embeddings: added embedding command for cl (#12795)

Co-authored-by: A-Akhil <akhilrahul70@gmail.com>

This PR introduces a new ollama embed command that allows users to generate embeddings directly from the command line.

Added ollama embed MODEL [TEXT...] command for generating text embeddings
Supports both direct text arguments and stdin piping for scripted workflows

Outputs embeddings as JSON arrays (one per line)

README.md

@@ -226,6 +226,18 @@ ollama ps
 ollama stop llama3.2
 ```
 
+### Generate embeddings from the CLI
+
+```shell
+ollama run embeddinggemma "Your text to embed"
+```
+
+You can also pipe text for scripted workflows:
+
+```shell
+echo "Your text to embed" | ollama run embeddinggemma
+```
+
 ### Start Ollama
 
 `ollama serve` is used when you want to start ollama without running the desktop application.

cmd/cmd.go

@@ -322,6 +322,44 @@ func StopHandler(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func generateEmbedding(cmd *cobra.Command, modelName, input string, keepAlive *api.Duration, truncate *bool, dimensions int) error {
+	client, err := api.ClientFromEnvironment()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	req := &api.EmbedRequest{
+		Model: modelName,
+		Input: input,
+	}
+	if keepAlive != nil {
+		req.KeepAlive = keepAlive
+	}
+	if truncate != nil {
+		req.Truncate = truncate
+	}
+	if dimensions > 0 {
+		req.Dimensions = dimensions
+	}
+
+	resp, err := client.Embed(cmd.Context(), req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if len(resp.Embeddings) == 0 {
+		return errors.New("no embeddings returned")
+	}
+
+	output, err := json.Marshal(resp.Embeddings[0])
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	fmt.Println(string(output))
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 func RunHandler(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	interactive := true
 
@@ -386,7 +424,11 @@ func RunHandler(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			return err
 		}
 
-		prompts = append([]string{string(in)}, prompts...)
+		// Only prepend stdin content if it's not empty
+		stdinContent := string(in)
+		if len(stdinContent) > 0 {
+			prompts = append([]string{stdinContent}, prompts...)
+		}
 		opts.ShowConnect = false
 		opts.WordWrap = false
 		interactive = false
@@ -452,6 +494,29 @@ func RunHandler(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	opts.ParentModel = info.Details.ParentModel
 
+	// Check if this is an embedding model
+	isEmbeddingModel := slices.Contains(info.Capabilities, model.CapabilityEmbedding)
+
+	// If it's an embedding model, handle embedding generation
+	if isEmbeddingModel {
+		if opts.Prompt == "" {
+			return errors.New("embedding models require input text. Usage: ollama run " + name + " \"your text here\"")
+		}
+
+		// Get embedding-specific flags
+		var truncate *bool
+		if truncateFlag, err := cmd.Flags().GetBool("truncate"); err == nil && cmd.Flags().Changed("truncate") {
+			truncate = &truncateFlag
+		}
+
+		dimensions, err := cmd.Flags().GetInt("dimensions")
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		return generateEmbedding(cmd, name, opts.Prompt, opts.KeepAlive, truncate, dimensions)
+	}
+
 	if interactive {
 		if err := loadOrUnloadModel(cmd, &opts); err != nil {
 			var sErr api.AuthorizationError
@@ -1684,6 +1749,8 @@ func NewCLI() *cobra.Command {
 	runCmd.Flags().String("think", "", "Enable thinking mode: true/false or high/medium/low for supported models")
 	runCmd.Flags().Lookup("think").NoOptDefVal = "true"
 	runCmd.Flags().Bool("hidethinking", false, "Hide thinking output (if provided)")
+	runCmd.Flags().Bool("truncate", false, "For embedding models: truncate inputs exceeding context length (default: true). Set --truncate=false to error instead")
+	runCmd.Flags().Int("dimensions", 0, "Truncate output embeddings to specified dimension (embedding models only)")
 
 	stopCmd := &cobra.Command{
 		Use:     "stop MODEL",

cmd/cmd_test.go

@@ -355,6 +355,330 @@ func TestDeleteHandler(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestRunEmbeddingModel(t *testing.T) {
+	reqCh := make(chan api.EmbedRequest, 1)
+	mockServer := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if r.URL.Path == "/api/show" && r.Method == http.MethodPost {
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(api.ShowResponse{
+				Capabilities: []model.Capability{model.CapabilityEmbedding},
+			}); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		if r.URL.Path == "/api/embed" && r.Method == http.MethodPost {
+			var req api.EmbedRequest
+			if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&req); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
+				return
+			}
+			reqCh <- req
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(api.EmbedResponse{
+				Model:      "test-embedding-model",
+				Embeddings: [][]float32{{0.1, 0.2, 0.3}},
+			}); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+	}))
+
+	t.Setenv("OLLAMA_HOST", mockServer.URL)
+	t.Cleanup(mockServer.Close)
+
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{}
+	cmd.SetContext(t.Context())
