How to Configure Ollama with Continue

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Get started with Ollama

Configuration

YAML

config.yaml

name: My Config
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1

models:
  - name: <MODEL_NAME>
    provider: ollama
    model: <MODEL_ID>
    apiBase: http://<my endpoint>:11434 # if running a remote instance of Ollama

JSON (Deprecated)

config.json

{
  "models": [
    {
      "title": "<MODEL_NAME>",
      "provider": "ollama",
      "model": "<MODEL_ID>"
      "apiBase": "http://<my endpoint>:11434" // if running a remote instance of Ollama
    }
  ]
}

Check out a more advanced configuration here

How to Configure Model Capabilities in Ollama

Ollama models usually have their capabilities auto-detected correctly. However, if you’re using custom model names or experiencing issues with tools/images not working, you can explicitly set capabilities:

YAML

config.yaml

name: My Config
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1

models:
  - name: <CUSTOM_MODEL_NAME>
    provider: ollama
    model: <CUSTOM_MODEL_ID>
    capabilities:
      - tool_use      # Enable if your model supports function calling
      - image_input   # Enable for vision models

JSON (Deprecated)

config.json

{
  "models": [
    {
      "title": "<CUSTOM_MODEL_NAME>",
      "provider": "ollama",
      "model": "<CUSTOM_MODEL_ID>",
      "capabilities": {
        "tools": true, // Enable if your model supports function calling
        "uploadImage": true // Enable for vision models
      }
    }
  ]
}

Many Ollama models support tool use by default. Vision models often also support image input

Troubleshooting

”Model requires more system memory”

Continue may set a higher default context length than other Ollama tools, causing this error even when the model works elsewhere. Fix by reducing contextLength:

config.yaml

models:
  - name: Qwen 3 8B
    provider: ollama
    model: qwen3:8b
    defaultCompletionOptions:
      contextLength: 2048

You can also try a smaller model variant.