The main reason I see is to use the same AI engine for multiple things like VSCode plugins, UI apps, etc. That being said I use LM Studio which runs as a UI an

The main reason I see is to use the same AI engine for multiple things like VSCode plugins, UI apps, etc. That being said I use LM Studio which runs as a UI and allows you to start a local server for coding and editor plugins. I can run Deepseek Coder in VSCode locally on an M1 Max and it’s actually useful. It’ll just eat the battery quickly if it’s not plugged in since it really slams the GPU. It’s about the only thing I use that will make the M1 make audible fan noise.