MDST Engine: run GGUF models in the browser with WebGPU/WASM • Hacker News Board

Re: MDST Engine: run GGUF models in the browser with WebGPU/WASM

#11

Post by Ms-J » Sun, Feb 15, 2026, 10:51 PM UTC

vmirnv wrote: post #4

Ms-J wrote: post #3

While it is nice that you say you will eventually open source it, I'm concerned that there is a need for an account to use the free options. Most software could be used great without an account and collecting all of our private data. Also, since we are forced to sign in, there is no option to use the website for auth and only Google or Github, both not the best choices.

You're absolutely right (lol, I'm talking like gpt4o now), after initial feedback we found that there is a better way to present webgpu gguf engine without registration — some kinda webgpu gguf playground and we are currently building it! (if you have any neat ideas — I would love to hear it)

Make the demo with enough capabilities is one place to start.

Re: MDST Engine: run GGUF models in the browser with WebGPU/WASM

#12

Post by b00twhy » Sun, Feb 15, 2026, 10:59 PM UTC

bigbadfeline wrote: post #10

b00twhy wrote: post #9

But why? In this synthesized machine states era do I want to still run a bloated, buggy web browser? I think I will keep working on synthesizing a replacement for the desktop metaphor of a blank viewport/canvas and sampling from a model of vision data, tweaking at the edge when labels are missing or wrong, edges don't align, saving it back to model Think "boot to Blender" or Unreal Engine, synthesizing desktop and te…

> In this synthesized machine states era do I want to still run a bloated, buggy web browser? I do. The browser is indispensable, at least for now, and it's much better to keep improving it for the age of AI than to jump to fairy tails and unproven replacement technologies. > What tech people should be focused on is political action that keeps hardware open and models open and not locked behind data center. And while…

> ...you're going to do what exactly?

I mentioned I am working on replacements for the usual local PC software stack ..."exactly"

You breezed right over that, obsessed over a single statement in a rush to justify your choices.

In my day to day experience the browser is not indispensable, quite the opposite. I barely use one. Native phone apps work better than web apps for "present reality" use-cases. I will stick to phone apps and run what I want on my PC.

I am waiting for a new build of a vision model backed GPU accelerated Vulkan-based desktop replacement to compile.

I can submit a prompt, get a point cloud/depth map displayed onscreen and then it crashes. Memory management needs improvement.

And I have achieved this in just a few weeks with a single 3090 and local models. But I guess being an EE who has developed software from hardware up for over 20 years and not a web SaaS code school grad, has provided the context to bring "fairy tales" to life.

Meanwhile Web Assembly has been right around the corner for over a decade; a fairy tale with little value in present reality.

Re: MDST Engine: run GGUF models in the browser with WebGPU/WASM

#13

Post by bigbadfeline » Mon, Feb 16, 2026, 1:15 AM UTC

b00twhy wrote: post #12

bigbadfeline wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In this synthesized machine states era do I want to still run a bloated, buggy web browser? I do. The browser is indispensable, at least for now, and it's much better to keep improving it for the age of AI than to jump to fairy tails and unproven replacement technologies. > What tech people should be focused on is political action that keeps hardware open and models open and not locked behind data center. And while…

> ...you're going to do what exactly? I mentioned I am working on replacements for the usual local PC software stack ..."exactly" You breezed right over that, obsessed over a single statement in a rush to justify your choices. In my day to day experience the browser is not indispensable, quite the opposite. I barely use one. Native phone apps work better than web apps for "present reality" use-cases. I will stick to…

> I mentioned I am working on replacements for the usual local PC software stack ..."exactly"

Very good, when you replace it, use it to create all the shiny things you dream about, it should be a breeze, use AI to create everything you need. We, the less fortunate, are going to stay with the browser only until you save the world and not a minute longer.

> I will stick to phone apps and run what I want on my PC.

I also run what I want on my PC and what I want in my browser and I don't want phone apps because they are restricted to a tightly controlled environment. Are you going to replace that one too? With something free and open? AI should do it with a couple of prompts, right?

> And I have achieved this in just a few weeks

That's wonderful, I wish you luck, seriously.

> EE who has developed software from hardware up for over 20 years... has provided the context to bring "fairy tales" to life.

Until you bring them to life, they remain fairy tales - not my call, that's how it works and has always worked. I don't see why we should discuss something that isn't there and address claims that cannot be verified in any way.

More importantly, I don't see why we should abandon vital and indispensable infrastructure just because you say so and because you can get by using something much more restricted for your narrow purposes. I mean, show me, don't tell me.