Who should use this model?
- Math practice, symbolic problem solving, proof-style prompts, and lightweight reasoning experiments in local apps today.
Choose something else when
- Avoid for general knowledge, multilingual chat, image tasks, or polished assistant-style writing and brainstorming work.
What hardware makes sense?
The download is only part of the memory needed. Leave room for the app, the input it processes, and other open programs. For chat models, context includes the instructions, conversation, and answer. Longer context needs more memory.
- CPU only
- Memory or response time may limit use. Try a smaller model first.
- 8GB system memory
- Memory or response time may limit use. Try a smaller model first.
- 16GB system memory
- A possible starting point with a compressed model and short conversation; check the exact file size.
- 32GB system memory
- A possible starting point with a compressed model and short conversation; check the exact file size.
- 8GB GPU memory
- Memory or response time may limit use. Try a smaller model first.
- 12GB GPU memory
- Memory or response time may limit use. Try a smaller model first.
- 24GB GPU memory
- A possible starting point with a compressed model and short conversation; check the exact file size.
- Apple unified memory
- A possible starting point with a compressed model and short conversation; check the exact file size.
Model facts that change the decision
- Parameters
- 3.8B
- Input
- Text
- Published context limit
- 128,000 tokens
- Model format
- safetensors · GGUF · Ollama · MLX
- Suggested compression
- Q4_K_M for first local attempts unless a cited runtime recommends a different default.
- Typical Q4 file
- 2.49GB before runtime and context overhead
- Languages
- Unknown
First setup
Ollama
ollama run phi4-mini-reasoningLM Studio: Check that your installed app supports the exact model format and task before downloading it.
llama.cpp
Use the cited GGUF repository (bartowski/microsoft_Phi-4-mini-reasoning-GGUF) with current llama.cpp-compatible tooling.
Conditions that change the answer
- Microsoft describes this model as designed and tested for math reasoning only. Treat it as a specialty model, not a general assistant. It may be verbose, may over-reason simple prompts, and has limited factual knowledge.
- Commercial use: Permitted under MIT license; verify application-specific obligations before commercial deployment.
- Phi-4 Mini Reasoning is the beginner-local math specialty choice: small enough for Ollama, LM Studio, GGUF, and MLX, but tuned specifically for step-by-step mathematical reasoning rather than everyday factual chat or broad writing tasks locally.
Read the controlling license text →