Ollama is a powerful tool that allows you to run large language models locally on your Mac. This guide will walk you through the steps to install and run Ollama on macOS.
Prerequisites
A Mac running macOS 11 Big Sur or later
An internet connection to download the necessary files
Step 1: Download Ollama
Click on the Download for macOS button.
Once the download is complete, locate the .zip file in your ~/Downloads folder.
Double-click the .zip file to extract its contents. This should create Ollama.app.
Step 2: Install Ollama
Drag Ollama.app to your Applications folder.
Open the Applications folder and double-click on Ollama.app.
If you see a warning, click Open to proceed.
Follow the setup wizard to complete the installation. The wizard will prompt you to install the command line version (ollama).
Step 3: Running a Model
Open the Terminal application.
To run the Llama 3 model, type the following command and press Enter:ollama run llama3
The first time you run this command, it will download the latest version of the model. This may take some time depending on your internet speed.
Step 4: Interacting with the Model
Once the model is downloaded, you will see a prompt like this:>>> Send a message (/? for help)
Start chatting with the model by typing your messages at the prompt.
Step 5: Getting Help
To get help at the prompt, type /? and press Enter.
To get help from the command line interface, simply run the command without any arguments:ollama
Step 6: Managing Models
To see a list of currently installed models, run:ollama list
To remove a model and free up disk space, run:ollama rm llama3
Conclusion
By following these steps, you should be able to install and run Ollama on your Mac, allowing you to leverage the power of large language models locally.