~/tools / Run a local LLM on your server / Ollama systemd Override Generator

Ollama systemd Override Generator — Build Ollama's systemd override: OLLAMA_HOST, OLLAMA_MODELS, KEEP_ALIVE and more

Build the systemd override that sets Ollama's environment variables on a Linux server: the listen address, the model directory, how long models stay in memory, the context length, parallel requests, Flash Attention, the K/V cache type, extra origins, local-only mode and an HTTPS proxy. Every variable comes from the official Ollama FAQ, and each value is quoted the way systemd reads it. Nothing leaves your browser.

Environment variables

Empty fields are not written. The grey text is the default given in the Ollama FAQ.

OLLAMA_HOSTAddress and port Ollama listens onOLLAMA_MODELSDirectory for model files; the ollama user needs read and write accessOLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVEHow long a model stays in memory: 10m, 24h, 3600 (seconds), -1 to keep it, 0 to unload at onceOLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTHDefault context window, in tokensOLLAMA_NUM_PARALLELParallel requests per model; memory grows with this times the context lengthOLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELSModels loaded at once if they fit (3 for CPU inference)OLLAMA_MAX_QUEUERequests queued when busy before more are rejected with 503OLLAMA_FLASH_ATTENTIONUsed automatically when supported; 1 forces it on, 0 turns it offOLLAMA_KV_CACHE_TYPEq8_0 uses about half the memory of f16 and q4_0 about a quarter, when Flash Attention is onOLLAMA_ORIGINSExtra web origins allowed to call Ollama, separated by commasOLLAMA_NO_CLOUDLocal-only mode, without Ollama's cloud models and web searchSet OLLAMA_NO_CLOUD=1HTTPS_PROXYProxy for model downloads

Override for systemctl edit

Paste this into the editor that sudo systemctl edit ollama.service opens, between the two comment lines. It is saved as /etc/systemd/system/ollama.service.d/override.conf.

[Service]
Environment="OLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVE=10m"
Environment="OLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTH=8192"
Environment="OLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELS=1"
Environment="OLLAMA_NO_CLOUD=1"

Commands

Run them on the server in this order. The last one shows the variables the service received. When you change OLLAMA_MODELS, the first two create the directory and give it to the ollama user; mkdir -p is our addition, because chown fails on a directory that does not exist.

sudo systemctl edit ollama.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart ollama
systemctl show ollama --property=Environment

Variables and defaults as given in the Ollama FAQ, and quoting rules from the systemd.exec manual, checked on 2026-11-03. Ollama FAQ / systemd.exec: Environment=

Everything is done in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

When Ollama runs as a systemd service on Linux, the official FAQ says to set its environment variables with systemctl edit ollama.service: add one Environment line per variable under [Service], save, then run systemctl daemon-reload and systemctl restart ollama. The steps are short, but the details are easy to get wrong. systemd expands specifiers, so a % sign has to be written as %%; a backslash or a double quote inside a quoted assignment is read as an escape; and a value with a space must be quoted as a whole. This tool writes the override for you. It offers only the variables documented in the FAQ, shows the documented default next to each one, quotes every assignment as "NAME=value" and doubles % signs. It warns when a value would make Ollama listen on every network interface, when a count is not a whole number, and when a quantized K/V cache is chosen with Flash Attention turned off. We tested the output on Ubuntu 24.04 with systemd 255: we pasted it into systemctl edit and confirmed that the service received each value unchanged, including spaces, $, ' and %.

The core logic of this tool is open source under the MIT License. github.com/seigo5555/toolkitbox-lib/src/ollama-systemd.ts

Use Cases

Keep a model in memory longer, or unload it sooner, on a small VPS with OLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVE
Move the model files to a larger disk with OLLAMA_MODELS
Limit Ollama to one loaded model and set the default context length for a server with little memory

Usage

Fill in only the variables you want to change. Empty fields are left out, so Ollama keeps its defaults. The grey text in each field is the default the FAQ gives.
Read the warnings. A listen address other than 127.0.0.1 or localhost makes Ollama reachable from other machines, and the FAQ describes no authentication for it.
Run sudo systemctl edit ollama.service, paste the text into the editor between the two comment lines, save and exit. Then run the remaining commands to reload systemd, restart Ollama and check the values it received.

FAQ

Where is the file saved?

systemctl edit saves it as a drop-in file, /etc/systemd/system/ollama.service.d/override.conf, and leaves the main unit file unchanged. When we ran it on Ubuntu 24.04, the editor showed the comment ### Anything between here and the comment below will become the contents of the drop-in file. Paste the text between that comment and the one below it.

Why is every value wrapped in double quotes?

The systemd documentation says that a value containing spaces or an equals sign must have quotes around the whole assignment. Quoting every line the same way keeps paths with spaces and lists such as OLLAMA_ORIGINS intact. The documentation also says that $ has no special meaning there, so it is passed as written, while % starts a specifier, so the tool writes %% for a literal %.

Which characters are not accepted?

Double quotes, backslashes and control characters such as tabs. Inside a quoted assignment systemd reads them as escapes or rejects them, so the value would not reach Ollama as typed. The tool reports them as errors and leaves that line out.

Is it safe to set OLLAMA_HOST to 0.0.0.0?

It makes Ollama listen on every network interface, so other machines can reach it. The FAQ says Ollama binds 127.0.0.1 port 11434 by default and describes no authentication for the server. Our recommendation, not a statement from the documents: keep the default and reach Ollama through an SSH tunnel or a proxy with a password and HTTPS, and limit port 11434 in the firewall.

Can I put a password in HTTPS_PROXY?

The tool warns when the proxy address contains a user name and password. The systemd documentation says that environment variables are not suitable for passing secrets, because the values set for a unit can be read by unprivileged clients. The FAQ also says to avoid setting HTTP_PROXY, because Ollama pulls models only over HTTPS and HTTP_PROXY may interrupt client connections, so the tool offers only HTTPS_PROXY.

Is anything sent to a server?

No. The override is put together in your browser.

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