--- id: 2075 card_url: "https://mdrss.com/llm-engineering/serving-and-retrieval/2075" permalink_url: "https://mdrss.com/m/2075" thread_url: "https://mdrss.com/s/llm-engineering" markdown_url: "https://mdrss.com/llm-engineering/serving-and-retrieval/2075/2075.md" title: "rwkv.cpp" annotation: "This is a port of BlinkDL/RWKV-LM to ggerganov/ggml. Besides the usual FP32, it supports FP16, quantized INT4, INT5 and INT8 inference." state: published thread: llm-engineering domain: llm-engineering category: serving-and-retrieval type: guide tags: ["deep-learning", "ggml", "language-model", "llm", "machine-learning", "quantization", "rwkv", "c++"] ontology_terms: [] relation_terms: [] license: "MIT" version: 1 snapshot_at: "2026-08-04T12:18:33.634Z" source_url: "https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp" source_kind: "mdrss-final-catalog" platform_scam_risk: null platform_evidence_score: 0 evidence_urls: - "https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp" --- # rwkv.cpp This is a port of [BlinkDL/RWKV-LM](https://github.com/BlinkDL/RWKV-LM) to [ggerganov/ggml](https://github.com/ggerganov/ggml). Besides the usual **FP32**, it supports **FP16**, **quantized INT4, INT5 and INT8** inference. This project is **focused on CPU**, but cuBLAS is also supported. This project provides [a C library rwkv.h](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/rwkv.h) and [a convinient Python wrapper](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/python%2Frwkv_cpp%2Frwkv_cpp_model.py) for it. [RWKV](https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.13048) is a large language model architecture. In contrast to Transformer with `O(n^2)` attention, RWKV requires only state from previous step to calculate logits. This makes RWKV very CPU-friendly on large context lenghts. This project supports RWKV [v4](https://huggingface.co/BlinkDL/rwkv-4-pile-14b), [v5](https://huggingface.co/BlinkDL/rwkv-5-world), [v6](https://huggingface.co/BlinkDL/rwkv-6-world) and the latest [v7](https://huggingface.co/BlinkDL/rwkv-7-world) architectures. Loading LoRA checkpoints in [Blealtan's format](https://github.com/Blealtan/RWKV-LM-LoRA) is supported through [merge_lora_into_ggml.py script](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/rwkv%2Fmerge_lora_into_ggml.py). ## Quality and performance If you use `rwkv.cpp` for anything serious, please [test all available formats for perplexity and latency](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/rwkv%2Fmeasure_pexplexity.py) on a representative dataset, and decide which trade-off is best for you. Below table is for reference only. Measurements were made on 4C/8T x86 CPU with AVX2, 4 threads. The models are `RWKV v4 Pile 169M`, `RWKV v4 Pile 1.5B`. | Format | Perplexity (169M) | Latency, ms (1.5B) | File size, GB (1.5B) | |-----------|-------------------|--------------------|----------------------| | `Q4_0` | 17.507 | *76* | **1.53** | | `Q4_1` | 17.187 | **72** | 1.68 | | `Q5_0` | 16.194 | 78 | *1.60* | | `Q5_1` | 15.851 | 81 | 1.68 | | `Q8_0` | *15.652* | 89 | 2.13 | | `FP16` | **15.623** | 117 | 2.82 | | `FP32` | **15.623** | 198 | 5.64 | ### With cuBLAS Measurements were made on Intel i7 13700K & NVIDIA 3060 Ti 8 GB. The model is `RWKV-4-Pile-169M`, 12 layers were offloaded to GPU. Latency per token in ms shown. | Format | 1 thread | 2 threads | 4 threads | 8 threads | 24 threads | |--------|----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------| | `Q4_0` | 7.9 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 8.6 | 20 | | `Q4_1` | 7.8 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 8.6 | 21 | | `Q5_1` | 8.1 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 9.0 | 22 | | Format | 1 thread | 2 threads | 4 threads | 8 threads | 24 threads | |--------|----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------| | `Q4_0` | 59 | 51 | 50 | 54 | 94 | | `Q4_1` | 59 | 51 | 49 | 54 | 94 | | `Q5_1` | 77 | 69 | 67 | 72 | 101 | Note: since cuBLAS is supported only for `ggml_mul_mat()`, we still need to use few CPU resources to execute remaining operations. ### With hipBLAS Measurements were made on CPU AMD Ryzen 9 5900X & GPU AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The model is `RWKV-novel-4-World-7B-20230810-ctx128k`, 32 layers were offloaded to GPU. Latency per token in ms shown. | Format | 1 thread | 2 threads | 4 threads | 8 threads | 24 threads | |--------|----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------| | `f16` | 94 | 91 | 94 | 106 | 944 | | `Q4_0` | 83 | 77 | 75 | 110 | 1692 | | `Q4_1` | 85 | 80 | 85 | 93 | 1691 | | `Q5_1` | 83 | 78 | 83 | 90 | 1115 | Note: same as cuBLAS, hipBLAS only supports `ggml_mul_mat()`, we still need to use few CPU resources to execute remaining operations. ## How to use ### 1. Clone the repo **Requirements**: [git](https://gitforwindows.org/). ```commandline git clone --recursive https://github.com/saharNooby/rwkv.cpp.git cd rwkv.cpp ``` ### 2. Get the rwkv.cpp library #### Option 2.1. Download a pre-compiled library ##### Windows / Linux / MacOS Check out [Releases](https://github.com/saharNooby/rwkv.cpp/releases), download appropriate ZIP for your OS and CPU, extract `rwkv` library file into the repository directory. On Windows: to check whether your CPU supports AVX2 or AVX-512, [use CPU-Z](https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html). #### Option 2.2. Build the library yourself This option is