Requirements

System requirements

Most computers that comfortably run OBS should work. BubbleFacts checks by itself whether its built-in AI can run on your computer, and if not, switches to a lighter mode (Windows and Linux). If that can't run either, songs get facts from music databases and your own facts (see If the built-in AI can't run). Here are the details.

Same computer as OBS

BubbleFacts needs to run on the same computer as OBS. Two-PC setups, such as a music PC plus a streaming PC, aren't supported yet.

Minimum and recommended system requirements
What	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system	macOS 13 Ventura or newer (Apple silicon or Intel) Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit Linux, 64-bit, with glibc 2.35 or newer, using the AppImage	Any of these, kept up to date On Linux: Ubuntu 24.04 or newer, the tested version
OBS Studio	Version 28 or newer, which has the Browser source BubbleFacts uses. OBS must run on the same computer as BubbleFacts.	The current version (OBS 33). On Ubuntu 24.04, OBS 32, the newest version for it.
Memory (RAM)	8 GB	16 GB. The built-in AI uses about 1 to 3 GB while it writes facts. OBS and your game or music software need the rest. Larger AI needs 16 GB.
Free disk space	4 GB: about 400 MB for the app, 2 GB for the AI model, plus room for logs	Same
Processor	One that runs OBS comfortably. See processor details below.	Any Apple silicon Mac. On Windows and Linux, a newer processor writes facts faster.
Graphics	Not required. Without a graphics card, the AI runs on the processor.	Mac: nothing to do. Macs use their built-in graphics automatically. Windows and Linux: a graphics card with current drivers (NVIDIA, AMD or Intel, with Vulkan support) makes facts faster.
Internet	Needed to look songs up on Wikipedia, Wikidata and MusicBrainz, and to read your song requests from StreamerSongList or StreamElements, if you use one. The built-in AI downloads once, in the background, when you first open the app, and works offline after that.	Same
Accounts	One of these, wherever your song requests come from: A StreamerSongList account (free). You sign in to it with the Twitch account you use there. A StreamElements account (free) with its Media Request player. You paste your JWT token from the StreamElements dashboard. No account: a music app that writes the song that's playing to a text file. Streamling (Windows) and Nightbot's desktop app (Windows and Mac) are one click. Any other app works if you pick its file.	Same

Larger AI (optional)

In Settings, under Advanced, the built-in AI can be Standard or Larger AI. Standard is the default and suits most computers. Larger AI is a bigger model, but in our latest fact check it made more mistakes than Standard. It's also a bigger download, needs more memory and a strong graphics chip, and writes more slowly. You can switch at any time: BubbleFacts downloads the other one while the one you have keeps writing facts, then deletes the old one to save space. Switching back downloads it again.

Standard and Larger built-in AI compared
What	Standard (default)	Larger AI
AI model	Meta's Llama 3.2 3B	Meta's Llama 3.1 8B
Memory (RAM)	8 GB	16 GB recommended. It uses about 6 GB while it writes facts.
Disk space for the AI	About 2.5 GB	About 5.5 GB
Graphics	Not required	A graphics chip that can hold the AI, to be fast enough: any Apple silicon Mac (M1 or newer), or on Windows and Linux a graphics card with about 6 GB or more of its own memory (VRAM). Without one, it runs on the processor and can be several times slower.
Speed	A few seconds per song on a recent computer	About 1.5 to 2 times slower than Standard. BubbleFacts stops writing a song's facts after 90 seconds, so on a computer without a suitable graphics chip you may get fewer bubbles per song.

If your computer has less than 16 GB of memory, or is a Mac with an Intel processor, Settings warns you. You can still choose Larger AI, but it may run slowly or not load. If it can't run, BubbleFacts tells you and offers to switch back to Standard.

How fast are the facts?

When a song starts, the built-in AI takes a few seconds to write its facts. On the one computer measured so far, that's 5 to 8 seconds, well within the song. Other computers will vary until they're measured. These times are for Standard; Larger AI takes about 1.5 to 2 times as long.

To skip the wait, Prepare my songs writes facts while you're not streaming, so a prepared song's facts show as soon as it starts.

Time to write facts for one song
Computer	Time per song
Apple M1 Pro Mac	About 5 to 8 seconds (measured)
Windows or Linux with a graphics card	Expected to be a few seconds (not yet measured)
Processor only, no graphics card	Expected to be longer (not yet measured)

If the built-in AI can't run

Some computers, for example ones with an older processor, can't run the built-in AI. You can still use BubbleFacts:

On Windows and Linux, the app tries a simpler mode that uses only the processor. This happens on its own.
If that doesn't work either, the app tells you. Songs still get facts from music databases (Wikidata and MusicBrainz) and your own facts.

Processor details

For reference, these are the oldest processors BubbleFacts is expected to handle:

Mac: any Apple silicon Mac, or an Intel Mac from 2017 or newer
Windows and Linux: a 64-bit processor from 2015 or newer (Intel 6th generation Core or newer, or AMD Ryzen)

Ready? Download BubbleFacts.