System requirements for installing Whatsy on macOS

Whatsy bundles most of what it needs inside the app, but a few dependencies live outside the bundle because they’re either too large to ship or deliberately kept separate for your privacy. Before you install Whatsy, check that your Mac meets all of the requirements below — the agent won’t start if any of them are missing.

System requirements

Requirement	Minimum version	Notes
macOS	14 (Sonoma)	Required for the native app to run
Google Chrome	Any current release	Required by the WhatsApp web bridge; see note below
Ollama	Latest	Must be running at `http://localhost:11434` with at least one model pulled

Google Chrome

Whatsy connects to WhatsApp through a browser-based session that runs silently in the background. Chrome handles this session invisibly — you won’t see a browser window open. Whatsy looks for Chrome at its default macOS path:

/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome

If Google Chrome is not installed, Whatsy cannot link to WhatsApp. The app will show an inline prompt when it detects Chrome is missing. Install Chrome from google.com/chrome and restart the app before continuing.

Ollama and model setup

Whatsy generates every reply using a language model that runs entirely on your Mac through Ollama. No request is sent to any cloud inference service. Ollama must be running and reachable at http://localhost:11434 before you start the agent. You also need at least one model pulled and ready.

Recommended models

Model	Size	Why we recommend it
`llama3.2` ✅	~2 GB	Best balance of tone quality, response speed, and memory use for most Macs
`llama3.1`	~4 GB	Slightly more capable; better for complex persona instructions
`mistral`	~4 GB	Good alternative if you prefer Mistral’s output style

We recommend llama3.2 for most users. The model you choose directly affects how well the agent captures your tone — a larger, more capable model generally produces more natural-sounding replies, but it also requires more RAM and will be slower on older hardware. Experiment to find the right balance for your machine. To pull the recommended model, run:

ollama pull llama3.2

To start the Ollama server (required every time your Mac restarts unless you configure Ollama to launch at login):

ollama serve

For help installing Ollama or troubleshooting connection issues, see Ollama setup.

Pre-flight checklist

Work through these checks before opening Whatsy for the first time:

Confirm your macOS version

Go to Apple menu → About This Mac. Your macOS version must be 14.0 or later. If it’s older, use Software Update to upgrade before continuing.

Install Google Chrome

Open Finder and look for Google Chrome in your Applications folder. If it’s not there, download it from google.com/chrome and drag it to Applications.

Install and start Ollama

Download Ollama from ollama.com and install it. Then open Terminal and run:

ollama serve

Leave this running in the background.

Pull a model

In a new Terminal tab, pull the recommended model:

ollama pull llama3.2

Wait for the download to complete before opening Whatsy.

Open Whatsy

Launch Whatsy from your Applications folder. The onboarding flow checks for Ollama and Chrome automatically — if anything is missing, it tells you what to fix before you can proceed.

Storage location

All Whatsy data — your persona, behavior rules, WhatsApp session files, and agent logs — is stored at:

~/Library/Application Support/Whatsy/

Nothing in this directory is ever uploaded or shared. You can back it up, inspect it, or delete it at any time.