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What is the GGUF format, and what do llama.cpp k-quants (Q4_K_M, Q5_K_S) actually mean?

GGUF is the format behind most local LLM runs, and its quant names look cryptic. The signal is decoding what Q4_K_M means and why mixed-precision k-quants beat naive uniform quantization.

Updated Aug 2026 · Grounded in real Applied AI Engineer interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.

GGUF is the format behind most local LLM runs, and its quant names look cryptic. The signal is decoding what Q4_K_M means and why mixed-precision k-quants beat naive uniform quantization.

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