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Installation & Quickstart Guide

This guide walks you through setting up and running Byte on your Mac.

⚡ Prerequisites​

  • OS: macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or newer on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel Mac.
  • Xcode: Xcode 15 or newer.
  • Python: Python 3.9+ with pip.
  • Ollama: Download and install from ollama.ai.

🚀 Step-by-Step Setup​

Step 1: Clone Repository​

git clone https://github.com/your-username/Byte.git
cd Byte

Step 2: Run Universal Launcher​

Run the single start script to launch Ollama, Whisper STT, Kokoro TTS, and build/open DesktopPet.app:

chmod +x start.sh
./start.sh

🧠 Training & Model Fine-Tuning​

1. Build Master Dataset from Open-Source EmpatheticDialogues​

python3 training/download_and_build_master_dataset.py

2. Run Apple Silicon LoRA Fine-Tuning​

chmod +x training/train_mlx.sh
./training/train_mlx.sh

3. Register Custom Model in Ollama​

ollama create byte-llm -f training/ByteModelfile

🔍 Troubleshooting​

  • Ollama Error: Ensure Ollama desktop app is installed and running (ollama list).
  • Xcode Build Errors: Ensure active Xcode command line tools are selected (xcode-select --install).