diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 994e61e45fedd..e7d91a5b5c9ac 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -163,8 +163,11 @@ if (GGML_TARGET_DEFINES)
     list(APPEND GGML_TRANSIENT_DEFINES ${GGML_TARGET_DEFINES})
 endif()
 get_target_property(GGML_LINK_LIBRARIES ggml LINK_LIBRARIES)
-
-set_target_properties(llama PROPERTIES PUBLIC_HEADER ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/llama.h)
+# all public headers
+set(LLAMA_PUBLIC_HEADERS
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/llama.h
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/llama-cpp.h)
+set_target_properties(llama PROPERTIES PUBLIC_HEADER "${LLAMA_PUBLIC_HEADERS}")
 install(TARGETS llama LIBRARY PUBLIC_HEADER)
 
 configure_package_config_file(
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 14c05e93e7535..cfc74c1dc71b2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ BUILD_TARGETS = \
 	llama-server \
 	llama-simple \
 	llama-simple-chat \
+	llama-run \
 	llama-speculative \
 	llama-tokenize \
 	llama-vdot \
@@ -1167,6 +1168,11 @@ llama-infill: examples/infill/infill.cpp \
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $< -o $(call GET_OBJ_FILE, $<)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h $<,$^) $(call GET_OBJ_FILE, $<) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
 
+llama-run: examples/run/run.cpp \
+	$(OBJ_ALL)
+	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $< -o $(call GET_OBJ_FILE, $<)
+	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(filter-out %.h $<,$^) $(call GET_OBJ_FILE, $<) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)
+
 llama-simple: examples/simple/simple.cpp \
 	$(OBJ_ALL)
 	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $< -o $(call GET_OBJ_FILE, $<)
diff --git a/examples/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/CMakeLists.txt
index 632409d5591b9..21db1f3c2f199 100644
--- a/examples/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ else()
         add_subdirectory(server)
     endif()
     add_subdirectory(save-load-state)
+    add_subdirectory(run)
     add_subdirectory(simple)
     add_subdirectory(simple-chat)
     add_subdirectory(speculative)
diff --git a/examples/run/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/run/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..084f1e92d77b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/run/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+set(TARGET llama-run)
+add_executable(${TARGET} run.cpp)
+install(TARGETS ${TARGET} RUNTIME)
+target_link_libraries(${TARGET} PRIVATE llama ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
+target_compile_features(${TARGET} PRIVATE cxx_std_11)
diff --git a/examples/run/README.md b/examples/run/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..6e926811f3cff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/run/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# llama.cpp/example/run
+
+The purpose of this example is to demonstrate a minimal usage of llama.cpp for running models.
+
+```bash
+./llama-run Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct.gguf
+...
diff --git a/examples/run/run.cpp b/examples/run/run.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..cac2faefcc256
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/run/run.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,409 @@
+#if defined(_WIN32)
+#include <windows.h>
+#else
+#include <unistd.h>
+#endif
+
+#include <climits>
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <cstring>
+#include <iostream>
+#include <sstream>
+#include <string>
+#include <unordered_map>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "llama-cpp.h"
+
+typedef std::unique_ptr<char[]> char_array_ptr;
+
+struct Argument {
+    std::string flag;
+    std::string help_text;
+};
+
+struct Options {
+    std::string model_path, prompt_non_interactive;
+    int ngl = 99;
+    int n_ctx = 2048;
+};
+
+class ArgumentParser {
+   public:
+    ArgumentParser(const char * program_name) : program_name(program_name) {}
+
+    void add_argument(const std::string & flag, std::string & var, const std::string & help_text = "") {
+        string_args[flag] = &var;
