Local models
Run AI writing entirely on your hardware. No API key, no data sent to Walkmark's servers or third-party cloud APIs.
Recording, editing, and export stay local either way. Only the Write action sends screenshots to a model — with local models that endpoint is on your machine or LAN.
Ollama
- Install Ollama and ensure the background service is running.
- In Walkmark, open Settings → Model and select On this Mac (Ollama provider).
- Download a vision model from the catalog (vision badge). Text-only models cannot read screenshots.
- Pick the model in the document toolbar and write as usual.
Walkmark talks to Ollama at http://127.0.0.1:11434 by default.
Catalog and downloads
The in-app catalog lists recommended vision models with size and RAM hints. Click Download to pull via Ollama; progress shows in Settings.
You can also enter a custom model id (e.g. my-model:tag) and pull or select it.
Recommended models
Pick based on available RAM:
| Model (examples) | Tradeoff |
|---|---|
| Moondream 2B | Smallest; terse output |
| Qwen3-VL 4B / 8B | Strong text reading for size |
| Gemma 3 / 4 | Good non-English UI |
| Llama 3.2 Vision 11B | Dense screen text |
The catalog marks whether your machine likely has enough memory.
Concurrency
Ollama writes one step at a time regardless of the Concurrency slider — local models are slower and have less context headroom.
LM Studio and compatible servers
Any OpenAI-compatible HTTP API works:
- Start LM Studio (or vLLM, llama.cpp server, etc.) and enable the local server.
- In Walkmark Settings → Model, choose Custom endpoint.
- Set the base URL (e.g.
http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1) and a vision-capable model id. - API key is optional — leave blank if the server does not require one.
Walkmark sends chat-completions-style requests with image attachments the same way it does for cloud vision models.
Troubleshooting local models
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| "Looking for Ollama…" | Install and start Ollama |
| Model missing | Download from catalog or ollama pull <name> |
| Out of memory | Pick a smaller catalog entry |
| Garbled or empty steps | Confirm the model supports vision; try Qwen3-VL or larger |
See Troubleshooting.
Local vs cloud
| Local (Ollama / compatible) | Cloud (BYOK or Walkmark Cloud) | |
|---|---|---|
| Data leaves your machine | No (LAN only if remote server) | Yes, when writing |
| Setup | Install runtime + model | API key or Cloud account |
| Speed | GPU/CPU dependent | Usually faster on frontier models |
| Cost | Free after hardware | Provider usage or subscription |
| Offline | Yes, once model is downloaded | No |
Privacy
Local writing never sends frames to the public internet unless your custom endpoint is on a remote host you control. See Privacy and data.