A lightweight command-line interface for managing remote Ollama servers without installing Ollama locally.
While Ollama provides its own CLI, it requires a local Ollama installation. Ollama CLI lets you manage remote Ollama servers from any machine without installing Ollama itself. Suitable for:
- Managing Ollama on headless servers
- Working with multiple Ollama instances across your network
- Accessing Ollama from environments where installing it isn't practical
# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -L https://github.com/masgari/ollama-cli/releases/latest/download/ollama-cli-darwin-arm64 -o ollama-cli
# macOS (Intel)
curl -L https://github.com/masgari/ollama-cli/releases/latest/download/ollama-cli-darwin-amd64 -o ollama-cli
# Linux (x86_64)
curl -L https://github.com/masgari/ollama-cli/releases/latest/download/ollama-cli-linux-amd64 -o ollama-cli
# make executable
chmod +x ollama-cli
sudo mv ollama-cli /usr/local/bin/
# for Windows (x86_64)
curl -L https://github.com/masgari/ollama-cli/releases/latest/download/ollama-cli-windows-amd64.exe -o ollama-cli.exeOr see Installation from Source below.
ollama-cli -h
ollama-cli is a command-line interface for interacting with a remote Ollama server.
It allows you to manage models, run inferences, and more.
Usage:
ollama-cli [command]
Available Commands:
available List models available on ollama.com
completion Generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
config Configure the Ollama CLI
help Help about any command
list List models available on the Ollama server
pull Pull a model from the Ollama server
rm Remove a model from the Ollama server
chat Chat with an Ollama model
version Display the version of the CLI tool
Flags:
--config string config file (default is $HOME/.ollama-cli/config.yaml)
-c, --config-name string config name to use (e.g. 'pc' for $HOME/.ollama-cli/pc.yaml)
-h, --help help for ollama-cli
-H, --host string Ollama server host (default is localhost)
--no-color Disable color output
--no-updates Disable update checks
-p, --port int Ollama server port (default is 11434)
-v, --verbose verbose output
Use "ollama-cli [command] --help" for more information about a command.Browse and search the entire Ollama model library without downloading anything:
# List all available models from Ollama's library
ollama-cli available
# Filter models by name
ollama-cli avail -f deep
NAME SIZE UPDATED
deepscaler 1.5b 3 weeks ago
deepseek-r1 1.5b,7b,8b,14b,32b,70b,671b 4 weeks ago
deepseek-v3 671b 1 month ago
deepseek-v2.5 236b 5 months ago
...
# Show detailed model information
ollama-cli avail --detailsCreate and switch between configurations for different Ollama servers:
# Set up configurations for different servers
ollama-cli config --host 192.168.1.90 # uses default config in ~/.ollama-cli/config.yaml
ollama-cli -c pi5 config --host 192.168.1.100 # uses config in ~/.ollama-cli/pi5.yaml
ollama-cli -c pc config --host 192.168.1.101 # uses config in ~/.ollama-cli/pc.yaml
# Use a specific configuration
ollama-cli -c pc listWork with models on your remote Ollama server:
# List models on the server
ollama-cli list
NAME SIZE MODIFIED
phi4-mini:3.8b 2.3 GB 2 days ago
llava-phi3:latest 2.7 GB 1 months ago
...
# check available models
ollama-cli available --filter smallthinker
NAME SIZE UPDATED
smallthinker 3b 1 month ago
# Pull a model to the server
ollama-cli pull smallthinker:3b
Pulling model 'smallthinker:3b'...
smallthinker:3b: [57.1%] [1967.8/3448.6 MB] pulling ad361f123f77
# Remove a model
ollama-cli rm smallthinker:3bInteract with your LLM models:
# Simple chat with a model
ollama-cli chat llama3.2
# Chat with a specific input
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 --prompt "What is the capital of France?"
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 -p "What is the capital of France?"
# Chat with a model using an image
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 --prompt "What's in this image?" --image /path/to/image.jpg
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 -p "What's in this image?" -i /path/to/image.jpg
# Interactive chat mode
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 --interactive
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 -I
# Set custom parameters
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 --temperature 0.7 --system "You are a helpful assistant"
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 -t 0.7 -s "You are a helpful assistant"
# Save chat history to a file
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 --output-file chat_history.json
# Load previous chat history
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 --input-file chat_history.json
# Display statistics about token usage and generation time
ollama-cli chat llama3.2 --prompt "Hello" --stats --no-streamIn interactive mode, you can use special commands:
- Type
exitto quit the chat session - Type
saveto save the conversation - Type
clearto clear the chat history - Type
temp 0.8to change the temperature parameter - Type
image /path/to/image.jpgto send an image
Note: The chat command is disabled by default for security reasons. When you first run it, you will be prompted to enable it. For detailed usage instructions and security considerations, see Chat Documentation and Security Guidelines.
All commands support multiple output formats:
# Default table format
ollama-cli list
# Detailed view with all fields
ollama-cli list --output wide
# JSON output for scripting
ollama-cli list --output jsonOllama CLI provides shell completion support for bash, zsh, and other shells:
# Generate completion script for your shell
ollama-cli completion zsh > ~/.ollama-cli/_ollama-cli
ollama-cli completion bash > ~/.ollama-cli/ollama-cli.bash
# For zsh, add to your ~/.zshrc:
fpath=(~/.ollama-cli $fpath)
autoload -U compinit && compinit
# For bash, add to your ~/.bashrc:
source ~/.ollama-cli/ollama-cli.bashAfter adding the completion script and reloading your shell, you'll get:
- Command completion
- Flag completion
- Model name completion
- Config name completion
Ollama CLI automatically checks for updates when you run any command. If a newer version is available, you'll see a notification at the end of the command output:
UPDATE: A new version of Ollama CLI is available: 1.0.0 → 1.1.0
Visit https://github.com/masgari/ollama-cli/releases to download the latest version.
You can disable update checks in several ways:
- Using the
--no-updatesflag:ollama-cli --no-updates listfor a single command - In your config file: Run
ollama-cli config set check-updates falseor setcheck_updates: falsein~/.ollama-cli/config.yaml - For a specific config:
ollama-cli -c pc config --check-updates=false
The CLI stores its configuration in ~/.ollama-cli/config.yaml, created automatically on first run.
# View current configuration
ollama-cli config
# Update configuration
ollama-cli config --host remote-server.example.com --port 11434
# Override config for a single command
ollama-cli --host 192.168.1.200 list# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/masgari/ollama-cli.git
cd ollama-cli
# Build for your platform
make build
# Or build for a specific platform
GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 make buildOllama CLI is an open source project provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied. The authors and contributors of this project disclaim all liability for any damages or losses, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or similar damages arising from the use of this tool.
Users are responsible for ensuring their use of Ollama CLI complies with all applicable laws, regulations, and third-party terms of service. The authors are not responsible for any misuse of the tool or for any violations of Ollama's terms of service that may result from using this CLI.
By using Ollama CLI, you acknowledge and agree that you assume all risks associated with its use.
This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.