What you need
A chat model is required to generate replies. An embedding model is separate and only required when you want to search documents, datasets, or Knowledge Packs.
- iPhone or iPad with iOS or iPadOS 18 or later and an A12 Bionic chip or newer.
- Apple-silicon Mac with macOS 26 or later.
- Apple Vision Pro with visionOS 26 or later.
- Enough free storage for the model you choose; sizes range from hundreds of megabytes to many gigabytes.
- Wi-Fi for the initial model download is recommended.
Start your first local chat
- Install Noema from the App Store and open it.
- Choose the guided welcome flow or open the full setup controls.
- Download the recommended Qwen 3.5 2B GGUF model, or choose another compatible model in Explore.
- Wait until the model is marked ready in Stored.
- Select it in Chat and send your first message.
Optional document memory
Install the embedding model when you want Noema to index and retrieve your own material.
- Chat with PDFs, EPUBs, Markdown, text, or JSON files.
- Search downloaded datasets and Knowledge Packs.
- Retrieve source passages for citation-aware answers.
Stay fully local
After models and datasets are downloaded, local chat and retrieval can work offline. Off-grid Mode blocks external HTTP and HTTPS traffic initiated through Noema.
Web Search, remote endpoints, CloudKit Relay, remote Autopilot routing, new downloads, and remote speech services require network access and will not operate normally in Off-grid Mode.
If a model will not load
- Close memory-heavy apps.
- Choose a smaller model or lighter quantization.
- Reduce context length or choose the Battery Saver preset.
- Follow the RAM guidance shown on the model page.
- Open Settings → Diagnostics & Tools for device, storage, model, and runtime checks.