• Use Ollama to Power Goose
  • Index
  • Overview
  • Setup
    • 1) Start Ollama locally
    • 2) Configure Goose
  • Beginner usage
  • Pro usage
    • Persistent CLI config
    • Tool shim for non-tool-calling models
    • Operational tips
  • Cost savings guide
  • Privacy guide
  • Security guide
  • Appendix

§Use Ollama to Power Goose

Run models with Ollama locally and point Goose at Ollama’s local provider. Keep coding prompts on-device and avoid API spend.

§Index

• Overview
• Setup
  • Start Ollama locally
  • Configure Goose
• Beginner usage
• Pro usage
  • Persistent CLI config
  • Tool shim for non-tool-calling models
  • Operational tips
• Cost savings guide
• Privacy guide
• Security guide
• Appendix

§Overview

Goose supports an Ollama provider for local models running on http://localhost:11434. That lets you keep the same Goose workflow, approvals, extensions, and repo context while running a local model instead of paying for a cloud API on every prompt.

Why Ollama for Goose?

• Simple local setup with one background server
• No per-token API cost after the model is downloaded
• Good fit for private repos or offline-ish workflows
• Easy model switching without rebuilding your workflow

§Setup

§1) Start Ollama locally

ollama --version
ollama serve
ollama pull qwen3.5:4b

Quick checks:

curl http://localhost:11434/api/version
ollama ls

If ollama serve is already managed by the desktop app or a service, you only need to make sure the server is listening on localhost:11434.

§2) Configure Goose

Option A: Goose Desktop

Open Goose, go to provider setup, choose Ollama, leave the host as http://localhost:11434, and select an installed local model such as qwen3.5:4b.

Option B: Goose CLI

Run the interactive setup once:

goose configure

Or launch a session with explicit local-provider environment variables:

export GOOSE_PROVIDER=ollama
export OLLAMA_HOST=http://localhost:11434
export GOOSE_MODEL=qwen3.5:4b
export GOOSE_MODE=approve
goose session --name local-ollama

Goose stores shared Desktop and CLI configuration under ~/.config/goose/config.yaml, so you only need to configure this once per machine.

§Beginner usage

1. Confirm Ollama is serving: curl http://localhost:11434/api/version
2. Confirm your model exists: ollama ls
3. Open your repo and launch Goose Desktop or start a CLI session
4. Start in approve mode if the repo has write access
5. Begin with a simple repo question or a small reversible edit request

Quick first run

# Terminal 1
ollama serve

# Terminal 2
cd your-project
goose session --name local-ollama

Inside Goose:

• Ask: Summarize this codebase and point out the highest-risk area
• Then ask: Propose one small safe refactor and tell me how to verify it

§Pro usage

§Persistent CLI config

If you want Ollama to stay your default Goose provider, keep it in ~/.config/goose/config.yaml:

GOOSE_PROVIDER: ollama
OLLAMA_HOST: http://localhost:11434
GOOSE_MODEL: qwen3.5:4b
GOOSE_MODE: approve

This gives you a durable local default for future Desktop and CLI sessions on the same machine.

§Tool shim for non-tool-calling models

Goose works best with models that support tool calling. If you want to experiment with a model that does not, Goose has an experimental Ollama tool shim:

ollama pull mistral-nemo

export GOOSE_TOOLSHIM=true
export GOOSE_TOOLSHIM_OLLAMA_MODEL=mistral-nemo
goose session --name local-toolshim

If tool use feels unreliable with local models, increase the Ollama server context window before starting Goose:

OLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTH=32768 ollama serve

§Operational tips

• Keep Ollama and Goose on the same machine to minimize latency.
• Pull models before you need them so Goose does not stall on first use.
• Use smaller local models for repo exploration, summaries, and repetitive edits.
• Use .gooseignore to fence secrets, generated files, or infrastructure paths you do not want Goose to touch.
• If Goose misses project hints or tool context, raise the available input budget:

export GOOSE_INPUT_LIMIT=32000

§Cost savings guide

• After the initial model download, local usage has no per-token API bill.
• Use Ollama for repo exploration, codebase summaries, and draft edits.
• Reserve cloud providers for final review or harder architectural work.
• Keep a smaller local model as your default when you want cheap, fast iteration.

§Privacy guide

• Local Ollama keeps prompts and repo context on your machine by default.
• Goose config, transcripts, and exported sessions still live on your disk, so review them before sharing.
• Prefer local extensions and local providers when you want a stricter on-device workflow.
• On shared machines, avoid leaving unused cloud provider keys configured if your goal is local-only work.

§Security guide

• Keep Ollama bound to 127.0.0.1; do not expose port 11434 to the public internet.
• In Goose, prefer approve or smart_approve when working in sensitive repos.
• Use .gooseignore to keep secrets, deployment files, and credentials out of the agent’s working set.
• If you ever proxy Ollama beyond localhost, put authentication and network controls in front of it.

§Appendix

Quick refs

ollama ls
ollama show qwen3.5:4b
curl http://localhost:11434/api/version
goose configure
goose session --name local-ollama

See also:

• https://github.com/pleb-devs/ai-guides/blob/main/ollama/ollama-cli.md
• https://github.com/pleb-devs/ai-guides/blob/main/ollama/ollama-desktop.md
• https://github.com/pleb-devs/ai-guides/blob/main/goose/goose-cli.md
• https://github.com/pleb-devs/ai-guides/blob/main/goose/goose-desktop.md
• https://github.com/pleb-devs/ai-guides/blob/main/llamacpp/llamacpp-goose.md