diff --git a/src/ollama/ollamaServer.ts b/src/ollama/ollamaServer.ts
index 5f63f2e..f397109 100644
--- a/src/ollama/ollamaServer.ts
+++ b/src/ollama/ollamaServer.ts
@@ -92,11 +92,36 @@ export class OllamaServer implements IModelServer {
   }
 
   async startServer(): Promise<boolean> {
-    // await terminalCommandRunner.runInTerminal("ollama list", {
-    //   name: "Granite Code Setup",
-    //   show: true,
-    // });
-    return true;
+    let startCommand: string | undefined;
+    if (isWin()) {
+      startCommand = [
+        `$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"`,
+        `& "ollama app.exe"`,
+      ].join(' ; ');
+    } else if (isMac()) {
+      startCommand = [
+        'set -e',  // Exit immediately if a command exits with a non-zero status
+        'open -a Ollama.app',
+      ].join(' && ');
+    } else {//Linux
+      const start_ollama_sh = path.join(this.context.extensionPath, 'start_ollama.sh');
+      startCommand = [
+        'set -e',  // Exit immediately if a command exits with a non-zero status
+        `chmod +x "${start_ollama_sh}"`,  // Ensure the script is executable
+        `"${start_ollama_sh}"`,  // Use quotes in case the path contains spaces
+      ].join(' && ');
+    }
+    if (startCommand) {
+      await terminalCommandRunner.runInTerminal(
+        startCommand,
+        {
+          name: "Start Ollama",
+          show: true,
+        }
+      );
+      return true;
+    }
+    return false;
   }
 
   async installServer(mode: string): Promise<boolean> {
@@ -398,6 +423,11 @@ function isLinux(): boolean {
 function isWin(): boolean {
   return PLATFORM.startsWith("win");
 }
+
+function isMac(): boolean {
+  return PLATFORM === "darwin";
+}
+
 function isDevspaces() {
   //sudo is not available on Red Hat DevSpaces
   return process.env['DEVWORKSPACE_ID'] !== undefined;
diff --git a/src/panels/setupGranitePage.ts b/src/panels/setupGranitePage.ts
index 8098f95..c744245 100644
--- a/src/panels/setupGranitePage.ts
+++ b/src/panels/setupGranitePage.ts
@@ -239,6 +239,9 @@ export class SetupGranitePage {
               },
             });
             break;
+          case "startOllama":
+            await this.server.startServer();
+            break;
           case "installOllama":
             await this.server.installServer(data.mode);
             break;
diff --git a/src/terminal/terminalCommandRunner.ts b/src/terminal/terminalCommandRunner.ts
index 9f4537c..828fa5b 100644
--- a/src/terminal/terminalCommandRunner.ts
+++ b/src/terminal/terminalCommandRunner.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ class TerminalCommandRunner implements Disposable {
     public async runInTerminal(command: string, options: ITerminalOptions): Promise<Terminal> {
 
         let terminal: Terminal | undefined;
-        const name = "Granite Models Setup";
+        const name = options.name;
         if (window.terminals.length) {
             terminal = window.terminals.find(t => name === t.name);
         }
diff --git a/webviews/src/App.tsx b/webviews/src/App.tsx
index fd48c2e..f0bbed0 100644
--- a/webviews/src/App.tsx
+++ b/webviews/src/App.tsx
@@ -122,6 +122,12 @@ function App() {
     });
   }
 
+  function handleStartOllama(): void {
+    vscode.postMessage({
+      command: "startOllama"
+    });
+  }
+
   const REFETCH_MODELS_INTERVAL_MS = 1500;
   let ollamaStatusChecker: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined;
 
@@ -313,30 +319,36 @@ function App() {
             </label>
 
             {/* New section for additional buttons */}
-            {serverStatus === ServerStatus.missing &&
-              installationModes.length > 0 && (
-                <div className="install-options">
-                  {installationModes.some(
-                    (mode) => mode.supportsRefresh === true
-                  ) && (
-                      <p>
-                        <span>
-                          This page will refresh once Ollama is installed.
-                        </span>
-                      </p>
-                    )}
-                  {installationModes.map((mode) => (
-                    <button
-                      key={mode.id}
-                      className="install-button"
-                      onClick={() => handleInstallOllama(mode.id)}
-                      disabled={!enabled}
-                    >
-                      {mode.label}
-                    </button>
-                  ))}
-                </div>
-              )}
+            {serverStatus === ServerStatus.missing && installationModes.length > 0 && (
+              <div className="install-options">
+                {installationModes.some(mode => mode.supportsRefresh === true) && (
+                  <p><span>This page will refresh once Ollama is installed.</span></p>
+                )}
+                {installationModes.map((mode) => (
+                  <button
+                    key={mode.id}
+                    className="install-button"
+                    onClick={() => handleInstallOllama(mode.id)}
+                    disabled={!enabled}
+                  >
+                    {mode.label}
+                  </button>
+                ))}
+              </div>
+            )}
+
+            {
+              // show start ollama button when server stopped
+              serverStatus === ServerStatus.stopped && (
+                <button
+                  className="install-button"
+                  onClick={() => handleStartOllama()}
+                >
+                  Start Ollama
+                </button>
+              )
+            }
+
           </div>
         </div>
         {(diskSpaceCheck.warnings.length > 0 || diskSpaceCheck.errors.length > 0) && (