+	cmd.Flags().String("keepalive", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("truncate", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Int("dimensions", 0, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("verbose", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("insecure", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("nowordwrap", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().String("format", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().String("think", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("hidethinking", false, "")
+
+	oldStdout := os.Stdout
+	r, w, _ := os.Pipe()
+	os.Stdout = w
+
+	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		errCh <- RunHandler(cmd, []string{"test-embedding-model", "hello", "world"})
+	}()
+
+	err := <-errCh
+	w.Close()
+	os.Stdout = oldStdout
+
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RunHandler returned error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var out bytes.Buffer
+	io.Copy(&out, r)
+
+	select {
+	case req := <-reqCh:
+		inputText, _ := req.Input.(string)
+		if diff := cmp.Diff("hello world", inputText); diff != "" {
+			t.Errorf("unexpected input (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+		}
+		if req.Truncate != nil {
+			t.Errorf("expected truncate to be nil, got %v", *req.Truncate)
+		}
+		if req.KeepAlive != nil {
+			t.Errorf("expected keepalive to be nil, got %v", req.KeepAlive)
+		}
+		if req.Dimensions != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("expected dimensions to be 0, got %d", req.Dimensions)
+		}
+	default:
+		t.Fatal("server did not receive embed request")
+	}
+
+	expectOutput := "[0.1,0.2,0.3]\n"
+	if diff := cmp.Diff(expectOutput, out.String()); diff != "" {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected output (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunEmbeddingModelWithFlags(t *testing.T) {
+	reqCh := make(chan api.EmbedRequest, 1)
+	mockServer := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if r.URL.Path == "/api/show" && r.Method == http.MethodPost {
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(api.ShowResponse{
+				Capabilities: []model.Capability{model.CapabilityEmbedding},
+			}); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		if r.URL.Path == "/api/embed" && r.Method == http.MethodPost {
+			var req api.EmbedRequest
+			if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&req); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
+				return
+			}
+			reqCh <- req
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(api.EmbedResponse{
+				Model:        "test-embedding-model",
+				Embeddings:   [][]float32{{0.4, 0.5}},
+				LoadDuration: 5 * time.Millisecond,
+			}); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+	}))
+
+	t.Setenv("OLLAMA_HOST", mockServer.URL)
+	t.Cleanup(mockServer.Close)
+
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{}
+	cmd.SetContext(t.Context())
+	cmd.Flags().String("keepalive", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("truncate", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Int("dimensions", 0, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("verbose", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("insecure", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("nowordwrap", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().String("format", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().String("think", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("hidethinking", false, "")
+
+	if err := cmd.Flags().Set("truncate", "true"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to set truncate flag: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := cmd.Flags().Set("dimensions", "2"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to set dimensions flag: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := cmd.Flags().Set("keepalive", "5m"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to set keepalive flag: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	oldStdout := os.Stdout
+	r, w, _ := os.Pipe()
+	os.Stdout = w
+
+	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		errCh <- RunHandler(cmd, []string{"test-embedding-model", "test", "input"})
+	}()
+
+	err := <-errCh
+	w.Close()
+	os.Stdout = oldStdout
+
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RunHandler returned error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var out bytes.Buffer
+	io.Copy(&out, r)
+
+	select {
+	case req := <-reqCh:
+		inputText, _ := req.Input.(string)
+		if diff := cmp.Diff("test input", inputText); diff != "" {
+			t.Errorf("unexpected input (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+		}
+		if req.Truncate == nil || !*req.Truncate {
+			t.Errorf("expected truncate pointer true, got %v", req.Truncate)
+		}
+		if req.Dimensions != 2 {
+			t.Errorf("expected dimensions 2, got %d", req.Dimensions)
+		}
+		if req.KeepAlive == nil || req.KeepAlive.Duration != 5*time.Minute {
+			t.Errorf("unexpected keepalive duration: %v", req.KeepAlive)
+		}
+	default:
+		t.Fatal("server did not receive embed request")
