ChatOllama is an open-source agentic app for running AI agents across local and hosted models.
ChatOllama addresses the need to interact with multiple AI providers and models through a unified command-line interface. It works by discovering available models from configured providers, maintaining an in-memory conversation, and allowing the agent runtime to call tools like file reading, directory listing, and grep operations to inspect the working directory. Users can switch between providers and models mid-conversation without losing context.
The tool suits developers who want to experiment with different AI models and providers without building custom integrations. It works well for local development workflows where agents need filesystem access. The project supports major hosted providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, and OpenRouter, alongside local Ollama instances. Configuration happens through environment variables, with explicit startup overrides available for provider, model, API endpoint, and credentials. The step budget for agent reasoning is configurable, defaulting to four steps per prompt.
Development activity shows consistent engagement with the codebase. The project maintains active responsiveness to issues and pull requests. Work spans across multiple areas including provider integration, CLI functionality, and agent runtime behavior. The maintainers regularly update documentation to clarify provider configuration and model selection mechanics.
