Simon Willison’s Weblog

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Ollama's new app (via) Ollama has been one of my favorite ways to run local models for a while - it makes it really easy to download models, and it's smart about keeping them resident in memory while they are being used and then cleaning them out after they stop receiving traffic.

The one missing feature to date has been an interface: Ollama has been exclusively command-line, which is fine for the CLI literate among us and not much use for everyone else.

They've finally fixed that! The new app's interface is accessible from the existing system tray menu and lets you chat with any of your installed models. Vision models can accept images through the new interface as well.

Screenshot of a chat interface showing a response about encouraging pelicans in a garden. The prompt reads "Describe ways I can encourage pelicans to hang out in my garden" followed by the response: "Pelicans are large, aquatic birds typically found near lakes, rivers, coastal areas, and wetlands—far from typical residential gardens. While it's unlikely you'll attract wild pelicans to your backyard garden, you can create a bird-friendly environment that supports a variety of waterfowl and wildlife. Here's how you can encourage birdlife (including species like herons, ducks, or even occasional pelicans if you're near a suitable habitat) to visit your garden: 1. Create a Water Feature Pelicans love water, so a large, shallow pond or water garden is key: • Size matters: Aim for at least 3–5 feet deep in parts and a shallow edge (6–12 inches) for wading. • Add native aquatic plants (e.g., cattails, water lilies, reeds) to provide shelter and food." At the bottom is a "Send a message" text input field and "qwen3:30b-a3b-instruct-2507-q4_K_M" with a dropdown arrow.

Posted 31st July 2025 at 12:58 am

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