[GH-ISSUE #2280] MacOS Ollama fresh install won't actually open #47824

New Issue

@easp commented on GitHub (Jan 30, 2024):

@recoi1er That's the expected behavior. Ollama has a command line interface and an API. There are a variety of client applications that make use of the API listed at the bottom of the README in the repo.

@easp commented on GitHub (Jan 30, 2024): @recoi1er That's the expected behavior. Ollama has a command line interface and an API. There are a variety of client applications that make use of the API listed at the bottom of the README in the repo.

GiteaMirror commented

@recoi1er commented on GitHub (Jan 30, 2024):

Oh my apologies, I only downloaded from your website and installed. With the Task bar icon I presumed there was GUI!

@recoi1er commented on GitHub (Jan 30, 2024): Oh my apologies, I only downloaded from your website and installed. With the Task bar icon I presumed there was GUI!

GiteaMirror commented

@jmorganca commented on GitHub (Apr 15, 2024):

Thanks, I've been working on making this a better experience via an improved macOS app

@jmorganca commented on GitHub (Apr 15, 2024): Thanks, I've been working on making this a better experience via an improved macOS app

GiteaMirror commented

@saint0x commented on GitHub (Apr 21, 2024):

could be as simple as putting the directions on the download page. was extremely frustrating to have to come ot this thread to find this

@saint0x commented on GitHub (Apr 21, 2024): could be as simple as putting the directions on the download page. was extremely frustrating to have to come ot this thread to find this

GiteaMirror commented

@samieh-abdeljabbar commented on GitHub (Apr 25, 2024):

I can't believe I did not notice the llama in the taskbar, thank you :)

@samieh-abdeljabbar commented on GitHub (Apr 25, 2024): I can't believe I did not notice the llama in the taskbar, thank you :)

GiteaMirror commented

@Vicnent commented on GitHub (May 30, 2024):

you absolutly should give a little message like "Ollama is here ok, for applications, API, WebUI or whatever to use it, just go to the end of the readme here : https://github.com/ollama/ollama?tab=readme-ov-file#community-integrations

@Vicnent commented on GitHub (May 30, 2024): you absolutly should give a little message like "Ollama is here ok, for applications, API, WebUI or whatever to use it, just go to the end of the readme here : https://github.com/ollama/ollama?tab=readme-ov-file#community-integrations

GiteaMirror commented

@KokoDoko commented on GitHub (Oct 22, 2024):

A suggestion: add a menu item "how to use" under the menu icon (currently it only shows "quit ollama").

Or at least show a message ollama is running model llama3.2 at : http://localhost:12345

@KokoDoko commented on GitHub (Oct 22, 2024): A suggestion: add a menu item "how to use" under the menu icon (currently it only shows "quit ollama"). Or at least show a message `ollama is running model llama3.2 at : http://localhost:12345`

GiteaMirror commented

@noah23olsen commented on GitHub (Jan 30, 2025):

thought my ollama was broken because the GUI wasn't loading. If there is no actual GUI, not really a point in having the app in the first place; It just creates confusion.

either:

build out an actual GUI
delete the app completely
display a notification or a basic page that says "the model is now running and serves requests from the API or via the CLI

@noah23olsen commented on GitHub (Jan 30, 2025): thought my ollama was broken because the GUI wasn't loading. If there is no actual GUI, not really a point in having the app in the first place; It just creates confusion. either: 1. build out an actual GUI 2. delete the app completely 3. display a notification or a basic page that says "the model is now running and serves requests from the API or via the CLI

GiteaMirror commented

@ceekr commented on GitHub (May 6, 2025):

In. my case - the "app" will not even run, as the console log is telling Error: could not connect to ollama app, is it running? - when I go to Activity Monitor, it shows 'Ollama (Not Responding)`. Was working fine until few months ago - I deleted the "app" and re-installed a fresh one. Same issue.

Will appreciate some pointers from anyone reading this.
PS: Running (version 0.6.8)

@ceekr commented on GitHub (May 6, 2025): In. my case - the "app" will not even run, as the console log is telling `Error: could not connect to ollama app, is it running?` - when I go to Activity Monitor, it shows 'Ollama (Not Responding)`. Was working fine until few months ago - I deleted the "app" and re-installed a fresh one. Same issue. Will appreciate some pointers from anyone reading this. PS: Running (version 0.6.8)

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@bhosaleshivam commented on GitHub (May 27, 2025):

I encountered a similar issue on macOS where the Ollama application presented a blank window post-installation via the official Ollama-darwin.zip. The application icon was visible in the dock but only offered a "Quit" option, indicating the main process was failing to initialize correctly.

