Swama v1.2.0 Release Notes

🆕 What's New

Enhanced Model Path Management

• New centralized model storage - Models now downloaded to ~/.swama/models by default
• Backward compatibility maintained - Existing models in ~/Documents/huggingface/models still work
• Intelligent model discovery - Automatically finds models across multiple storage locations
• Improved organization - Better structure for different model types

Expanded Vision-Language (VL) Model Support

• Comprehensive VL model detection - Smart pattern-based recognition (-VL-, vision, Visual, etc.)
• Enhanced model registry - Improved caching and lookup performance for VL models
• Dual-path loading - Support for both registry-based and locally stored VL models
• Better offline capabilities - Enhanced model discovery for air-gapped environments

Robust Offline Model Support

• Local-first workflows - Load models from local directories without network dependency
• Multi-location discovery - Intelligent detection across preferred and legacy paths
• Air-gapped compatibility - Full offline model resolution for network-constrained environments
• Improved local model configuration - Streamlined process for locally stored models

Performance & Memory Optimizations

• Smart model type caching - Avoid repeated registry lookups with intelligent caching
• Lazy-loaded VLM registry - Better startup performance with on-demand loading
• Optimized filesystem operations - Reduced overhead for offline model discovery
• Enhanced concurrent loading - Type-aware caching for parallel model processing

🚀 Usage

Load Local Models (Offline)

# Swama automatically discovers models in:
# ~/.swama/models/
# ~/Documents/huggingface/models/
swama list  # Shows all discovered models
swama run your-local-model  # Works without internet

Improved Model Organization

# Models are now organized in the new preferred location
ls ~/.swama/models/
# But legacy models still work
ls ~/Documents/huggingface/models/

📦 Download

Download Swama v1.2.0

Available formats:

• DMG installer - Easy drag-and-drop installation for macOS
• ZIP archive - Direct application bundle

🔄 Upgrade Notes

• If upgrading from a previous version: After installing the new version, open Swama from the menu bar and click "Install Command Line Tool…" to update the CLI tools
• Model storage: New models will be downloaded to ~/.swama/models by default, but existing models in the legacy location continue to work seamlessly
• VL model users: Enhanced support means better compatibility and performance for vision-language models

🔧 Requirements

• macOS 14.0+
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)

What's Changed

• Fix the model name in the script by @Rin-Li in #12
• Enhanced Model Path Management and VL Model Support by @sxy-trans-n in #20

New Contributors

• @Rin-Li made their first contribution in #12

Full Changelog: v1.1.0...v1.2.0