Downloading models from Hugging Face can actually be quite difficult for beginners (though it’s easy if it’s just a single file…), so this isn’t a silly question.
This is not a stupid question. The confusing part is that the button makes the process look like a normal app-store-style install, but it is not that simple.
The short version is:
You can download FIBO from Hugging Face, but you probably cannot just “connect it to Draw Things” the way you would install a normal Draw Things model.
FIBO is not a simple one-file Stable Diffusion checkpoint. It is a gated, multi-part Diffusers model pipeline. Draw Things opening from Hugging Face only means the browser successfully launched Draw Things. It does not necessarily mean Draw Things downloaded, authenticated, converted, imported, and registered the model.
1. What probably happened when Draw Things opened
When you clicked:
Use this model → Local Apps → Draw Things
Hugging Face tried to hand the model page over to Draw Things.
That handoff worked enough to open the app.
But then Draw Things apparently did not finish the import. The likely reason is that FIBO is not in the simple format Draw Things expected, or Draw Things does not currently support this exact FIBO pipeline.
Hugging Face’s own Local Apps documentation says the Local Apps path is for choosing a supported model and then selecting the local app from the model page. It also says the user may need to copy and run a command in Terminal. So the button is not a guarantee that every model works in every listed app. (Hugging Face)
There is also a similar public case where a user tried to import an SDXL Hugging Face model into Draw Things and reported that “nothing happens” after clicking Import Custom Model. That does not prove your exact issue, but it shows that this kind of silent Draw Things import failure is a known pattern. (Hugging Face)
2. The main beginner-safe explanation
Think of it like this:
| Thing |
What it is |
In your case |
| Hugging Face |
A place where AI models are stored and documented |
Where FIBO lives |
| FIBO |
The actual image-generation model |
The model you want |
| Draw Things |
A local Mac/iOS image-generation app |
The app you tried to use |
| Local Apps button |
A handoff from Hugging Face to an app |
It opened Draw Things, but did not complete setup |
| Model files |
The actual downloadable AI weights/configs |
FIBO has multiple parts, not one obvious file |
So the issue is not:
“Where is the obvious download button?”
The issue is more like:
“This model is packaged as a full technical pipeline, and Draw Things may not know how to run that pipeline.”
3. Why FIBO is harder than a normal image model
FIBO’s own model page says it is a JSON-native text-to-image model trained on long structured captions. It is designed for controllability over things like lighting, composition, color, and camera settings. It is also an 8B parameter model. (Hugging Face)
That matters because many beginner image apps are built around more standard model types, such as Stable Diffusion-style checkpoints, SDXL-style checkpoints, LoRAs, or models already prepared for that app.
FIBO is different. The Diffusers documentation shows FIBO as a BriaFiboPipeline with multiple components, including:
- transformer,
- scheduler,
- VAE,
- text encoder,
- tokenizer. (Hugging Face)
That is why there may not be one obvious “download this file” button.
It is more like downloading a folder full of machine parts, not downloading one finished app.
4. Why your Hugging Face access may not automatically help Draw Things
FIBO is gated. Hugging Face’s Diffusers documentation for FIBO says that before using it, you need to:
- go to the FIBO Hugging Face page,
- accept the gate,
- log in locally so your system knows you accepted the gate,
- use:
hf auth login
(Hugging Face)
That is important.
You may have access in your browser, but Draw Things may not automatically have your Hugging Face login/token. Browser access and app access are separate things.
A simple analogy:
You may have a library card, but the app still has to know your library card number before it can borrow the book.
5. How to download FIBO manually
This downloads FIBO to your Mac. It does not guarantee Draw Things can run it.
Step 1: Open Terminal
On your Mac:
- Press Command + Space.
- Type Terminal.
- Press Return.
Step 2: Install Hugging Face’s download tool
Paste this into Terminal:
python3 -m pip install -U huggingface_hub
Press Return.
Step 3: Log in to Hugging Face
Paste:
hf auth login
Press Return.
It will ask for a Hugging Face access token.
To create one:
- Go to Hugging Face.
- Click your profile picture.
- Open Settings.
- Open Access Tokens.
- Create a read token.
- Copy it.
- Paste it into Terminal when asked.
Hugging Face’s docs say access tokens are the preferred way to authenticate applications and notebooks; the quickstart also says a read token is the safer choice when you only need to download/read resources. (Hugging Face)
Do not post this token publicly.
Step 4: Make a folder for the model
Paste:
mkdir -p ~/AI-models
Press Return.
Step 5: Test the download first
Paste:
hf download briaai/FIBO --local-dir ~/AI-models/FIBO --dry-run
Press Return.
This checks what would be downloaded before actually downloading it. Hugging Face’s download guide covers downloading files from the Hub, downloading into a local folder, using the CLI, and dry-run mode. (Hugging Face)
Step 6: Actually download it
If the dry run works, paste:
hf download briaai/FIBO --local-dir ~/AI-models/FIBO
After this, the files should be in:
~/AI-models/FIBO
6. How to connect that downloaded FIBO folder to Draw Things
Here is the honest answer:
I would not expect the full FIBO folder to import cleanly into Draw Things right now unless Draw Things has explicit FIBO support.
