diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/api_keys/utils.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/api_keys/utils.tsx
index ceae29d888..2140a99ee3 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/api_keys/utils.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/api_keys/utils.tsx
@@ -1,24 +1,38 @@
 import { Provider, ProviderResponse } from './types';
 import { getApiUrl, getSecretKey } from '../../../config';
+import { special_provider_cases } from '../providers/utils';
 
 export async function getActiveProviders(): Promise<string[]> {
   try {
     // Fetch the secrets settings
     const secretsSettings = await getSecretsSettings();
 
+    // Check for special provider cases (e.g. ollama needs to be installed in Applications folder)
+    const specialCasesResults = await Promise.all(
+      Object.entries(special_provider_cases).map(async ([providerName, checkFunction]) => {
+        const isActive = await checkFunction(); // Dynamically re-check status
+        console.log(`Special case result for ${providerName}:`, isActive);
+        return isActive ? providerName : null;
+      })
+    );
+
     // Extract active providers based on `is_set` in `secret_status` or providers with no keys
     const activeProviders = Object.values(secretsSettings) // Convert object to array
       .filter((provider) => {
         const apiKeyStatus = Object.values(provider.secret_status || {}); // Get all key statuses
 
         // Include providers if:
-        // - They have at least one key set (`is_set: true`), OR
-        // - They have no keys (`secret_status` is empty or undefined)
-        return apiKeyStatus.some((key) => key.is_set) || apiKeyStatus.length === 0;
+        // - They have at least one key set (`is_set: true`)
+        return apiKeyStatus.some((key) => key.is_set);
       })
       .map((provider) => provider.name || 'Unknown Provider'); // Extract provider name
 
-    return activeProviders;
+    // Combine active providers from secrets settings and special cases
+    const allActiveProviders = [
+      ...activeProviders,
+      ...specialCasesResults.filter((provider) => provider !== null), // Filter out null results
+    ];
+    return allActiveProviders;
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('Failed to get active providers:', error);
     return [];
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/hardcoded_stuff.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/hardcoded_stuff.tsx
index 829ef7271e..4078cfc8e2 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/hardcoded_stuff.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/hardcoded_stuff.tsx
@@ -109,15 +109,3 @@ export const provider_aliases = [
   { provider: 'OpenRouter', alias: 'openrouter' },
   { provider: 'Google', alias: 'google' },
 ];
-
-export const recent_models = [
-  { name: 'gpt-4o', provider: 'OpenAI', lastUsed: '2 hours ago' },
-  { name: 'claude-3-5-sonnet-latest', provider: 'Anthropic', lastUsed: 'Yesterday' },
-  { name: 'o1-mini', provider: 'OpenAI', lastUsed: '3 days ago' },
-];
-
-export const model_env_vars = {
-  OpenAI: 'OPENAI_MODEL',
-  Anthropic: 'ANTHROPIC_MODEL',
-  Databricks: 'DATABRICKS_MODEL',
-};
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/BaseProviderGrid.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/BaseProviderGrid.tsx
index 41b12d2adb..acb50b9252 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/BaseProviderGrid.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/BaseProviderGrid.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
-import React from 'react';
-import { Check, Plus, Settings, X, Rocket } from 'lucide-react';
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
+import { Check, Plus, Settings, X, Rocket, RefreshCw, AlertCircle } from 'lucide-react';
 import { Button } from '../../ui/button';
 import { Tooltip, TooltipContent, TooltipProvider, TooltipTrigger } from '../../ui/Tooltip';
 import { Portal } from '@radix-ui/react-portal';
 import { required_keys } from '../models/hardcoded_stuff';
+import { ExclamationTriangleIcon } from '@radix-ui/react-icons';
+import { useActiveKeys } from '../api_keys/ActiveKeysContext';
+import { getActiveProviders } from '../api_keys/utils';
 
