Using Ollama With Roo Code

Roo Code supports running models locally using Ollama. This provides privacy, offline access, and potentially lower costs, but requires more setup and a powerful computer.

Website: https://ollama.com/

Setting up Ollama

1. Download and Install Ollama: Download the Ollama installer for your operating system from the Ollama website. Follow the installation instructions. Make sure Ollama is running

   ollama serve

2. Download a Model: Ollama supports many different models. You can find a list of available models on the Ollama website. Some recommended models for coding tasks include:

   • codellama:7b-code (good starting point, smaller)
   • codellama:13b-code (better quality, larger)
   • codellama:34b-code (even better quality, very large)
   • qwen2.5-coder:32b
   • mistralai/Mistral-7B-Instruct-v0.1 (good general-purpose model)
   • deepseek-coder:6.7b-base (good for coding tasks)
   • llama3:8b-instruct-q5_1 (good for general tasks)

   To download a model, open your terminal and run:

   ollama pull <model_name>

   For example:

   ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:32b

3. Configure the Model: by default, Ollama uses a context window size of 2048 tokens, which is too small for Roo Code requests. You need to have at least 12k to get decent results, ideally - 32k. To configure a model, you actually need to set its parameters and save a copy of it.

   Load the model (we will use qwen2.5-coder:32b as an example):

   ollama run qwen2.5-coder:32b

   Change context size parameter:

   /set parameter num_ctx 32768

   Save the model with a new name:

   /save your_model_name

4. Configure Roo Code:

   • Open the Roo Code sidebar ( icon).
   • Click the settings gear icon ().
   • Select "ollama" as the API Provider.
   • Enter the Model name from the previous step (e.g., your_model_name).
   • (Optional) You can configure the base URL if you're running Ollama on a different machine. The default is http://localhost:11434.
   • (Optional) Configure Model context size in Advanced settings, so Roo Code knows how to manage its sliding window.

Tips and Notes

• Resource Requirements: Running large language models locally can be resource-intensive. Make sure your computer meets the minimum requirements for the model you choose.
• Model Selection: Experiment with different models to find the one that best suits your needs.
• Offline Use: Once you've downloaded a model, you can use Roo Code offline with that model.
• Ollama Documentation: Refer to the Ollama documentation for more information on installing, configuring, and using Ollama.