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Local AI Models with Ollama

Running Local AI Models with OpenClaw — Ollama Guide (2026) 🧠 Local AI Guide Running Local AI Modelswith OpenClaw + Ollama Eliminate API costs entirely by running an open-source LLM…

Running Local AI Models with OpenClaw — Ollama Guide (2026)
🧠 Local AI Guide

Running Local AI Models
with OpenClaw + Ollama

Eliminate API costs entirely by running an open-source LLM on your VPS. Zero tokens billed, complete privacy, full offline capability.

RAM Requirements

How Much RAM Does Each Model Need?

Local model RAM requirements are significantly higher than regular OpenClaw usage. Plan your VPS accordingly.

Llama 3.2 3B

8 GB

Fast, lightweight. Good for simple tasks. Runs on Hostinger KVM 2.

Llama 3.1 8B

16 GB

Balanced quality. Recommended starting point. Needs KVM 3+.

Mistral 7B

16 GB

Strong reasoning, efficient. Good Claude alternative for many tasks.

Llama 3.1 70B

48 GB+

Near GPT-4 quality. Requires Contabo VPS 40 or dedicated server.

Add OpenClaw’s Base RAM

Always add ~2 GB for OpenClaw’s Gateway + Docker overhead on top of the model’s requirement. A 7B model needing 8 GB actually needs 10 GB total VPS RAM for reliable operation.

Installation

Install Ollama on Your VPS

# Install Ollama curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh # Start Ollama service sudo systemctl start ollama sudo systemctl enable ollama # Pull a model (example: Llama 3.1 8B) ollama pull llama3.1:8b # Test it works ollama run llama3.1:8b “Hello, introduce yourself”

Connect OpenClaw to Ollama

Add to your .env file:

# OpenClaw uses Ollama’s OpenAI-compatible API endpoint OPENAI_API_KEY=ollama # Any non-empty string works OPENAI_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1 OPENAI_MODEL=llama3.1:8b
docker compose down && docker compose up -d
Hybrid Strategy: Local + Cloud

Use Ollama for routine tasks (scheduling checks, simple Q&A, private document processing) and Claude Sonnet for complex reasoning. Set OpenClaw to route based on task complexity. This gives you the best of both worlds — privacy and cost savings for simple tasks, maximum quality for hard ones.

Local Models Running

Zero API costs for routine tasks. Combine with Gemini Flash for complex requests at minimal cost.

VPS Specs for Local ModelsBudget Guide →