Granite 4.2 3B

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?

Pick a computer with at least 8 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-4.2-3b-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 3B 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 3B 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 3B?

No. Download without an account.

How much memory does Granite 4.2 3B need?

Our estimate is about 5 GB of RAM for a 4-bit file of about 2.2 GB. This is a rough guide, not a test.

Similar models to compare

Same maker first, then models that need about the same memory.

Where Granite 4.2 3B shows up

• Best local AI for low-RAM laptops
• Best local AI for business use
• Other models that fit a 8 GB computer
• What its license means

Change history

• Oct 19, 2026 New model Granite 4.2 3B: Added IBM's Granite 4.2 3B. A small model that thinks step by step and uses tools. Apache 2.0; business use allowed.

All changes on the site

Sources we checked

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