# Ollama Client FAQ

Source: https://www.ollamaclient.in/about/faq/
Markdown: https://www.ollamaclient.in/about/faq.md
Description: Common questions about Ollama Client, local LLM providers, privacy, browser support, RAG, web search, and CORS setup.

Ollama Client is a local-first browser extension for chatting with local and
self-hosted AI models. It runs in Chrome and Firefox and connects to providers
you control: Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp, vLLM, LocalAI, KoboldCPP, or another
OpenAI-compatible server.

## Does Ollama Client send my data to a cloud service?

No cloud service is required by Ollama Client. Chat history, settings, uploaded
files, and knowledge indexes are stored locally in the browser extension. Model
requests go to the provider endpoint you configure.

If you configure a remote provider, the prompt data needed for that request goes
to that remote endpoint. If you configure a local provider such as Ollama or LM
Studio on `localhost`, requests stay on your machine.

## Which providers work with Ollama Client?

Ollama Client supports:

- Ollama
- LM Studio
- llama.cpp server
- vLLM
- LocalAI
- KoboldCPP
- Other OpenAI-compatible servers through the shared OpenAI-compatible adapter

See [Provider Setup](/guides/provider-setup/) for endpoints and setup steps.

## Is Ollama Client an Open WebUI alternative?

Yes, for users who want a browser extension instead of a self-hosted web
application. Open WebUI is a server-hosted interface. Ollama Client lives in the
browser side panel and focuses on page context, local storage, RAG, web search,
and browser-aware tools.

## Can I use files and RAG locally?

Yes. Ollama Client can process uploaded files and store local vector indexes for
retrieval-augmented generation. File retrieval is local-first: uploaded content
and embeddings are stored in browser storage, not in a hosted service.

## Can models search the web?

Yes, if you enable web search and configure a backend. Supported backends include
SearXNG, Brave Search, and Tavily. Web search is optional, and API keys stay in
local extension storage.

## How do I fix a 403 or CORS error?

For Ollama, set `OLLAMA_ORIGINS` so the local server accepts requests from
browser-extension origins:

```bash
OLLAMA_ORIGINS="chrome-extension://*,moz-extension://*" ollama serve
```

For persistent setup and platform-specific steps, see
[Fix Ollama CORS errors](/guides/troubleshooting/ollama-cors-error/).