Ollama
Stack
Ollama - run open large language models locally behind a simple HTTP API. Pull a model (Llama, Mistral, Qwen, Gemma, Phi, and many more) and serve it from your own infrastructure, with OpenAI-compatible endpoints.
Image details
Source details
Configuration
TypeComposelinuxollama/ollama:0.30.85000:5000/root/.ollama : modelsOLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0:5000unless-stoppedTemplate by deployable-sh·Source
Report issueStandalone Install
Select an install method, to see config/commands for deploying Ollama
Install on Portainer
Import all app templates into your Portainer instance, for easy 1-click deploys
- Ensure both Docker and Portainer are installed, and up-to-date
- Log into your Portainer web UI
- Under Settings → App Templates, paste the below URL
- Head to Home → App Templates, and the list of apps will show up
- Select Ollama, fill in any config options, and hit Deploy
Template Import URL
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lissy93/portainer-templates/main/templates.json
Show Me
Original stackfile
The compose file this template deploys, straight from its repo:
name: ollama
services:
ollama:
image: ollama/ollama:0.30.8
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
OLLAMA_HOST: "0.0.0.0:5000"
ports:
- "5000:5000"
volumes:
- models:/root/.ollama
volumes:
models:
Or deploy it directly from the source:
git clone https://github.com/deployable-sh/stacks
cd stacks
docker compose -f ollama/compose.yaml up -dMore install options in our documentation, or see ollama/ollama for app-specific guidance.
Ollama Docker image
Ollama makes it easy to get up and running with large language models locally.
CPU only
docker run -d -v ollama:/root/.ollama -p 11434:11434 --name ollama ollama/ollamaNvidia GPU
Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit.Install with Apt
- Configure the repository
curl -fsSL https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/gpgkey \
| sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg
curl -s -L https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/stable/deb/nvidia-container-toolkit.list \
| sed 's#deb https://#deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg] https://#g' \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nvidia-container-toolkit.list
sudo apt-get update- Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit packages
sudo apt-get install -y nvidia-container-toolkitInstall with Yum or Dnf
- Configure the repository
curl -s -L https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/stable/rpm/nvidia-container-toolkit.repo \
| sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/nvidia-container-toolkit.repo- Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit packages
sudo yum install -y nvidia-container-toolkitConfigure Docker to use Nvidia driver
sudo nvidia-ctk runtime configure --runtime=docker
sudo systemctl restart dockerStart the container
docker run -d --gpus=all -v ollama:/root/.ollama -p 11434:11434 --name ollama ollama/ollamaAMD GPU
To run Ollama using Docker with AMD GPUs, use therocm tag and the following command:docker run -d --device /dev/kfd --device /dev/dri -v ollama:/root/.ollama -p 11434:11434 --name ollama ollama/ollama:rocmRun model locally
Now you can run a model:docker exec -it ollama ollama run llama3Try different models
More models can be found on the Ollama library.Learn more
https://github.com/ollama/ollamaServe Ollama on your own domain behind Caddy, Nginx or Traefik. Fill in your domain and copy the result. It's a starting point, some apps need their own base URL or extra headers set too.
Proxying ollama.example.com to http://ollama:5000
Add this to your Caddyfile
ollama.example.com {
reverse_proxy http://ollama:5000
}Check the logs first
Nine times out of ten the logs tell you exactly what went wrong.
- In Portainer, go to Containers, click the container, then Logs. Or run
docker logs <container> - Exit codes help too:
137means killed, usually out of memory.126or127means the command inside the image is broken.
Port already in use
If deployment fails with "Bind for 0.0.0.0:5000 failed: port is already allocated", something else on your server is using that port.
- Find what's using it:
sudo ss -tlnp | grep :5000 - Stop the other service, or pick a different host port. In
5000:5000only the left number is yours to change, the right one belongs to the app.
Running but the page won't load
The container is up but nothing appears in your browser.