 // Common interfaces and helper functions
 interface Provider {
@@ -27,6 +30,7 @@ interface BaseProviderCardProps {
   showDelete?: boolean;
   hasRequiredKeys?: boolean;
   onTakeoff?: () => void;
+  showTakeoff?: boolean;
 }
 
 function getArticle(word: string): string {
@@ -60,9 +64,11 @@ function BaseProviderCard({
   showDelete = false,
   hasRequiredKeys = false,
   onTakeoff,
+  showTakeoff,
 }: BaseProviderCardProps) {
   const numRequiredKeys = required_keys[name]?.length || 0;
   const tooltipText = numRequiredKeys === 1 ? `Add ${name} API Key` : `Add ${name} API Keys`;
+  const { activeKeys, setActiveKeys } = useActiveKeys();
 
   return (
     <div className="relative h-full p-[2px] overflow-hidden rounded-[9px] group/card bg-borderSubtle hover:bg-transparent hover:duration-300">
@@ -85,6 +91,7 @@ function BaseProviderCard({
           <div className="flex items-center">
             <h3 className="text-base font-medium text-textStandard truncate mr-2">{name}</h3>
 
+            {/* Configured state: Green check */}
             {isConfigured && (
               <TooltipProvider>
                 <Tooltip>
@@ -98,7 +105,36 @@ function BaseProviderCard({
                       <p>
                         {hasRequiredKeys
                           ? `You have ${getArticle(name)} ${name} API Key set in your environment`
-                          : `${name} has no required API keys`}
+                          : `${name} is installed and running on your machine`}
+                      </p>
+                    </TooltipContent>
+                  </Portal>
+                </Tooltip>
+              </TooltipProvider>
+            )}
+
+            {/* Not Configured state: Red exclamation mark for Ollama */}
+            {!isConfigured && name === 'Ollama' && (
+              <TooltipProvider>
+                <Tooltip>
+                  <TooltipTrigger asChild>
+                    <div className="flex items-center justify-center w-5 h-5 rounded-full bg-bgApp hover:bg-bgApp shadow-none text-textSubtle border border-borderSubtle hover:border-borderStandard hover:text-textStandard transition-colors">
+                      !
+                    </div>
+                  </TooltipTrigger>
+                  <Portal>
+                    <TooltipContent side="top" align="center" className="z-[9999]">
+                      <p>
+                        To use, the{' '}
+                        <a
+                          href="https://ollama.com/download"
+                          target="_blank"
+                          rel="noopener noreferrer"
+                          className="text-blue-600 underline hover:text-blue-800"
+                        >
+                          Ollama app
+                        </a>{' '}
+                        must be installed on your machine and open.
                       </p>
                     </TooltipContent>
                   </Portal>
@@ -106,7 +142,6 @@ function BaseProviderCard({
               </TooltipProvider>
             )}
           </div>
-
           <p className="text-xs text-textSubtle mt-1.5 mb-3 leading-normal overflow-y-auto max-h-[54px] ">
             {description}
           </p>
@@ -114,6 +149,42 @@ function BaseProviderCard({
 
         <div className="space-x-2 text-center flex items-center justify-between">
           <div className="space-x-2">
+            {!isConfigured && name === 'Ollama' && (
+              <TooltipProvider>
+                <Tooltip>
+                  <TooltipTrigger asChild>
+                    <Button
+                      variant="default"
+                      size="sm"
+                      onClick={(e) => {
+                        e.stopPropagation();
+                        // Trigger a refresh of active keys
+                        const refreshActiveKeys = async () => {
+                          try {
+                            const providers = await getActiveProviders(); // Re-fetch active providers
+                            setActiveKeys(providers); // Update the context state
+                          } catch (error) {
+                            console.error('Error refreshing active providers:', error);
+                          }
+                        };
+
+                        refreshActiveKeys(); // Call the refresh function
+                      }}
+                      className="rounded-full h-7 w-7 p-0 bg-bgApp hover:bg-bgApp shadow-none text-textSubtle border border-borderSubtle hover:border-borderStandard hover:text-textStandard transition-colors"
+                    >
+                      <RefreshCw className="!size-4" /> {/* Refresh icon */}
+                    </Button>
+                  </TooltipTrigger>
+                  <Portal>
+                    <TooltipContent side="top" align="center" className="z-[9999]">
+                      <p>Re-check for active Ollama app running in the background.</p>
+                    </TooltipContent>
+                  </Portal>
+                </Tooltip>
+              </TooltipProvider>
+            )}
+
+            {/* Default "Add Keys" Button for other providers */}
             {!isConfigured && onAddKeys && hasRequiredKeys && (
               <TooltipProvider>
                 <Tooltip>
@@ -187,7 +258,7 @@ function BaseProviderCard({
               </TooltipProvider>
             )}
           </div>
-          {isConfigured && onTakeoff && (
+          {isConfigured && onTakeoff && showTakeoff !== false && (
             <TooltipProvider>
               <Tooltip>
                 <TooltipTrigger asChild>
@@ -228,6 +299,7 @@ interface BaseProviderGridProps {
   onConfigure?: (provider: Provider) => void;
   onDelete?: (provider: Provider) => void;
   onTakeoff?: (provider: Provider) => void;
+  showTakeoff?: boolean;
 }
 
