TeXposit supports Ollama, which lets you run language models directly on your computer. No data is sent to a cloud model, there are no API costs, and it works offline.
System requirements
| Minimum (small models) | Recommended (better quality) | |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 8 GB, 16 GB recommended | 32 GB or more |
| Disk | 20 GB free | 50 GB free |
| Processor | Any modern Intel or AMD CPU | NVIDIA GPU with CUDA (optional, much faster) |
| Model size | 7B to 13B | 30B to 70B |
Step 1: Install Ollama
Download the installer for your operating system from ollama.com/download and follow its instructions. Once installed, you can run ollama from your terminal.
Step 2: Choose and run a model
Popular models for academic writing, from fastest to highest quality:
| Model | Best for | Command |
|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.2 (3B) | Fast responses on modest hardware | ollama run llama3.2 |
| Llama 3.1 (8B) | Balanced choice, comfortable on 8 to 16 GB RAM | ollama run llama3.1 |
| Qwen2.5-Coder (7B) | Recommended for LaTeX: strong with technical content and code | ollama run qwen2.5-coder |
| Mistral (7B) | Good reasoning for its resource use | ollama run mistral |
The first ollama run <model> downloads the model (one time, 5 to 50 GB depending on size) and starts a local server on localhost:11434.
Step 3: Connect TeXposit to Ollama
- Make sure Ollama is running with your model available.
- In TeXposit, open the AI assistant panel (Cmd+Shift+B), click the ⋮ menu and choose AI Setup.
- Open the Local AI Server tab and turn on Enable Local AI Relay. It routes chat requests to your local Ollama instance.
- Check Ollama Host URL. It defaults to
http://localhost:11434/api/chat, which is where a standard Ollama install listens. - Under Model Mapping, choose the model to use for each role (for example Model (Fast)).
- Start chatting. Responses now come from your local model.
Advanced: a custom model for academic writing
For best results with academic LaTeX, you can create a custom model tuned to your writing. Save this as Modelfile:
FROM qwen2.5-coder
SYSTEM """
You are an expert academic writing assistant specialized in LaTeX and research papers.
Your responsibilities:
- Improve clarity, precision, and academic tone while preserving technical accuracy
- Ensure all LaTeX code is syntactically correct and compilable
- Follow best practices for academic writing
- Maintain formal, professional tone suitable for peer-reviewed publications
- When generating LaTeX code, include proper package imports and formatting
"""
PARAMETER temperature 0.3
PARAMETER top_p 0.95
PARAMETER num_ctx 4096
Build and run it:
ollama create texposit-academic -f Modelfile
ollama run texposit-academic