Ollama with API Key Authentication

A secure Docker image that runs the Ollama service with API key authentication using Caddy as a reverse proxy. This setup provides multiple authentication methods while keeping your Ollama instance secure.

Quick Start

Using Docker

docker run -d \
  -p 11435:80 \
  -e OLLAMA_API_KEY=your-secret-api-key \
  -v ollama_data:/root/.ollama \
  ghcr.io/g1ibby/ollama-auth:latest

Using Docker Compose

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/g1ibby/ollama-auth/main/docker-compose.yml
# Edit docker-compose.yml to set your API key
docker-compose up -d

Authentication Methods

The service supports three authentication methods. Choose the one that best fits your client:

1. Bearer Token (Recommended)

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer your-secret-api-key" \
  http://localhost:11435/api/tags

2. Query Parameter

curl "http://localhost:11435/api/tags?api-key=your-secret-api-key"

3. Header-Based

curl -H "X-API-Key: your-secret-api-key" \
  http://localhost:11435/api/tags

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description	Default
OLLAMA_API_KEY	✅	API key for authentication	-
OLLAMA_HOST	❌	Ollama bind address	0.0.0.0

Volume Mounts

• /root/.ollama - Ollama models and configuration data

Using with Ollama Clients

OpenWebUI

Set the API base URL to http://localhost:11435 and configure authentication headers in your client.

Ollama CLI

export OLLAMA_HOST=http://localhost:11435
# Add API key to your requests

Python Client

import requests

headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer your-secret-api-key"}
response = requests.get("http://localhost:11435/api/tags", headers=headers)

Security Considerations

• 🔑 Strong API Keys - Use long, randomly generated API keys
• 🌐 Network Security - Consider using HTTPS in production with a reverse proxy
• 🔄 Key Rotation - Regularly rotate your API keys
• 📊 Monitoring - Monitor access logs for suspicious activity

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

• Ensure OLLAMA_API_KEY environment variable is set
• Check Docker logs: docker logs <container-name>

Authentication fails

• Verify your API key matches the OLLAMA_API_KEY environment variable
• Ensure you're using the correct authentication method
• Check that the API key doesn't contain special characters that need escaping

Models not persisting

• Ensure you're mounting a volume to /root/.ollama
• Check volume permissions and available disk space

Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.