Reconnect Ollama in Visual Studio After the BYOM Agent Update
Ollama models are still installed, but Visual Studio’s chat stopped listing them after the September update. Where do you add them back, and what works once they connect?
- Visual Studio now uses Agent (Preview) for the new BYOM experience.
- Previously configured Ollama models need to be added again during this transition.
- A successful connection does not establish support for every agent capability.
Re-add Ollama and use the new Agent experience
If an existing Ollama setup stopped being usable after moving to Visual Studio's new BYOM experience, update its registration. Microsoft's September 29 update says backend changes require previously added Ollama models to be re-added. The earlier BYOM implementation in Ask and Agent modes is no longer supported.
This describes a migration, not a requirement to repeat setup after every update. The release notes identify the change specifically for Ollama models added in 18.10 Insiders 1 and carried into Insiders 2. The instruction concerns Visual Studio's provider registration; it does not call for deleting downloaded Ollama model files.
Add the provider from Chat
The official setup guide starts inside Visual Studio:
- Open Chat in the updated IDE.
- Open the model picker and select Add a model or Manage Models.
- Choose Add model provider, select Ollama and register the connection you intend to use.
- Select the model and work in Agent (Preview).
Supported providers include Microsoft Foundry, OpenAI, Anthropic and Ollama. Custom endpoints are supported for OpenAI and Ollama. Keep the product distinction in view: VS Code extension instructions describe a different IDE and do not identify Visual Studio's registration menu.
A connected model still has capability limits
BYOM is available in preview across Community, Professional and Enterprise, including use without signing into GitHub. That does not make every connected model capable of every agent task. Microsoft says unsupported capabilities are identified in the experience.
After reconnecting, check the task you actually need. A missing connection calls for checking the provider registration and selected mode; a connected model that cannot perform a particular operation calls for checking its supported capabilities. Repeatedly configuring the old BYOM mode will not restore the retired experience.