Local AI Chat

A minimal local chat web app that replaces the n8n chat interface with a clean ChatGPT/Claude-style UI backed by Ollama.

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Ollama installed and running locally
• The llama3.2:1b model

Setup

ollama pull llama3.2:1b
npm install
npm start

Open http://localhost:3000.

Copy .env.example to .env to change the port, Ollama URL, or model:

PORT=3000
OLLAMA_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434
OLLAMA_MODEL=llama3.2:1b

For development with Node’s built-in file watcher:

npm run dev

Project structure

local-ai-chat/
├── server/server.js    # Express API and Ollama proxy
├── public/index.html   # Chat markup
├── public/style.css    # Responsive light/dark UI
├── public/app.js       # Chat behavior and Markdown rendering
├── .env.example        # Local configuration template
└── docs/               # Architecture, About, and release notes

How it works

The browser sends messages only to Express. Express forwards them to Ollama and returns { "reply": "..." }. Ollama is never called directly by the frontend. Each page refresh starts a clean conversation; starter prompts rotate automatically.

Troubleshooting

• Unable to connect: confirm Ollama is running with ollama serve.
• Model not found: run ollama pull llama3.2:1b or set OLLAMA_MODEL in .env.
• Port in use: change PORT in .env.
• Slow responses: the backend waits up to 45 seconds before returning a friendly timeout error.

See ABOUT.md, docs/architecture.md, docs/release.md, and CHANGELOG.md.