Laya
Private (recommended)A small on-device model. Nothing leaves your Mac, and once downloaded it needs no key and no internet.
- DownloadAbout 1.1 GB, once
- HardwareApple Silicon only
- Leaves the machineNothing
Answer checkNEW
It says “I don’t have that.”
SLM tells your agent whether the top memories actually answer the question, or are just the nearest thing on file. Private on-device judge, optional online one, nothing hidden either way.
The problem
Relevance is not an answer.
Recall can return the closest match even when it does not answer the question. The answer check adds a second step: it judges whether the top results actually answer, and recall marks them abstained when they do not.
Both screenshots come from a real install with fictional project memories. Nothing is mocked. Select either image to open it full size.
Your choice
Three choices. You pick.
Set it in Settings → Answer check. Private and on-device, online with your own key, or off.
TypeSafe 
Jev
Needs a keyAn online judge for Windows, Linux and macOS. Your own key, an explicit consent, off until you turn it on.
- ProvidersTypeSafe or OpenRouter
- SendsQuestion and top 3 memories
- DefaultOff
Off
Recall behaves exactly as before.
- Effect on recallNone
Only one runs at a time. Turning one on turns the other off. There is no mode where both run together, and the online option never turns itself on.
Optional with Jev
Jev ranking: the answer, first.
Inside the online option there is one more switch, Also use Jev to reorder results. It is off by default, it has its own notice, and it exists only with Jev. Laya never reorders.
62%
With Jev reordering
49%
Without it
How often the memory that answers the question came first. Public benchmark of long conversations (LoCoMo), 1,531 questions.
- What it sends: your question and its top 20 memories (fewer when a recall returns fewer) to the provider you chose. Each memory is shortened and credential-shaped text is stripped first. A memory that is nothing but a credential is left out of the reorder entirely.
- What it costs in time: about 0.4 seconds per recall. It is still one request, not two.
- What never changes: nothing is removed or hidden. Only the order of the top results changes; everything below stays where it was.
“When on, each recall sends your question and its top 20 memories to TypeSafe to choose the best order. Don’t use this for client, confidential or personal material.”
The notice you see in the dashboard. It names the provider you actually chose.
For your agent
What your agent sees.
Every recall now carries a verdict the agent can act on, instead of guessing.
# fields added to a recall response abstained true | false abstention_reason judged_insufficient | evidence_floor | no_candidates answer_confidence 0.0 – 1.0 answer_check_status judged | off | skipped | busy | warming | unavailable reranker_status jev_listwise when Jev’s reorder set the final order # plus one line in the CLI and session context, when there is something to say Answer check: likely answered (confidence X.XX). Answer check: none of these memories answers the question
(confidence X.XX). Say you don't have it, or ask — don't
present these as the answer.
When the check has not run, because it is off or still starting up, no extra line appears and recall output is exactly what it was before. Skipping costs the verdict only; results are identical whether the check ran or not.
Settings
Set it up in the dashboard.
All in the dashboard. History stays on your machine for 30 days and never stores your questions or memories.
Settings → Answer check
- Choose an option. On this Mac (private, recommended), Online with Jev (needs a key), or Off.
- On this Mac: press Set up. SLM downloads and verifies the model in the background with a progress bar. When it finishes, the status reads “Ready.”
- Online with Jev: pick a provider and paste your key. TypeSafe or OpenRouter. Only the last four characters are ever shown back to you.
- Tick the consent box. It spells out exactly what gets sent before the online option can run.
The Answer Check tab
- Which check is running. Laya, Jev or off, and why when something was chosen but cannot run.
- Try it. Ask a question and see what retrieval found next to what the check said.
- How often SLM said it doesn’t have that. Over 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
- Time against the 3-second recall ceiling. For the whole recall and for the check alone.
First run on Apple SiliconThe setup wizard offers to install Laya for you. It defaults to yes, and once the install passes its check the answer check is on. Say no and you can always do it later from the dashboard.
Unattended setupSetup without a terminal installs Laya without asking and says how to opt out. To skip it, run setup with
slm setup --no-laya or set SLM_SKIP_LAYA=1 first. Privacy by choice
What leaves your machine.
For the answer check, the answer is decided by the option you pick. The check only ever sees the handful of results recall was already about to return to you. It never runs its own separate search.
| Data | Leaves only when |
|---|---|
| Recall question and top 3 memories | Only when you turn on the online answer check (Jev) and tick its consent box. Credential-shaped text is stripped first. |
| Question and top 20 memories | Only when you also turn on Jev reordering, which has its own notice. |
| Nothing (Laya) | Never. The on-device check sends nothing about your questions or memories anywhere. |
| Model downloads | Downloads send no memory content. |
Credentials in memory text are redacted on every outbound path. Ordinary personal details are not stripped, so don’t turn the online option on for memory stores that hold client, confidential or personal material.
Platform support
| Platform | SuperLocalMemory | Jev (online check) | Laya (on-device check) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Silicon macOS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 64-bit Windows | Yes | Yes | No (Laya uses Apple’s MLX) |
 64-bit Linux (x86-64, ARM64) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Intel Mac, 32-bit Windows | No prebuilt install | — | — |
Common questions
Questions about the answer check.
Do I need an API key for Laya?
No. Choosing “On this Mac” never requires a key or an internet connection once the model is downloaded. The download is about 1.1 GB, happens once, and the model uses about 1.1 GB of memory while it is on. Nothing about your questions or memories leaves the machine.
Does recall hide results when nothing answers the question?
It depends who is asking. People see the closest memories, marked related: the CLI, the dashboard search and the search tool return up to three with a plain note. The agent recall tool returns nothing and says so, unless the agent asks with include_related — because an agent must not present a near-miss as the answer. Only the order of the top results can change, and only if you turn on Jev reordering.
What if my Mac is not Apple Silicon?
Laya needs Apple Silicon. Use the online option with Jev instead, which works on Windows, Linux and macOS through TypeSafe or OpenRouter with your own key, or leave the answer check off.
Does the online check ever turn itself on?
No. The online option is off by default and stays off until you add a key and tick the consent box. Upgrading never turns it on, switching SLM’s mode never turns it back on, and only one check runs at a time. Withdrawing consent turns it off immediately.
What does the answer check cost?
Laya has no per-use cost and needs no key. The online option uses your own key with the provider you choose, TypeSafe or OpenRouter, and you pay that provider directly. Each Test button press is a real request and uses a little of your credit. Recalls that only load context, such as session start, are never judged, never sent anywhere and never billed.
How is this different from the relevance score?
Relevance asks how close a memory is to your question. Answer check asks whether the top results actually answer it. A memory can be the closest match SLM has and still not answer what you asked. Recall ranks first, then the answer check adds a separate verdict on top, and the support check decides the tier: a supported answer, the closest memories marked related, or nothing with a plain “not in memory” note.
Memory that knows when it doesn’t know.
Install SuperLocalMemory, pick Laya or Jev in Settings, and let your agent say “I don’t have that” instead of guessing.
Read the guidesAnswer check guide · Recall guide · Configuration
