Artifact Policy

Download the real thing

Download the real thing — named quant, verified hash — not a black-box endpoint. Every artifact we distribute is a specific, named quantization or source weights file, with a verified hash and a torrent you can inspect. We are an open model distribution and public model archive — infrastructure for getting real weights onto your own hardware, not an inference API.

The four-rung artifact ladder

To keep seed density high and the catalog honest, every carried model family publishes a bounded, declared set of artifacts rather than every quant variant that exists upstream. For each family we carry, by default, up to four rungs:

1. Source weights — BF16/F16 or the original safetensors, carried only where the upstream license permits redistribution.
2. One default consumer quant — a Q4_K_M-class artifact (including dynamic-quant equivalents such as UD-Q4_K_M), the balanced size/quality pick most people should reach for first.
3. One high-value-per-byte low-bit artifact — an IQ4_XS-class or strong dynamic low-bit quant, for tighter hardware.
4. One upper-tier artifact — a Q8_0-class quant, for readers who want closer-to-source quality and have the room for it.

Everything else — other quant levels, alternate formats, imatrix variants — is opt-in and demand-driven: we carry it once there's a real request for it, not by default. Seed density on a small, well-chosen set of artifacts beats a wide catalog that seeds thinly across dozens of near-duplicate quants.

The giants preservation lane

Very large model families (roughly 235B parameters and up) are carried as a preservation/showcase lane, not as the default journey through the catalog. We aim to keep at least one verifiable artifact of a giant model available, but we do not promise the same four-rung ladder, and we do not steer readers toward a giant as their "recommended" pick unless their own hardware profile earns it.

Requesting more quants

If the ladder doesn't cover the artifact you need — a different quant level, an alternate format, or a family we don't carry yet — use the request board to ask for it. Demand there is what drives what we add beyond the default ladder.

Why this policy exists

A bounded, declared ladder keeps the catalog legible: you know what to expect for any family we carry, and you know it was chosen on purpose rather than mirrored wholesale. It also keeps seeders concentrated on a small set of artifacts instead of spread thin across every quant variant that exists upstream, which is what keeps downloads fast.