Here's a workaround that successfully launched the Ollama service:

Access Application Package Contents: Instead of launching the app directly, right-click on Ollama.app and select "Show Package Contents." This allows access to the application's internal bundle.
Navigate to the Executable: Within the package, navigate to the Contents/MacOS/ directory.
Directly Execute the Binary: Inside this directory, you'll find the ollama Unix executable. Launch this binary directly by double-clicking it. This will open a Terminal window. Ensure you only launch one instance to avoid potential conflicts.
Follow Terminal Prompts: The Terminal window will display the Ollama service startup logs and any necessary prompts. Follow these to complete the setup.

This procedure bypasses the standard application launch mechanism, which appears to be encountering an issue, and directly invokes the core Ollama service. This allowed me to get Ollama up and running successfully. Hopefully, this helps others experiencing the same blank window behavior on macOS while the root cause is being investigated.

@bhosaleshivam commented on GitHub (May 27, 2025): I encountered a similar issue on macOS where the Ollama application presented a blank window post-installation via the official `Ollama-darwin.zip`. The application icon was visible in the dock but only offered a "Quit" option, indicating the main process was failing to initialize correctly. Here's a workaround that successfully launched the Ollama service: 1. Access Application Package Contents: Instead of launching the app directly, right-click on `Ollama.app` and select "Show Package Contents." This allows access to the application's internal bundle. 2. Navigate to the Executable: Within the package, navigate to the `Contents/MacOS/` directory. 3. Directly Execute the Binary: Inside this directory, you'll find the `ollama` Unix executable. Launch this binary directly by double-clicking it. This will open a Terminal window. Ensure you only launch one instance to avoid potential conflicts. 4. Follow Terminal Prompts: The Terminal window will display the Ollama service startup logs and any necessary prompts. Follow these to complete the setup. This procedure bypasses the standard application launch mechanism, which appears to be encountering an issue, and directly invokes the core Ollama service. This allowed me to get Ollama up and running successfully. Hopefully, this helps others experiencing the same blank window behavior on macOS while the root cause is being investigated.

GiteaMirror commented

@Acumenusa commented on GitHub (Jul 2, 2025):

Hello Folks, I was trying to run Ollama on my mac and got stuck, i came across this page and thanks to @bhosaleshivam - i found the issue, but that did not resolve it entirely, I had to do some more digging and found that the Symlink was the problem.

So, even though I went into the application package and accessed the executable directly, it still did not work and I could not see anything that showed me in the activity monitor that would indicate anything. I tried re-running and even command line but it said that the service was already installed.

However, even though i went back into the terminal I could not run ollama from command line on my mac...then i looked at symlink..

What is happening is that Ollama is trying to create a symlink (ln) to /usr/local/bin/ollama, but the directory /usr/local/bin/ does not exist on my system. I believe newer macOS versions do not have this explicitly created by default...LOL Apple..: /usr/local/bin/

Therefore, I needed to manually create the directory and re-run the app so it can symlink properly.

Step 1:
I ran this command to create the directory
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin

Step 2: Ran the installation again from the terminal (Clicking still did not work)

Installation completed, hope this helps someone!

@Acumenusa commented on GitHub (Jul 2, 2025): Hello Folks, I was trying to run Ollama on my mac and got stuck, i came across this page and thanks to @bhosaleshivam - i found the issue, but that did not resolve it entirely, I had to do some more digging and found that the Symlink was the problem. So, even though I went into the application package and accessed the executable directly, it still did not work and I could not see anything that showed me in the activity monitor that would indicate anything. I tried re-running and even command line but it said that the service was already installed. However, even though i went back into the terminal I could not run ollama from command line on my mac...then i looked at symlink.. What is happening is that Ollama is trying to create a symlink (ln) to /usr/local/bin/ollama, but the directory /usr/local/bin/ does not exist on my system. I believe newer macOS versions do not have this explicitly created by default...LOL Apple..: /usr/local/bin/ Therefore, I needed to manually create the directory and re-run the app so it can symlink properly. Step 1: I ran this command to create the directory sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin Step 2: Ran the installation again from the terminal (Clicking still did not work) Installation completed, hope this helps someone!

GiteaMirror commented