About:

• Automated scripts to simplify the process of Ollama and its WebUI Launch in one click on Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS (Gnome).

• Setting up a Large Language Model (LLM) like DeepSeek-r1 with 8 billion parameters, and

• Creating a desktop entry for easy access to the WebUI (Auto start ollama server and Validations)

SUPPORT:

⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful! ⭐

INSTALLATION:

Ollama & Ollama-WebUI Installation and Creating Desktop Entry:

UBUNTU 24.04.1 LTS (Gnome) (TESTED)

1. Install Ollama:

$ curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh

$ sudo systemctl enable ollama
$ sudo systemctl start ollama

2. Install an LLM of your choice

Select an LLM of your choice from here.

• For demonstration I will install DeepSeek-r1 8 billion parameters (4.9 GB):

  $ ollama run deepseek-r1:8b
  

• This will take some time, after successfully installing

  >>> /bye
  

3. Install Ollama-WebUI:

• prerequisites (SNAP):

  $ sudo apt update
  $ sudo apt install snapd
  

• Ollama-WebUI:

  $ sudo snap install ollama-webui --beta
  

4. Creating a Desktop Entry for Ollama-WebUI to access it from the app drawer

• Save this ollama-launcher.sh to ~/.scripts folder as mentioned $HOME/scripts/ollama-launcher.sh

  $ cd
  
  $ mkdir -p ~/.scripts/
  
  $ cd scripts/
  
  $ touch ollama-launcher.sh
  
  $ vim ollama-launcher.sh
  

• ollama-launcher.sh :

    #!/bin/bash
  
    # Configuration
    OLLAMA_HOST="127.0.0.1:11434"
    OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT=8080  # Changed to match your actual web UI port
    
    # Check for required commands
    check_commands() {
        if ! command -v ollama &> /dev/null; then
            echo "Error: Ollama is not installed. Please install Ollama first."
            exit 1
        fi
        
        if ! command -v ollama-webui &> /dev/null; then
            echo "Error: ollama-webui command not found. Please install it first."
            exit 1
        fi
    }
    
    # Function to check/start Ollama
    start_ollama() {
        if curl -s $OLLAMA_HOST >/dev/null; then
            echo "✓ Ollama is already running"
            return 0
        fi
    
        echo "⚠️  Ollama is not running. Starting now..."
        
        # Try systemd service first
        if command -v systemctl >/dev/null && systemctl start ollama 2>/dev/null; then
            echo "✓ Ollama started via system service"
        else
            echo "✓ Starting Ollama in background..."
            nohup ollama serve > /dev/null 2>&1 &
        fi
    
        # Wait for Ollama to become available
        echo -n "⏳ Waiting for Ollama to start"
        local max_attempts=15
        for ((i=1; i<=$max_attempts; i++)); do
            if curl -s $OLLAMA_HOST >/dev/null; then
                echo -e "\n✓ Ollama is ready!"
                return 0
            fi
            echo -n "."
            sleep 1
        done
    
        echo -e "\n❌ Failed to start Ollama after $max_attempts attempts"
        exit 1
    }
    
    # Function to handle port conflicts
    handle_port_conflict() {
        echo "🛑 Port $OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT is already in use"
        
        # Find PID using the port
        pid=$(ss -tulpn | grep ":$OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT" | awk '{print $7}' | cut -d= -f2 | cut -d, -f1)
        
        if [ -n "$pid" ]; then
            echo "🔍 Found existing process (PID: $pid)"
            read -p "❓ Do you want to kill this process and continue? [y/N] " response
            if [[ "$response" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
                kill -9 $pid
                echo "✅ Killed process $pid"
                return 0
            else
                echo "❎ Exiting script"
                exit 1
            fi
        else
            echo "⚠️  Port in use but no process found - check your system"
            exit 1
        fi
    }
    
    # Function to start web UI
    start_webui() {
        if ss -tuln | grep -q ":$OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT"; then
            echo "✓ Web UI already running"
            return 0
        fi
    
        echo "🚀 Starting Ollama Web UI..."
        if ! nohup ollama-webui --port $OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT > /dev/null 2>&1 & then
            handle_port_conflict
            nohup ollama-webui --port $OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT > /dev/null 2>&1 &
        fi
        
        echo -n "⏳ Waiting for Web UI"
        local max_attempts=10
        for ((i=1; i<=$max_attempts; i++)); do
            if ss -tuln | grep -q ":$OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT"; then
                echo -e "\n✓ Web UI is ready!"
                return 0
            fi
            echo -n "."
            sleep 1
        done
        
        echo -e "\n❌ Failed to start Web UI after $max_attempts attempts"
        exit 1
    }
    
    # Open browser function
    open_browser() {
        echo "🌐 Opening browser at http://localhost:$OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT"
        xdg-open "http://localhost:$OLLAMA_WEBUI_PORT"
    }
    
    # Main script execution
    check_commands
    start_ollama
    start_webui
    open_browser

• After copying the content to ollama-launcher.sh, give the required permissions

  $ chmod +x ollama-launcher.sh
  

• Copy ollama-WebUI-Create-desktop-entry.sh and save it in ~/.scripts folder which we previously created in the User's HOME directory and give the required permissions

  $ cd
  
  $ cd scripts/
  
  $ touch ollama-WebUI-Create-desktop-entry.sh
  
  $ vim ollama-WebUI-Create-desktop-entry.sh
  

• ollama-WebUI-Create-desktop-entry.sh :

  #!/bin/bash
  
  # Create desktop entry
  cat > ~/.local/share/applications/ollama-webui.desktop <<EOL
  [Desktop Entry]
  Version=1.0
  Name=Ollama WebUI
  Comment=Launch Ollama Web Interface
  Exec=/bin/bash -c "$HOME/scripts/ollama-launcher.sh"
  Icon=$HOME/.icons/ollama-webui.png
  Terminal=false
  Type=Application
  Categories=Utility;Application;
  Keywords=Ollama;AI;LLM;
  StartupNotify=true
  EOL
  
  # Download specified icon
  mkdir -p ~/.icons
  if [ ! -f ~/.icons/ollama-webui.png ]; then
      wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Priyansusahoo/ollama-webUI/refs/heads/main/ollama-webUI.png -O ~/.icons/ollama-webui.png
  fi
  
  # Set permissions
  chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/ollama-webui.desktop
  update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/
  
  echo "Desktop entry created with custom icon!"
  echo "Look for 'Ollama WebUI' in your application menu."

• Permission:

  $ chmod +x ollama-WebUI-Create-desktop-entry.sh
  

• Execute the Script:

  $ ./ollama-WebUI-Create-desktop-entry.sh
  

• After successfully executing the script check your app drawer and you will find the "Ollama WebUI" icon.

  

5. After Installation:

• Create an account. Select a LLM for your choice

  

• And ENJOY!