Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Docker & Docker Compose installed on your machine. Install Docker →
• Ollama running on at least one machine (local or remote). Install Ollama →

1. Create docker-compose.yml

Create a new directory and add a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  app:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "${APP_PORT:-8000}:8000"
    volumes:
      - ollamahelm-storage:/app/storage
    environment:
      - APP_ENV=${APP_ENV:-production}
      - APP_DEBUG=${APP_DEBUG:-false}
      - APP_URL=${APP_URL:-http://localhost:${APP_PORT:-8000}}
      - OLLAMA_DEFAULT_HOST=${OLLAMA_DEFAULT_HOST:-http://host.docker.internal:11434}
    extra_hosts:
      - "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  ollamahelm-storage:

By default, OllamaHelm connects to Ollama at http://host.docker.internal:11434. Override this with the OLLAMA_DEFAULT_HOST environment variable.

2. Start OllamaHelm

docker compose up -d

3. Create your account

Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser. Register a new account — the first user is automatically created. You'll land on the dashboard.

4. Add your first server

Navigate to Servers in the sidebar and click Add Server. Enter your Ollama server's URL (e.g., http://host.docker.internal:11434 for a local instance). Click Test Connection to verify, then save.

5. Pull a model

Go to Discover in the sidebar to browse the Ollama model library. Find a model you like (try llama3.2), click it, and hit Pull. Track progress in the Downloads page.

6. Start chatting

Head to Chat in the sidebar. Select a model from the dropdown and start a conversation. You'll see streaming responses with thinking tokens, generation stats, and time-to-first-token tracking.

Upgrading to Pro

To unlock unlimited servers, fleet monitoring, and Model Factory:

1. 1 Change your Docker image to ollamahelm/ollamahelm-pro:latest
2. 2 Add your license key as an environment variable: OLLAMAHELM_LICENSE_KEY=your-key-here
3. 3 Pull and restart:

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

You can also enter your license key in the app at Settings → License.