Build a Local AI Dev Environment · 40 min · Ollama

Ollama — Local Models Running

If you can curl it, you understand it -- Ollama's REST API is the same interface Open WebUI and Continue.dev will use later, so testing it directly now removes a layer of mystery from every later lesson.

Hiring signal: Ollama is the default way most developers run local models in 2026 -- knowing its CLI and REST API directly (not just through a UI) is what lets you actually debug and integrate it into anything, not just chat with it.

What you will learn

Install Ollama and pull models sized to your own hardware
Run models via CLI and query them directly via the REST API
Benchmark real response time on your own machine

What You're Building

3 real local models running via Ollama, tested both from the terminal and by calling the REST API directly — the same API every later tool in this course (Open WebUI, Continue.dev) is quietly calling underneath its UI.

Install and pull, sized to what Lesson 1 found

# Install: curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh  (macOS/Linux)
ollama pull qwen3:8b        # general-purpose, fast
ollama pull qwen3-coder:7b  # code-focused
ollama pull nomic-embed-text  # embeddings, for Lesson 4's RAG

This course uses the Qwen3 family for both general chat and code -- it's the practical default local model family in 2026, balancing quality, size options, and licensing. If you're reading this later and Qwen3 isn't the current best choice anymore, that's expected -- check ollama.com/library for what's actually recommended now rather than trusting this exact model name indefinitely; the STACK PRINCIPLE (pick the tool with real momentum, verify don't assume) applies to model choice as much as any library.

This is exactly the kind of claim the Authenticity Rule exists for
Local model rankings shift every few months as new open-weight releases land. Treat the specific model names in this lesson as "verified accurate as of when this was written," not an eternal fact — the underlying skill (pull, test, benchmark, swap if a better option exists) is what actually transfers.

Unlock the full lesson

You've read the first 2 sections. The rest of this lesson covers Testing via CLI vs. the raw REST API, Benchmark on your actual hardware, What you're building today — plus a hands-on lab, quiz, and project artifact.

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