+        arguments.push_back({flag, help_text});
+    }
+
+    void add_argument(const std::string & flag, int & var, const std::string & help_text = "") {
+        int_args[flag] = &var;
+        arguments.push_back({flag, help_text});
+    }
+
+    int parse(int argc, const char ** argv) {
+        for (int i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
+            std::string arg = argv[i];
+            if (string_args.count(arg)) {
+                if (i + 1 < argc) {
+                    *string_args[arg] = argv[++i];
+                } else {
+                    fprintf(stderr, "error: missing value for %s\n", arg.c_str());
+                    print_usage();
+                    return 1;
+                }
+            } else if (int_args.count(arg)) {
+                if (i + 1 < argc) {
+                    if (parse_int_arg(argv[++i], *int_args[arg]) != 0) {
+                        fprintf(stderr, "error: invalid value for %s: %s\n", arg.c_str(), argv[i]);
+                        print_usage();
+                        return 1;
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    fprintf(stderr, "error: missing value for %s\n", arg.c_str());
+                    print_usage();
+                    return 1;
+                }
+            } else {
+                fprintf(stderr, "error: unrecognized argument %s\n", arg.c_str());
+                print_usage();
+                return 1;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (string_args["-m"]->empty()) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "error: -m is required\n");
+            print_usage();
+            return 1;
+        }
+
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+   private:
+    const char * program_name;
+    std::unordered_map<std::string, std::string *> string_args;
+    std::unordered_map<std::string, int *> int_args;
+    std::vector<Argument> arguments;
+
+    int parse_int_arg(const char * arg, int & value) {
+        char * end;
+        const long val = std::strtol(arg, &end, 10);
+        if (*end == '\0' && val >= INT_MIN && val <= INT_MAX) {
+            value = static_cast<int>(val);
+            return 0;
+        }
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    void print_usage() const {
+        printf("\nUsage:\n");
+        printf("  %s [OPTIONS]\n\n", program_name);
+        printf("Options:\n");
+        for (const auto & arg : arguments) {
+            printf("  %-10s %s\n", arg.flag.c_str(), arg.help_text.c_str());
+        }
+
+        printf("\n");
+    }
+};
+
+class LlamaData {
+   public:
+    llama_model_ptr model;
+    llama_sampler_ptr sampler;
+    llama_context_ptr context;
+    std::vector<llama_chat_message> messages;
+
+    int init(const Options & opt) {
+        model = initialize_model(opt.model_path, opt.ngl);
+        if (!model) {
+            return 1;
+        }
+
+        context = initialize_context(model, opt.n_ctx);
+        if (!context) {
+            return 1;
+        }
+
+        sampler = initialize_sampler();
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+   private:
+    // Initializes the model and returns a unique pointer to it
+    llama_model_ptr initialize_model(const std::string & model_path, const int ngl) {
+        llama_model_params model_params = llama_model_default_params();
+        model_params.n_gpu_layers = ngl;
+
+        llama_model_ptr model(llama_load_model_from_file(model_path.c_str(), model_params));
+        if (!model) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: error: unable to load model\n", __func__);
+        }
+
+        return model;
+    }
+
+    // Initializes the context with the specified parameters
+    llama_context_ptr initialize_context(const llama_model_ptr & model, const int n_ctx) {
+        llama_context_params ctx_params = llama_context_default_params();
+        ctx_params.n_ctx = n_ctx;
+        ctx_params.n_batch = n_ctx;
+
+        llama_context_ptr context(llama_new_context_with_model(model.get(), ctx_params));
+        if (!context) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: error: failed to create the llama_context\n", __func__);
+        }
+
+        return context;