recommended for maximum performance, because the library would be built specifically for your CPU and OS. ##### Windows **Requirements**: [CMake](https://cmake.org/download/) or [CMake from anaconda](https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/cmake), [Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/older-downloads/). ```commandline cmake . cmake --build . --config Release ``` If everything went OK, `bin\Release\rwkv.dll` file should appear. ##### Windows + cuBLAS Refer to [docs/cuBLAS_on_Windows.md](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/docs%2FcuBLAS_on_Windows.md) for a comprehensive guide. ##### Windows + hipBLAS Refer to [docs/hipBLAS_on_Windows.md](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/docs%2FhipBLAS_on_Windows.md) for a comprehensive guide. ##### Linux / MacOS **Requirements**: CMake (Linux: `sudo apt install cmake`, MacOS: `brew install cmake`, anaconoda: [cmake package](https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/cmake)). ```commandline cmake . cmake --build . --config Release ``` **Anaconda & M1 users**: please verify that `CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR: arm64` after running `cmake .` — if it detects `x86_64`, edit the `CMakeLists.txt` file under the `# Compile flags` to add `set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR "arm64")`. If everything went OK, `librwkv.so` (Linux) or `librwkv.dylib` (MacOS) file should appear in the base repo folder. ##### Linux / MacOS + cuBLAS ```commandline cmake . -DRWKV_CUBLAS=ON cmake --build . --config Release ``` If everything went OK, `librwkv.so` (Linux) or `librwkv.dylib` (MacOS) file should appear in the base repo folder. ### 3. Get an RWKV model **Requirements**: Python 3.x with [PyTorch](https://pytorch.org/get-started/locally/). **First**, download a model from [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/BlinkDL) like [this one](https://huggingface.co/BlinkDL/rwkv-4-pile-169m/blob/main/RWKV-4-Pile-169M-20220807-8023.pth). **Second**, convert it into `rwkv.cpp` format using following commands: ```commandline # Windows python python\convert_pytorch_to_ggml.py C:\RWKV-4-Pile-169M-20220807-8023.pth C:\rwkv.cpp-169M.bin FP16 # Linux / MacOS python python/convert_pytorch_to_ggml.py ~/Downloads/RWKV-4-Pile-169M-20220807-8023.pth ~/Downloads/rwkv.cpp-169M.bin FP16 ``` **Optionally**, quantize the model into one of quantized formats from the table above: ```commandline # Windows python python\quantize.py C:\rwkv.cpp-169M.bin C:\rwkv.cpp-169M-Q5_1.bin Q5_1 # Linux / MacOS python python/quantize.py ~/Downloads/rwkv.cpp-169M.bin ~/Downloads/rwkv.cpp-169M-Q5_1.bin Q5_1 ``` ### 4. Run the model #### Using the command line **Requirements**: Python 3.x with [numpy](https://numpy.org/). If using `Pile` or `Raven` models, [tokenizers](https://pypi.org/project/tokenizers/) is also required. To generate some text, run: ```commandline # Windows python python\generate_completions.py C:\rwkv.cpp-169M-Q5_1.bin # Linux / MacOS python python/generate_completions.py ~/Downloads/rwkv.cpp-169M-Q5_1.bin ``` To chat with a bot, run: ```commandline # Windows python python\chat_with_bot.py C:\rwkv.cpp-169M-Q5_1.bin # Linux / MacOS python python/chat_with_bot.py ~/Downloads/rwkv.cpp-169M-Q5_1.bin ``` Edit [generate_completions.py](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/rwkv%2Fgenerate_completions.py) or [chat_with_bot.py](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/rwkv%2Fchat_with_bot.py) to change prompts and sampling settings. #### Using in your own code The short and simple script [inference_example.py](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/python%2Finference_example.py) demostrates the use of `rwkv.cpp` in Python. To use `rwkv.cpp` in C/C++, include the header [rwkv.h](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/rwkv.h). To use `rwkv.cpp` in any other language, see [Bindings](#Bindings) section below. If your language is missing, you can try to bind to the C API using the tooling provided by your language. ## Bindings These projects wrap `rwkv.cpp` for easier use in other languages/frameworks. * Golang: [seasonjs/rwkv](https://github.com/seasonjs/rwkv) * Node.js: [Atome-FE/llama-node](https://github.com/Atome-FE/llama-node) ## Compatibility `ggml` moves fast, and can occasionally break compatibility with older file formats. `rwkv.cpp` will attempt it's best to explain why a model file can't be loaded and what next steps are available to the user. For reference only, here is a list of latest versions of `rwkv.cpp` that have supported older formats. **No support will be provided for these versions**. - `Q4_2`, old layout of quantized formats - [commit 3ca9c7f](https://github.com/saharNooby/rwkv.cpp/commit/3ca9c7f7857a4b9f3de616ec938e71249cfb3f3f), [release with prebuilt binaries](https://github.com/saharNooby/rwkv.cpp/releases/tag/master-3ca9c7f) - `Q4_3`, `Q4_1_O` - [commit c736ef5](https://github.com/saharNooby/rwkv.cpp/commit/c736ef5411606b529d3a74c139ee111ef1a28bb9), [release with prebuilt binaries](https://github.com/saharNooby/rwkv.cpp/releases/tag/master-1c363e6) See also [docs/FILE_FORMAT.md](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/docs/FILE_FORMAT.md) for version numbers of `rwkv.cpp` model files and their changelog. ## Contributing Please follow the code style described in [docs/CODE_STYLE.md](https://github.com/RWKV/rwkv.cpp/blob/HEAD/docs/CODE_STYLE.md).