Hot To Run LLMs Locally

If you are using Claude API, OpenAI API, Cursor, or AI coding tools daily, your API bill can grow very fast.

A lot of developers are now moving to local LLM setups because they want:

• Lower AI costs


• Offline AI access


• Better privacy


• Faster experimentation


• No API limits

The good news is:

You can now run powerful AI models directly on your laptop using tools like Ollama (

Install it normally like any software.

After installation, open CMD or Terminal and check:

ollama --version

If you see a version number, it is installed correctly.

Step 2: Download Your First AI Model

Now pull a model locally.

Example:

ollama pull llama3

Or for coding:

ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:7b

The first download may take a few minutes because models are several GB in size.

Step 3: Run the Model

Start chatting with the model:

ollama run llama3

Example:

>>> Explain Docker in simple words

You now have a local AI assistant running directly on your machine.

No API required.

Step 4: Use It Inside VS Code

Install:

• Continue.dev


• Cline

Both work with Ollama locally.

In Continue.dev config:

{

  "models": [

    {

      "title": "Local AI",

      "provider": "ollama",

      "model": "qwen2.5-coder:7b"

    }

  ]

}

Now VS Code can use your local model for:

• Code generation


• Refactoring


• Debugging


• Chat

Step 5: Open Chat UI in Browser

You can also use a ChatGPT-like interface locally.

Install Open WebUI using Docker:

docker run -d \

-p 3000:8080 \

--add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway \

-v open-webui:/app/backend/data \

--name open-webui \

ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Open:

http://localhost:3000

Now you have your own private AI chat app.

Recommended Models

Minimum Hardware

Basic setup:

• 16GB RAM recommended


• SSD storage


• NVIDIA GPU helps a lot

CPU-only works too, but slower.

Why Developers Like Local AI

Main reasons:

• No monthly API bills


• More privacy


• Works offline


• Full control


• Easy experimentation

For daily coding workflows, local LLMs are becoming surprisingly useful.

Cloud models are still stronger for advanced reasoning, but local AI is now good enough for many real-world tasks.

Final Thoughts

If you are spending too much on AI APIs, this is probably the easiest way to reduce costs.

Start simple:

• Install Ollama


• Pull one coding model


• Connect it to VS Code

That alone can replace a large percentage of your daily AI usage.

Useful links:

• Continue.dev