diff --git a/rust/crates/rusty-claude-cli/src/main.rs b/rust/crates/rusty-claude-cli/src/main.rs
index 38974eb5..75765382 100644
--- a/rust/crates/rusty-claude-cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/rust/crates/rusty-claude-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -2943,6 +2943,11 @@ fn validate_model_syntax(model: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
             err_msg.push_str("\nDid you mean `qwen/");
             err_msg.push_str(trimmed);
             err_msg.push_str("`? (Requires DASHSCOPE_API_KEY env var)");
+            err_msg.push_str("\nOr for a local Ollama server: use `openai/");
+            err_msg.push_str(trimmed);
+            err_msg.push_str(
+                "` with OPENAI_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1 and OPENAI_API_KEY=ollama",
+            );
         } else if trimmed.starts_with("grok") {
             err_msg.push_str("\nDid you mean `xai/");
             err_msg.push_str(trimmed);