# Local AI on a Mac Studio with Ollama

Reviewed by the Contractor AI Shop research team · Last updated Oct 15, 2026  
HTML: https://contractoraishop.com/guides/local-ai-mac-studio-ollama

**Why:** keep bids, specs and pricing private, with no per-token fees. Apple silicon unified memory lets a Mac Studio hold large models.

## 1. Hardware

Choose RAM by model size: 64GB is comfortable for about 30B-class models and 128GB+ for 70B-class models. See [Apple Mac Studio](https://www.apple.com/mac-studio/).

## 2. Install Ollama

Download from [ollama.com/download/mac](https://ollama.com/download/mac) (docs: [Ollama on macOS](https://docs.ollama.com/macos)). Then run:

```
ollama pull llama3.1:8b
ollama run llama3.1:8b
```

## 3. Add a chat UI

Install [Open WebUI](https://docs.openwebui.com/getting-started/quick-start/) and point it at Ollama (http://localhost:11434), then upload specs/RFIs for Q&A.

## 4. Automate

Call the [Ollama API](https://docs.ollama.com/api) from scripts or [n8n AI workflows](https://docs.n8n.io/advanced-ai/).

## 5. Optional: MLX

[mlx-lm](https://github.com/ml-explore/mlx-lm) runs MLX-format models natively. [LM Studio](https://lmstudio.ai) is a GUI alternative.

Independent guide by Contractor AI Shop. Not affiliated with listed vendors. Follow the linked official docs for current steps.