Models that need a Hugging Face sign-in

Why some models need it

The wizard downloads models from Hugging Face, where their makers publish them. Most are open to anyone. A few are gated: the files are public, but the maker asks you to accept a licence first, and Hugging Face only hands the files to an account that has accepted it.

In the wizard such a model shows needs a Hugging Face sign-in and a Get access link next to its licence. Today that is FLUX.2 Klein 9B, the model that fills selections, under the FLUX Non-Commercial License.

Two things are needed, and the wizard cannot do either for you:

You accept the licence, in your browser, on the model's page. This is between you and the model's maker.
LayerShop proves it is you when it downloads, with an access token: a long password-like code that starts with hf_ and can only read.

Rather not? Leave the token field empty and press Install. That model is skipped and everything else installs. You can add it later from Preferences › Generative AI › Manage Models.

1. Sign in to Hugging Face

Go to huggingface.co/login and sign in. No account yet? Sign up; it is free and needs only an email address, which you confirm from the email they send.

Use the same account for the next two steps. The licence is accepted by an account, and the token must belong to that account.

2. Accept the licence

In the wizard's Models step, press Get access next to the model. Its page on Hugging Face opens in your browser.
Near the top of the page is a box that says you need to agree to share your contact information to access this model. Read the licence it links to.
Press Agree. Access is granted at once; there is no one to wait for.

The box is replaced by a note that you have access, and the file list on the Files and versions tab opens. That is all this step needs.

Agreeing shares your Hugging Face username and email address with the model's maker. The FLUX Non-Commercial License allows personal and research use only. For commercial work, pick a model marked commercial use allowed in the wizard, such as Z-Image Turbo.

3. Create a read token

Click your picture in the top-right corner of Hugging Face and choose Access Tokens. Or go straight to huggingface.co/settings/tokens.
Press Create new token.
Under Token type, choose Read. (The page opens on Fine-grained; see below if you prefer that.)
Under Token name, type LayerShop, so you know later what it is for.
Press Create token, then Copy.

Hugging Face shows a token in full only once, right after it is made. Your list of tokens shows them shortened, like hf_…nsJu, and they cannot be copied from there. If you lose it, create a new one; an old token you already have elsewhere is no use here unless you still have its full value.

Prefer a token that can do even less?

A Read token can read everything your account can, including private repositories. If you keep private work on Hugging Face, choose Fine-grained instead, and under the repository permissions tick only Read access to contents of all public gated repos you can access. Leave everything else unticked. That token can fetch gated models you have accepted and nothing more.

4. Paste it into the wizard

Back in the wizard's Models step, click the Hugging Face token field below the list and paste (Ctrl+V).
Press Save.
The model's row loses its needs a Hugging Face sign-in note, and the line at the bottom no longer counts it as skipped. Press Install.

The token is remembered, so models added later that need it download without asking again.

If it still says "needs a sign-in"

The token is not accepted

It was not copied whole, or it has since been deleted or refreshed on Hugging Face. Tokens are about 37 characters and start with hf_. Create a new one and paste that.

The token works, but the model is still refused

The licence was not accepted, or on another account. Open the model's page while signed in with the account the token belongs to. If the agree box is still there, press Agree, then press Save in the wizard again.
A fine-grained token without the gated permission. Edit the token on Hugging Face and tick Read access to contents of all public gated repos you can access, or create a Read token instead.
A token that belongs to an organisation's policy. If your account is in a company organisation, its administrator may have to approve fine-grained tokens. A token made for your personal account is simpler.

The download starts and then fails

That is no longer about the sign-in. See Troubleshooting on the download page.

Your token and your privacy

Where it is kept. With your other API keys in the settings folder (%APPDATA%\LayerShop), not in your preferences, and never shown to scripts or agents.
Where it is sent. Only to huggingface.co, when a gated file is downloaded. Hugging Face then hands the download to its own file servers; the token is not passed on to them, or to anyone else.
How to take it back. Delete the token on huggingface.co/settings/tokens and it stops working everywhere at once. Files already downloaded stay.
What it cannot do. A Read token cannot change anything on your account, and a fine-grained one as described above cannot even see your private repositories.

Something here does not match what you see? Hugging Face changes its pages now and then. Tell us and we will update this guide.