What is using port 11434 on my Mac?

Port 11434 is the default for Ollama, the tool for running local large language models. A listener means the Ollama server is running. Run lsof -i :11434 to confirm.

Why is Ollama running when I'm not using it?

Ollama runs a background server so models are ready on demand. If you don't want it running, quit the Ollama app or stop the service.

Port 11434: What's Using It and Is It Safe to Kill?

Q: Is it safe to kill the process on port 11434?

Yes. Ollama is a local app, not a macOS service. Killing it stops the model server and frees the port; you can restart it anytime with ollama serve.

Port 11434 is the default port for Ollama, the popular tool for running large language models locally. A listener on 11434 means the Ollama server is running on your Mac.

What typically listens on port 11434

Ollama: The local model server binds 11434 to accept API requests from apps and the command line.
Ollama front-ends: UIs and tools that talk to Ollama connect to this port.

It’s in the registered range (1024-49151), so it binds without admin rights. Ollama keeps the server running in the background so models load on demand.

Is it safe to kill?

Yes. Ollama is a local application, not a macOS service. Killing it stops the model server and frees the port. Any in-progress generation is interrupted, but nothing system-level is affected. Restart it anytime with ollama serve or by reopening the app.

Is it suspicious?

If you installed Ollama, no. If you didn’t and see 11434 listening, identify the process; it implies an LLM server you didn’t set up. The command below names it.

How to find and free port 11434 on macOS

lsof -i :11434

To free it:

kill $(lsof -ti :11434)

Portie shows port 11434 with the Ollama process in its live view, so you can confirm whether the model server is running and stop it from the list.