cake

Library Listed

Distributed LLM inference for mobile, desktop and server.

Checked · Sources

Downloads
22
Dependents
0
Stars
3,131
Forks
206
Contributors
8
Commits
1,117
Latest release
0.1.0 ·

About

From the project README ·

Cake is a multimodal AI inference server written in Rust that can run models as a single node, or shard them across a heterogeneous cluster of devices — iOS, Android, macOS, Linux, Windows — to run workloads that wouldn't fit on a single GPU, effectively leveraging planned obsolescence to make AI more accessible and democratic.

This is experimental code that's being actively developed and changed very quickly.

Key Features

Read the full README

Quick Start

Build
cargo build --release --features cuda        # Linux (NVIDIA)
cargo build --release --features metal       # macOS (Apple Silicon GPU)
cargo build --release --features accelerate  # macOS (Apple Silicon CPU, F32 models)
cargo build --release --features vulkan      # Linux (AMD/Intel/Steam Deck)
cargo build --release                        # CPU only (portable)
Models

Download models from HuggingFace with cake pull. Models are stored in the standard HuggingFace cache directory (~/.cache/huggingface/hub/) and are shared with any other tools that use the same cache (transformers, huggingface-cli, etc.).

cake pull evilsocket/Qwen3-0.6B             # text model (600M params)
cake pull evilsocket/flux1-dev               # image model (FLUX.1-dev FP8)
cake pull evilsocket/VibeVoice-1.5B          # voice synthesis model

cake list                                    # show all locally available models
cake rm evilsocket/Qwen3-0.6B               # delete a cached model

Models are also downloaded automatically on first use if not already cached.

Single Node

Run any model locally on a single machine — architecture is auto-detected from the model's config.json:

# Text generation
cake run evilsocket/Qwen3-0.6B "Explain quantum computing in simple terms"

# Interactive TUI chat
cake chat Qwen/Qwen3-0.6B

# Start an API server + web UI
cake serve evilsocket/Qwen3-0.6B

# Image generation (FLUX.1-dev FP8)
cake run evilsocket/flux1-dev --model-type image-model --image-model-arch flux1 \
  "a cyberpunk cityscape at night"

# Voice synthesis with voice cloning
cake run evilsocket/VibeVoice-1.5B --model-type audio-model \
  --voice-prompt voice.wav "Hello world"
Distributed

Shard a model across multiple machines using --cluster-key. Workers don't need the model data — the master automatically streams the required tensor weights over the network (compressed with zstd, verified with CRC32 checksums). Workers cache received data locally for subsequent runs.

# Start workers on any machines (no model needed)
cake run --cluster-key mysecret --name gpu-server-1    # machine A
cake run --cluster-key mysecret --name macbook          # machine B

# Run inference from the master (has the model)
cake run evilsocket/Qwen3-0.6B "Hello" --cluster-key mysecret

# Or start an API server as the master
cake serve evilsocket/Qwen3-0.6B --cluster-key mysecret

The master discovers workers via mDNS, assigns layers proportionally to each device's VRAM/compute, and pushes only the required weight shards. See the clustering documentation for manual topology files and advanced configuration.

For the full usage guide and API reference, check the project documentation.

Star History

License

Released under the FAIR License (Free for Attribution and Individual Rights) v1.0.0.

  • Non-commercial use (personal, educational, research, non-profit) is freely permitted under the terms of the license.
  • Commercial use (SaaS, paid apps, any monetization) requires visible attribution to the project and its author. See the license for details.
  • Business use (any use by or on behalf of a business entity) requires a signed commercial agreement with the author. Contact evilsocket@gmail.com for inquiries.

To see the licenses of the project dependencies, install cargo license with cargo install cargo-license and then run cargo license.

Runs on
CUDA, Metal
What shows it
  • CUDA: cake-core feature cuda, cake-cli feature cuda
  • Metal: cake-core feature metal, cake-cli feature metal
Native code
None found
  • No native code found
Python bindings
No Python binding crate found
License
GPL-3.0

Compare with similar projects

Order: strongest tier first, then most downloads, then name, with unmeasured values last. A library counts downloads over 30 days. An app counts binary downloads per release. An app with none counts its crate downloads over 30 days. ML Rust runs this catalogue, so its closest project always gets a row.

cake beside the projects that share a topic with it
ProjectDownloadsDependentsStarsLatest releaseRuns on (GPU)Native codeLicense
cake This page Listed

Distributed LLM inference for mobile, desktop and server.

22 downloads over 30 days 0 3,131 0.1.0 CUDA, Metal No native code found GPL-3.0
mesh-llm App Listed

Distributed AI/LLM for the people. Share compute privately or publicly to power your agents and chat.

1,411 binary downloads per release Not applicable 3,993 0.78.1 GPU support unknown Binds native code: libsqlite3-sys, netlink-sys, ring, secp256k1-sys Apache-2.0 OR MIT
candle-vllm App Listed

Efficent platform for inference and serving local LLMs including an OpenAI compatible API server.

138 binary downloads per release Not applicable 739 Not measured Not measured MIT
higgs App Listed

A rust mlx server, ui, and model router for fast, dependency free inference on apple architecture

23 binary downloads per release Not applicable 34 Not measured Not measured MIT
blazr App Listed

Inference server for LLMs, speech and embeddings: OpenAI-compatible routes with streaming, plus speech synthesis (TTS) and transcription (ASR). Serves Llama, Mistral, Qwen, Mamba2, MLA+MoE and hybrid models from SafeTensors, AWQ, GPTQ and GGUF.

