Octopi / Guides / Chat with open-source models
Guide
Chat with open-source AI models, on your Mac
Octopi’s chat runs an open-weight model on your own Mac through Ollama. Ask it anything, attach a document, or have it look things up on the web and in your CRM — it isn’t limited to spreadsheets.
How it works
Pick a model
Choose a size in Octopi’s Models window — Light, Balanced, Newest or Advanced — or Llama, Mistral or Gemma. It downloads once and stays on your Mac.
Ask, or attach a document
Ask a question or for a draft, or attach a PDF, Word, RTF or text file. It is read on your Mac and the answer comes from the passages that match.
Let it look things up
Ask it to check the web or your HubSpot, Pipedrive or Salesforce. Each answer shows a card saying what it read.
| In the chat | What happens |
|---|---|
| Ask and write | “Write a short, friendly follow-up email” — answered by the model on your Mac |
| Talk about a document | Attach a PDF, Word, RTF or text file — read on your Mac, never uploaded |
| Look things up on the web | Octopi searches and reads pages, then shows its sources |
| Look up a CRM record | In HubSpot, Pipedrive or Salesforce, through your signed-in session |
| Change a CRM record | It shows the change first and waits for your Confirm (unless you chose Always allow) |
| Ask how Octopi works | Answered from Octopi’s own help articles |
| Work with your sheet | Ask about the open spreadsheet, or start a task over its rows |
The answers are written by the model on your Mac; a look-up goes online only when you ask for one.
Why chat locally
The model runs locally
Questions and drafts are answered by the model on your computer — no AI subscription, no per-message cost.
The conversation isn’t kept
The conversation isn’t saved, and attached documents are forgotten when you start a new chat. Look-ups and changes are logged on your Mac, like any run.
Swap models any time
Switch between the offered models, or use any model already installed in your Ollama. Switching between Octopi’s own models removes the one it replaces, so gigabytes don’t pile up.
Hear the answers
Turn on Read Aloud and answers are spoken with your Mac’s voices as they are written.
Questions
Are these models really open source?
They are open-weight: the trained model is published and you run it yourself. Licences vary by model — the default, Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct, is Apache 2.0; check each other model’s terms.
Which Mac do I need?
A Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 13 or later. Octopi suggests the Balanced model on Macs with 12 GB of memory or more, and the Light one below that.
Does my chat go to the cloud?
Not by default: the model runs on your Mac and the conversation isn’t saved. If you turn on the optional Claude route choice, each message is sent to Claude first to decide how to handle it, and the chat says so under the message box.
Can I use a model I already have in Ollama?
Yes. The Models window lists the models installed in your Ollama, and any of them can be put in use.
Is it only for spreadsheets?
No. You can chat about anything, ask about a document, or look things up on the web and in your CRM — the spreadsheet is just one of the things it can work with.
Does it cost anything?
No. Octopi is free and the local model has no per-message cost. Octopi Cloud credits are an optional extra for the Claude features.
Related
Chat with an open-weight model on your Mac
Download Octopi, pick a model, and start asking — free, private by default, and not just for sheets.
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