Keep the weights you already have

Import once.
Move without redownloading.

Bring an existing LoRA into Tapioca, copy a complete adapter library to another computer, or reuse a compatible catalog model you already downloaded.

Import a LoRA →Transfer a base model
1
Raw LoRAImport one .safetensors file
2
LoRA libraryCopy weights with snapshot metadata
3
Base modelCopy, verify, and register
4
External diskMove the complete Tapioca home

Existing download

Import one LoRA file

Use this when a browser, Civitai client, Hugging Face tool, or another application already downloaded a LoRA to your computer.

macOS or Linux

tapioca adapter import ~/Downloads/cinematic-motion.safetensors   --base minimax-h3   --name cinematic-motion

Windows PowerShell

tapioca adapter import "C:\Users\Carlos\Downloads\cinematic-motion.safetensors" `
  --base minimax-h3 `
  --name cinematic-motion

--base is the model family named on the LoRA's model card. It is required because a .safetensors extension does not prove compatibility. --name gives the local import an easy reusable name.

What should happen

Tapioca verifies the safetensors header, calculates a SHA-256 hash, copies the file into its managed library, and prints a local:// reference. Your original file is left unchanged.

Confirm and reuse it

tapioca adapter list
tapioca video minimax-h3   --adapter 'local://cinematic-motion#cinematic-motion.safetensors@0.8'   --prompt "A cinematic tracking shot"   --output adapted.mp4
Important difference

adapter import PATH accepts a file already on your computer. --file selects one weight inside a provider repository; it is not a local path option.

No terminal needed

Import with Tapioca Desktop

  1. Open Images or Video. Choose the compatible base model first.
  2. Find LoRA styles. Select Import from computer.
  3. Choose the file. Select a regular .safetensors LoRA.
  4. Declare the base. Enter the exact base-model family from its model card.
  5. Import and assign. It appears under Installed LoRA and can be reused without another copy.

Tapioca's desktop and CLI use the same managed adapter library. An import made in either interface appears in the other.

Computer to computer

Move your complete LoRA library

This is faster than importing files one at a time and preserves provider references, hashes, revisions, and compatibility hints.

macOS and Linux

Adapter folder

~/.tapioca/adapters
Windows

Adapter folder

%USERPROFILE%\.tapioca\adapters
  1. Quit Tapioca on both computers.
  2. Copy the complete adapters directory from the source.
  3. Place it inside the destination computer's Tapioca home.
  4. Keep every snapshot.json next to its weight files.
  5. Run tapioca adapter list on the destination.
Do not separate managed weights from metadata

If you only have a raw .safetensors file, use adapter import. If you copy Tapioca's managed library, copy each whole folder including snapshot.json.

Large base weights

Transfer an installed base model

Base-model variants are hardware specific. Transfer only a model compatible with the destination. An Apple Silicon MLX model is not a Windows CUDA model.

  1. Run tapioca list on the source and note the exact model ID.
  2. Quit Tapioca on both computers.
  3. Copy that model's complete directory from TAPIOCA_HOME/models.
  4. Place it under the destination's TAPIOCA_HOME/models with the same directory name.
  5. Run tapioca pull MODEL on the destination without --force.
tapioca pull minimax-h3
tapioca list
What should happen

Tapioca reuses every matching file, downloads only required files that are missing, and registers the model with paths that are correct for the destination computer.

Do not copy registry.json alone

The registry contains absolute paths from the old machine. Let tapioca pull MODEL rebuild model registration after the files are copied.

Storage control

Use an external drive

Set TAPIOCA_HOME before importing or pulling. Models, adapters, voices, recipes, and managed runtimes will use that location.

macOS or Linux

export TAPIOCA_HOME="/Volumes/ExternalSSD/tapioca"
tapioca adapter list
tapioca list

Windows PowerShell

$env:TAPIOCA_HOME = "D:\Tapioca"
tapioca adapter list
tapioca list

Add the environment variable permanently in your operating system if every session should use the external disk. Leave space for partial downloads and generated media as well as final weights.

Before cleanup

Verify the destination

tapioca adapter list
tapioca list
tapioca run MODEL

For an image or video model, create one small smoke-test output. Delete the old copy only after the destination loads the model and produces a valid result.

Your downloads can travel.

Import raw LoRAs, preserve managed metadata, and let Tapioca verify transferred base-model folders.

Continue to the beginner guide →