diff --git a/simplemind/settings.py b/simplemind/settings.py
index 2545f93..b5e2e28 100644
--- a/simplemind/settings.py
+++ b/simplemind/settings.py
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     )
     GROQ_API_KEY: Optional[SecretStr] = Field(None, description="API key for Groq")
     OPENAI_API_KEY: Optional[SecretStr] = Field(None, description="API key for OpenAI")
-    OLLAMA_HOST_URL: Optional[str] = Field(None, description="Fully qualified host URL for Ollama")
+    OLLAMA_HOST_URL: Optional[str] = Field(
+        "http://127.0.0.1:11434", description="Fully qualified host URL for Ollama"
+    )
     XAI_API_KEY: Optional[SecretStr] = Field(None, description="API key for xAI")
     DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDER: str = Field("openai", description="The default LLM provider")