| name | smolvlm |
| description | Local vision-language model for image analysis using SmolVLM-2B |
| version | 1.0.0 |
SmolVLM - Local Image Analysis
Analyze images locally using SmolVLM-2B, a state-of-the-art compact vision-language model optimized for Apple Silicon via mlx-vlm.
Quick Usage
Describe an Image
python ~/.claude/skills/smolvlm/scripts/view_image.py /path/to/image.png
Ask a Question About an Image
python ~/.claude/skills/smolvlm/scripts/view_image.py /path/to/image.png "What text is visible?"
Specific Tasks
python ~/.claude/skills/smolvlm/scripts/view_image.py screenshot.png "Extract all text"
python ~/.claude/skills/smolvlm/scripts/view_image.py ui.png "Describe the UI elements"
python ~/.claude/skills/smolvlm/scripts/view_image.py photo.jpg --detailed
Effective Prompts
General Description
"Describe this image" - Basic description
"Describe this image in detail, including colors, composition, and any text" - Comprehensive
Text Extraction (OCR)
"Extract all visible text from this image"
"What text appears in this screenshot?"
"Read the text in this document"
UI/Screenshot Analysis
"Describe the user interface elements"
"What buttons and controls are visible?"
"Identify the application and its current state"
Visual Question Answering
"How many [objects] are in this image?"
"What color is the [object]?"
"Is there a [object] in this image?"
Code/Technical
"What programming language is shown?"
"Describe what this code does"
"Identify any errors in this code screenshot"
Model Details
| Spec | Value |
|---|
| Model | SmolVLM-2B-Instruct |
| Size | ~4GB |
| Peak Memory | 5.8GB |
| Speed | ~94 tok/s (M-series) |
| Supported Formats | PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, WebP |
Requirements
- macOS with Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
- Python 3.10+
- mlx-vlm package:
uv pip install mlx-vlm --system
Troubleshooting
"Model not found": First run downloads the model (~4GB). Wait for completion.
Out of memory: Close other applications. Model needs ~6GB free RAM.
Slow first inference: Model loading takes 10-15s on first use, subsequent calls are faster.