Chathouse + Ollama = ❤️

Chathouse for iOS brings the power of large language models to your iPhone and iPad, allowing you to chat with various AI models right from your device. While Chathouse offers connections to popular cloud providers, one of its most powerful features is the ability to connect to your own local Ollama instance for completely free AI conversations.

Ollama lets you run powerful large language models locally on your computer, and with Chathouse, you can now access these models directly from your iOS device. This guide will walk you through the simple process of connecting Chathouse to your local Ollama instance, giving you free access to AI models without any subscription fees or usage limits.

App Store Icon View Chathouse on the App Store

Benefits of Using Local Models

  • Completely Free: No subscription fees or usage limits
  • Privacy: Your conversations stay on your local network
  • No Internet Required: Chat with AI even when offline
  • Full Control: Choose which models to run and how to configure them
  • Vision Models: Send images to compatible models like llama3.2-vision

Find out more about Chathouse on getchathouse.app.

Screenshots

Step-by-Step Guide to Connect Chathouse to Ollama

Prerequisites

  • Ollama installed and running on your computer
  • Chathouse app installed on your iOS device
  • Your computer and iOS device connected to the same local network

Connection Steps

1. Open Chathouse

Launch the app on your iPhone or iPad. You’ll see the main chat interface with the default model Chathouse Free selected.

The screenshot shows the default Chathouse interface.
Chathouse main interface

2. Access the Connection Picker

Tap the current model (Chathouse Free) at the top of the app to open the connection picker. This is where you can select different AI providers.

The screenshot shows the connection picker interface.
Connection picker with cloud providers

3. Switch to Custom Providers

Tap the Custom Providers tab to switch from the curated provider gallery to custom providers.

Then, tap the Connect a new Provider button.

The screenshot shows the custom providers tab.
Custom providers tab with 'Connect a new provider' button

4. Select Ollama

Scroll down to the Advanced Setup section and tap Ollama to bring up the connection configuration screen.

Note: You can also connect to other providers like OpenAI, OpenRouter, Perplexity and more, but in this guide we’ll focus on ollama.

Advanced setup section with Ollama template

5. Enter Your Local IP Address

The port 11434 is pre-filled for you. You’ll need to enter the local IP address of the computer running Ollama.

See the section below on how to find your local IP address.
Connection form with pre-filled port for Ollama

6. Save the Connection

Tap the Test Connection button. If this is your first time connecting to a local device, you may see a pop-up asking for permission to connect to local devices. Allow this connection.

Note: You might need to tap the ‘Test Connection’ button again after allowing the connection in the pop-up. This only happens the first time you set up a custom connection.

After successful connection, tap the Save button in the top right corner.

Successful connection with green checkmark

7. Select a model

Select Ollama from the My unverified connections section. Chathouse will fetch all models available on your local Ollama instance. This may take a few seconds.

Note: Models supporting image input will show a Vision badge above their name.

Tap the model you want to use.

List of models fetched from your Ollama instance

8. Start Chatting

You can now start chatting with your local Ollama model! You can even send photos and images to vision-capable models, and use voice input.

Tip: Tap the Assistant button to change the chatbot’s personality.

The model's response describing the cat image

Is it really free?

Yes! Chathouse is completely free to use, as long as your usage does not cost us money. That means, if you use your own API keys and models, you can use Chathouse for free.

Are local models good?

While local models are great for playing around with AI, they’re not nearly as powerful as the latest state of the art models. If you’re looking for the best performance and serious AI capabilities, you should consider using a cloud provider.

With Chathouse Pro and Pro+, you get access to a curated list of powerful AI models from the leading providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, Google, Meta, and more.

What is Chathouse Pro and Pro+?

If you’re a non-technical user, don’t have a computer to run ollama on, or just want to use the app without any setup, you can test Chathouse using our Chathouse Free model, and when you’re ready to upgrade and get access to our huge model catalog, you can subscribe to one of our premium plans.

On the Pro+ plan, you get access to more than 40 models, including the latest and greatest models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and more.

Our pricing is highly competitive, and we offer a 3-day free trial for new users. You can cancel anytime, and you won’t be charged if you cancel before the trial ends.


How to Find Your Local IP Address

For Chathouse to connect to your Ollama instance, you’ll need to know the local IP address of the computer running Ollama. Here’s how to find it on different operating systems:

macOS
  1. Open the Terminal app
  2. Type ipconfig getifaddr en1 (Wi-Fi)
    Type ipconfig getifaddr en0 for wired connections
  3. The output will show your local IP address
Windows
  1. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog
  2. Type cmd and press Enter to open Command Prompt
  3. Type ipconfig and press Enter
  4. Look for the “IPv4 Address” under your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
Linux
  1. Open Terminal
  2. Type ip addr or ifconfig and press Enter
  3. Look for the “inet” address under your active connection (usually eth0 for Ethernet or wlan0 for Wi-Fi)

Important: Make sure your computer’s firewall allows connections to port 11434, which is the default port used by Ollama.



Enjoy the power of local AI models on your iOS device with Chathouse and Ollama! This combination gives you the flexibility of mobile AI with the privacy and cost benefits of running models locally.

App Store Icon Download Chathouse on the App Store