8 binary downloads per release Not applicable 7 0.7.1 CUDA, WebGPU Binds native code: ring (feature distributed) Apache-2.0

Fast, unified, Rust-native, Axum-compatible inference endpoints and nervous system for tensor models and LLMs: KServe / Triton and OpenAI APIs from one pure-Rust server

241 downloads over 30 days 0 66 0.16.2 CUDA, WebGPU, Metal No native code found MIT
Why ListedNo archive, New or Featured rule places it, so it is Listed.

What it lacks for Featured

  • It has 0 active dependents and 0 new dependents in 365 days. Featured needs 11 active dependents or 9 new dependents in 365 days. The repository route reads 3,131 stars, 206 forks and 8 contributors. It needs 4,539 stars, 434 forks and 79 contributors together.

What else the check found

  • The last activity is on 24 Apr 2026, 199 days ago. The rules expect an update within 365 days. Dormancy rule

Exact rules: Listed, Featured library. The check on applied thresholds version 9.

Every rule outcome, as the check records it
  • expected-interval: version 0.1.0 base 80, capped at 1 releases = 50, raised to the 365-day floor: E = 365 days
  • dormancy: last activity 2026-04-24, 199 days ago, E = 365: active
  • featured: not featured: active_users 0 < 11 and new_adopters 0 < 9 and repository route stars 3131 (needs 4539), forks 206 (needs 434), contributors 8 (needs 79)
  • listed: listed: no archive, new or featured rule applies
Crates2 crates

Measurements and sources

Each signal row shows the raw value, its source and the fetch date. The Sources list gathers every distinct source on this page. Movement needs more history.

Sources6 sources
Adoption0 active dependents, 0 new dependents in 365 days1 not measured
Adoption measurements
SignalValueSourceFetchedCounts
Active dependents0crates.io database dumpYes
New dependents (365 days)0crates.io database dumpYes
Peak active dependents0crates.io database dumpYes
Active dependents as a share of the peak1crates.io database dumpYes
Binary downloads per releaseNot measuredYes
MaintenanceLatest human commit: 6 months ago3 not measured
Maintenance measurements
SignalValueSourceFetchedCounts
Latest human commit2026-04-24GitHub repositoryYes
Latest release2026-03-04crates.io database dumpYes
First release2026-03-04crates.io database dumpYes
Latest version0.1.0crates.io database dumpYes
Days the oldest outside issue waits for a reply82GitHub repositoryYes
Maintainer replies over 365 days22GitHub repositoryYes
Repository archivedfalseGitHub repositoryYes
Repository gonefalseGitHub repositoryYes
Release commit or manifest in the repotruecrates.io packageYes
Published docstruecrates.io database dumpYes
Latest release fails cargo checkNot measuredYes
Build check dateNot measuredYes
Build check toolchainNot measuredYes
SecurityUnpatched vulnerabilities: none
Security measurements
SignalValueSourceFetchedCounts
Unpatched vulnerabilities past the grace windownoneRustSec advisory databaseYes
RustSec unmaintained advisorynoneRustSec advisory databaseYes
Deprecation noticenonecrates.io database dumpYes
Deprecated requirementnonecrates.io database dumpYes
Distribution1 releases, 22 downloads over 30 days5 not measured
Distribution measurements
SignalValueSourceFetchedCounts
Releases1crates.io database dumpYes
Downloads over 30 days22crates.io database dumpYes
Binary downloads over the last 3 releasesNot measuredYes
Homebrew installs on request over 365 daysNot measuredYes
Repology repository familiesNot measuredYes
Docker pull growth over 90 daysNot measuredYes
Docker pulls at the growth baselineNot measuredYes
Every version a prereleasefalsecrates.io database dumpYes
Every version 0.0.xfalsecrates.io database dumpYes
Every version yankedfalsecrates.io database dumpYes
Crate deleted from crates.iofalsecrates.io database dumpYes
Repository3,131 stars, 206 forks, 8 contributors, 1,117 commits. Stars alone never qualify a project.
Repository measurements
SignalValueSourceFetchedCounts
GitHub stars3131GitHub repositoryYes — one part of the repository route
GitHub forks206GitHub repositoryYes — one part of the repository route
Contributors with a GitHub account8GitHub contributorsYes — one part of the repository route
Commits on the default branch1117GitHub repositoryNo
Repository's main crate left out of the entrynonecrates.io database dumpYes
Facts that never count
Facts that never count measurements
SignalValueSourceFetchedCounts
LicenseGPL-3.0crates.io database dumpNo
Runs on, from listed crates and their direct dependenciesCUDA, Metalcrates.io database dumpNo
What shows each backendCUDA: cake-core feature cuda, cake-cli feature cuda; Metal: cake-core feature metal, cake-cli feature metalcrates.io database dumpNo
Native code, from listed crates and their dependenciesNo native code foundcrates.io database dumpNo
Python bindings, from direct dependencies of listed cratesNo Python binding crate foundcrates.io database dumpNo
Crates that depend on a listed crate directly0crates.io database dumpNo

Corrections and review history

Report a correction

No correction applies to this entry.

Judgments

A judgment enters only through an approved issue and a merged pull request.

No judgment applies to this entry.