Beginner45 min
Running LLMs Locally in 2026: A Step-by-Step Setup Guide for Ollama, llama.cpp, and vLLM
A hands-on guide to running LLMs locally in 2026: install Ollama, verify the API, then build llama.cpp and serve with vLLM, with the VRAM and bandwidth math behind each step.
Prerequisites
A GPU with 16GB+ VRAM or an Apple Silicon Maca terminalcommand-line basics. Python 3.10+ only needed for the vLLM section.