+	}
+
+	expectOutput := "[0.4,0.5]\n"
+	if diff := cmp.Diff(expectOutput, out.String()); diff != "" {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected output (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunEmbeddingModelPipedInput(t *testing.T) {
+	reqCh := make(chan api.EmbedRequest, 1)
+	mockServer := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if r.URL.Path == "/api/show" && r.Method == http.MethodPost {
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(api.ShowResponse{
+				Capabilities: []model.Capability{model.CapabilityEmbedding},
+			}); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		if r.URL.Path == "/api/embed" && r.Method == http.MethodPost {
+			var req api.EmbedRequest
+			if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&req); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
+				return
+			}
+			reqCh <- req
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(api.EmbedResponse{
+				Model:      "test-embedding-model",
+				Embeddings: [][]float32{{0.6, 0.7}},
+			}); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+	}))
+
+	t.Setenv("OLLAMA_HOST", mockServer.URL)
+	t.Cleanup(mockServer.Close)
+
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{}
+	cmd.SetContext(t.Context())
+	cmd.Flags().String("keepalive", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("truncate", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Int("dimensions", 0, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("verbose", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("insecure", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("nowordwrap", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().String("format", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().String("think", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("hidethinking", false, "")
+
+	// Capture stdin
+	oldStdin := os.Stdin
+	stdinR, stdinW, _ := os.Pipe()
+	os.Stdin = stdinR
+	stdinW.Write([]byte("piped text"))
+	stdinW.Close()
+
+	// Capture stdout
+	oldStdout := os.Stdout
+	stdoutR, stdoutW, _ := os.Pipe()
+	os.Stdout = stdoutW
+
+	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		errCh <- RunHandler(cmd, []string{"test-embedding-model", "additional", "args"})
+	}()
+
+	err := <-errCh
+	stdoutW.Close()
+	os.Stdout = oldStdout
+	os.Stdin = oldStdin
+
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RunHandler returned error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var out bytes.Buffer
+	io.Copy(&out, stdoutR)
+
+	select {
+	case req := <-reqCh:
+		inputText, _ := req.Input.(string)
+		// Should combine piped input with command line args
+		if diff := cmp.Diff("piped text additional args", inputText); diff != "" {
+			t.Errorf("unexpected input (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+		}
+	default:
+		t.Fatal("server did not receive embed request")
+	}
+
+	expectOutput := "[0.6,0.7]\n"
+	if diff := cmp.Diff(expectOutput, out.String()); diff != "" {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected output (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunEmbeddingModelNoInput(t *testing.T) {
+	mockServer := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if r.URL.Path == "/api/show" && r.Method == http.MethodPost {
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(api.ShowResponse{
+				Capabilities: []model.Capability{model.CapabilityEmbedding},
+			}); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+	}))
+
+	t.Setenv("OLLAMA_HOST", mockServer.URL)
+	t.Cleanup(mockServer.Close)
+
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{}
+	cmd.SetContext(t.Context())
+	cmd.Flags().String("keepalive", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("truncate", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Int("dimensions", 0, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("verbose", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("insecure", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("nowordwrap", false, "")
+	cmd.Flags().String("format", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().String("think", "", "")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("hidethinking", false, "")
+
+	cmd.SetOut(io.Discard)
+	cmd.SetErr(io.Discard)
+
+	// Test with no input arguments (only model name)
+	err := RunHandler(cmd, []string{"test-embedding-model"})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "embedding models require input text") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error about missing input, got %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestGetModelfileName(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		name          string

docs/cli.mdx

@@ -25,6 +25,18 @@ I'm a basic program that prints the famous "Hello, world!" message to the consol
 ollama run gemma3 "What's in this image? /Users/jmorgan/Desktop/smile.png"
 ```
 
+### Generate embeddings
+
+```
+ollama run embeddinggemma "Hello world"
+```
+
+Output is a JSON array:
+
+```
+echo "Hello world" | ollama run nomic-embed-text
+```
+
 ### Download a model
 
 ```