Stable Diffusion is an open source project, which allows anyone to run it and modify it. In addition to generating images with it, you can run it, customize it and create new things. Getting it to work on a Mac M1 GPU can be a bit tricky, so we’ve put together this guide to show you the process.
In this tutorial, we will discover how to install Stable Diffusion 1.5 and 2.1 on a Mac equipped with the Apple Silicon M1 or M2 chip, in a local context. No need for special technical skills, just follow our instructions!
Prerequisites:
- A Mac equipped with an M1 or M2 chip.
- 16 GB RAM or more (8 GB RAM works, but speed will be reduced)
- macOS 12.3 or later.
Here are the installation options we will discuss in this article:
- Draw Things – The easiest installation with a good feature set.
- Diffusers – Very easy installation, but with few features.
- DiffusionBee – Fairly easy to install, but with a small number of features.
- AUTOMATIC1111 – Better functionality, but slightly more difficult to install.
Draw Things
Draw Things is an Apple application compatible with iPhones, iPads and Macs. Its installation is similar to any other application. It supports a fairly extensive list of templates out of the box and offers a reasonable set of customizations.
Draw Things also supports the use of inpainting.
Advantages:
- Easy to install
- Good range of features
Disadvantages:
- Less extensive functionalities than AUTOMATIC1111
Link to the page on the mac app store
Diffusers App
Diffusers is a Mac application developed by Hugging Face, which hosts many stable diffusion templates. You can install the application using the link below. Unlike Draw things, the customizations and templates available are rather limited
Link to the Diffusers application page
Advantages:
- Free and very easy to install
Disadvantages:
- Very limited templates and features.
DiffusionBee
Installing DiffusionBee on a Mac is one of the easiest ways to run stable diffusion on a Mac. Its installation process is the same as any other application.
Step 1: Go to the diffusionBee download page download page and download the installer for MacOS
Step 2: Double click to run the downloaded dmg file in Finder
Step 3: Drag the DiffusionBee icon on the left to the Applications folder on the right.
The installation is now complete! Then run DiffusionBee on your Mac, at startup it will download some templates and once finished, you can start using Stable Diffusion! Let’s try putting the prompt “young brunette woman checking her phone while eating dinner, dusk, acrylic painting” in the prompt box and hit Generate. It works pretty well!
You can click on the option button to customize your images, like image size and CFG scale.
Advantages
- Relatively easy installation
Disadvantages
- Slightly limited functionality
AUTOMATIC1111
DiffusionBee and Diffusers are easy to install, but the functionality is still quite limited. If you are (or want to become) an advanced user, you will want to use an advanced user interface like AUTOMATIC1111 .
So here’s how to install AUTOMATIC1111 on a Mac
Step 1: Install Homebrew, a package manager for the Mac, if you haven’t already. Open the Terminal application, type the following command and press enter.
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"Step 2: Install some required packages. Open a new terminal and run the following command
brew install cmake protobuf rust [email protected] git wgetStep 3: Clone the AUTOMATIC1111 repository by running the following command in the terminal
git clone https://github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webuiA new folder stable-diffusion-webui should be created under your home directory.
Step 5: You will need a template to run the stable broadcast. Use the following link to download the v1.5 template.
Place the file ending in .ckpt in the stable-diffusion-webui/models/Stable-diffusionfolder.
You can access it in the Finder application. In the top menu, click Go, then click Home. Double-click to access the stable-diffusion-webui folder, then models, then Stable-diffusion.
When you have completed this step, the Stable-diffusion folder should contain two files as below.
Then run AUTOMATIC1111 on the Mac, in the terminal, run the following command.
cd ~/stable-diffusion-webui;./webui.shThis will take some time on the first run.
Open a web browser and enter the following URL to start stable broadcast.
http://127.0.0.1:7860/ You should see the AUTOMATIC1111 user interface.
(If you have difficulties installing Automatic1111, here is an explanatory video in English)
Enter a prompt and press Generate to test the use of the interface.
Then close the terminal when you have finished your image generation session. Follow the steps in this section again the next time you want to run Stable Diffusion.
Benefits:
- Best functionality of all the applications
Disadvantages:
- Difficult to install if you are not an expert
Conclusion
In summary, you are now able to install and implement Stable Diffusion 1.5 and 2.1 locally on a Mac with an M1 processor .
Stable Diffusion is a powerful and versatile tool that can be used to generate artistic and creative images. While there are various options for installing and running Stable Diffusion on an M1 or M2 Mac, thechoice of installation method will depend on your preferences and technical skill level. Whether you choose Draw Things, Diffusers, DiffusionBee or AUTOMATIC1111, each of these tools offers unique advantages and disadvantages.
With this guide, we’ve explored the different installation options and their specifics, allowing you to choose the one that works best for you. Once you have installed and configured the application of your choice, you can take full advantage of Stable Diffusion’s features and let your creativity run wild. Feel free to experiment with the different templates and settings available to create unique and impressive works of art.
Good luck and have fun with Stable Diffusion!
