ollama-opencode-setup

Imported from imagewize/ollama-opencode-setup (AGENTS.md). Install upstream with npx skills add imagewize/ollama-opencode-setup. Copyright stays with the author.

AGENTS.md

Instructions for AI coding agents (Mistral Vibe, and any other tool that reads AGENTS.md) working in this repository. The Claude Code companion file is CLAUDE.md — keep the two in sync when changing shared guidance.

Repository Purpose

This is a documentation and configuration repository for running Open Code CLI with local Ollama models. It contains:

• Open Code configuration (opencode.json)
• Custom Modelfiles for extended context variants (modelfiles/)
• Comprehensive documentation (docs/, docs/AGENTS-USAGE.md, docs/OPENCODE-COMMANDS.md)
• Example workflows (examples/)
• Test suite (test-opencode.md)

This repository does NOT contain application code - it's a reference repository meant to be symlinked or copied into other projects.

Key Configuration Files

opencode.json

The main Open Code CLI configuration defining available Ollama models:

• Provider: Ollama (local) at http://localhost:11434/v1
• Models (tool use, M1 16GB): ministral-3:8b-32k (recommended), ministral-3:8b-16k, ministral-3:8b, qwen3:8b-16k, qwen3:8b, qwen3:4b
• Models (tool use, M4 24GB): mistral-small3.2:24b-32k (recommended, no GPU tuning), qwen3-coder:30b-32k (coding MoE, needs raised GPU limit), qwen3.5:27b-mlx, qwen3.5:latest
• Models (read-only): deepseek-coder-v2:16b, qwen3.5:9b, qwen3.5:4b, phi4, gemma4:e4b, mistral-nemo:12b-instruct-2407-q4_K_M, granite3.1-moe

When adding new models, update this file with the model name and display name, then run ollama pull <model-name>.

modelfiles/

Custom Modelfiles for creating extended context variants:

• ministral-3-8b-32k.Modelfile - 32k context variant of ministral-3:8b (recommended, 100% GPU on M1 16GB)
• ministral-3-8b-16k.Modelfile - 16k context variant of ministral-3:8b (memory-constrained fallback)
• qwen3-8b-16k.Modelfile - 16k context variant of qwen3:8b
• mistral-small3.2-24b-32k.Modelfile - 32k variant for M4 24GB (recommended, no GPU tuning)
• qwen3-coder-30b-32k.Modelfile - 32k variant of the qwen3-coder 30B MoE for M4 24GB (needs raised GPU limit)
• Create new variants using: ollama create <model-name> -f modelfiles/<filename>.Modelfile

Custom Model Context

Extended Context Models

Custom variants with num_ctx baked in are needed because Open Code talks to Ollama via the OpenAI-compatible endpoint, which does not pass Ollama's num_ctx — so base models run at Ollama's small default context inside Open Code. Each variant has a committed Modelfile for reproducible builds:

ollama create ministral-3:8b-32k -f modelfiles/ministral-3-8b-32k.Modelfile  # recommended (M1 16GB)
ollama create ministral-3:8b-16k -f modelfiles/ministral-3-8b-16k.Modelfile
ollama create qwen3:8b-16k -f modelfiles/qwen3-8b-16k.Modelfile
ollama create mistral-small3.2:24b-32k -f modelfiles/mistral-small3.2-24b-32k.Modelfile  # M4 24GB (recommended)
ollama create qwen3-coder:30b-32k -f modelfiles/qwen3-coder-30b-32k.Modelfile           # M4 24GB (coding MoE)

Ollama Commands Reference

Essential commands for managing local models:

# List installed models
ollama list

# Pull a new model
ollama pull <model-name>

# Remove a model
ollama rm <model-name>

# Run interactive session
ollama run <model-name>

# Check if Ollama is running
curl http://localhost:11434/v1/models

# Start Ollama service
ollama serve

# Create model from Modelfile
ollama create <model-name> -f <modelfile-path>

Model Selection Guidelines

Context windows:

• 4k tokens: ~3,000 words, 1 medium file
• 8k tokens: ~6,000 words, 1-2 medium files
• 16k tokens: ~12,000 words, 3-5 medium files
• 32k+ tokens: Large multi-file analysis

Model recommendations (M1 16GB, tested 2026-06-01):

• Recommended for Open Code → ministral-3:8b-32k (11 GB, 32k ctx, 100% GPU, tool use confirmed)
• Memory-constrained fallback → ministral-3:8b-16k (6.5 GB, 16k ctx, 100% GPU, tool use confirmed)
• Quick file ops → qwen3:4b (2.5 GB, tool use confirmed)
• Standard file ops → qwen3:8b (5.2 GB, tool use confirmed, ~26s)
• Multi-file ops → qwen3:8b-16k (5.2 GB, 16k ctx, tool use confirmed)
• Large context analysis → qwen3.5:9b (6.6 GB, 32k ctx, read-only — no tool use)
• Read-only analysis → mistral-nemo:12b-instruct-2407-q4_K_M (7.5 GB, read-only)

Model recommendations (Mac Mini M4 Pro 24GB, tested 2026-06-30):

• Recommended (no GPU tuning) → mistral-small3.2:24b-32k (19 GB, 32k ctx, 100% GPU, tool use confirmed). The 64k variant spills 22% to CPU — stay at 32k.
• Coding MoE (needs raised GPU limit) → qwen3-coder:30b-32k (21 GB, 32k ctx, ~34.5 tok/s warm). Reaches 98% GPU only after sudo sysctl -w iogpu.wired_limit_mb=21504 + Ollama restart.
• Lightweight option → qwen3.5:latest (6.6 GB, 32k ctx, tool use confirmed, ~18s)

See docs/MLX-RUNTIME.md and modelfiles/README.md for the full GPU test results.

