{"as_of":"2026-10-12","license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","cite_as":"The Local Bench (thelocalbench.com), data as of 2026-10-12, CC BY 4.0","source_url":"https://thelocalbench.com","guide":{"slug":"first-local-model-ollama-open-webui","title":"Run your first local model with Ollama and Open WebUI","short":"First local model","dek":"Install Ollama, download a model that fits your machine, chat with it in the terminal, then put a ChatGPT-style web interface on top with Open WebUI.","summary":"Install Ollama, pull Gemma 3, check the local API answers on port 11434, and run Open WebUI in Docker on localhost:3000 so you can chat in a browser. Use local models and disable external connections for local-only inference.","difficulty":"Beginner","time_minutes":30,"cost":{"usd":0,"note":"free software; uses the computer you already have"},"hardware":["Any 64-bit computer with 8 GB RAM for small models","16 GB+ RAM or a GPU with 8 GB+ VRAM for 12B-class models"],"os":["Linux","macOS","Windows"],"prerequisites":["An administrator account to install software","Docker Desktop or Docker Engine (step 4 only)","About 10 GB of free disk space"],"parts":[{"name":"Ollama","note":"local model runtime","href":"https://ollama.com/download"},{"name":"Open WebUI","note":"browser chat interface, runs in Docker","href":"https://docs.openwebui.com/"},{"name":"Gemma 3 (4B or 12B)","note":"first model; pick by memory","href":"https://ollama.com/library/gemma3"}],"tested_on":[],"last_tested":null,"flag":"untested","flag_note":"Every command is copied from the official Ollama and Open WebUI documentation (checked 2026-10-13), but we have not yet run this guide end to end on our bench.","untested":["The whole guide on every OS","The Open WebUI :cuda image with --gpus all"],"reviewed":"2026-10-13","tools":["ollama","open-webui"],"explainers":["quantization","memory-bandwidth","context-length"],"sources":[{"label":"Ollama: download and install","url":"https://ollama.com/download"},{"label":"Ollama API reference (port 11434, /api/chat)","url":"https://github.com/ollama/ollama/blob/main/docs/api.md"},{"label":"Ollama library: gemma3 tags","url":"https://ollama.com/library/gemma3"},{"label":"Ollama docs: context length","url":"https://docs.ollama.com/context-length"},{"label":"Open WebUI quick start","url":"https://docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/quick-start/"}],"steps":[{"n":1,"title":"Install Ollama"},{"n":2,"title":"Download and chat with a first model"},{"n":3,"title":"Check the local API is running"},{"n":4,"title":"Run Open WebUI in Docker"},{"n":5,"title":"Verify it works"}],"url":"https://thelocalbench.com/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui","markdown":"https://thelocalbench.com/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui.md","json":"https://thelocalbench.com/api/v1/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui.json"},"json_ld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"HowTo","name":"Run your first local model with Ollama and Open WebUI","description":"Install Ollama, pull Gemma 3, check the local API answers on port 11434, and run Open WebUI in Docker on localhost:3000 so you can chat in a browser. Use local models and disable external connections for local-only inference.","url":"https://thelocalbench.com/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui","totalTime":"PT30M","dateModified":"2026-10-13","estimatedCost":{"@type":"MonetaryAmount","currency":"USD","value":0},"supply":[{"@type":"HowToSupply","name":"Ollama"},{"@type":"HowToSupply","name":"Open WebUI"},{"@type":"HowToSupply","name":"Gemma 3 (4B or 12B)"}],"tool":[{"@type":"HowToTool","name":"An administrator account to install software"},{"@type":"HowToTool","name":"Docker Desktop or Docker Engine (step 4 only)"},{"@type":"HowToTool","name":"About 10 GB of free disk space"}],"step":[{"@type":"HowToStep","position":1,"name":"Install Ollama","url":"https://thelocalbench.com/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui#step-1"},{"@type":"HowToStep","position":2,"name":"Download and chat with a first model","url":"https://thelocalbench.com/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui#step-2"},{"@type":"HowToStep","position":3,"name":"Check the local API is running","url":"https://thelocalbench.com/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui#step-3"},{"@type":"HowToStep","position":4,"name":"Run Open WebUI in Docker","url":"https://thelocalbench.com/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui#step-4"},{"@type":"HowToStep","position":5,"name":"Verify it works","url":"https://thelocalbench.com/how-to/first-local-model-ollama-open-webui#step-5"}]}}