 export function BaseProviderGrid({
@@ -240,6 +312,7 @@ export function BaseProviderGrid({
   onAddKeys,
   onConfigure,
   onDelete,
+  showTakeoff,
   onTakeoff,
 }: BaseProviderGridProps) {
   return (
@@ -262,6 +335,7 @@ export function BaseProviderGrid({
             showSettings={showSettings}
             showDelete={showDelete}
             hasRequiredKeys={hasRequiredKeys}
+            showTakeoff={showTakeoff}
           />
         );
       })}
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/ConfigureProvidersGrid.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/ConfigureProvidersGrid.tsx
index 2e83621f88..12ffe1d10e 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/ConfigureProvidersGrid.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/ConfigureProvidersGrid.tsx
@@ -205,6 +205,7 @@ export function ConfigureProvidersGrid() {
         onAddKeys={handleAddKeys}
         onConfigure={handleConfigure}
         onDelete={handleDelete}
+        showTakeoff={false}
       />
 
       {showSetupModal && selectedForSetup && (
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/utils.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/utils.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..821b7865ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/providers/utils.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+export const special_provider_cases = {
+  Ollama: async () => await checkForOllama(), // Dynamically re-check
+};
+
+export async function checkForOllama() {
+  console.log('Invoking check-ollama IPC handler...');
+  try {
+    const ollamaInstalled = await window.electron.checkForOllama();
+    return ollamaInstalled;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error invoking check-ollama:', error);
+    return false;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/main.ts b/ui/desktop/src/main.ts
index 42c69496fc..e7beab6ee7 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/main.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/main.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import {
   saveSettings,
   updateEnvironmentVariables,
 } from './utils/settings';
+const { exec } = require('child_process');
 
 // Handle creating/removing shortcuts on Windows when installing/uninstalling.
 if (started) app.quit();
@@ -347,6 +348,37 @@ ipcMain.handle('select-file-or-directory', async () => {
   return null;
 });
 
+ipcMain.handle('check-ollama', async () => {
+  try {
+    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      // Run `ps` and filter for "ollama"
+      exec('ps aux | grep -iw "[o]llama"', (error, stdout, stderr) => {
+        if (error) {
+          console.error('Error executing ps command:', error);
+          return resolve(false); // Process is not running
+        }
+
+        if (stderr) {
+          console.error('Standard error output from ps command:', stderr);
+          return resolve(false); // Process is not running
+        }
+
+        console.log('Raw stdout from ps command:', stdout);
+
+        // Trim and check if output contains a match
+        const trimmedOutput = stdout.trim();
+        console.log('Trimmed stdout:', trimmedOutput);
+
+        const isRunning = trimmedOutput.length > 0; // True if there's any output
+        resolve(isRunning); // Resolve true if running, false otherwise
+      });
+    });
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.error('Error checking for Ollama:', err);
+    return false; // Return false on error
+  }
+});
+
 app.whenReady().then(async () => {
   // Test error feature - only enabled with GOOSE_TEST_ERROR=true
   if (process.env.GOOSE_TEST_ERROR === 'true') {
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/preload.js b/ui/desktop/src/preload.js
index 734d1ac79e..d78ae3bb67 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/preload.js
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/preload.js
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('electron', {
   openInChrome: (url) => ipcRenderer.send('open-in-chrome', url),
   fetchMetadata: (url) => ipcRenderer.invoke('fetch-metadata', url),
   reloadApp: () => ipcRenderer.send('reload-app'),
+  checkForOllama: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('check-ollama'),
   selectFileOrDirectory: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('select-file-or-directory'),
   startPowerSaveBlocker: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('start-power-save-blocker'),
   stopPowerSaveBlocker: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('stop-power-save-blocker'),