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Whatsy generates all replies locally using Ollama — a runtime that lets you run large language models on your own Mac without sending any data to a cloud service. Your messages, persona instructions, and conversation history never leave your machine. Before Whatsy can send a single auto-reply, Ollama must be installed, running, and loaded with a compatible model. This page walks you through every step, with troubleshooting guidance for the most common problems.
Whatsy will not generate replies if Ollama is unreachable. The auto-reply toggle will appear active in Settings, but no messages will be sent until the connection to Ollama is restored.

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Getting Ollama working

1

Install Ollama

Download and install Ollama for macOS from ollama.com. You can install it in two ways:Option A — Ollama app (recommended): Download the .dmg from the website, open it, and drag Ollama to your Applications folder. Launch it from Applications — you will see the Ollama llama icon appear in your menu bar.Option B — Homebrew:
brew install ollama
2

Start the Ollama server

If you installed the Ollama app, it starts the server automatically when you launch it. If you installed via Homebrew or need to start it manually, run:
ollama serve
Leave this Terminal window open, or configure Ollama to run at login so you do not need to think about it (see the tip at the bottom of this page).
3

Pull the recommended model

Whatsy defaults to llama3.2. Pull it now:
ollama pull llama3.2
The download is roughly 2 GB. Progress is shown in the terminal. Once complete, the model is stored locally and available immediately.
4

Verify Ollama is running

Confirm the server is up and your model is registered:
curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags
You should receive a JSON response listing your installed models:
{
  "models": [
    {
      "name": "llama3.2:latest",
      "model": "llama3.2:latest",
      "modified_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      "size": 2019393189
    }
  ]
}
If you see llama3.2 in the list, you are ready. If the request is refused or times out, go back to Step 2 and make sure ollama serve is running.
5

Open Whatsy

Launch Whatsy. The onboarding screen automatically checks Ollama every two seconds. When Ollama is reachable and llama3.2 is installed, the status indicator turns green and the Next button becomes active. You do not need to configure anything manually — Whatsy detects the connection on its own.

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Choosing a model

Whatsy works with any model installed in Ollama, and you can switch models at any time from Settings → AI Model without restarting the agent.
ModelSpeedQualityBest for
llama3.2FastGoodMost Macs, everyday use
llama3.1:8bModerateBetter16 GB+ RAM, more nuanced replies
llama3.2 is the recommended starting point. It runs well on modern Macs with 8 GB of unified memory and produces natural, context-aware replies for most use cases. llama3.1:8b produces more nuanced and stylistically accurate replies but requires more memory and takes longer to generate each response. Pull it the same way: 
ollama pull llama3.1:8b
To make Ollama start automatically when you log in, open the Ollama app, click the llama icon in your menu bar, and enable Start at Login in Preferences. This way Whatsy always has a running Ollama server without any manual steps.

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Troubleshooting

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Ollama is not reachable

If Whatsy or your curl test cannot connect to Ollama, work through these checks: Make sure Ollama is running. Look for the llama icon in your macOS menu bar. If it is not there, open the Ollama app from Applications or run ollama serve in Terminal. Do not change the default URL. Whatsy connects to http://localhost:11434 by default, which is where Ollama always listens. Only change this if you intentionally moved Ollama to a different host or port, which is uncommon. Check for firewall or VPN interference. Some corporate VPNs or third-party firewalls block localhost connections. Temporarily disable your VPN or firewall and try again. If that resolves the issue, add an exception for 127.0.0.1:11434 in your VPN or firewall settings.

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Model not found

If Ollama is running but Whatsy reports that llama3.2 is not available, check what you actually have installed: 
ollama list
If llama3.2 is absent from the list, pull it: 
ollama pull llama3.2
If you see a model with a similar name (for example llama3.2:3b or llama3:latest), that is a different model. Whatsy looks specifically for a name that contains llama3.2, so pulling the exact model name as shown above is the safest approach.

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Onboarding screen stays on “checking Ollama…”

Whatsy polls http://localhost:11434/api/tags every two seconds. If the screen never advances past the spinner, Ollama is not responding. Confirm the server is running with ollama serve, then wait up to five seconds for the next poll. If it still does not resolve, force-quit Whatsy, restart Ollama, and reopen the app.