Use Ollama models in VS Code Chat with the Ollama extension.

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code 1.120 or newer
• Ollama installed and running
• At least one local or cloud model available in Ollama

Ollama 0.17.6 or newer is recommended for cloud model sign-in and richer model metadata. Older versions may still work with local models.

Install the extension

1. Install the Ollama extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. Open Chat in VS Code.
3. Open the model picker at the bottom of the chat input.
4. Choose a model from the Ollama section.

The extension discovers models from http://127.0.0.1:11434 by default.

Add a model

Pull a local model:

ollama pull qwen3.6

To use a cloud model, pull it and sign in:

ollama pull kimi-k2.6:cloud
ollama signin

Local models do not require sign-in.

Troubleshooting

If Ollama models do not appear in the model picker:

1. Make sure Ollama is running.
2. Run ollama list and confirm that models are available.
3. Run Ollama: Refresh Models from the Command Palette.
4. Run Ollama: Diagnose Models and check the Ollama output channel.

If a cloud model asks you to sign in, run ollama signin.