OllamaBro is a Chrome extension that provides a convenient interface to interact with your local Ollama models. It allows you to quickly switch between models, manage multiple conversations, and chat directly from your browser.

• Model Management: View and switch between all your available Ollama models directly from the extension popup.
• Multi-Conversation Chat:
  • Chat with your models in a dedicated browser tab.
  • Keep multiple conversations organized per model.
  • A collapsible sidebar lists all your conversations for easy navigation.
• Persistent History: Your chat history is saved locally, so you can pick up where you left off.
• Message Actions: Easily copy messages or download conversations as .txt or .md files.
• Modern UI: A clean, dark-themed, and responsive user interface.
• Real-time Responses: See the model's response stream in as it's generated.
• Usability:
  • Auto-focus on the input field for a seamless chat experience.

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Ollama running locally.
• Node.js (which includes npm).

The extension consists of two main parts: a local proxy server to handle CORS requests to Ollama, and the Chrome extension itself.

The proxy server is necessary to bypass Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) restrictions when the extension communicates with the local Ollama API.

1. Navigate to the proxy_server directory:

   cd path/to/OllamaBro/proxy_server

2. Install the dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the server:

   npm start

   The server will start on http://localhost:3000. You need to keep this terminal window open while using the extension.

To avoid having to manually start the server every time, you can use PM2, a process manager for Node.js applications.

1. Install PM2 globally:

   npm install pm2 -g

2. Navigate to the proxy server directory:

   cd path/to/OllamaBro/proxy_server

3. Start the server with PM2:

   pm2 start server.js --name ollama-proxy

4. Enable PM2 to start on system boot:

   pm2 startup

   This command will generate another command that you need to run. It may require administrator privileges.
5. Save the current process list:

   pm2 save

   Now, the proxy server will automatically start whenever you restart your system.

You can manage the process with these commands:

• pm2 list: List all running processes.
• pm2 logs ollama-proxy: View logs for the proxy.
• pm2 stop ollama-proxy: Stop the proxy.
• pm2 restart ollama-proxy: Restart the proxy.
• pm2 delete ollama-proxy: Remove the proxy from PM2's list.

1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions.
2. Enable Developer mode using the toggle in the top-right corner.
3. Click the Load unpacked button.
4. Select the chrome_extension folder from the project directory.

The OllamaBro icon should now appear in your Chrome toolbar. Click it to see your available models and start chatting!