L Loach Docs
Ctrl K

Quick start

Loach has no built-in models. The very first thing to do is choose a provider: a local Ollama server, or any OpenAI-compatible HTTP endpoint.

Using with Ollama (local, recommended)

Install Ollama and start the server, then pull at least one model:

ollama serve
ollama pull gemma3:4b      # or any other tag

Loach probes http://localhost:11434 on launch. Pulled models appear in the chat header dropdown automatically. The Models library tab also lets you pull new tags and customize existing ones from inside the app — no terminal required.

Tip

Pick a model that fits your VRAM. llama3.2:3b, gemma3:4b or qwen2.5:7b may be good starting points. For lower-spec devices, see Low VRAM mode.

Using with an OpenAI-compatible endpoint

Open Settings → Providers, paste your API key (stored safely in your OS credential manager), and point the base URL to a compatible endpoint:

ProviderBase URL
OpenAIhttps://api.openai.com/v1 (default)
vLLMhttp://localhost:8000/v1
LM Studiohttp://localhost:1234/v1
LiteLLMhttp://localhost:4000/v1
llama.cpp llama-serverhttp://localhost:8080/v1
Otherper their docs

Only one OpenAI-compatible endpoint is active at a time — switch the base URL in Settings whenever you want to point to a different provider.

Your first chat

  1. Open Loach. The sidebar lists your chats; the main area is the composer.
  2. Pick a provider from the chat header (Ollama, or your OpenAI-compatible endpoint).
  3. Pick a model from the dropdown next to it.
  4. Type a prompt and press Enter.

That's it. Tokens stream in, generation stats appear under each model turn, and you can copy code blocks or open them in the canvas with a single click.

Next steps

Previous ← Installation