# Use host.docker.internal to reach local Ollama from Mule

> Source: <https://dev.to/thasha/use-hostdockerinternal-to-reach-local-ollama-from-mule-1p02>
> Published: 2026-09-13 14:58:47+00:00

The flow failed with a connection refused error when the configuration used `http://localhost:11434/v1` as the base URL. The MuleSoft Inference Connector enables text generation workflows [docs](https://docs.mulesoft.com/mulesoft-inference-connector/latest/).

```
{
  "prompt": "Reply with exactly one word: pong"
}
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mule xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core"
      xmlns:http="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/http"
      xmlns:ms-inference="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ms-inference"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="
        http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
        http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/http http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/http/current/mule-http.xsd
        http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ms-inference http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ms-inference/current/mule-ms-inference.xsd">

  <http:listener-config name="http-listener-config">
    <http:listener-connection host="0.0.0.0" port="8081" />
  </http:listener-config>

  <ms-inference:text-generation-config name="ollama-openai-compatible">
    <ms-inference:openai-compatible-connection
        openAICompatibleModelName="qwen2.5:14b"
        openAICompatibleURL="http://host.docker.internal:11434/v1"
        apiKey="ollama"
        maxTokens="16"
        temperature="0"
        topP="1"
        timeout="120" />
  </ms-inference:text-generation-config>

  <flow name="ask">
    <http:listener config-ref="http-listener-config" path="/ask" />
    <ms-inference:chat-answer-prompt config-ref="ollama-openai-compatible">
      <ms-inference:prompt>#[payload.prompt]</ms-inference:prompt>
    </ms-inference:chat-answer-prompt>
  </flow>
</mule>
{"response": {"response": "Pong"}, "status": 200}
```

The `response` field contains the model output, and `status` shows 200.

Using `http://localhost:11434/v1` as the base URL causes a connection refused error.

I configure `openAICompatibleURL` to `http://host.docker.internal:11434/v1` in the connector configuration.

Runs shown: Mule 4 Community kernel 4.12.0

104 DataWeave patterns + 8 Exchange modules with 208 MUnit tests: github.com/shakarbisetty/mulesoft-cookbook | 60-second walkthroughs: youtube.com/@SanThaParv