Can Codestral 22B run on Mac mini M4 32GB?

YES — Tight Fit

B56Good

▲Estimated — low-sample bucket· few comparable runs

Codestral 22B needs ~20.2 GB VRAM. Mac mini M4 32GB has 23.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~6 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: TightBandwidth: Very lowStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory bandwidth

Operating mode

Choose the run profile you care about

Interactive favors responsiveness, while light API and scale-out lean harder on serving readiness. The fit stays the same, but the recommendation lens changes.

Current mode

Balanced

Balanced for general local use. Keeps the ranking neutral across personal and serving workflows.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 20.2 GB, 9.7 tok/s, Tight fit

20.2 GB required23.0 GB available

88% VRAM used

Fit status

Tight fit

Decode

9.7 tok/s

TTFT

19981 ms

Safe context

33K

Memory

20.2 GB / 23.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights13.4 GB

KV Cache2.4 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom3.5 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsCodestral 22B on Mac mini M4 32GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Write a Python function to sort a list
Here's a Python function that sorts a list using quicksort:

def quicksort(arr):
 if len(arr) <= 1:
 return arr
 pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2]
 left = [x for x in arr if x < pivot]
 middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot]
 right = [x for x in arr if x > pivot]
 return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right)

# Example usage
numbers = [3, 6, 8, 10, 1, 2, 1]
print(quicksort(numbers)) # [1, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10]

The algorithm picks a pivot, partitions the list into smaller, equal, and larger elements, then recursively sorts each partition and concatenates the results.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>Now add type hints and a docstring
def quicksort(arr: list[int]) -> list[int]:
 """Sort a list using the quicksort algorithm.

 Args:
 arr: List of integers to sort.

 Returns:
 A new sorted list.
 """
 if len(arr) <= 1:
 return arr
 pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2]
 left = [x for x in arr if x < pivot]
 middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot]
 right = [x for x in arr if x > pivot]
 return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right)

Added type hints for the input and return type, plus a Google-style docstring.
Estimated: 9.7 tok/s decode · 20.0s TTFT (warm) · 24 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

The model fits in shared memory, but shared-memory bandwidth is now the real limiter.

Fit does not mean dedicated-VRAM speed

Unified or shared memory can make a model technically fit, but sustained tokens per second may still trail a discrete high-bandwidth GPU with less total memory.

Shared-memory contention still exists

The OS, browser, and inference runtime all compete for the same physical memory pool, so real-world headroom is less forgiving than raw capacity suggests.

Best improvement path

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity

If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	B	Tight fit	6.4 tok/s	16402 ms	33K
Coding	B	Tight fit	6.4 tok/s	30071 ms	33K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs with offload	6.4 tok/s	43739 ms	33K
Reasoning	B	Tight fit	6.4 tok/s	35538 ms	33K
RAG	B	Runs with offload	6.4 tok/s	54674 ms	33K