Building Your Personal AI-Powered Go Development Stack: Ollama, OpenCode & Local LLM Magic

In today’s era of local-first AI development, there’s been a remarkable transformation in how we write code. Instead of relying entirely on cloud-based AI assistants, many developers are increasingly running their own large language models directly on their machines. Today, I want to walk you through setting up a powerful local development stack for Go websites using Ollama’s Qwen 3.5 9B model and OpenCode, plus how to equip your LLM with expert Go skills.

Getting Started: Installing Qwen 3.5 9B on macOS 🔗

If you’re running macOS with M1/M2/M3 chips (or even Intel), Ollama makes it incredibly simple to run local AI models. Here’s how to get Qwen 3.5 9B up and running:

First, install Ollama via Homebrew or by downloading from the official website:

# Using Homebrew
brew install ollama

# Or download directly from https://ollama.com/

Then pull the Qwen 3.5 9B model:

ollama pull qwen2.5:7b

The 9-bit quantized version of Qwen 2.5 (note the name change) provides exceptional performance for code generation tasks at only ~4.2 GB disk space. Once installed, test it with a simple conversation:

ollama run qwen2.5:7b "Write a Go hello world program"

This will download the model (~3-5GB depending on version) and you’ll start conversing immediately!

Integrating OpenCode for Enhanced Development 🔗

OpenCode is an AI-powered coding assistant that bridges the gap between your local LLM and your actual development workflow. To use OpenCode with your local Qwen model:

1. Install OpenCode - Use your package manager to install OpenCode, then configure it to communicate with your Ollama setup
2. Configure the Model Path - Point OpenCode’s AI configuration to your local ollama instance running Qwen 3.5 9B
3. Develop Go Websites - Start building websites with intelligent code generation using your personal AI assistant

The beauty of OpenCode is that it understands all major frameworks, libraries, and coding conventions automatically. When you make changes to a file, OpenCode can suggest improvements based on the surrounding context – exactly what you want when developing complex Go web applications.

Equipping Your LLM with Go Expertise 🔗

This is where things get really interesting. By default, local LLMs may lack specific knowledge about certain languages or frameworks. But we can significantly improve their performance by installing specialized “skills” modules:

{
  "skills": [
    {
      "name": "go",
      "description": "Expert Go programming skill authored by spf13",
      "location": "/path/to/go/SKILL.md"
    },
    {
      "name": "cobra-viper",
      "description": "CLI applications with Cobra and Viper expertise",
      "location": "/path/to/cobra-viper/SKILL.md"
    }
  ]
}

These skills modules provide your local AI agent with:

• Go Programming Expertise: Package design, error handling, interfaces, concurrency patterns
• CLI Application Knowledge: How to build command-line tools with Go’s Cobra and Viper libraries
• Modern Best Practices: Security considerations, testing approaches, project structure conventions

By installing these skills into your OpenCode configuration, you transform your local Qwen model from a general-purpose assistant into a specialized Go development expert. This means:

✅ Better code generation for web applications
✅ More idiomatic Go patterns and structures
✅ Improved error handling suggestions
✅ Enhanced security awareness in generated code

Best Practices for Your Local AI Setup 🔗

When running Qwen with OpenCode for Go development, consider these practical tips:

Model Performance: The 7b (actually labeled as 9b due to quantization) model strikes an excellent balance between speed and intelligence. While larger models exist, Qwen 3.5 9B runs at under 4.2GB with impressive performance on modern Macs.

Workflow Integration: Configure OpenCode to use your local ollama instance rather than cloud APIs. This keeps all development within a secure, private environment – perfect for projects that should never leave your machine.

Skill Management: Keep your skills configuration updated. The Go skills documentation includes examples of idiomatic code patterns, error handling conventions, and library-specific best practices that dramatically improve AI coding suggestions.

Building the Future of Local Development 🔗

The combination of Ollama’s Qwen models, OpenCode’s powerful coding assistance, and specialized Go skills creates a self-contained development environment that rivals professional cloud services – but runs entirely on your hardware at zero cost (aside from electricity).

This personal AI-powered workflow means you can:

• Develop websites without API costs
• Keep all code private and secure
• Customize the exact capabilities your AI needs
• Experiment with different model versions freely

Try it yourself. Install Qwen 3.5 9B on your Mac, configure OpenCode with Go skills, and start building amazing web applications powered by your own local AI intelligence. The best part? You own everything, and you never pay a cent in hidden API fees.

Happy coding! 🚀

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