Use a larger local model

The local backend defaults to qwen2.5-1.5b. Use ajq models when you want one of the larger shipped catalog models.

1. List catalog models

Run:

ajq models list

Example output before any downloads:

NAME          ACTIVE  INSTALLED  SIZE    RAM
qwen2.5-1.5b  *       no         1.2GiB  ~4 GiB RAM
qwen2.5-3b            no         2.0GiB  ~6 GiB RAM
qwen3-4b              no         2.3GiB  ~8 GiB RAM

ACTIVE shows the model selected by config/env/defaults. INSTALLED shows whether the GGUF file exists in the ajq cache.

2. Download the model you want

Choose a catalog name and pull it:

ajq models pull qwen2.5-3b

The pull uses checksum-pinned public URLs and stores the model under the ajq cache. For a project-local cache, set AJQ_CACHE_DIR before pulling:

AJQ_CACHE_DIR="$PWD/.ajq-cache" ajq models pull qwen2.5-3b

3. Select the installed model

Persist the selected local model:

ajq models use qwen2.5-3b

If the model is not installed yet, ajq tells you what to run:

ajq: error: model qwen2.5-3b is not installed; run `ajq models pull qwen2.5-3b` first

After the model is installed, models use writes the model name to config.toml:

active model set to qwen2.5-3b in /Users/you/.config/ajq/config.toml

The resulting config entry is:

model = "qwen2.5-3b"

models use preserves unrelated config keys, but it does not preserve comments or the original formatting.

4. Run with the local backend

Use the selected model with the local backend:

printf '{"msg":"urgent billing issue"}' \
  | ajq --backend local '.msg =~ "urgent"'

You can override the configured model for one command:

ajq --backend local --model qwen3-4b '.msg =~ "urgent"'

Related

• Install ajq — provision the local engine and default model.
• Backends reference — local backend defaults and cache identity.
• Configuration reference — where models use writes.