Oterm

What is Oterm about?

Oterm provides a lightweight, cross‑platform terminal interface for Ollama, enabling users to chat with local LLMs, customise system prompts, adjust model parameters, and leverage MCP tools without running additional servers or front‑ends.

How to use Oterm?

1. Install – the quickest method is:

uvx oterm

(Alternatively, install via Homebrew, pip, or from source.) 2. Run – simply type oterm in any supported terminal emulator (Linux, macOS, Windows). 3. Navigate – use the on‑screen menus to select a model, create or switch chat sessions, adjust settings, and invoke tools. 4. Persist – chats are stored in a SQLite database, preserving context and customisations across launches.

Key Features

• Intuitive TUI with multiple persistent chat sessions.
• Model selection and per‑model system‑prompt/parameter customization.
• Full MCP tools and prompts support, including streaming and "thinking" mode.
• Image inclusion and theme selection for a personalized experience.
• RAG example integration and Homebrew distribution.

Use Cases

• Rapid prototyping and experimentation with locally hosted LLMs.
• Knowledge‑base querying via RAG without leaving the terminal.
• Development workflows that need AI assistance directly in the command line.
• Debugging or testing custom Ollama models and prompts.
• Automating tool‑driven tasks (e.g., git operations) through MCP integrations.

FAQ

Q: Which operating systems are supported? A: Linux, macOS, and Windows with most terminal emulators.

Q: Do I need an internet connection? A: Only if the selected Ollama model requires remote resources; the client itself works offline.

Q: How are chats persisted? A: Chats, system prompts, and parameter settings are saved in a local SQLite database.

Q: Can I customise the appearance? A: Yes, Oterm supports multiple themes and UI styling options.

Q: How do I add custom tools? A: Use the MCP tools interface; Oterm can communicate with any MCP‑compatible server, including those you write yourself.

oterm

the terminal client for Ollama.

Features

• intuitive and simple terminal UI, no need to run servers, frontends, just type oterm in your terminal.
• supports Linux, MacOS, and Windows and most terminal emulators.
• multiple persistent chat sessions, stored together with system prompt & parameter customizations in sqlite.
• support for Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools & prompts integration.
• can use any of the models you have pulled in Ollama, or your own custom models.
• allows for easy customization of the model's system prompt and parameters.
• supports tools integration for providing external information to the model.

Quick install

uvx oterm

See Installation for more details.

Documentation

oterm Documentation

What's new

• Example on how to do RAG with haiku.rag.
• oterm is now part of Homebrew!
• Support for "thinking" mode for models that support it.
• Support for streaming with tools!
• Messages UI styling improvements.
• MCP Sampling is here in addition to MCP tools & prompts! Also support for Streamable HTTP & WebSocket transports for MCP servers.

Screenshots

The splash screen animation that greets users when they start oterm.

A view of the chat interface, showcasing the conversation between the user and the model.

The model selection screen, allowing users to choose and customize available models.

oterm using the git MCP server to access its own repo.

The image selection interface, demonstrating how users can include images in their conversations.

oterm supports multiple themes, allowing users to customize the appearance of the interface.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.