- Use your server's real IP:
http://your-server-ip:5000. The 0.0.0.0 link Portainer shows isn't a real address. - Give it a minute after first deploy, ollama can take a while to initialise.
- Make sure your firewall allows the port, e.g.
sudo ufw allow 5000
Image won't pull
Test the pull directly on the host: docker pull ollama/ollama:0.30.8
- "manifest unknown" means the tag no longer exists.
- "toomanyrequests" is the Docker Hub rate limit. Log in with
docker loginto raise it. - "no space left on device" means a full disk. Reclaim space with
docker system prune
"exec format error"
This means the image was built for a different CPU architecture than your server.
- This image supports:
amd64, arm64 - Check yours with
uname -m: x86_64 is amd64, aarch64 is arm64. Raspberry Pi and other ARM boards are the usual culprits.
Container keeps restarting
The unless-stopped restart policy relaunches the app after every crash, so the real error can scroll past.
- Check the logs right after a restart, the last few lines before it died are the useful ones.
- Get the exit code with
docker inspect <container> --format '{{.State.ExitCode}}' - Still stuck? Redeploy once with the restart policy set to
noso the failure stays visible.
Stack won't deploy
Compose stacks fail fast on small mistakes, and Portainer shows the reason just above the editor.
- YAML only accepts spaces for indentation, a single tab breaks the whole file.
Raise an issue
Found something which isn't working as it should? Here's how to report it.
- Bug within the app: Open an issue on ollama/ollama
- Template not working: Open an issue on deployable-sh/stacks
- This website not working: Open an issue on lissy93/portainer-templates
A Compose stack
Ollama is a Compose stack, a set of containers defined in one file and brought up together by Portainer, then started and stopped as a single app.
The app image
An image is the app packed up ready to go, everything Ollama needs bundled into one download. This template pulls ollama/ollama:0.30.8, which Docker fetches once (about 3.5 GB) and then starts your own copy from.
Where the image comes from
Docker pulls its images from registries, public libraries of ready-built apps. Ollama's comes from Docker Hub, published by ollama.
Version tags
The bit after the colon in the image name is the version tag. This one pins 0.30.8, so every redeploy gives you that exact build until you bump it yourself.
Which machines it runs on
Every image is built for particular CPU types. This one ships for amd64, arm64, so it runs on both regular x86 servers and ARM boards like a Raspberry Pi.
Ports
A port is the door the app answers on. A mapping like 5000:5000 means it's reachable on port 5000 of your server, where the left number is yours to change and the right one belongs to the app. It opens:
5000:5000
Volumes
A volume is where Ollama keeps its files so they survive an update or a restart. Without one, anything it saves would sit inside the container and vanish the moment it's recreated. This template mounts:
/root/.ollamakept in themodelsvolume Docker manages
Environment variables
Environment variables are the settings you hand over when you deploy, things like a password or a timezone. Ollama takes 1 of them, all with defaults you can leave alone or tweak:
OLLAMA_HOST, defaults to0.0.0.0:5000
Restart policy
The restart policy here is unless-stopped, so Docker restarts Ollama after a crash or reboot, but leaves it off when you stop it on purpose. You can change this on the deploy screen. The choices are no (never restart), on-failure (only after a crash), unless-stopped (restart unless you stop it), and always (bring it back no matter what).
Networking
Nothing custom is set, so Ollama sits on Docker's default bridge network: its own private space that reaches the outside world only through the ports it publishes.
Container name
Once it's deployed, Portainer names the container ollama. That's what you'll spot in the containers list and use in commands like docker logs ollama.
Platform
The platform is linux, the kind of system the container is built to run on. Docker and Portainer handle this on a normal Linux server.
Open source license
Ollama is open source, released under the MIT license. In plain terms the code is out in the open, so you're free to run it and change it to fit what you need.
Portainer app templates
Zooming out, this whole page comes from a Portainer app template: a short recipe telling Portainer how to set Ollama up. Add the template list to Portainer once, then deploying Ollama is a click rather than a wall of config.