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Run OLLaMA 3 locally and wire it into PyCharm via Continue. A free, offline 'copilot-alike' that keeps your code on your machine.

The Open Source Coding Companion: Harnessing OLLaMA 3 With PyCharm and Continue

Run OLLaMA 3 locally and wire it into PyCharm via Continue. A free, offline 'copilot-alike' that keeps your code on your machine.

Mor Dabastany By Mor Dabastany • • 433 words • 3 min
ai llm ollama pycharm continue developer-tools open-source

Introduction

In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and natural language processing, open-source models have emerged as powerful tools for developers and researchers alike. Among these, the OLLaMA 3 model stands out for its impressive capabilities and accessibility.

In this article, we’ll explore how to leverage OLLaMA 3 as an offline model and seamlessly integrate it with PyCharm using the Continue plugin, unlocking a world of possibilities for enhanced coding productivity.

Where to start?

The idea behind using OLLaMA 3 offline is that you, as a developer, get a free copilot-alike without the need to pay for any subscription. Just make sure you have enough resources and you’re good to start.

Step 1: Set up OLLaMA 3 as an offline model

To begin, you’ll need to download the pre-trained OLLaMA 3 model and set it up for offline use. This lets you harness its power without relying on an internet connection. Steps:

  1. Visit the official OLLaMA site and use the installer to download Ollama via their free utility.

  2. Ensure that you have the necessary dependencies installed, such as Python and the required libraries (if you’re into using other coding languages, make sure those are installed as well).

  3. After the download completes, run:

    ollama run llama3

  4. Wait for the magic to happen, and you’re good to start using OLLaMA 3. But wait - it gets even more fun.

Integrating OLLaMA 3 with PyCharm using Continue

Now that you have OLLaMA 3 set up offline, it’s time to integrate it with PyCharm, a popular IDE for Python. To streamline the integration we’ll use the Continue plugin:

  1. Open PyCharm and navigate to the Plugins section in the settings.
  2. Search for the Continue plugin and install it.
  3. Once installed, configure the Continue plugin to point to the directory where you extracted the OLLaMA 3 model files.

Unleashing the power of OLLaMA 3 in your PyCharm projects

With OLLaMA 3 integrated into PyCharm, you can now leverage its capabilities to enhance your coding workflow. A few examples of how it can assist you:

  • Help you create functions and tests for your project.
  • Help you write documentation where needed.
  • Suggest how to solve defects related to your code.
  • Consult on the proper way to achieve a goal you desire related to coding.

That’s the question I feel I’m going to get, and the answer is simple: security. Using an offline model lets you protect your company IP, and as a bonus, it costs you only the hardware on your laptop or workstation.

Let me know what you think and if it helped you.

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