Native macOS Quantum Workbench

Benchmark Quantum Workloads On Apple Silicon

osxQuantum is a four-part project: a peer-reviewed paper, the osxQ simulator stack, the QuantumStudio desktop UI, and an exhaustive problem book with worked solutions. There is no native MLX quantum simulator available today, so osxQ provides a local simulator layer for QFT, QAOA, VQE, Hamiltonian workflows, and OpenQASM runs.

Unified Memory MLX GPU Runtime 1-25 Qubit Studies

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Apple Silicon focus • M-series benchmark results • Local execution

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One Project, Four Parts

QuantumStudio combines research, software, and pedagogy in one workflow that moves from theory to execution to verification.

1) The Paper

The paper defines the benchmark methods, hardware assumptions, algorithm coverage, and measured results on Apple Silicon. It is the technical reference for claims made across the project.

2) The osxQ Simulator

osxQ (mlxQ-based) is the local simulation engine. It implements state-vector execution, gate libraries, algorithm routines, and OpenQASM support for reproducible runs on macOS.

3) The QuantumStudio UI

QuantumStudio is the desktop interface for configuring runs, launching benchmark suites, monitoring execution, and exporting structured artifacts for analysis and reporting.

4) The Exhaustive Book

The companion book consolidates extensive problem sets and worked solutions, aligned with the simulator and paper benchmarks, so students can solve by hand and validate with osxQ.

A Longer Intro: Why osxQuantum Exists

osxQuantum productizes the core results from our IEEE QSYS paper on mlxQ and unified-memory simulation on Apple Silicon.

Most high-performance quantum simulators are optimized around CUDA and discrete GPU memory models. Apple Silicon works differently: CPU and GPU share one unified memory pool, which removes explicit host-device copy overhead and simplifies the execution model for state-vector workloads. There is currently no native MLX quantum simulator runtime, so osxQuantum ships a local simulator stack built around mlxQ to close that gap.

In our M1 Max evaluations (32 GB unified memory), mlxQ completed 25-qubit reference workloads including QFT in 7.03 ± 0.12 s, QAOA in 11.07 ± 0.21 s, and Hamiltonian simulation in 40.73 ± 0.82 s. The same architecture supports reproducible benchmark artifacts (CSV/JSON), OpenQASM 2.0 circuit import, and broad algorithm coverage across VQE, QAOA, QCBM, QFT, Grover, and time-evolution workflows.

Reliability is built into the stack: the framework is validated with 230+ regression tests and benchmark alignment against widely used suites and ecosystems, including QASMBench, PennyLane, Yao.jl, and Qulacs. The website experience you are viewing is the product-facing layer over that same technical foundation.

Architecture and Context

Key technical points from the IEEE mlxQ paper, translated into practical product guidance for osxQuantum users.

Unified Memory Changes the Model

Apple Silicon is not a discrete GPU workflow. CPU and GPU share one physical memory pool, so state vectors can stay resident without explicit host-device transfers. This reduces orchestration overhead and improves interactive iteration for many NISQ-era workloads.

No Native MLX Quantum Runtime

MLX is widely used for ML workloads, but there is currently no native MLX quantum simulator runtime. osxQuantum addresses that gap by providing a local state-vector simulator stack (mlxQ), gate libraries, algorithm modules, and benchmark tooling in one desktop workflow.

Paper-Driven Benchmark Scope

The benchmark families follow community baselines and algorithm classes used in research practice: QASMBench/OpenQASM circuits, QFT/phase estimation, variational methods (VQE/QAOA/QCBM), Grover search, and Hamiltonian simulation via Trotter-Suzuki decomposition.

Reproducibility by Default

Runs generate structured artifacts with consistent timing outputs and machine-readable exports. The goal is not just raw speed, but repeatable experiment bookkeeping for publication, classroom use, and cross-framework comparison.

Measured Results (Paper Snapshot)

Representative measurements from the M1 Max evaluation setup in the IEEE manuscript (32 GB unified memory, Apple Silicon, MLX backend).

7.03s QFT @ 25 qubits

11.07s QAOA @ 25 qubits

40.73s Hamiltonian @ 25q

113.26s Grover @ 25 qubits

Algorithm	Qubits	Time (s)	Notes
QFT	25	7.03 ± 0.12	Complete controlled-phase ladder
QAOA (ring)	25	11.07 ± 0.21	MaxCut-style alternating operator schedule
QCBM (9 layers)	25	26.28 ± 0.54	Hardware-efficient variational stack
Hamiltonian Simulation	25	40.73 ± 0.82	Trotter-Suzuki decomposition
Grover Search	25	113.26	Quadratic search primitive
VQE (optimization-heavy)	15	16718.0	100 iterations, parameter-shift gradients

Validation and Reproducibility

The paper reports 235 validation tests spanning gate correctness, parser behavior, algorithm outputs, and tutorial-backed educational examples.

235 Tests

Regression coverage includes gate operations, state preparation, algorithm-level checks, and framework parity validations.