+    }
+
+    // Initializes and configures the sampler
+    llama_sampler_ptr initialize_sampler() {
+        llama_sampler_ptr sampler(llama_sampler_chain_init(llama_sampler_chain_default_params()));
+        llama_sampler_chain_add(sampler.get(), llama_sampler_init_min_p(0.05f, 1));
+        llama_sampler_chain_add(sampler.get(), llama_sampler_init_temp(0.8f));
+        llama_sampler_chain_add(sampler.get(), llama_sampler_init_dist(LLAMA_DEFAULT_SEED));
+
+        return sampler;
+    }
+};
+
+// Add a message to `messages` and store its content in `owned_content`
+static void add_message(const char * role, const std::string & text, LlamaData & llama_data,
+                        std::vector<char_array_ptr> & owned_content) {
+    char_array_ptr content(new char[text.size() + 1]);
+    std::strcpy(content.get(), text.c_str());
+    llama_data.messages.push_back({role, content.get()});
+    owned_content.push_back(std::move(content));
+}
+
+// Function to apply the chat template and resize `formatted` if needed
+static int apply_chat_template(const LlamaData & llama_data, std::vector<char> & formatted, const bool append) {
+    int result = llama_chat_apply_template(llama_data.model.get(), nullptr, llama_data.messages.data(),
+                                           llama_data.messages.size(), append, formatted.data(), formatted.size());
+    if (result > static_cast<int>(formatted.size())) {
+        formatted.resize(result);
+        result = llama_chat_apply_template(llama_data.model.get(), nullptr, llama_data.messages.data(),
+                                           llama_data.messages.size(), append, formatted.data(), formatted.size());
+    }
+
+    return result;
+}
+
+// Function to tokenize the prompt
+static int tokenize_prompt(const llama_model_ptr & model, const std::string & prompt,
+                           std::vector<llama_token> & prompt_tokens) {
+    const int n_prompt_tokens = -llama_tokenize(model.get(), prompt.c_str(), prompt.size(), NULL, 0, true, true);
+    prompt_tokens.resize(n_prompt_tokens);
+    if (llama_tokenize(model.get(), prompt.c_str(), prompt.size(), prompt_tokens.data(), prompt_tokens.size(), true,
+                       true) < 0) {
+        GGML_ABORT("failed to tokenize the prompt\n");
+    }
+
+    return n_prompt_tokens;
+}
+
+// Check if we have enough space in the context to evaluate this batch
+static int check_context_size(const llama_context_ptr & ctx, const llama_batch & batch) {
+    const int n_ctx = llama_n_ctx(ctx.get());
+    const int n_ctx_used = llama_get_kv_cache_used_cells(ctx.get());
+    if (n_ctx_used + batch.n_tokens > n_ctx) {
+        printf("\033[0m\n");
+        fprintf(stderr, "context size exceeded\n");
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+// convert the token to a string
+static int convert_token_to_string(const llama_model_ptr & model, const llama_token token_id, std::string & piece) {
+    char buf[256];
+    int n = llama_token_to_piece(model.get(), token_id, buf, sizeof(buf), 0, true);
+    if (n < 0) {
+        GGML_ABORT("failed to convert token to piece\n");
+    }
+
+    piece = std::string(buf, n);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+static void print_word_and_concatenate_to_response(const std::string & piece, std::string & response) {
+    printf("%s", piece.c_str());
+    fflush(stdout);
+    response += piece;
+}
+
+// helper function to evaluate a prompt and generate a response
+static int generate(LlamaData & llama_data, const std::string & prompt, std::string & response) {
+    std::vector<llama_token> prompt_tokens;
+    const int n_prompt_tokens = tokenize_prompt(llama_data.model, prompt, prompt_tokens);
+    if (n_prompt_tokens < 0) {
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    // prepare a batch for the prompt
+    llama_batch batch = llama_batch_get_one(prompt_tokens.data(), prompt_tokens.size());
+    llama_token new_token_id;
+    while (true) {
+        check_context_size(llama_data.context, batch);
+        if (llama_decode(llama_data.context.get(), batch)) {
+            GGML_ABORT("failed to decode\n");
+        }
+
+        // sample the next token, check is it an end of generation?
