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Buddy Setup Guide

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • macOS 11+ (Buddy is optimized for Apple Silicon)
  • Node.js 18+ (check with node --version)
  • 16GB RAM (8GB minimum)
  • 5-6GB free disk space
  • Chrome Browser

Step 1: Install Ollama

Ollama is the local AI runtime that powers Buddy.

  1. Visit https://ollama.ai
  2. Download Ollama for macOS
  3. Open the downloaded .dmg file
  4. Drag Ollama to your Applications folder
  5. Open Ollama (it will appear in your menu bar)

Verify installation:

ollama --version

Step 2: Download AI Model

Choose one of these models:

Option A: Llama 3.2 (3B) - Recommended

Smaller, faster, good for most tasks. Uses ~4GB RAM.

ollama pull llama3.2

Option B: Llama 3 (8B) - More Powerful

Better writing quality. Uses ~7GB RAM.

ollama pull llama3

Test the model:

ollama run llama3.2 "Say hello"

Step 3: Setup Backend

  1. Navigate to the backend folder:
cd /Users/manmit/Dev/idea/buddy/backend
  1. Install dependencies:
npm install
  1. Verify the .env file exists and has correct settings:
cat .env

Should show:

PORT=3000
OLLAMA_HOST=http://localhost:11434
OLLAMA_MODEL=llama3.2
  1. Start the backend server:
npm run dev

You should see:

🚀 Buddy Backend Server Started!
================================
📍 Server: http://localhost:3000
🤖 Ollama: http://localhost:11434
🧠 Model: llama3.2

Step 4: Test the Backend

Open a new terminal and test the endpoints:

Health check:

curl http://localhost:3000/health

Test Ollama connection:

curl http://localhost:3000/api/test

Test chat:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/chat \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "What is your name?"}'

Troubleshooting

Ollama not running

# Check if Ollama is running
curl http://localhost:11434

# If not, open Ollama from Applications

Model not found

# List installed models
ollama list

# Pull the model if missing
ollama pull llama3.2

Port already in use

# Check what's using port 3000
lsof -i :3000

# Kill the process or change PORT in .env

Backend won't start

# Clear node_modules and reinstall
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Next Steps

Once the backend is running successfully:

  1. Proceed to Phase 2: Data Storage & RAG
  2. Add your personal information
  3. Build the Chrome extension

Quick Start Script

For convenience, use the provided script:

# Make scripts executable
chmod +x scripts/*.sh

# Install Ollama and model
./scripts/install-ollama.sh

# Start development environment
./scripts/start-dev.sh

Support

If you encounter issues:

  1. Check the troubleshooting section above
  2. Review the logs in the terminal
  3. Verify all prerequisites are met
  4. Check that Ollama is running in the menu bar