vessel/README.md

Vessel

A modern, feature-rich web interface for Ollama

Features • Quick Start • Documentation • Contributing

---

Why Vessel

Vessel is intentionally focused on:

• A clean, local-first UI for Ollama
• Minimal configuration
• Low visual and cognitive overhead
• Doing a small set of things well

If you want a universal, highly configurable platform → open-webui is a great choice. If you want a small, focused UI for local Ollama usage → Vessel is built for that.

---

Features

Chat

• Real-time streaming responses
• Message editing with branch navigation
• Markdown rendering with syntax highlighting
• Dark/Light themes

Tools

• 5 built-in tools: web search, URL fetching, calculator, location, time
• Custom tools: Create your own in JavaScript, Python, or HTTP
• Test tools before saving with the built-in testing panel

Models

• Browse and pull models from ollama.com
• Create custom models with embedded system prompts
• Track model updates

Prompts

• Save and organize system prompts
• Assign default prompts to specific models
• Capability-based auto-selection (vision, code, tools, thinking)

📖 Full documentation on the Wiki →

---

Screenshots

Clean chat interface	Syntax-highlighted code
Integrated web search	Model browser

---

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Ollama running locally

Configure Ollama

Ollama must listen on all interfaces for Docker to connect:

# Option A: systemd (Linux)
sudo systemctl edit ollama
# Add: Environment="OLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0"
sudo systemctl restart ollama

# Option B: Manual
OLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0 ollama serve

Install

# One-line install
curl -fsSL https://somegit.dev/vikingowl/vessel/raw/main/install.sh | bash

# Or clone and run
git clone https://github.com/VikingOwl91/vessel.git
cd vessel
./install.sh

Open http://localhost:7842 in your browser.

Update / Uninstall

./install.sh --update     # Update to latest
./install.sh --uninstall  # Remove

📖 Detailed installation guide →

---

Documentation

Full documentation is available on the GitHub Wiki:

Guide	Description
Getting Started	Installation and configuration
Custom Tools	Create JavaScript, Python, or HTTP tools
System Prompts	Manage prompts with model defaults
Custom Models	Create models with embedded prompts
Built-in Tools	Reference for web search, calculator, etc.
API Reference	Backend endpoints
Development	Contributing and architecture
Troubleshooting	Common issues and solutions

---

Roadmap

Vessel prioritizes usability and simplicity over feature breadth.

Completed:

• Model browser with filtering and update detection
• Custom tools (JavaScript, Python, HTTP)
• System prompt library with model-specific defaults
• Custom model creation with embedded prompts

Planned:

• Keyboard-first workflows
• UX polish and stability improvements
• Optional voice input/output

Non-Goals:

• Multi-user systems
• Cloud sync
• Plugin ecosystems
• Support for every LLM runtime

Do one thing well. Keep the UI out of the way.

---

Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes
4. Push and open a Pull Request

📖 Development guide →

Issues: github.com/VikingOwl91/vessel/issues

---

License

GPL-3.0 — See LICENSE for details.

Made with Ollama and Svelte