Running an open model offline, or keeping data on your own machine, can take half a day of setup and format conversion. Ollama reduces this to commands: pull a model, run it, and expose a local service endpoint other tools can call, with several models installed at once. It is an open-source project; model size is limited by your memory and disk, and library availability follows the site page.
What it does
- Download and run open models by command
- A local endpoint apps can call directly
- Several models side by side, switched by task
- Import or convert existing model files
- Installs on mainstream desktops with little configuration
Who it is for
- Running models offline on a laptop or workstation
- A model backend for a local chat client
- Comparing several models on the same task
- Sensitive content that should not leave your machine
How to get started
- Install and run a smaller model first to confirm acceptable speed
- Size models to your memory and disk instead of starting with the largest
- Connect apps through its local service address
