LM Studio CLI Cheatsheet - lms Model Management Full Reference

The value of the lms command is that it turns LM Studio desktop model management into a scriptable interface. When it earns its place: preparing a model, starting a server or running an evaluation from CI or an automation script, where the desktop GUI becomes an obstacle. If you are only chatting locally, the graphical interface is faster and this detour is unnecessary. The sheet lays out install and status, model management, and service and chat, chaining ls, ps, get, import, load, unload, server and chat into one workflow. The detail most often missed is the difference between ls and ps: ls lists what is downloaded on disk, ps lists what is currently loaded into memory, and the gap between them is where your VRAM goes. Reach for this sheet when you hit an out-of-memory error despite having downloaded only one model, or when you need to point any OpenAI-compatible client at a local model.