Ollama has reintroduced integration with Claude Desktop, letting users route requests to open-weight models like Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi, and GLM directly from Anthropic's app, running locally or via Ollama Cloud. This is Ollama's second attempt: an earlier April integration via a third-party gateway setting broke within days when Claude Desktop started rejecting non-Anthropic model IDs. The new v0.33.0 release uses a dedicated local proxy to work around that restriction, with setup handled through Ollama's Mac app, where users can map models like Kimi K3 or DeepSeek V4 Pro to Claude's Opus/Sonnet slots. The feature is currently Mac-only, with Windows support possibly coming. The release follows Ollama's $65 million Series B funding round.
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A second shot at Claude DesktopCommunity questions‘Open models running everywhere work gets done’Questions this post answers
How can I use Ollama models like DeepSeek or Qwen inside Claude Desktop?
Ollama v0.33.0 adds a dedicated local proxy that lets Claude Desktop use Ollama as a third-party gateway provider. Users open the Ollama Mac app, select Claude, and toggle the integration on, which automatically configures Claude Desktop's gateway. Models available through Ollama, whether local or via Ollama Cloud, then appear in Claude Desktop's model picker, with mappings such as Kimi K3 behind Opus 5 or DeepSeek V4 Pro behind Sonnet 5. Track how ollama's claude desktop proxy evolves before wiring it into your own AI workflow, via daily.dev.
Why did Ollama's first Claude Desktop integration break?
Ollama's first Claude Desktop integration, launched via ollama launch claude-desktop in April after Anthropic added a developer setting for third-party inference gateways, stopped working within days. A Claude Desktop update caused the app's gateway to accept the connection but reject non-Anthropic model IDs, so Ollama removed the feature, saying the integration had become limited to Anthropic models only. daily.dev helps developers stay ahead of breaking changes like this before rebuilding an integration.
Is the new Ollama Claude Desktop integration available on Windows?
No, the new Claude Desktop integration introduced in Ollama v0.33.0 is currently limited to Ollama's Mac app. Ollama has suggested in social media replies that Windows support might be in the works, but no timeline has been given. Developers evaluating cross-platform AI tooling can follow ollama's Windows plans on daily.dev.