Setting up LM Studio

As of current versions, LM Studio does not have a built-in proxy settings menu within the application GUI. However, you can usually bypass this by using system environment variables or manual "sideloading."

Option 1: Set System Environment Variables (Recommended)

LM Studio, like many Electron-based apps, often inherits the proxy settings from your operating system's environment variables.

For Windows:

  1. Search for "Edit the system environment variables" in the Start menu.

  2. Click Environment Variables.

  3. Under User variables, click New and add the following:

    • Variable name: HTTP_PROXY
    • Variable value: http://your-proxy-address:port (e.g., http://proxy.company.com:8080)

  4. Repeat for HTTPS_PROXY.

  5. Restart LM Studio completely (close it from the system tray as well).

For macOS / Linux:

Launch LM Studio from your terminal with the proxy variables prepended:

Bash

export http_proxy=http://your-proxy-address:port
export https_proxy=http://your-proxy-address:port
/Applications/LM\ Studio.app/Contents/MacOS/LM\ Studio

Option 2: The "Sideload" Workaround

If the proxy variables don't work (common if your company uses a "Man-in-the-Middle" SSL inspection that LM Studio doesn't trust), you can download the models manually using your browser, which already has the proxy configured.

  1. Download the Model: Go to Hugging Face and find the .gguf file you want.

  2. Locate LM Studio's Folder: * Windows: C:\Users\<YourName>\.cache\lm-studio\models

    • Mac/Linux: ~/.cache/lm-studio/models

  3. Place the File: Create a subfolder inside models named after the creator (e.g., TheBloke) and then another folder for the model name. Place your .gguf file there.

  4. Refresh: Open LM Studio and go to the "My Models" tab (the folder icon); it should now appear there without needing a connection.