OpenAI compatibility

Connect OpenAI clients to Ollama. Ollama supports a subset of the OpenAI API.

Direct cloud access

Set your API key in OLLAMA_API_KEY. Install the client with pip install openai. No Ollama installation required.

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://ollama.com/v1",
    api_key=os.environ["OLLAMA_API_KEY"],
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gemma4:31b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in one sentence."}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

The same client supports stateless Responses requests:

response = client.responses.create(
    model="gemma4:31b",
    input="Say hello in one sentence.",
)
print(response.output_text)

Choose a cloud model. The cloud API does not support stateful Responses, built-in web search through /v1/responses, or custom/freeform tool-call replay.

Local server usage

These examples connect to your local Ollama server. The client requires an API key value, but Ollama ignores it. To use cloud models through this server, sign in to Ollama.

Simple `/v1/chat/completions` example

basic.py

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url='http://localhost:11434/v1/',
    api_key='ollama',  # required but ignored
)

chat_completion = client.chat.completions.create(
    messages=[
        {
            'role': 'user',
            'content': 'Say this is a test',
        }
    ],
    model='gpt-oss:20b',
)
print(chat_completion.choices[0].message.content)

import OpenAI from "openai";

const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:11434/v1/",
  apiKey: "ollama", // required but ignored
});

const chatCompletion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Say this is a test" }],
  model: "gpt-oss:20b",
});

console.log(chatCompletion.choices[0].message.content);

Simple `/v1/responses` example

responses.py

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url='http://localhost:11434/v1/',
    api_key='ollama',  # required but ignored
)

responses_result = client.responses.create(
  model='qwen3:8b',
  input='Write a short poem about the color blue',
)
print(responses_result.output_text)

import OpenAI from "openai";

const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:11434/v1/",
  apiKey: "ollama", // required but ignored
});

const responsesResult = await openai.responses.create({
  model: "qwen3:8b",
  input: "Write a short poem about the color blue",
});

console.log(responsesResult.output_text);

`/v1/chat/completions` with vision example

vision.py

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url='http://localhost:11434/v1/',
    api_key='ollama',  # required but ignored
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model='qwen3-vl:8b',
    messages=[
        {
            'role': 'user',
            'content': [
                {'type': 'text', 'text': "What's in this image?"},
                {
                    'type': 'image_url',
                    'image_url': 'data:image/png;base64,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',
                },
            ],
        }
    ],
    max_tokens=300,
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

import OpenAI from "openai";

const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:11434/v1/",
  apiKey: "ollama", // required but ignored
});

const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
  model: "qwen3-vl:8b",
  messages: [
    {
      role: "user",
      content: [
        { type: "text", text: "What's in this image?" },
        {
          type: "image_url",
          image_url:
            "data:image/png;base64,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",
        },
      ],
    },
  ],
});
console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);

curl -X POST http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "model": "qwen3-vl:8b",
  "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "What is this an image of?"}, {"type": "image_url", "image_url": "data:image/png;base64,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"}]}]
}'

Endpoints

`/v1/chat/completions`

Supported features

Supported request fields

reasoning_effort and reasoning.effort control model thinking. Use /api/show to discover each model’s supported values and default. When a model uses its metadata to resolve named levels, supported names are applied exactly and unsupported names resolve to the model default. Boolean-only models that support enabling thinking map recognized compatibility efforts to true, while "none" requests false. Models without metadata retain the existing compatibility aliases: "minimal" maps to "low", and "xhigh" or "ultra" map to "max". GPT-OSS keeps its existing OpenAI compatibility conversion: "minimal" uses "low", "xhigh" or "ultra" use "high", and "none" requests no thinking output.

`/v1/completions`

Supported features

Supported request fields

Notes

prompt currently only accepts a string

`/v1/models`

Notes

created corresponds to when the model was last modified
owned_by corresponds to the ollama username, defaulting to "library"

`/v1/models/{model}`

Notes

created corresponds to when the model was last modified
owned_by corresponds to the ollama username, defaulting to "library"

`/v1/embeddings`

Supported request fields

`/v1/audio/speech`

Note: Added in Ollama v0.40.8

Generates audio with speech models. The response streams while audio is generated.

Supported request fields

Notes

Audio is 16-bit, mono, 24 kHz. pcm returns raw little-endian samples with no header.
The default response_format is wav, not mp3.
Unsupported values return a 400 error instead of being ignored.

`/v1/audio/transcriptions`

Transcribes speech with models that accept audio input.

Supported request fields

Notes

Audio longer than the model takes at once (30 seconds for current models) is split at pauses and transcribed piece by piece. Streaming sends each piece as it finishes.
Each model gets the transcription instructions its publisher documents.

`/v1/audio/translations`

Note: Added in Ollama v0.40.12

Translates speech into text in another language.

Supported request fields

file
model
to_language (Ollama extension; ISO 639-1 code of the output language, default en)
language (Ollama extension; the spoken language, if known)
prompt (used by models without speech-specific instructions)
response_format, temperature and stream, as for transcriptions

Responses API

POST /v1/responses

Note: Added in Ollama v0.13.3

Ollama supports the OpenAI Responses API. Only the non-stateful flavor is supported (i.e., there is no previous_response_id or conversation support).

Supported features

Streaming
Tools (function calling)
Reasoning summaries (for thinking models)
Stateful requests

Supported request fields

Models

For local inference, download a model before using it:

ollama pull llama3.2

Direct cloud requests use the identifiers from https://ollama.com/api/tags and do not require a pull. Through a signed-in local server, select a cloud model such as gemma4:cloud.

Default model names on a local server

For tooling that relies on default OpenAI model names such as gpt-3.5-turbo, use ollama cp to copy an existing model name to a temporary name:

ollama cp llama3.2 gpt-3.5-turbo

Afterwards, this new model name can be specified the model field:

curl http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
        "model": "gpt-3.5-turbo",
        "messages": [
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": "Hello!"
            }
        ]
    }'

Setting the local context size

The OpenAI API does not have a way of setting the context size for a model. If you need to change the context size, create a Modelfile which looks like:

FROM <some model>
PARAMETER num_ctx <context size>

Use the ollama create mymodel command to create a new model with the updated context size. Call the API with the updated model name:

curl http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
        "model": "mymodel",
        "messages": [
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": "Hello!"
            }
        ]
    }'

​Direct cloud access

​Local server usage

​Simple /v1/chat/completions example

​Simple /v1/responses example

​/v1/chat/completions with vision example

​Endpoints

​/v1/chat/completions

​Supported features

​Supported request fields

​/v1/completions

​Supported features

​Supported request fields

​Notes

​/v1/models

​Notes

​/v1/models/{model}

​Notes

​/v1/embeddings

​Supported request fields

​/v1/audio/speech

​Supported request fields

​Notes

​/v1/audio/transcriptions

​Supported request fields

​Notes

​/v1/audio/translations

​Supported request fields

​Responses API

​Supported features

​Supported request fields

​Models

​Default model names on a local server

​Setting the local context size

Direct cloud access

Local server usage

Simple `/v1/chat/completions` example

Simple `/v1/responses` example

`/v1/chat/completions` with vision example

Endpoints

`/v1/chat/completions`

Supported features

Supported request fields

`/v1/completions`

Supported features

Supported request fields

Notes

`/v1/models`

Notes

`/v1/models/{model}`

Notes

`/v1/embeddings`

Supported request fields

`/v1/audio/speech`

Supported request fields

Notes

`/v1/audio/transcriptions`

Supported request fields

Notes

`/v1/audio/translations`

Supported request fields

Responses API

Supported features

Supported request fields

Models

Default model names on a local server

Setting the local context size