Chat for Ollama is a client for the Ollama server you already run yourself — on a Mac under the desk, in a homelab, or across your own private network. Your questions go to your machine and nowhere else. The app needs a running server: it does not run models on the phone and does not download any.
EVERYTHING YOUR SERVER CAN DO IS FREE
- Streaming answers from every model on your server
- Switch models mid-chat, the conversation stays
- Thinking output from reasoning models, collapsed above the answer
- Image input for models with vision
- System prompt, temperature, Top-P and context length per chat
- Unlimited history, stored on the device
No server feature is behind a purchase. What you pay for is convenience the app adds, not something Ollama already gives you.
CONNECTING, WITHOUT THE GUESSWORK
Most first attempts fail for one reason: Ollama listens on 127.0.0.1 by default, so the phone cannot reach it — and no error message says so.
- Scan your local network for servers on port 11434
- Paste a copied address straight from the clipboard
- When a connection fails you get a screen, not an error code: what was tried, what came back, what it means, and the exact command to fix it with a copy button
- Reachability dot per server
THE CHAT ITSELF
- Markdown, tables and code blocks with a copy button per block
- Speed readout after each answer: tokens per second and duration
- Context meter that warns before the server silently truncates the history
- Copy, regenerate, edit your own message, delete
- Stop button that really cancels the generation and keeps the partial text
- Loading indicator with a counter when a cold model has to be read from disk
- Chat list with automatic titles, search and pinning
- Split-view layout on iPad
ALSO WORKS WITH OPENAI-COMPATIBLE SERVERS
Anything serving /v1/chat/completions on a machine you run — LM Studio, llama.cpp, vLLM, or Ollama's own compatibility endpoint. Same chat, same streaming, same cancelling.
ONE-TIME UNLOCK, $5.99
No subscription and no second tier. The unlock adds:
- Several servers with quick switching
- Named presets for system prompt and parameters
- Attachments: text, Markdown, code and PDF files are extracted as text
- Export a chat as Markdown
PRIVACY
No account, no sign-up, no telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting. Chats and server addresses stay on the device, API keys go into the Keychain. A network capture shows nothing but the server you entered yourself.
WHAT YOU NEED
An Ollama server (or an OpenAI-compatible one) that your iPhone can reach — same network, or through a mesh VPN you already use. There is a demo mode if you want to look around first.
Chat for Ollama is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Ollama project.
