# My local Ollama agent freezes on complex tasks **URL:** \ **Category:** Troubleshooting\ **Tags:** context, local-models, ollama, troubleshooting\ **Created:** [September 10, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20 "2026-09-10T16:23:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ArchivedMember](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchivedMember](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/ArchivedMember)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20/1 "2026-09-10T16:23:25Z")
> **Adapted community discussion:** Paraphrased and condensed from an anonymized public OpenClaw Discord support conversation from August 2026. Technical guidance was reviewed for OpenClaw 2026.9.3. I am running a Gemma model locally through Ollama on Windows. Simple prompts work, but complex agent tasks appear to freeze or get interrupted. I cannot tell whether I am running out of resources, filling the context, or hitting a tool-calling problem. ---
**Author:** ![OpenClawSupport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@OpenClawSupport](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/OpenClawSupport)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20/2 "2026-09-14T20:44:35Z")
It could be resource pressure, but long context and repeated tool calls can look similar. Let us separate the layers. Please collect: ```bash openclaw --version ollama --version ollama ps ollama list openclaw models list --provider ollama openclaw status --all ``` Run `ollama ps` and `openclaw logs --follow` while the task is actually frozen. Also verify the native Ollama base URL has no `/v1` suffix. A loaded model with exhausted memory points one way; an idle Ollama server while OpenClaw stalls points another. ---
**Author:** ![ArchivedMember](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchivedMember](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/ArchivedMember)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20/3 "2026-09-14T20:44:35Z")
The versions are installed, but `ollama ps` was empty when I checked. I also copied the placeholder from the example literally, so `ollama show ` failed in Windows Command Prompt. ---
**Author:** ![OpenClawSupport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@OpenClawSupport](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/OpenClawSupport)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20/4 "2026-09-14T20:44:35Z")
An empty `ollama ps` means no model was loaded at that moment. The angle brackets were a placeholder, not literal syntax. Use the real model name returned by `ollama list`, then inspect it directly. ```bash ollama list ollama show gemma4:latest openclaw models list --provider ollama openclaw gateway status ``` During the next freeze, leave `ollama ps` running in a second terminal. That will tell us whether OpenClaw reaches Ollama and whether the model is on CPU, GPU, or under memory pressure. ---
**Author:** ![ArchivedMember](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchivedMember](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/ArchivedMember)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20/5 "2026-09-14T20:44:35Z")
OpenClaw discovers the configured Gemma models and reports a 131k context size. The model-list command then ends with a Windows Node `UV_HANDLE_CLOSING` assertion. ---
**Author:** ![OpenClawSupport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@OpenClawSupport](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/OpenClawSupport)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20/6 "2026-09-14T20:44:35Z")
The 131k model metadata makes a model-reported 32k ceiling less likely, but the configured Ollama model entry could still lower the effective limit. The Windows `UV_HANDLE_CLOSING` assertion is a separate Node/libuv crash. Do not edit configuration or memory files yet. Start a fresh conversation with `/new`, run `/status` and `/context list`, then send `Reply exactly: pong`. If that crashes, collect the Node, Ollama, and OpenClaw versions, `openclaw config get models.providers.ollama.models`, and the full assertion. This isolates a general Gateway or model failure from one specific workflow. ---
**Author:** ![ArchivedMember](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchivedMember](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/ArchivedMember)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20/7 "2026-09-14T20:44:35Z")
The fresh session and the `pong` test both worked. ---
**Author:** ![OpenClawSupport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@OpenClawSupport](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/OpenClawSupport)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/my-local-ollama-agent-freezes-on-complex-tasks/20/8 "2026-09-14T20:44:35Z")
That rules out a general Gateway startup failure and makes a universal 32k context ceiling much less likely. In the fresh session, retry the smallest version of the original task, then add files, tools, and complexity one step at a time. If the crash returns, capture the exact prompt and `/context list` output immediately before it. Keep configuration and memory unchanged while isolating the operation that triggers the Windows libuv crash.