Local models

Pi can talk to any server that speaks an API it supports, including Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp and vLLM. Nothing leaves your computer, and there is no key to buy.

Add the server to Pi

Describe the server in Pi’s models.json, in ~/.pi/agent (or in a project .pi folder). For Ollama:

{
  "providers": {
    "ollama": {
      "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434/v1",
      "api": "openai-completions",
      "apiKey": "ollama",
      "models": [{ "id": "qwen2.5-coder:7b" }]
    }
  }
}

The apiKey is a placeholder that makes the model available to Pi; Ollama ignores it. For a server that needs a real key, use "$NAME" to read it from an environment variable. Pi’s own documentation lists every field (its models.md and models-configuration.md, in the @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent package).

Then run pi once so its model list is refreshed, restart Solipsist, and choose the model in the agent panel: it’s listed as <provider>/<model>, here ollama/qwen2.5-coder:7b.

What to expect

• Quality. A small model follows a short rewrite well and an open-ended one badly. If its suggestions are poor, try a larger model before changing anything else.
• Speed. A run waits for your computer. Lower agent.concurrency (three runs at a time by default) if the machine struggles with several at once.
• Cost. A local run reports $0, so the dollar spending limits never stop it.
• Tools. Agents give their result by calling a tool, so use a model that supports tool calls. If a model can’t, its runs will fail: pick another.

If it doesn’t work, see When it goes wrong.