You can try Draw Things’ import menu, but it may not work.
In Draw Things, look for something like:
Models → Manage → Import Model
or:
Manage Models → Import
Then point it at the downloaded FIBO files.
But if Draw Things asks for one model file, and FIBO is a whole folder of parts, that is the mismatch.
Draw Things documentation says it has ways to import custom models from places such as Hugging Face or Civitai, but “can import custom models” does not mean “can import every possible Hugging Face model pipeline.” (docs.drawthings.ai)
For FIBO, the most likely outcome is:
Draw Things does not know what to do with the FIBO pipeline.
7. Can you run FIBO offline on your Mac?
In principle, yes, but probably not through Draw Things.
There are two separate questions:
Can FIBO be downloaded locally?
Yes, assuming your Hugging Face access and token work.
Can FIBO run offline inside Draw Things?
That is the part I would not count on.
The better Mac route is probably MFLUX / MLX, not Draw Things.
There is a briaai/Fibo-mlx-4bit model page specifically for a Mac-oriented version. It says FIBO is an 8B model and that MFLUX is built on Apple’s MLX framework to enable efficient diffusion-model inference on Apple Silicon. (Hugging Face)
The MFLUX package page also says it can run FLUX, Qwen Image, FIBO, and other models locally on your Mac. (PyPI)
So if your MacBook Air has an Apple Silicon chip — M1, M2, M3, or M4 — the more realistic local route is probably:
Fibo-mlx-4bit + MFLUX
not:
FIBO + Draw Things
8. Your MacBook Air detail matters, but the chip matters more than macOS
You said you are on:
MacBook Air running macOS 14.3.1
That is useful, but the more important question is:
Is your MacBook Air Apple Silicon or Intel?
To check:
- Click the Apple menu in the top-left.
- Click About This Mac.
- Look for Chip.
If it says:
then you have Apple Silicon.
If it says Intel, then the MLX/MFLUX route is probably not right for you.
For FIBO specifically, Apple Silicon is important because the Mac-friendly FIBO route is tied to MLX/MFLUX. (Hugging Face)
9. What I recommend you do
If your goal is “I want to use Draw Things”
Then I would use a model that Draw Things clearly supports.
Do not make FIBO your first Draw Things import project. FIBO is too specialized and too new for that to be the beginner-friendly path.
Use Draw Things with a built-in or clearly supported model first. That way you can learn:
- prompts,
- image size,
- steps,
- seeds,
- model selection,
- LoRAs,
- saving images,
without also fighting Hugging Face authentication and custom pipeline compatibility.
If your goal is “I specifically want to use FIBO”
Then I would not start with Draw Things.
I would use this order:
- Check your Mac chip.
- Confirm Hugging Face access with
hf auth login.
- Try
Fibo-mlx-4bit with MFLUX if you have Apple Silicon.
- Use ComfyUI or the official FIBO/Diffusers route only if you are ready for more technical setup.
- Come back to Draw Things only if there is a known working FIBO import method.
The FIBO GitHub project describes FIBO as a structured-caption, controllable text-to-image model and explains that it is more of a project/pipeline than a simple app-ready checkpoint. (GitHub)
10. What I think is the most likely answer to your exact question
“How do I download the FIBO model?”
Use the Hugging Face CLI:
python3 -m pip install -U huggingface_hub
hf auth login
mkdir -p ~/AI-models
hf download briaai/FIBO --local-dir ~/AI-models/FIBO --dry-run
hf download briaai/FIBO --local-dir ~/AI-models/FIBO
That is the realistic “download” method.
“How do I connect it to Draw Things?”
Most likely:
You do not, at least not through a simple supported beginner workflow right now.
You can try Draw Things import, but FIBO probably is not a normal Draw Things-compatible model package.
The better answer is:
Use Draw Things for Draw Things-supported models. Use FIBO through FIBO-specific routes such as Diffusers, MFLUX/MLX, ComfyUI, or an API.
11. Beginner-safe final recommendation
For your case, I would do this:
- Do not keep clicking the same Local Apps button. It already opened Draw Things; the import did not complete.
- Verify your Hugging Face access in Terminal using
hf auth login.
- Download FIBO with
hf download only if you want the files locally.
- Check whether your MacBook Air has Apple Silicon.
- If Apple Silicon, look at the
Fibo-mlx-4bit / MFLUX route.
- Use Draw Things with simpler supported models first.
- Do not assume FIBO can be used offline inside Draw Things unless Draw Things explicitly supports FIBO.
Short summary
- You are not missing an obvious download button.
- FIBO is a gated, multi-part, structured-prompt Diffusers model.
- Draw Things opening does not mean FIBO installed.
- You can download FIBO with
hf auth login and hf download.
- The downloaded FIBO folder probably will not simply plug into Draw Things.
- For local Mac use,
Fibo-mlx-4bit with MFLUX is probably more realistic than Draw Things.
- For beginner-friendly image generation, use Draw Things with models it clearly supports.