WebLLM: A High-Performance In-Browser LLM Inference Engine

TL;DR

WebLLM is an open-source JavaScript framework enabling high-performance large language model inference directly within web browsers, leveraging WebGPU and WebAssembly for efficient computation.

Contribution

It introduces WebLLM, a novel browser-based LLM inference engine that achieves near-native performance using WebGPU and machine learning compilers.

Findings

WebLLM retains up to 80% of native performance on the same device.

It provides an OpenAI-style API for easy integration into web applications.

The code is available at https://github.com/mlc-ai/web-llm.

Abstract

Advancements in large language models (LLMs) have unlocked remarkable capabilities. While deploying these models typically requires server-grade GPUs and cloud-based inference, the recent emergence of smaller open-source models and increasingly powerful consumer devices have made on-device deployment practical. The web browser as a platform for on-device deployment is universally accessible, provides a natural agentic environment, and conveniently abstracts out the different backends from diverse device vendors. To address this opportunity, we introduce WebLLM, an open-source JavaScript framework that enables high-performance LLM inference entirely within web browsers. WebLLM provides an OpenAI-style API for seamless integration into web applications, and leverages WebGPU for efficient local GPU acceleration and WebAssembly for performant CPU computation. With machine learning compilers MLC-LLM and Apache TVM, WebLLM leverages optimized WebGPU kernels, overcoming the absence of performant WebGPU kernel libraries. Evaluations show that WebLLM can retain up to 80% native performance on the same device, with room to further close the gap. WebLLM paves the way for universally accessible, privacy-preserving, personalized, and locally powered LLM applications in web browsers. The code is available at: https://github.com/mlc-ai/web-llm.