Universal Format) model file","ml","Machine learning","2026-06-12T08:20:57.439Z","linux","Linux","To open .GGUF files on Linux, install or build a GGUF-capable local LLM tool (for example llama.cpp, or another runtime that supports GGUF models).",[14,15,16],"Install or build a GGUF-capable local LLM tool (for example llama.cpp, or another runtime that supports GGUF models).","Run the program and pass your .gguf file as the model input (commonly via a CLI flag or a positional argument, depending on the tool).","If you get a format/metadata error, ensure the model file is valid GGUF and that your runtime supports the particular model variant.",[],[],[20,26,32],{"title":21,"description":22,"steps":23},"Nothing can “open” the file (it is not a document)","GGUF is a binary model container, so double-clicking it in a file manager usually does nothing useful or prompts you to choose an app.",[24,25],"Use a GGUF-capable local LLM tool (for example llama.cpp or another compatible runtime) rather than a document viewer or editor.","Load the model from within the tool (often via a command-line argument pointing to the .gguf path).",{"title":27,"description":28,"steps":29},"Tool says the model/format is unsupported","Not every GGML-based program supports every model file format or every GGUF variation; older builds may not recognize GGUF.",[30,31],"Update to a recent version/build of your GGUF-capable tool that explicitly supports GGUF (for example, a current llama.cpp build).","Confirm the file extension matches the actual content and that the file is a genuine GGUF model (not another format renamed).",{"title":33,"description":34,"steps":35},"Model loads but inference is extremely slow or fails due to resources","GGUF files can represent large models; even quantized models may require significant RAM/VRAM and compute, depending on model size and your hardware.",[36,37],"Try a smaller GGUF model variant (fewer parameters) or a more heavily quantized GGUF intended for your hardware.","Close other applications to free memory and ensure the runtime is configured for your system (for example, CPU-only vs. available acceleration, as supported by your chosen tool).","A .gguf file is a binary blob intended to be parsed by ML runtimes; it is not supposed to contain active scripts, but it can still trigger vulnerabilities in the software that parses it if the file is malformed or maliciously crafted.","/file-extension/gguf",".GGUF",[42,45,48],{"label":43,"to":44},"Home","/",{"label":46,"to":47},"How To","/file-extension",{"label":49,"to":50},"Open .GGUF on Linux","/how-to/open-gguf-on-linux","Learn how to open .GGUF files on Linux with step-by-step instructions, recommended software, and troubleshooting tips."]