Ollama provides compatibility with parts of the OpenAI API to help connect existing applications to Ollama.

Usage

Simple /v1/chat/completions example

```python basic.py from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI( base_url='http://localhost:11434/v1/', api_key='ollama', # required but ignored )

chat_completion = client.chat.completions.create( messages=[ { 'role': 'user', 'content': 'Say this is a test', } ], model='gpt-oss:20b', ) print(chat_completion.choices[0].message.content)

```javascript basic.js


const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:11434/v1/",
  apiKey: "ollama", // required but ignored
});

const chatCompletion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Say this is a test" }],
  model: "gpt-oss:20b",
});

console.log(chatCompletion.choices[0].message.content);

curl -X POST http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "model": "gpt-oss:20b",
  "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Say this is a test" }]
}'

Simple /v1/responses example

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url='http://localhost:11434/v1/',
    api_key='ollama',  # required but ignored
)

responses_result = client.responses.create(
  model='qwen3:8b',
  input='Write a short poem about the color blue',
)
print(responses_result.output_text)

const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:11434/v1/",
  apiKey: "ollama", // required but ignored
});

const responsesResult = await openai.responses.create({
  model: "qwen3:8b",
  input: "Write a short poem about the color blue",
});

console.log(responsesResult.output_text);

curl -X POST http://localhost:11434/v1/responses \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "model": "qwen3:8b",
  "input": "Write a short poem about the color blue"
}'

/v1/chat/completions with vision example

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url='http://localhost:11434/v1/',
    api_key='ollama',  # required but ignored
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model='qwen3-vl:8b',
    messages=[
        {
            'role': 'user',
            'content': [
                {'type': 'text', 'text': "What's in this image?"},
                {
                    'type': 'image_url',
                    'image_url': 'data:image/png;base64,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',
                },
            ],
        }
    ],
    max_tokens=300,
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:11434/v1/",
  apiKey: "ollama", // required but ignored
});

const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
  model: "qwen3-vl:8b",
  messages: [
    {
      role: "user",
      content: [
        { type: "text", text: "What's in this image?" },
        {
          type: "image_url",
          image_url:
            "data:image/png;base64,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",
        },
      ],
    },
  ],
});
console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);

curl -X POST http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "model": "qwen3-vl:8b",
  "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "What is this an image of?"}, {"type": "image_url", "image_url": "data:image/png;base64,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"}]}]
}'

Endpoints

/v1/chat/completions

Supported features

• [x] Chat completions
• [x] Streaming
• [x] JSON mode
• [x] Reproducible outputs
• [x] Vision
• [x] Tools
• [x] Reasoning/thinking control (for thinking models)
• [ ] Logprobs

Supported request fields

• [x] model
• [x] messages
  • [x] Text content
  • [x] Image content
    • [x] Base64 encoded image
    • [ ] Image URL
  • [x] Array of content parts
• [x] frequency_penalty
• [x] presence_penalty
• [x] response_format
• [x] seed
• [x] stop
• [x] stream
• [x] stream_options
  • [x] include_usage
• [x] temperature
• [x] top_p
• [x] max_tokens
• [x] tools
• [x] reasoning_effort ("high", "medium", "low", "max", "none")
• [x] reasoning
  • [x] effort ("high", "medium", "low", "max", "none")
• [ ] tool_choice
• [ ] logit_bias
• [ ] user
• [ ] n

/v1/completions

Supported features

• [x] Completions
• [x] Streaming
• [x] JSON mode
• [x] Reproducible outputs
• [ ] Logprobs

Supported request fields

• [x] model
• [x] prompt
• [x] frequency_penalty
• [x] presence_penalty
• [x] seed
• [x] stop
• [x] stream
• [x] stream_options
  • [x] include_usage
• [x] temperature
• [x] top_p
• [x] max_tokens
• [x] suffix
• [ ] best_of
• [ ] echo
• [ ] logit_bias
• [ ] user
• [ ] n

Notes

• prompt currently only accepts a string

/v1/models

Notes

• created corresponds to when the model was last modified
• owned_by corresponds to the ollama username, defaulting to "library"

/v1/models/{model}

Notes

• created corresponds to when the model was last modified
• owned_by corresponds to the ollama username, defaulting to "library"

/v1/embeddings

Supported request fields

• [x] model
• [x] input
  • [x] string
  • [x] array of strings
  • [ ] array of tokens
  • [ ] array of token arrays
• [x] encoding format
• [x] dimensions
• [ ] user

/v1/images/generations (experimental)

Note: This endpoint is experimental and may change or be removed in future versions.

Generate images using image generation models.

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url='http://localhost:11434/v1/',
    api_key='ollama',  # required but ignored
)

response = client.images.generate(
    model='x/z-image-turbo',
    prompt='A cute robot learning to paint',
    size='1024x1024',
    response_format='b64_json',
)
print(response.data[0].b64_json[:50] + '...')

const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:11434/v1/",
  apiKey: "ollama", // required but ignored
});

const response = await openai.images.generate({
  model: "x/z-image-turbo",
  prompt: "A cute robot learning to paint",
  size: "1024x1024",
  response_format: "b64_json",
});

console.log(response.data[0].b64_json.slice(0, 50) + "...");

curl -X POST http://localhost:11434/v1/images/generations \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "model": "x/z-image-turbo",
  "prompt": "A cute robot learning to paint",
  "size": "1024x1024",
  "response_format": "b64_json"
}'

Supported request fields

• [x] model
• [x] prompt
• [x] size (e.g. "1024x1024")
• [x] response_format (only b64_json supported)
• [ ] n
• [ ] quality
• [ ] style
• [ ] user

/v1/responses

Note: Added in Ollama v0.13.3

Ollama supports the OpenAI Responses API. Only the non-stateful flavor is supported (i.e., there is no previous_response_id or conversation support).

Supported features

• [x] Streaming
• [x] Tools (function calling)
• [x] Reasoning summaries (for thinking models)
• [ ] Stateful requests

Supported request fields

• [x] model
• [x] input
• [x] instructions
• [x] tools
• [x] stream
• [x] temperature
• [x] top_p
• [x] max_output_tokens
• [ ] previous_response_id (stateful v1/responses not supported)
• [ ] conversation (stateful v1/responses not supported)
• [ ] truncation

Models

Before using a model, pull it locally ollama pull:

ollama pull llama3.2

Default model names

For tooling that relies on default OpenAI model names such as gpt-3.5-turbo, use ollama cp to copy an existing model name to a temporary name:

ollama cp llama3.2 gpt-3.5-turbo

Afterwards, this new model name can be specified the model field:

curl http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
        "model": "gpt-3.5-turbo",
        "messages": [
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": "Hello!"
            }
        ]
    }'

Setting the context size

The OpenAI API does not have a way of setting the context size for a model. If you need to change the context size, create a Modelfile which looks like:

FROM <some model>
PARAMETER num_ctx <context size>

Use the ollama create mymodel command to create a new model with the updated context size. Call the API with the updated model name:

curl http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
        "model": "mymodel",
        "messages": [
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": "Hello!"
            }
        ]
    }'