Implementation:Ollama Ollama GenerateRoutes OpenAI

Knowledge Sources	Ollama
Domains	API_Design, Networking
Last Updated	2026-02-14 00:00 GMT

Overview

Concrete tool for registering OpenAI-compatible API routes with translation middleware provided by the server package.

Description

The OpenAI route registration section of GenerateRoutes maps OpenAI endpoint paths to Ollama's native handlers wrapped in translation middleware:

• /v1/chat/completions → ChatMiddleware + ChatHandler
• /v1/completions → CompletionsMiddleware + GenerateHandler
• /v1/embeddings → EmbeddingsMiddleware + EmbedHandler
• /v1/models → ListMiddleware + ListHandler

Each middleware function translates the request format before the handler and the response format after.

Usage

Automatically registered when the Ollama server starts. No additional configuration required. Clients use the standard OpenAI base URL pattern: http://localhost:11434/v1/

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: ollama
• File: server/routes.go
• Lines: L1560-1660 (GenerateRoutes, OpenAI route section)

Signature

func (s *Server) GenerateRoutes(rc *ollama.Registry) (http.Handler, error)

Import

import "github.com/ollama/ollama/server"

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
rc	*ollama.Registry	No	Optional registry client for model operations

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
http.Handler	http.Handler	Configured HTTP handler with all routes including OpenAI-compatible endpoints
error	error	Non-nil if route setup fails

Usage Examples

Client Usage with OpenAI Python Library

from openai import OpenAI

# Point OpenAI client at Ollama
client = OpenAI(
    base_url="http://localhost:11434/v1/",
    api_key="ollama",  # any string works
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="llama3",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}
    ]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

curl Example

curl http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "llama3",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
  }'

Related Pages

Implements Principle

• Principle:Ollama_Ollama_OpenAI_Route_Registration

Requires Environment

• Environment:Ollama_Ollama_Go_Runtime