Claude Desktop

Prerequisites

• Ollama. Windows support coming soon.
• To use a local model, download it before setup.
• To use a cloud model, sign in to Ollama and enable cloud models. Some models require a paid plan.

If Claude is not installed, Ollama offers to download it during setup.

Set up Claude

1. Open Ollama and select Apps.
2. Connect Claude.
3. Follow the setup prompts to install Claude if needed and restart it when prompted.

Switch models

Open Ollama Settings → Apps. Choose your models, then select Restart Claude. You can use the same model for more than one option.

Supported features

• Subagents - Split larger tasks across agents
• Web search - Supported by default through Ollama's web search
• Cowork - Complete difficult tasks with Claude Cowork
• Auto mode - Let the agent decide when to ask before making changes

Disconnect Claude

Open Ollama Apps and disconnect Claude. Ollama restores Claude's previous settings. Restart Claude when prompted.

You can also restore Claude from the terminal:

ollama launch claude-desktop --restore

Quitting Ollama while Claude is connected also restores Claude's usual configuration.