Local AI guides
Running AI models on your own computer: setting up Ollama, LM Studio and llama.cpp, choosing model files, using the local API and official libraries, and keeping your data on your machine. Each guide is built from the tools' official documentation.
- How to Run an AI Model on Your Own Computer with Ollama (Beginner Walkthrough)
A plain-English walkthrough for running a chat model locally with Ollama: install, first model, where files live, how to keep it local-only, and what hardware…
- Buying a Laptop for Local AI: What to Check Before You Spend
Memory, GPU, NPU and storage: the specs that actually decide whether a laptop can run AI models locally, explained with official documentation.
- How to Chat With Your Own Documents Without Uploading Them (Local RAG Explained)
What retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is, how it works on your own computer with tools like Ollama and Open WebUI, and the privacy settings to check.
- LM Studio for Beginners: Run a Chat Model Offline on Mac, Windows or Linux
A plain-English walkthrough of LM Studio: system requirements, picking a model download, what works offline, and how the local server works.
- Private Transcription on Your Own Computer with Whisper
How to transcribe meetings, voice memos and interviews locally with OpenAI's open-source Whisper or whisper.cpp: model sizes, memory, setup and accuracy caveats.
- Open-Weight AI Model Licenses Explained: Apache 2.0, MIT, Llama and Gemma Terms
Free to download isn't the same as free to use any way you like. A plain-English look at the licenses behind popular local AI models and what to check before…
- What Is a GGUF File? How to Read Names Like Q4_K_M Before You Download
GGUF is the file format most local AI apps use. Here's what it is, what labels like Q4_K_M and Q8_0 mean, and how to choose a file that fits your computer.
- llama.cpp for Beginners: Run a Local Model from the Command Line
What llama.cpp is, the install options its README lists, the two commands to start a chat or a local server, and the safety settings to know.
- Using Ollama's Local API: Call Your Own Model from Scripts and Apps
How Ollama's local API works: the localhost:11434 address, a first chat request, the OpenAI-compatible endpoint, keeping models loaded, and network safety.
- Open WebUI: A ChatGPT-Style Interface for Your Local Models
What Open WebUI is, how its official Docker quick start works, the main and slim images, connecting it to Ollama, and the settings that keep it private.
- How to Run Ollama in Docker: CPU, NVIDIA and AMD Setups
The official Docker commands for running Ollama on CPU, NVIDIA or AMD GPUs, where your models are stored, how to run a model inside the container, and what to…
- Ollama Context Length Explained: Defaults, num_ctx and Memory Use
What context length means in Ollama, the default sizes Ollama picks from your GPU memory, how to change it in the app, the CLI, a Modelfile or the API, and how to…
- How to Download AI Models from Hugging Face (hf CLI, Ollama and Gated Models)
Use the official hf command-line tool to download whole models or single files, run a Hugging Face GGUF directly in Ollama, request access to gated models, and…
- Ollama Modelfile Guide: Make a Custom Model with Your Own System Prompt and Settings
How an Ollama Modelfile works, the instructions that matter (FROM, PARAMETER, SYSTEM, MESSAGE), how to build and run a custom model with ollama create, and how to…
- Get Reliable JSON from a Local Model: Ollama Structured Outputs Explained
How Ollama's format parameter makes a local model return JSON that matches a schema, with curl, Python (Pydantic) and JavaScript (Zod) examples, plus tips for…
- Ollama on Windows: Requirements, Moving Models to Another Drive, and Where Files Live
Ollama's Windows requirements (Windows 10 22H2 or newer, NVIDIA and AMD drivers), how to install it without admin rights, move downloaded models with…
- Ollama Vision Models: How to Ask a Local Model About an Image
How to send an image to a vision-capable model in Ollama from the command line, the REST API (base64) and the Python or JavaScript libraries, plus practical…
- Ollama Tool Calling, Explained: Let a Local Model Use Your Functions
What tool (function) calling is in Ollama, how the request and tool-result messages fit together, parallel calls, the agent loop pattern, and the safety rules to…
- Thinking Models in Ollama: Turn Reasoning On, Off, or to a Level
How Ollama separates a thinking model's reasoning trace from its answer, how to check which settings a model supports with /api/show, and how to use the think…
- Ollama Embeddings: Turn Text into Vectors for Local Search and RAG
How to generate text embeddings with Ollama from the command line or its local /api/embed endpoint, embed a batch of texts at once, what the truncate and…
- Is Ollama Using My GPU? Supported Cards and How to Check
Which NVIDIA, AMD and Apple GPUs Ollama supports according to its hardware page, the driver versions it needs, how Vulkan fits in, how to pick or ignore GPUs, and…
- Ollama on a Mac: Requirements, Install, Where Files Live and How to Uninstall
What Ollama's macOS docs say about system requirements (Sonoma or newer; GPU on Apple Silicon only), the drag-to-Applications install, where models and logs are…
- Ollama on Linux: Install, Run It as a systemd Service, GPU Drivers, Updates and Uninstall
Ollama's official Linux steps: the one-line install script or a manual install (x86-64, AMD ROCm and ARM64 packages), running it as a systemd service, NVIDIA CUDA…
- Ollama's Python Library: Install, Chat, Stream, Embeddings and Error Handling
How to use the official ollama Python package with a local model: pip install, a first chat call, streaming with stream=True, a custom Client for another host…
- Ollama's JavaScript Library: Chat, Streaming, Browser Use, Custom Hosts and Aborting Requests
How to use the official ollama npm package with a local model in Node or the browser: npm i ollama, a first chat call, streaming with for await, the…
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