Implementation:Ollama Ollama Readline

Knowledge Sources	Ollama
Domains	CLI, Terminal UI
Last Updated	2025-02-15 00:00 GMT

Overview

Main readline implementation that provides an interactive line editing interface with keyboard input handling, history navigation, and multi-line editing support.

Description

The Instance struct combines a Prompt, Terminal, and History. Readline() enters raw terminal mode and processes keystrokes character-by-character, handling control keys (Ctrl+A/E for start/end, Ctrl+W for word delete, Ctrl+K for kill line, Ctrl+C for interrupt, Ctrl+Z for suspend, Ctrl+L for clear screen), escape sequences (arrow keys, word movement, home/end), history navigation (up/down arrows), bracketed paste detection, and regular character insertion. Supports prefilling the buffer from an external editor.

Usage

The interactive input engine for ollama run, providing a polished terminal experience with readline-like editing capabilities.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: Ollama
• File: readline/readline.go
• Lines: 1-392

Signature

type Prompt struct {
    Prompt         string
    AltPrompt      string
    Placeholder    string
    AltPlaceholder string
    UseAlt         bool
}

type Instance struct {
    Prompt      *Prompt
    Terminal    *Terminal
    History     *History
    Pasting     bool
    Prefill     string
}

func New(prompt Prompt) (*Instance, error)
func (i *Instance) Readline() (string, error)
func (i *Instance) HistoryEnable()
func (i *Instance) HistoryDisable()

Import

import "github.com/ollama/ollama/readline"

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
prompt	Prompt	Yes	Prompt strings and placeholders for display

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
line	string	The user's input text
error	error	io.EOF on Ctrl+D, ErrInterrupt on Ctrl+C

Usage Examples

rl, err := readline.New(readline.Prompt{
    Prompt:      ">>> ",
    AltPrompt:   "... ",
    Placeholder:  "Send a message (/? for help)",
})
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

for {
    line, err := rl.Readline()
    if err != nil {
        break
    }
    fmt.Println("You said:", line)
}

Related Pages

• Principle:Ollama_Ollama_CLIArchitecture