OpenQASM 2.0

Parser and execution coverage includes single-, two-, and three-qubit gate families with user-defined gate inlining and practical benchmark circuit compatibility.

Cross-Framework Alignment

Benchmark families are aligned with widely used ecosystems (PennyLane, Yao.jl, Qulacs, QuantumToolbox.jl, QASMBench) for stronger external comparability.

Artifact Exports

Timing outputs and benchmark summaries are emitted as machine-readable CSV/JSON artifacts for independent reruns and publication appendices.

Memory Envelope

Complex64 state vectors scale from 8 MB at 20 qubits to 256 MB at 25 qubits, 8 GB at 30 qubits, and 256 GB at 35 qubits.

Local-First Workflow

Benchmark orchestration, queueing, logs, and output review run locally on macOS, minimizing external dependencies during experiment cycles.

osxQuantum Screens

Current desktop snapshots from a complete local workflow: benchmark selection, run orchestration, live logs, and export-ready outputs.

This gallery maps directly to the research workflow described in the paper: define workload families, launch runs with fixed parameters, monitor state-vector execution on Apple Silicon, and collect comparable artifacts for analysis.

Instead of isolated screenshots, read this section as one continuous pipeline from circuit definition to reproducible report output.

osxQuantum screen 001 — **Circuit Workspace**Build and inspect gate-level circuit structure before execution.

osxQuantum screen 002 — **Run Configuration**Set qubit ranges, benchmark families, and simulator controls for reproducible runs.

osxQuantum screen 003 — **Operations Dashboard**Track queue state, current job progress, and system context while jobs run locally.

osxQuantum screen 004 — **Runtime Console**Review execution logs and intermediate benchmark artifacts during long experiments.

osxQuantum screen 005 — **Results and Reports**Inspect plots and exported summaries for publication and cross-framework comparison.

Supported Benchmarks

Comprehensive benchmark coverage including standard OpenQASM workloads, variational algorithms, and time-evolution simulations.

QASMBench

Reproduces OpenQASM workloads across chemistry, optimization, arithmetic, and ML circuits.

QFT & Phase Estimation

Fourier primitives validated against analytical transforms and reference-style benchmark data.

Variational Circuits

VQE, QAOA, and QCBM with hardware-efficient ansatze and optimization loops.

Time Evolution

Trotter-Suzuki Hamiltonian simulation (including Ising/Heisenberg-style model workloads).

Benchmark	Representative Data	Scope	Notes
Random Circuit	22q: 2.45s • 23q: 5.16s • 25q: 22.40s	M-series runs	State-vector scaling snapshot
Variational (HE ansatz)	22q: 2.11s • 23q: 4.44s • 25q: 19.24s	VQE / QAOA / QCBM family	Hardware-efficient ansatz profile
Grover Search	21q: 1.82s • 22q: 5.00s • 24q: 40.08s	Oracle + amplitude amplification	Rapid growth at higher qubits
Coverage	QASMBench, QFT, phase estimation, variational, Hamiltonian, Grover	OpenQASM + custom circuits	Designed for reproducible studies
Validation	230+ executable tests	Correctness and regression checks	Includes educational QIT verification appendix

On-Device Workflows

Build circuits, launch parameter sweeps, and inspect noise behavior without sending data off your machine. Every phase of experimentation remains local by default.

Publication-Ready Benchmarking

osxQuantum is built around mlxQ for Apple Silicon unified memory. Because there is currently no native MLX quantum simulator, osxQuantum provides the local state-vector layer and workflow tooling directly in the app. It supports QFT, QAOA, QCBM, Grover, Hamiltonian simulation, and OpenQASM 2.0 import with reproducible artifacts validated by 150+ executable tests.

Benchmark Scaling Plots

Current exported scaling plots across benchmark families.

Hamiltonian simulation scaling plot — hamiltonian_simulation_scaling.png

Grover scaling plot — grover_scaling.png

Start osxQuantum on Your Mac

macOS binary distribution is available now. Source code is licensed under BSL-1.1 and binary releases follow the QuantumStudio Binary Distribution License.

Buy License View GitHub

⚠

Alpha Release

This is an early alpha version intended for testing and development. Features may be incomplete, unstable, or change significantly before the stable release. Please report any issues on GitHub.

✎

Unsigned Build

This macOS build is not signed by Apple. Remove the quarantine attribute in Terminal before first launch:

# If installed to /Applications (system-wide):
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/QuantumStudio.app

# If installed to ~/Applications (user-only):
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/Applications/QuantumStudio.app

Why? macOS quarantines downloaded apps. For unsigned apps, Gatekeeper may block execution until this flag is removed.

Does osxQuantum require internet access?

Core simulation runs locally on your Mac. Internet is only needed for things like downloads, purchases, or visiting external resources.

Is there a native MLX quantum simulator today?

No. There is currently no native MLX quantum simulator shipped as a platform runtime, which is why osxQuantum includes a local simulator stack built around mlxQ.

Where can I review privacy and license terms?

Use the linked pages for Privacy, Terms, and License.