Spring AI + Ollama: Connect ChatClient & REST API

In the previous video, we set up Ollama locally. Now, it’s time to make it functional. I’ll show you how to configure the ChatClient bean—the heart of Spring AI—and expose it through a clean REST endpoint. No API keys, no cloud costs, just pure local development.

What you’ll learn in this video:
- How to add the necessary Spring AI dependencies to your pom.xml.
- Configuring the ChatClient bean to talk to your local Ollama instance.
- The proper way to set up a ChatClient Bean using the ChatClient.Builder.
- Creating a @RestController to handle AI prompts via simple HTTP requests.
- Testing your local LLM integration using a browser or Postman.

Prerequisites:
- Ollama installed and running (See Part 1: https://youtu.be/7pSCrdWf5Hk)
- Basic knowledge of Spring Boot and Java.

Skip to Code: 05:06

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro: Beyond Installation
01:15 - Why we need Spring AI?
02:09 - Features of Spring AI
02:55 - Important AI Terms
05:06 - Project Setup and Dependencies
06:20 - Creating ChatClient Bean
09:13 - Building REST Controller
10:25 - Testing Endpoint in Postman
12:44 - Outro: What’s next?

Github Repository:
https://github.com/theplaintextengineer/spring-ai-first-project/tree/01-setup-ollama-chat-model

Playlist Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiYN5Z3NMRvpWGzu4q34sCV3-a0Br77R1

Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiYN5Z3NMRvpQ0X7csCcrMokFhoy-jAJ1&si=bivd3rflKPpT80KG

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Видео Spring AI + Ollama: Connect ChatClient & REST API канала The Plaintext Engineer