OpenAI SDK Drop-in in Ollama
From the Ollama cheat sheet · OpenAI Compatibility · verified Jul 2026
OpenAI SDK Drop-in
Point the OpenAI SDK at Ollama for local inference with no code changes.
python
# Python — use OpenAI SDK with Ollama
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
base_url='http://localhost:11434/v1/',
api_key='ollama', # required but ignored
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model='llama3.2',
messages=[{'role': 'user', 'content': 'Hello!'}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)💡 Just change base_url to localhost:11434/v1/ — the API key is required but ignored
⚡ Supports /v1/chat/completions, /v1/completions, /v1/embeddings, and /v1/models
📌 Use "ollama cp" to alias models to OpenAI names for zero-code-change migration
🟢 Great for testing apps locally before switching to cloud API providers
openaicompatibilitysdk
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