A simple Ollama chat UI shows useful agent-building basics
Ollama works from the terminal, but a chat screen can be easier when you do not want to open a terminal every time. already does this well, but a small custom version can help reveal how the pieces fit together. A simple setup can use a Flask backend and a plain JS frontend.
The app can load the model list from the Ollama API. Replies can appear through , so each token shows up as it is produced instead of waiting for the full answer. Ollama does not keep the by itself, so the full needed has to be sent again with every request.
A timeout is also important, because the app can hang if Ollama is not running.
Key points
- A basic Ollama chat UI can be built with Flask on the backend and JS in the browser.
- The model list can be pulled from the Ollama API.
- makes the answer appear token by token instead of all at once.
- Ollama does not remember automatically, so needed history must be sent with each request.
- A timeout prevents the app from hanging when Ollama is not running.