A plug-and-play Debian Live ISO with Ollama preinstalled — bootable from USB, air-gapped by design, and ready to run large language models offline.
Ollama Rucksack is a self-contained, bootable Debian Live ISO preloaded with Ollama and open-source language models.
- No internet required.
- No installation needed.
- Just boot and run.
It's ideal for:
- Exploring LLMs without touching your main OS
- Educational or lab use
- Developers who want a clean, minimal LLM sandbox
- Bringing AI to places where internet is limited or unavailable
Whether you're on a train, in the mountains, or just dodging flaky Wi-Fi, your models go where you go.
Access to AI shouldn't depend on access to the cloud.
With Ollama Rucksack, anyone with a basic computer can boot into a ready-to-use LLM environment — no installation, no internet, no setup. This makes it possible to bring powerful language models to places where connectivity is poor and infrastructure is limited.
- In rural schools without stable internet
- In disaster zones or field research setups
- For learners and developers with older machines
- For anyone who wants to explore AI offline and on their terms
By packaging open models into a portable, air-gapped ISO, Ollama Rucksack helps democratize access to human knowledge — using just a USB stick.
- 🧠 Ollama – Preinstalled and ready to run
- 🗂️ Preloaded models – Choose your own or bundle them into the ISO
- 🖥️ XFCE Desktop – Lightweight and fast
- 📴 Air-gapped by default – Network drivers are blacklisted for maximum isolation (but easily reversible if you want)
This isn't a secure communication platform or privacy tool — just a portable LLM lab you can boot from anywhere.
Head over to the Releases page. There you'll find:
- The latest ISO files hosted on
archive.org. - A
sha256sums.txtfile to verify the download.
- Download the ISO(s) you want.
- Download the SHA256 checksum file into the same directory.
- Verify your ISO:
sha256sum -c sha256sums.txtThen burn it to your USB stick like it's 2009:
sudo dd if=/path/to/iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=syncReplace /path/to/iso and /dev/sdX with your actual values.
Or, build your own ISO. Instructions below.
Prefer to customize or verify everything yourself? You can build the ISO locally using the provided scripts.
- Debian-based host system (e.g., Debian, Ubuntu)
- Root privileges
- Docker installed
makeinstalled (sudo apt-get install make)- Internet connection (for building only)
- Pre-downloaded Ollama models
Clone the repository and run the setup script:
make setupThen build the ISO:
sudo make build
# or
sudo make build -- [OPTIONS]Use --help for all available options.
sudo make build -- \
--models-path ~/.ollama/models \
--no-usbNote: The -- is required before any options.
The generated ISO image containing all tools and configurations:
./dist/ollama-rucksack-<version>-<arch>.iso
To bundle models into your custom ISO:
- Install Ollama on your host.
- Run
ollama pull <model>for each model you want. - Point the build script at the model directory:
sudo make build -- --models-path /home/user/.ollama/modelsModels will be copied into the ISO.
Note
The default path for Ollama to save pulled models when you installed it using the official install script for linux is /usr/share/ollama/.ollama/models.
If you installed Ollama using a different method, you need to specify the correct path. Typically ~/.ollama/models.
Customize the live system by editing the build.sh script file.
You can tweak:
- Installed packages in
config/package-lists/custom.list.chroot - Kernel module blacklist in
config/includes.chroot/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-network.conf - Desktop README (--readme path)
You can even disable the network lockdown entirely — just modify the config before build.
Ideas, improvements, PRs — all welcome. If you want to help make this ISO better, faster, or more flexible, open an issue or submit a pull request.
MIT — use freely, modify openly, and share widely. See the LICENSE file for details.