---
license: apache-2.0
library_name: mlx
base_model: Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B
base_model_relation: quantized
pipeline_tag: feature-extraction
tags:
- mlx
- apple-silicon
- quantized
- mixed-precision
- axquant
- axq
- development
- qwen3
- 8bit
- 8-bit
- v2
- embedding
- sentence-similarity
---

# AX-Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B-MLX-AXQ-8bit

An **AXQuant (AXQ)** mixed-precision MLX checkpoint for Apple Silicon, converted directly from
the BF16 source model. The language path is quantized under AXQuant protection floors (embeddings, norms, and other protected tensors remain higher precision).

> **Development evidence — not a certified AXQuant release.** This package has conversion and
> artifact-integrity records, but it does not publish measured quality, long-context, kernel-speed,
> or MTP-speed evidence. Do not interpret the AXQ product label as a benchmark claim.

> **Stable-name v2.** `main` serves the audited v2 artifact for backward compatibility. The same revision is tagged `v2`; the replaced artifact remains recoverable at `legacy-pre-v2`.


## Model details

| Property | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Base model | [Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B](https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B/tree/97b0c614be4d77ee51c0cef4e5f07c00f9eb65b3) |
| Source revision | `97b0c614be4d77ee51c0cef4e5f07c00f9eb65b3` |
| Product family | `qwen3` |
| Source architecture | `Qwen3ForCausalLM` (dense); text path optimized |
| Main-model parameters | 595.78M logical parameters |
| Quantizer | AXQuant `1.2.0` |
| Hub budget class | `8bit` |
| Artifact edition | `v2` |
| AXQuant base precision class | `8bit` |
| Planned storage-adjusted BPW | 7.9992 |
| Measured main-model BPW | 8.0003 |
| Measured total BPW | **8.0003** |
| Safetensors weight size | 0.60 GB |
| Approximate complete download | 0.61 GB |
| Configured maximum context | 32,768 tokens; practical limits depend on unified memory |
| MLX-LM compatibility | Standard text inference, compatibility level B |
| AX Engine native execution | Not established; no validated native manifest is included |
| MTP present | `False` |
| Vision sidecar present | `False` |

This repository contains MLX Safetensors. It does **not** contain PyTorch or GGUF weights.

## Choosing an AXQ pack

AXQ names describe a **storage-budget product class**, not one uniform precision applied to every
tensor. Protected tensors remain at higher precision, so the exact measured BPW is authoritative.
In particular, a `6bit`-named mixed plan may retain `4bit` as its base precision while selecting
6-bit, 8-bit, or BF16 for other tensors to meet an approximately 6-BPW total budget. Protection
floors can also raise a `4bit`-named pack close to (or above) a `6bit` budget on small or heavily
protected models.

| Sibling | Intended trade-off |
| --- | --- |
| [4bit sibling](https://huggingface.co/AutomatosX/AX-Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B-MLX-AXQ-4bit) | Lower-storage AXQ budget; check its exact BPW |
| [8bit sibling](https://huggingface.co/AutomatosX/AX-Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B-MLX-AXQ-8bit) | Higher average precision near the 8-BPW budget |

See the [AutomatosX MLX model catalog](https://huggingface.co/collections/AutomatosX/automatosx-mlx-model-catalog)
for related MLX and OptiQ alternatives.

## Download

```bash
python -m pip install -U huggingface_hub
hf download AutomatosX/AX-Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B-MLX-AXQ-8bit --local-dir ./AX-Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B-MLX-AXQ-8bit
```

Allow at least 0.61 GB of free disk space. Pin the resulting Hub commit in reproducible
deployments rather than relying indefinitely on `main`.

## Run with MLX-LM

```bash
python -m pip install -U mlx-lm
mlx_lm.generate \
  --model AutomatosX/AX-Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B-MLX-AXQ-8bit \
  --prompt "Explain mixed-precision quantization in three sentences." \
  --max-tokens 128 \
  --temp 0.0
```

MLX-LM compatibility covers standard **text/backbone inference**. It may ignore AXQuant runtime
metadata and optional sidecars (`vision.safetensors`, `mtp.safetensors`); this command therefore
does not establish MTP acceleration or vision-language quality. The artifact records MLX
`0.32.0` and MLX-LM `0.31.3` from conversion.

## AX Engine status

This package does **not** include a validated native `model-manifest.json`, so AX Engine execution
is not established by this release. The AX Engine fields in `axquant_runtime.json` describe the
intended compatibility contract, not observed runtime evidence. Use the MLX-LM path above for
standard text/backbone inference. The artifact records AX Engine version
`not recorded`, but version discovery alone is not a runtime check.

## Quantization layout

| Main-weight precision | Parameters | Share |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| `6bit` | 201.33M | 33.79% |
| `8bit` | 394.38M | 66.20% |
| `bf16` | 65,536 | 0.01% |

- Quantization methods: `affine, bf16`.
- Group sizes used by quantized assignments: `32, 64`.
- MTP sidecar: not included.
- Vision sidecar: not included.
- Optimization scope: `text-path`.
- Support tier: `convertible`.

BF16 sidecars, when present, are included in total download size. Their presence does not by itself
establish MTP acceleration or vision-language quality.

## Evidence and validation status

| Check | Status |
| --- | --- |
| Planning evidence | `architecture_prior` |
| Calibration | none; the allocation is based on architecture priors |
| Quantizer execution | 197/197 recorded module conversions succeeded; 0 fallbacks |
| AX Engine native manifest | not included |
| Quality versus BF16 or uniform baselines | Not published; no quality-retention claim |
| MTP acceptance and speed | not measured; no MTP speedup claim |
| AX Engine kernel evidence | `unmeasured` |
| Vision-language quality | Not applicable (no vision sidecar in this package) |
| Long-context quality | 32,768-token capacity is config metadata, not a validated claim |
| Release certification | **Not certified**; formal AXQuant M0-M8 gates are not closed |

## Intended use and limitations

- Intended for local development and evaluation on Apple Silicon with MLX-compatible runtimes.
- No minimum unified-memory figure is claimed; loadability depends on model size, context length,
  KV-cache policy, runtime buffers, and other processes using unified memory.
- Architecture-prior allocation is not measured sensitivity. It must not be presented as measured
  model quality.
- The configured context window can require substantially more memory as the KV cache grows.
- AX Engine execution is not established because this package has no validated native manifest.

- Upstream capabilities, limitations, biases, and responsible-use guidance still apply.

## Provenance and audit files

- [`axquant_manifest.json`](axquant_manifest.json): package identity, byte accounting, runtime
  contract, software versions, and file checksums.
- [`axquant_plan.json`](axquant_plan.json): per-tensor precision decisions and planning evidence.
- [`axquant_quantizer_execution.json`](axquant_quantizer_execution.json): conversion coverage and
  fallback records.
- [`axquant_runtime.json`](axquant_runtime.json): declared AX Engine and MLX-LM compatibility metadata; runtime checks remain separate evidence.

All published provenance uses repository-relative paths. Local source paths are stripped before
publication. The checkpoint was converted from BF16 rather than re-quantized from an OptiQ
artifact. Parallel OptiQ repositories use a different quantizer and should not be assumed to have
identical BPW or quality.

## License

The checkpoint follows the upstream model license where applicable (often Apache License 2.0). See
the [Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B model card](https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B/tree/97b0c614be4d77ee51c0cef4e5f07c00f9eb65b3) for license terms, model
limitations, and responsible-use guidance.