Coding Assistants with ollama models
With the recent surge in AI coding assistants, I decided to explore some free and freemium options, particularly focusing on local models through Ollama. Here's my experience and what I ultimately settled on.
Understanding Coding Assistants
Before diving into my journey, it's important to understand that modern coding assistants are much more than just interfaces to language models. They provide:
Intelligent code navigation and refactoring
Context-aware documentation lookups
Integration with version control systems
Smart code analysis and error detection
Automated test generation
Codebase-wide understanding and references
Custom snippets and templates management
These sophisticated features require significant infrastructure and ongoing development, which helps explain why premium versions are a reasonable long-term investment for serious developers.
The Ollama Experiment with DeepSeek Coder
I started first with the DeepSeek Coder model via ollama. The appeal was clear: a locally hosted solution that wouldn't require a subscription or API costs. DeepSeek Coder, known for its strong coding capabilities, seemed like a promising choice.
However, the integration with popular coding tools proved to be more challenging than expected.
Cursor: Limited Local Model Support
It initially seemed like a great option. However, I quickly discovered its limitations with Ollama models:
- Code completion works with local models
- Chat features are unavailable
- Code editing capabilities are restricted
- The overall experience feels incomplete without these core features
CodeGPT: Performance Issues
Next, I tried CodeGPT, which does support Ollama models more comprehensively. However, the experience was far from ideal:
- Response times stretched into minutes
- The lag made it impractical for real-time coding assistance
- The integration worked technically but wasn't viable for daily use
Microsoft Copilot
After these experiments, I found myself gravitating toward Microsoft Copilot's freemium offering. Here's why it's working for me:
- Limited but sufficient number of interactions for my current needs
- Reliable performance with quick response times
- Well-integrated into the development environment
- No setup hassles or performance issues
The freemium tier of Copilot is serving my needs for now, but I'm keeping an eye on my usage patterns. When I hit the limits, I'll need to make a decision. Have you tried any of these tools? I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.