TheFocus.AI TheFocus.AI

install ollama

Understand what Ollama is, install it, smoke-test the CLI, then pull a model that fits your RAM.

TUTOR WITH THEFOCUS.AI

Agent Integration

Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or any external AI assistant. It points the assistant to the course instructions and links it to your student profile to track your progress and customize observations.

Please tutor me in this lesson using the following context. First, read the instructions at: https://courses.thefocus.ai/llms.txt My Student ID is: <none> The lesson markdown source is at: https://courses.thefocus.ai/run-ai-locally/01-getting-started/01-install-ollama.md

You are not enrolled yet. Enroll to generate a Student ID to track lesson completions and store learning notes.

01 — Install Ollama

Objective

Install Ollama, prove the CLI works, pull a model sized for your RAM, and learn to watch Memory Pressure.

Tutor pacing: concept → check → install → verify → pull model → verify list.

Concept: What Ollama is doing

Ollama runs large language models on your machine:

  • A background service (menu bar icon on Mac)
  • A CLI (ollama pull, ollama run, …)
  • Models as downloadable weights on disk

You are not “installing ChatGPT.” You are installing a local runtime plus one model file big enough to be useful and small enough to keep Memory Pressure green.

Concept check

Q1. In one sentence, what does Ollama provide that a website chatbot does not?

Q2. Why might a “smarter” larger model be the wrong pull for an 8GB machine?

Concept answer key — attempt first

Answer key (concept)

Q1

Model answer: Local inference — models run on your hardware/offline, weights on disk.

Pass criteria: local / on-device (or offline)

Q2

Model answer: It may not fit in RAM; thrashing / red memory pressure makes it unusable.

Pass criteria: RAM / fit / performance

Gate: Install Ollama

  1. Go to ollama.com → Download
  2. Open the app; confirm the llama icon in the menu bar

Verify:

ollama --version

You should see something like ollama version is 0.x.x. Stop here if this fails.

Gate: Know the CLI

ollama pull <model>     # Download a model
ollama list             # Show models you've downloaded
ollama run <model>      # Start an interactive chat with a model
ollama rm <model>       # Delete a model to free space

Gate: Pull a model that fits

Your RAMRecommended ModelPull Command
8GBnemotron-3-nanoollama pull nemotron-3-nano
16GBgemma4:26bollama pull gemma4:26b
32GB+qwen3:30b-a3bollama pull qwen3:30b-a3b

Course examples use gemma4:26b when it fits:

ollama pull gemma4:26b
ollama list

Pass: model appears in ollama list.

Gate: Memory Pressure

Open Activity Monitor → Memory. Watch Memory Pressure during a short ollama run:

  • Green — headroom
  • Yellow — tight
  • Red — too big; pull a smaller model

Goal: smartest model that stays green during chat.

Check your understanding

Q3. What command proves Ollama is installed before you spend time on a multi-GB pull?

Q4. After a pull, how do you confirm the model is on disk?

Answer key — attempt every question first

Answer key

Q3

Model answer: ollama --version (and/or menu bar icon).

Pass criteria: version or service evidence

Q4

Model answer: ollama list shows the model name.

Pass criteria: ollama list

Next: 02 — Your First Prompt →