README_CONFIGURATION.md

Ollama Chat Configuration Guide

Overview

This application now supports conversation memory and environment-based configuration for switching between local Ollama (testing) and production Ollama servers.

What Was Fixed

1. Conversation Memory Issue

The model wasn't remembering previous messages because:

• The app was using Ollama's /api/generate endpoint (stateless, single prompt)
• No conversation history was being passed to the model

Solution:

• Switched to Ollama's /api/chat endpoint
• Now reads chat history from chat-history.json and passes all previous messages to the model
• The model now maintains full conversation context

2. Environment-Based Configuration

Added support for automatic switching between local and production Ollama servers.

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file in the root directory:

# For local development (default)
OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434
NODE_ENV=development

# For production deployment
# OLLAMA_BASE_URL=https://your-ollama-server.com
# NODE_ENV=production

Automatic Switching

The application will automatically use:

• Local Ollama (http://localhost:11434) when OLLAMA_BASE_URL is not set
• Production Ollama when you set OLLAMA_BASE_URL to your deployed server

Deployment Setup

Option 1: Environment Variables (Recommended)

Set the OLLAMA_BASE_URL environment variable in your deployment platform:

Vercel:

vercel env add OLLAMA_BASE_URL
# Enter: https://your-ollama-server.com

Docker:

docker run -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL=https://your-ollama-server.com ...

Railway/Render/Heroku: Add OLLAMA_BASE_URL in the environment variables section of your dashboard.

Option 2: Git-Based Switching

Create different .env files for different environments:

# .env.development (for local)
OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434

# .env.production (for deployment)
OLLAMA_BASE_URL=https://your-ollama-server.com

Add to .gitignore:

.env.local
.env*.local

Commit only .env.example to git, and set up your CI/CD to copy the appropriate file during deployment.

Testing

Local Testing

1. Make sure Ollama is running locally:

   ollama serve
   

2. Start the development server:

   npm run dev
   

3. The app will connect to http://localhost:11434

Production Testing

1. Set OLLAMA_BASE_URL to your production server
2. Build and deploy:

   npm run build
   npm start
   

How It Works

Conversation Flow

1. User sends a message
2. Message is saved to chat-history.json
3. API reads all previous messages from history
4. Sends complete conversation to Ollama's /api/chat endpoint
5. Model responds with context from entire conversation
6. Response is saved to history and displayed

API Endpoints Updated

• pages/api/generate.ts - Now uses chat API with history
• pages/api/models.ts - Uses environment-based URL
• pages/api/pull.ts - Uses environment-based URL

Configuration Files

• next.config.js - Exposes OLLAMA_BASE_URL to the app
• .env.local - Local environment configuration (not committed)
• .env.example - Template for environment variables (committed)

Troubleshooting

Model not remembering conversations

• Check that chat-history.json exists and contains messages
• Verify the API is using /api/chat endpoint (not /api/generate)
• Clear chat history and start a new conversation

Connection errors

• Verify OLLAMA_BASE_URL is set correctly
• Check that Ollama server is running and accessible
• Test the URL directly: curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags

Environment variable not working

• Restart the development server after changing .env.local
• Verify the variable is set: console.log(process.env.OLLAMA_BASE_URL)
• For production, ensure the platform has the environment variable set

Additional Notes

• The chat history is stored in chat-history.json in the project root
• Clearing chat history (🗑️ button) will reset the conversation context
• Each message includes metadata (timestamp, model used)
• The system automatically filters and formats messages for Ollama's API