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Connection issues with Ollama or other AI providers can occur for several reasons. This guide covers common connection problems and their solutions.

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Common Error Messages

You may encounter the following error messages when experiencing connection issues:

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Direct Connection Error

Direct connection error This error indicates that Page Assist cannot reach your Ollama server.

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403 Error When Sending a Message

403 error when sending a message This error is caused by CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) restrictions. Since Page Assist is a browser extension, it needs to communicate with the server through the browser, but browsers restrict communication between different origins.

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Solutions

Page Assist automatically rewrites request headers to work with Ollama, but this only works for http://127.0.0.1:* and http://localhost:* URLs.
1

Open Page Assist Settings

Click on the Page Assist icon in your browser toolbar and click on the Settings icon.
2

Navigate to Ollama Settings

Click on the Ollama Settings tab.
3

Expand Advanced Configuration

Find and expand the Advanced Ollama URL Configuration option.Advanced Ollama URL Configuration
4

Enable Custom Origin URL

Toggle on the Enable or Disable Custom Origin URL option.Enable or Disable Custom Origin URL
If Ollama is running on a different port, change the URL in the Custom Origin URL field. Otherwise, leave it as the default value.
5

Save Changes

Click the Save button to apply your changes.
This should resolve the connection issue, and you’ll be able to use Ollama without any problems on Page Assist.
You can set OLLAMA_ORIGINS=* to allow connections from any origin. Follow the instructions for your operating system:
1

Open Environment Variables

  1. Open the Start menu and search for “Environment Variables”
  2. Click “Edit the system environment variables”
2

Add New Variable

  1. Click the “Environment Variables” button
  2. Under “System Variables”, click “New”
3

Configure Variable

  • Set Variable name: OLLAMA_ORIGINS
  • Set Variable value: *
  • Click OK to save
4

Restart Ollama

Restart the Ollama service for changes to take effect.

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Additional Troubleshooting

Make sure Ollama is actually running on your system:
  1. Check if Ollama is running by visiting http://localhost:11434 in your browser
  2. You should see “Ollama is running” if it’s active
  3. If not, start Ollama using the command: ollama serve
Verify that Page Assist is using the correct port:
  1. Check which port Ollama is running on (default is 11434)
  2. In Page Assist settings, go to Ollama Settings
  3. Verify the Ollama URL matches your configuration (e.g., http://localhost:11434)
Your firewall may be blocking the connection:
  1. Check your firewall settings
  2. Allow connections to port 11434 (or your custom port)
  3. For Windows, add an exception in Windows Defender Firewall
  4. For Linux, use ufw or iptables to allow the port
If you’re connecting to a remote Ollama instance:
  1. Make sure the server is accessible from your network
  2. Use the full URL including the IP address: http://192.168.1.100:11434
  3. Ensure OLLAMA_HOST is set on the server to allow external connections: 
    OLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0:11434
  4. Configure OLLAMA_ORIGINS on the server as described in Solution 2

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Still Having Issues?

If you’ve tried all the solutions above and still face connection issues, please open an issue on GitHub with:
  • Your operating system and version
  • Your browser and version
  • The exact error message you’re seeing
  • Your Ollama version (ollama --version)
  • Your Page Assist settings configuration
We’ll be happy to help you resolve the issue.

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