Why you'd want it
Ollama downloads and runs open models such as Gemma with one command (ollama run gemma4) and serves them on a local REST API at localhost:11434. It supports a subset of the OpenAI API, so OpenAI clients work by changing the base URL, and it ships official Python and JavaScript libraries. ollama launch connects local models to coding agents including Claude Code, Codex, Copilot CLI and OpenCode, and the same API can reach Ollama's cloud models with an API key.
Best for
- Running open models on your own machine
- Offline or private agent development
- Pointing coding agents at local models
Use it when
You want a local model server that existing OpenAI-style clients and coding agents can talk to with minimal setup.
Skip it if
You only use hosted models from providers like Anthropic or OpenAI. Its OpenAI compatibility covers a subset of the OpenAI API, so check the docs if you depend on less common endpoints.