From Terminal to Browser: Turning Ollama into a Browser-Based AI

How to Use Ollama Via a Firefox Extension So You Don’t Have to Use the Command Line

How to Install the Page Assist Extension in Firefox

To make this work, you’ll need Ollama installed and running, as well as the Firefox browser. That’s it. Let’s make some magic.

1. Open Firefox. If you’re reading this via Firefox, you’re already one step ahead.
2. Point Firefox to the Page Assist entry in the Add-Ons store and click "Add to Firefox." When prompted, click Add. You’ll notice the Add-Ons store lists Page Assist as not actively monitored for security by Mozilla. Because of that, I tracked down the source for the extension, which is hosted on GitHub. Since the source is available to download and view, I didn’t hesitate to install it.
3. Do remember, though, that nothing is 100% safe. Also, you can take a look at the reviews and see that no one has complained of malicious activity from the extension.
4. Finally, you can check out the developer’s website to learn more.

How to Use Page Assist

Before you actually use Page Assist, you need to ensure that Ollama is running. If you’ve already installed it, you can run a local LLM with a command like this:

ollama run llama3.2

If you see the >>> prompt, the LLM is running and ready to accept queries.

Using Page Assist

1. Pin the extension: The first thing I would do is pin the Page Assist extension to the Firefox toolbar. To do that, click the puzzle piece icon and then click the gear icon associated with Page Assist. From the drop-down, click "Pin to toolbar." You should now see the Page Assist icon in the Firefox toolbar (which looks like a tiny thought balloon).
2. Open the extension: Click the Page Assist icon, and a new tab will open with the Ollama UI.
3. Select your model: Before you can run your first query, you need to select a model. Click the "Select a Model" drop-down and choose the model you’ve installed (such as llama3.2:latest).
4. Type your query: You can now type your query in the bottom section labeled "Type a message." Hit Enter on your keyboard or click Submit, and Ollama will go to work.

Adding a New Model

You can also add new models with Page Assist. To do that, click the gear icon in the upper right of the Page Assist window. Click Manage Models in the left sidebar, and then click Add New Model. In the pop-up window, type the name of the model you want to add and click Pull Model. For a complete list of models available to Ollama, check out this page.

Conclusion

And that, my friends, is how you can more easily interact with Ollama, thanks to a simple-to-use Firefox extension.

FAQs

Q: Is the Page Assist extension safe to use?
A: While the extension is not actively monitored for security by Mozilla, it has been reviewed and no one has complained of malicious activity.

Q: How do I add a new model to Page Assist?
A: To add a new model, click the gear icon in the upper right of the Page Assist window, then click Manage Models, and finally click Add New Model.

Q: Can I use Page Assist with other browsers?
A: Yes, Page Assist works on Firefox, Zen Browser, and other compatible browsers.