Use Ollama in Chrome, right in the text box you are typing in

What you get

Most Ollama browser extensions give you a chat window next to the page. You ask, then copy the answer into the field you were working in. ShroomPen works the other way round. You click into the field first, open ShroomPen over the page, and the draft goes back into that field when you click Insert draft. If you selected text, it can replace the selection instead.

• Reply to an email in webmail such as Gmail, with the thread as context.
• Rewrite a paragraph in a CMS, a support tool or a web form.
• Draft a LinkedIn post or comment, or translate what you wrote.

You choose the context for each request: the page, the field you are in, the text you selected, other open tabs (PDF tabs too) or a saved Workspace. Password, one-time code and payment fields are left out.

Set it up

1. Install Ollama and pull a model

   Install Ollama from ollama.com (Windows 10 or later, macOS 14 or later, or Linux), then download a model, for example with ollama pull llama3.2 (about 2 GB).

   ollama pull llama3.2

2. Allow ShroomPen in OLLAMA_ORIGINS

   Ollama rejects requests from browser extensions until you allow them. Set the environment variable OLLAMA_ORIGINS to ShroomPen’s origin, shown below, and restart Ollama.

   OLLAMA_ORIGINS=chrome-extension://ghigbnpoahodgnhlgbggjphpflkofgfn

   Where to set it depends on your system. The OLLAMA_ORIGINS guide has the steps for Windows, macOS and Linux and a one-line check that it worked.

3. Install ShroomPen and enable it

   Add ShroomPen from the Chrome Web Store. The first time you open it, it explains what it can read and waits until you tick the box and click Enable ShroomPen.

   Add ShroomPen to Chrome. It is free. You can also open it from the toolbar button or by right-clicking a page and choosing Open ShroomPen.

4. Add Ollama as a local server

   Open ShroomPen with Ctrl+Q, open settings, choose Add provider, then Direct provider, then Local server. Enter http://localhost:11434/v1 as the base URL and leave the API key empty.

   http://localhost:11434/v1

5. Test and connect

   Click Test/load models and allow access to localhost in the permission window Chrome shows. ShroomPen loads your Ollama models and sends a short test request. Pick a model and click Connect.

6. Write in a text box

   Click into any text field on a page, press Ctrl+Q, type what you want, read the draft and click Insert draft. ShroomPen never changes a field on its own.

Where your text goes

ShroomPen has no server of its own. The request goes from Chrome straight to the address you entered, here Ollama on localhost. Your provider settings are kept in the extension’s local storage in your Chrome profile. Recent conversations are kept only until you close the browser, and the page text you attach is not saved unless you add it to a Workspace yourself. You can open the exact request before it is sent.

One exception to “it stays on your machine”: Ollama can also run cloud models, which run on Ollama’s servers after you sign in to Ollama. If you pick one of those in ShroomPen, your request goes to Ollama’s cloud. Local models don’t.

ShroomPen or another Ollama extension?

The best-known alternative is Page Assist, an open-source sidebar and web UI for local models. They solve different problems, and Page Assist is ahead on several points.

If you mostly want to chat with a local model, or you need Firefox or open source, Page Assist is the better fit. If you want the model’s draft in the email or form you are writing, that is what ShroomPen is for. Both can talk to the same Ollama server.

Related

• Set OLLAMA_ORIGINS for a Chrome extension: the 403 fix in detail
• Use OpenRouter in Chrome: hosted models, including free ones, with one sign-in
• Privacy policy: what ShroomPen handles and stores