+        new_token_id = llama_sampler_sample(llama_data.sampler.get(), llama_data.context.get(), -1);
+        if (llama_token_is_eog(llama_data.model.get(), new_token_id)) {
+            break;
+        }
+
+        std::string piece;
+        if (convert_token_to_string(llama_data.model, new_token_id, piece)) {
+            return 1;
+        }
+
+        print_word_and_concatenate_to_response(piece, response);
+
+        // prepare the next batch with the sampled token
+        batch = llama_batch_get_one(&new_token_id, 1);
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+static int parse_arguments(const int argc, const char ** argv, Options & opt) {
+    ArgumentParser parser(argv[0]);
+    parser.add_argument("-m", opt.model_path, "model");
+    parser.add_argument("-p", opt.prompt_non_interactive, "prompt");
+    parser.add_argument("-c", opt.n_ctx, "context_size");
+    parser.add_argument("-ngl", opt.ngl, "n_gpu_layers");
+    if (parser.parse(argc, argv)) {
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+static int read_user_input(std::string & user) {
+    std::getline(std::cin, user);
+    return user.empty();  // Indicate an error or empty input
+}
+
+// Function to generate a response based on the prompt
+static int generate_response(LlamaData & llama_data, const std::string & prompt, std::string & response) {
+    // Set response color
+    printf("\033[33m");
+    if (generate(llama_data, prompt, response)) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "failed to generate response\n");
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    // End response with color reset and newline
+    printf("\n\033[0m");
+    return 0;
+}
+
+// Helper function to apply the chat template and handle errors
+static int apply_chat_template_with_error_handling(const LlamaData & llama_data, std::vector<char> & formatted,
+                                                   const bool is_user_input, int & output_length) {
+    const int new_len = apply_chat_template(llama_data, formatted, is_user_input);
+    if (new_len < 0) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "failed to apply the chat template\n");
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    output_length = new_len;
+    return 0;
+}
+
+// Helper function to handle user input
+static bool handle_user_input(std::string & user_input, const std::string & prompt_non_interactive) {
+    if (!prompt_non_interactive.empty()) {
+        user_input = prompt_non_interactive;
+        return true;  // No need for interactive input
+    }
+
+    printf("\033[32m> \033[0m");
+    return !read_user_input(user_input);  // Returns false if input ends the loop
+}
+
+// Function to tokenize the prompt
+static int chat_loop(LlamaData & llama_data, std::string & prompt_non_interactive) {
+    std::vector<char_array_ptr> owned_content;
+    std::vector<char> fmtted(llama_n_ctx(llama_data.context.get()));
+    int prev_len = 0;
+
+    while (true) {
+        // Get user input
+        std::string user_input;
+        if (!handle_user_input(user_input, prompt_non_interactive)) {
+            break;
+        }
+
+        add_message("user", prompt_non_interactive.empty() ? user_input : prompt_non_interactive, llama_data,
+                    owned_content);
+
+        int new_len;
+        if (apply_chat_template_with_error_handling(llama_data, fmtted, true, new_len) < 0) {
+            return 1;
+        }
+
+        std::string prompt(fmtted.begin() + prev_len, fmtted.begin() + new_len);
+        std::string response;
+        if (generate_response(llama_data, prompt, response)) {
+            return 1;
+        }
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+static void log_callback(const enum ggml_log_level level, const char * text, void *) {
+    if (level == GGML_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "%s", text);
+    }
+}
+
+static bool is_stdin_a_terminal() {
+#if defined(_WIN32)
+    HANDLE hStdin = GetStdHandle(STD_INPUT_HANDLE);
+    DWORD mode;
+    return GetConsoleMode(hStdin, &mode);
+#else
+    return isatty(STDIN_FILENO);
+#endif
+}
+
+static std::string read_pipe_data() {
+    std::ostringstream result;
+    result << std::cin.rdbuf();  // Read all data from std::cin
+    return result.str();
+}
+
+int main(int argc, const char ** argv) {
+    Options opt;
+    if (parse_arguments(argc, argv, opt)) {
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    if (!is_stdin_a_terminal()) {
+        if (!opt.prompt_non_interactive.empty()) {
+            opt.prompt_non_interactive += "\n\n";
+        }
+
+        opt.prompt_non_interactive += read_pipe_data();
+    }
+
+    llama_log_set(log_callback, nullptr);
+    LlamaData llama_data;
+    if (llama_data.init(opt)) {
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    if (chat_loop(llama_data, opt.prompt_non_interactive)) {
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
diff --git a/include/llama-cpp.h b/include/llama-cpp.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..daa04d4d84ac2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/llama-cpp.h
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#ifndef __cplusplus
+#error "This header is for C++ only"
+#endif
+
+#include <memory>
+
+#include "llama.h"
+
+struct llama_model_deleter {
+    void operator()(llama_model * model) { llama_free_model(model); }
+};
+
+struct llama_context_deleter {
+    void operator()(llama_context * context) { llama_free(context); }
+};
+
+struct llama_sampler_deleter {
+    void operator()(llama_sampler * sampler) { llama_sampler_free(sampler); }
+};
+
+typedef std::unique_ptr<llama_model, llama_model_deleter> llama_model_ptr;
+typedef std::unique_ptr<llama_context, llama_context_deleter> llama_context_ptr;
+typedef std::unique_ptr<llama_sampler, llama_sampler_deleter> llama_sampler_ptr;