HT Sherpa

A model is the software that produces AI answers. This guide compares models and tools. New to this? Choose a setup path first. Use the lists below when you want more detail.

New words, in plain language
Local / cloud
Local runs on your computer. Cloud runs on computers managed online.
Model / tokens
A model produces AI answers. Tokens are small pieces of text; some services charge for the tokens used.
Account / identity
An account is a sign-in. Your cloud identity is the account you use for online services.
Connector / permissions
A connector links an AI tool to another service. Permissions are the access you allow.

Field Guide · Week of 5 October 2026

Gemma 4 12B

Google · United States · Google

The honest everyday model for a 16 GB laptop. Clear writing, Apache license, no account required after download.

Where it runs
Runs on your computer
Memory
16 GB (4-bit)
Size
12B dense
License
Apache 2.0
Hugging Face downloads
1.8M
Hugging Face likes
1.6k
Card last updated
20 July 2026
On your computer · #6United States · #5

Why it is on this week’s list

Highest-quality dense model that still leaves room for your files on a normal machine. This is what we install first for most people.

Use it when

Letters, notes, lesson plans, a first private assistant.

Skip it when

You need a 70B-class reasoner, or you only have 8 GB.

Published scores

Scores as of 17 August 2026. A blank test is not a zero. We just will not invent it.

GPQA Diamond
78.8*

Google Gemma 4 card · 2026-07-30

SWE-Bench Verified
—

No public number we will stand behind.

LiveCodeBench
77.1*

Google Gemma 4 card · 2026-07-30

LiveCodeBench v6.

MMLU / MMLU-Pro
77.2*

Google Gemma 4 card · 2026-07-30

MMLU-Pro.

AIME
—

No public number we will stand behind.

Humanity’s Last Exam
—

No public number we will stand behind.

What these numbers actually mean
Walk me through installing thisHugging Face cardAll lists