simonw/llm

Ollama OCR with URLs fails where filepaths succeed

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#1,046 opened on May 18, 2025

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attachmentsbughelp wanted

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Description

Really weird bug. I wrote about this here: https://simonwillison.net/2025/May/18/qwen25vl-in-ollama/

llm install llm-ollama
ollama pull qwen2.5vl

llm -a https://static.simonwillison.net/static/2025/poster.jpg \
  'convert to markdown' -m qwen2.5vl

I got back:

It looks like the image you provided is a jumbled and distorted text, making it difficult to interpret. If you have a specific question or need help with a particular topic, please feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to assist you!

But... the same exact prompt after downloading the file gives a much better result:

wget https://static.simonwillison.net/static/2025/poster.jpg
llm -m qwen2.5vl 'convert to markdown' -a poster.jpg

https://gist.github.com/simonw/2b46e932a16c92e673ea09dfc0186ec2

Contributor guide

Research direction
Trace the code path for attachment handling in llm when given a URL versus a local file path. Investigate how the image is fetched and passed to the Ollama model.
Tech stack
python
Domain
cli
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
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Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
GitPython
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
65