Ollama Connection Refused on Port 11434

What does this problem usually mean?

If an app, RAG pipeline or agent cannot reach Ollama on port 11434, the cause is usually that Ollama is not running, the endpoint is wrong, or the client is trying to reach the wrong machine.

What to check first

1. 1

   Confirm that Ollama is running on the machine that should serve the model.

2. 2

   Check whether the client is using the expected local endpoint, commonly http://127.0.0.1:11434.

3. 3

   If the client runs in Docker, WSL or on another device, remember that localhost refers to that environment, not necessarily the Windows host.

4. 4

   Test the Ollama endpoint locally before changing firewall or security settings.

5. 5

   After any change, repeat the same connection test and verify that a model request succeeds.

Important: verify the result

Change one thing at a time and repeat the same test afterwards. A successful command is not proof of a fix; verify that the original failure can no longer be reproduced.

Note: Provider features, limits and versions can change. For version-specific questions, always verify the current vendor documentation.