Documentation Structure

docs/PROJECT-SETUP.md

How to wire this repo's config into a new or existing project — symlink vs copy, per-project vs global config, launching OpenCode and selecting a model.

docs/OPENCODE-COMMANDS.md

Complete Open Code CLI commands reference including all 15 built-in slash commands, bash integration, agent switching, custom command creation, and troubleshooting.

docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

Tool usage discovery, model capability limitations, diagnosing models that plan but do not create files, hybrid workflow strategies, and model selection flowchart.

docs/CONFIGURATION.md, docs/MODEL-SELECTION.md, docs/CUSTOM-MODELS.md, docs/CONTEXT-WINDOWS.md, docs/MLX-RUNTIME.md, docs/OLLAMA-COMMANDS.md

Open Code configuration, model selection, custom model creation, context window details, MLX runtime tuning, and Ollama CLI reference.

docs/AGENTS-USAGE.md

How OpenCode works (the agentic loop / tool-use wrapper pattern), build and plan agents (Tab key switching), model capabilities, agent workflow patterns, think-mode behavior, performance benchmarks, and best practices. This is the human-facing agents guide; the file you are reading (AGENTS.md at the repo root) is the agent instruction file.

examples/

• code-review.md - Code review workflows
• refactoring.md - Refactoring patterns
• multi-file-analysis.md - Multi-file analysis
• batch-processing.md - Batch operation scripts

test-opencode.md

Test suite for validating Open Code CLI setup, performance benchmarks, think mode validation, and the comparison matrix for all models.

Before Responding

1. Review this file and CLAUDE.md for repository purpose and structure, key configuration files, Ollama commands, documentation structure, and model selection guidelines.
2. Check current context: confirm the working directory is the repository root (ollama-opencode-setup), the current branch, and git status; review recent commits for relevant changes.
3. Adhere to key principles: this is a documentation/configuration repository, not an application codebase; file paths are relative to the repository root; model operations use the Ollama CLI; configuration changes require updates to both opencode.json and the documentation.

Response Guidelines

• Be concise and technical
• Reference specific files and line numbers
• Use markdown formatting for code and structure
• Prioritize verification over assumptions
• When unsure, ask for clarification before acting
• For Open Code CLI specifics, reference docs/OPENCODE-COMMANDS.md
• For model selection, reference docs/MODEL-SELECTION.md

Repository Workflow

This repository is designed to be:

1. Cloned to ~/code/ollama-opencode-setup
2. Symlinked into projects: ln -s ~/code/ollama-opencode-setup/opencode.json ~/code/your-project/opencode.json
3. Referenced for documentation and examples

When making changes:

• Update opencode.json when adding/removing models
• Add corresponding Modelfile to modelfiles/ for custom variants
• Update docs/ for technical documentation changes
• Update docs/AGENTS-USAGE.md for agent workflow and usage patterns
• Add new workflows to examples/ directory
• Update test-opencode.md with new test cases
• Keep README.md and CLAUDE.md in sync with major changes

Common Issues

"Cannot Read Binary File" Error

Occurs when documentation files contain Unicode box-drawing characters (├, │, └). Solution:

LC_ALL=C tr -cd '\11\12\15\40-\176' < file.md > file_clean.md
mv file_clean.md file.md

Open Code CLI Thinking Mode

The Qwen3 8B 16K model enters verbose thinking mode during code generation. This is model behavior, not a CLI issue. Tasks complete correctly but slower. The verbosity provides useful insight into model reasoning.

Slow Performance

Local models are 3-10x slower than cloud models:

• Simple file write: 8-30s (local) vs 2-5s (cloud)
• Use smaller models (qwen3:4b, ministral-3:8b) for simple tasks
• Use standard context when extended context isn't needed
• Consider cloud models for time-sensitive work

Local vs Cloud Model Usage

Use local models (Ollama) when:

• Working offline
• Processing sensitive/proprietary code
• Running batch operations overnight
• Privacy requirements mandate local processing
• Learning/experimenting without API costs

Use cloud models when:

• Real-time interactive development
• Complex multi-file operations requiring fast iteration
• Time-sensitive tasks
• Working with very large codebases (200k+ context)
• Speed is more important than cost

Git Commit Rules

⚠️ STRICT: No AI attribution in commits — this repository is attribution-free

• Always create a new branch for commits — never commit directly to main.
• Always use atomic commits: each commit must represent one logical change.
  • Split changes into multiple commits if they touch unrelated files/systems
  • Example: Configuration changes = one commit, documentation updates = separate commit
  • Do NOT bundle documentation fixes with config changes in a single commit
• Commit message format: imperative mood, present tense; concise but descriptive.
  • Good: Add qwen3:8b-16k to opencode.json
  • Bad: Added model or Updating models
• Prefix commits when appropriate: docs:, config:, test:, examples:.
• ❌ NEVER add AI attribution to commit messages:
  • ❌ NO Co-authored-by: Mistral Vibe <vibe@mistral.ai>
  • ❌ NO Generated by Mistral Vibe
  • ❌ NO Generated by Mistral AI
  • ❌ NO any form of AI tool attribution
  • ✅ All commits must be professional and attribution-free
  • This applies to every file and directory in the repository, without exception