How to change default Ollama host?

[zetaap]

Hi! Anyone know how to change default host http://localhost:11434 to another. I'm use MacOS Dyad app, but Ollama is running on local home server.

P.S. I am currently using port proxying (socat) to solve this problem.

[piyushpatelcodes]

To change the default host http://localhost:11434 for Ollama, note that as of now, Ollama does not provide a built-in config option to bind the API server to a different host directly.

However, here are your best options:

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1. Use OLLAMA_HOST Environment Variable (Experimental)

Try setting the environment variable OLLAMA_HOST before launching your client:

export OLLAMA_HOST=http://<your-home-server-ip>:11434

This works for clients that respect this env variable, but Dyad may not honor it yet.

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2. Use Reverse Proxy (Preferred for Your Use Case)

You're already using socat, which is a good low-level solution. But if you want something more robust and flexible, consider using:

🔁 ngrok, Nginx, or Caddy to proxy requests:

Example with ngrok:

ngrok http 11434

Or a local proxy with Nginx:

server {
    listen 11434;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://<your-home-server-ip>:11434;
    }
}

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Note

As of mid-2025, Ollama does not yet support a config file or CLI flag to change the host binding (like --host). This has been a frequent request in their GitHub issues.

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Your Solution (socat) Is Solid

For now, your use of socat is one of the cleanest ways to forward traffic:

socat TCP-LISTEN:11434,fork TCP:<home-server-ip>:11434

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TL;DR: Until Ollama officially supports configurable host bindings, reverse proxies like socat, ngrok, or Nginx are your best bet — and you're doing it right.

[zetaap]

Thanks for "chatgpt" answer. OLLAMA_HOST solution doesn't work for me