07Private AI side panel for Ollama
Chat with your local AI about any page you browse.
Ollama Sidekick is a browser side panel for chatting with your locally-hosted Ollama models. Ask questions about the page you are viewing — automatic page context, highlight-to-ask, and multiple chats. 100% on your device, no account, nothing leaves your machine.
No account, no analytics — your prompts and pages reach only your local Ollama server.
(01)Features
Your local models, wired into the page you are on.
Chat with any local model
Talk to every model you have installed in Ollama — Llama, Mistral, Gemma, CodeLlama, and more. Switch models on the fly, and run several conversations side by side.
Automatic page context
The side panel reads the page you are viewing and sends it as context with your question — so you can ask "summarize this", "explain this code", or "what are the main points" without copy-paste.
Highlight to ask
Select any text on the page to drop it straight into your next prompt. The side panel stays open beside the tab while you browse, so context is one click away.
Multiple chats, remembered
Keep several conversations going at once, each with its own model and context. Chat history lives in local browser storage and is there when you come back.
Genuinely private
All processing happens on your device. There is no account, no sign-up, no analytics, and no external API calls — the only network request goes to your own Ollama server on localhost.
Helpful when it is not connected
If Ollama is not running, the panel shows clear, platform-aware setup steps and a one-click retry — so the first-run experience never dead-ends.
(02)How it works
From install to your first answer in three steps.
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1
Run Ollama with CORS enabled
Install Ollama from ollama.com, pull a model (ollama pull llama3.2), then start it for the extension: OLLAMA_ORIGINS='chrome-extension://*' ollama serve.
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2
Open the side panel
Click the Ollama Sidekick icon to open the panel beside whatever tab you are on. It detects your local models automatically — there is no account and nothing to sign in to.
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3
Ask about the page
Keep page context on and ask anything, or highlight a passage to include just that. Answers stream back from your local model, and the chat is saved on your device.
(03)Privacy
Every question stays on your machine.
- No external servers are ever contacted — the only network request is to your own Ollama server on localhost (port 11434).
- No accounts, no analytics, and no tracking. The extension has no backend and makes no calls to any cloud service.
- Chat history, your selected model, and your settings are stored locally in chrome.storage on your device.
- Page content is read only when you ask a question, sent only to your local Ollama, and never transmitted anywhere else.
(04)FAQ
Questions, answered.
What is Ollama Sidekick?
It is a browser side panel that lets you chat with the AI models you run locally through Ollama. You can ask questions about the webpage you are viewing, and the panel sends the page content as context to your local model.
Do I need Ollama installed?
Yes. Install Ollama from ollama.com, pull a model (for example, ollama pull llama3.2), then start it with CORS enabled so the extension can reach it: OLLAMA_ORIGINS='chrome-extension://*' ollama serve.
Does it send my data anywhere?
No. All processing happens on your machine. The only network request the extension makes is to your own Ollama server on localhost. No analytics, no accounts, and no external APIs are ever contacted.
How does page context work?
When page context is on, the panel reads the text of the page you are viewing and includes it with your question. You can turn it off any time, or highlight specific text to send just that selection.
Which models are supported?
Any model you have installed in Ollama — including Llama, Mistral, Gemma, CodeLlama, and others. The panel detects the models you have pulled locally and lets you switch between them.
Where is my chat history stored?
Only on your device, in Chrome local storage. Nothing is uploaded. Uninstalling the extension or clearing its storage removes your conversations entirely.
I see a connection error. What do I do?
Make sure Ollama is running with CORS enabled for extensions (OLLAMA_ORIGINS='chrome-extension://*' ollama serve), then click retry in the panel. The panel itself shows the exact command for macOS, Linux, and Windows.