Local AI › Ollama

Ollama: what it is, how to install it and requirements

Engine and app to download and run language models with a single command. It includes a local API so other apps can connect to it.

Checked on 13 Oct 2026. Versions change every week: check the official site before installing.

How to install it

• Download and run OllamaSetup.exe (from ollama.com/download).
• Download Ollama.dmg and drag the app to Applications. The README also links to Homebrew: brew install ollama.
• Run curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh (official instructions).
• First use, on any system: ollama run gemma4 or ollama run qwen3.5:4b. ollama list shows the models you have installed. The local API listens on http://localhost:11434 (README). Models marked «-cloud» in the Ollama library do not run on your computer.

Install guides by system: Windows · Mac · Linux. Which model to download: Which local AI model to pick for your RAM: 8, 16, 24, 32 GB.

Other local AI tools

• LM Studio: Desktop app with a graphical interface to find, download and chat with models in GGUF or MLX format. It also has a local server.
• Jan: Open-source desktop app to chat with models offline, ChatGPT-style.
• GPT4All: Nomic's desktop app to chat locally and ask questions about your own documents (LocalDocs).
• llama.cpp: C/C++ library and command-line tools that many apps are built on and that define the GGUF format. The most technical option.
• Open WebUI: Self-hosted, ChatGPT-style web interface that connects to Ollama or OpenAI-compatible APIs.
• ComfyUI: Node-based interface to generate images and video with open models on your own computer.