Run a local model with Ollama or LM Studio

A local model costs nothing to use, and the pages the agent reads stay on your computer. Voice input still goes to its own provider. Local models do best on short, clear tasks. For harder ones, try a cloud model.

Which local model should I use?

• Qwen3.8 27B is the model we recommend for now. It also sees images.
• The model must support tool calling. Test models checks this.
• Load it with a context of 16k tokens or more. Nanobrowser uses the size the server loaded.

Use Ollama

1. Install Ollama and download a model, for example with ollama pull.
2. Set OLLAMA_ORIGINS so Ollama accepts requests from the extension, as shown below for your system.
3. In Nanobrowser, open Settings → Providers, choose Ollama in Add a provider and click Add a provider. The Server address is http://localhost:11434.
4. Click List models, pick your model and click Add.
5. Click Test models.

macOS

Run this in Terminal, then quit and reopen Ollama:

launchctl setenv OLLAMA_ORIGINS "chrome-extension://*"

This lasts until you restart your Mac. Run it again after a restart.

Windows

1. Open Settings → System → About → Advanced system settings → Environment Variables.
2. Add a user variable named OLLAMA_ORIGINS, with the value chrome-extension://*.
3. Quit Ollama from the taskbar and open it again.

Or run this in PowerShell, then quit and reopen Ollama:

setx OLLAMA_ORIGINS "chrome-extension://*"

Linux

If Ollama runs as a systemd service, which is how the Linux install script sets it up, edit the service:

sudo systemctl edit ollama.service

Add these lines, then save:

[Service]
Environment="OLLAMA_ORIGINS=chrome-extension://*"

Restart Ollama:

sudo systemctl restart ollama

If you start Ollama yourself, start it like this:

OLLAMA_ORIGINS="chrome-extension://*" ollama serve

Use LM Studio

1. Install LM Studio, download a model and load it with a context of 16k or more.
2. In LM Studio’s Developer settings, turn on Enable CORS, then start the server. It runs on port 1234.
3. In Nanobrowser, open Settings → Providers, choose LM Studio in Add a provider and click Add a provider. The Server address is http://localhost:1234.
4. Click List models, pick your model and click Add.
5. Click Test models.

If Enable CORS is off, Nanobrowser shows:

LM Studio refused the request. Turn on "Enable CORS" in LM Studio's Developer settings, then try again.

Good to know about Ollama and LM Studio

• No key. There is no key field.
• /v1 is added for you. Type the server’s address, like http://localhost:11434. Nanobrowser adds /v1 to the end. An address that already ends in /v1 works too.
• One request at a time. Nanobrowser sends one request at a time to each Ollama or LM Studio server, so tasks you run at once take turns.

Use llama.cpp, vLLM or another server

Use the OpenAI-compatible provider.

1. In Settings → Providers, choose OpenAI-compatible in Add a provider and click Add a provider.
2. In Server address, type the full address, including /v1, such as http://localhost:8000/v1. Nanobrowser adds nothing to it.
3. Fill in API key (if the server needs one) only if your server asks for one.
4. Click List models, or type the model name, then click Add.
5. Click Test models.

Good to know:

• Tasks don’t take turns. Requests go to these servers as they come. If yours handles one at a time, run one task at a time.
• CORS. The server must allow requests from browser extensions. See The server refused the request.