Model / IBM

Granite 4.2 30B

Trust score 84 of 100. Yes, OSI-approved license.

Last checked Changed Oct 19, 2026 History

Short answer (as of Oct 29, 2026): Granite 4.2 30B is a local AI model from IBM. Truly open? Yes, OSI-approved license. Business use: yes. Our estimate says it needs about 24 GB of RAM. Trust score 84 of 100.

As of Oct 29, 2026: license Apache License 2.0; business use yes; sign-up not needed; about 24 GB RAM (estimate); trust score 84/100. Sources.

The biggest Granite 4.2. The best of the three at hard reasoning and tool use.

Run it in LM StudioOfficial model pageSee sources

Trust score

84 / 100

Source, checked Oct 29, 2026

Will it say no?

Middle

What this means

Truly open?

Yes, OSI-approved license

Source, checked Oct 29, 2026

OK for business?

Yes

Source, checked Oct 29, 2026

Sign-up needed?

No

Source, checked Oct 29, 2026

Size

29.3 billion

Source, checked Oct 29, 2026

Memory window

128K tokens

Source, checked Oct 29, 2026

In non-nerd speak

Who makes it: IBM. The files come from the maker's own Hugging Face account.

License: Apache License 2.0. A standard open source license. You can use, change, and share it, even to make money. Keep the license notice.

Business use: Yes. Business use is allowed. Keep the license and notice files when you share it.

Training data: We have not found a full public data release. Not yet checked in depth.

Will it say no?

Middle. IBM's card says a final training step tunes it for safety, and that it is "aligned for safety."

This comes from what the maker wrote, checked Oct 19, 2026. We have not run our own tests yet. It sits next to the trust score and does not change it. How we pick these labels.

Will it run on my computer?

RAM needed

About 24 GB

Estimate, our method

4-bit file size

About 17.6 GB

Estimate, our method

Quality tier

Very strong

Size-based, our method

Pick a computer with at least 32 GB of memory. On a Mac, that is the unified memory. On a PC, a graphics card with that much VRAM is fastest. A PC with only normal RAM will also work, just slower.

Not sure? Use our pick-by-computer guide.

How to run it in LM Studio

  1. Get LM Studio from lmstudio.ai and open it.
  2. Open the Discover tab. Search for ibm-granite/granite-4.2-30b-GGUF.
  3. Pick a file that ends in Q4_K_M. It is the best mix of size and quality for most people.
  4. Click Download. When it is done, open a new chat and load the model.

The files are GGUF builds that LM Studio can load. We checked that this repo exists on Oct 29, 2026. Full LM Studio guide.

How to use it with Hermes

Does it fit? Yes. Its memory window is big enough for Hermes.

  1. Load the model in LM Studio. Set the context length to at least 64000.
  2. In LM Studio, open the Developer tab and start the server.
  3. In a terminal, run hermes model. Choose LM Studio and press Enter to keep http://localhost:1234/v1.
  4. Pick this model from the list. Then run hermes to start.

Steps based on the Hermes docs. Full Hermes guide.

Common questions

Is Granite 4.2 30B truly open source?

Yes, OSI-approved license. A standard open source license. You can use, change, and share it, even to make money. Keep the license notice.

Can I use Granite 4.2 30B for my business?

Yes. Business use is allowed. Keep the license and notice files when you share it.

Do I need to sign up to download Granite 4.2 30B?

No. Download without an account.

How much memory does Granite 4.2 30B need?

Our estimate is about 24 GB of RAM for a 4-bit file of about 17.6 GB. This is a rough guide, not a test.

Change history

All changes on the site

Sources we checked

FactWhat we foundStatus
MakerIBMVerified Oct 29, 2026
LicenseApache License 2.0Verified Oct 29, 2026
License plainA standard open source license. You can use, change, and share it, even to make money. Keep the license notice.Verified Oct 29, 2026
Truly openYes, OSI-approved licenseVerified Oct 29, 2026
Business useYes. Business use is allowed. Keep the license and notice files when you share it.Verified Oct 29, 2026
Signup neededNo. Download without an account.Verified Oct 29, 2026
Parameters29.3 billionVerified Oct 29, 2026
Open training dataNot yet checkedWe have not found a full public training data release. Not yet checked in depth.
Context window128K tokensVerified Oct 29, 2026
First posted2026-08-07Verified Oct 29, 2026
Gguf filesibm-granite/granite-4.2-30b-GGUFVerified Oct 29, 2026
Hermes okYesVerified Oct 29, 2026

If the maker's page and this page disagree, trust the maker. Tell us what we got wrong.

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