gemma4:26b function calling not working
Posted by bishwasbhn@reddit | LocalLLaMA | View on Reddit | 4 comments
Hey,
I was using gemma4:31b-cloud and the claude code was performing pretty much well. But i wanted to try gemma4:26b because I thought using gemma4 locally would be a faster choice, and while explictly telling it to run any commands, it's just straight forward ignore it. it does not even calls any tools, any mcp, and it does not understand what project exploration means? do you guys have any solution?
2039482341@reddit
yeah, gemma4:26b is just talking about it's ability to execute. 1 in 5 times it actually runs something, but in most cases it's just "yes, I executed; you're right, let me try again". From local models that get job done - glm4.7-flash:30b a3b and of course qwen3.6:35b a3b... both do things, not just dream about doing it.
Kodix@reddit
That's just plain false in my experience.
Gemma-4-26B *does* have an issue with sometimes stopping and saying "now I'll do x" instead of actually doing it, but:
a) It's an issue solved by harnesses/system prompts. Giving it explicit instructions "instead of 'I'll now do x', do x" works.
b) OP's post is *not* what it looks like when it happens. It seems more like there actually was an issue with the file access, maybe the MCP didn't hook up correctly or something.
2039482341@reddit
you're right. I was referring to my personal experiences with openclaw running ollama/gemma4:26b, so the problem might be very local to this particular solution.
bishwasbhn@reddit (OP)
while the same prompt with gemma4:31b-cloud, is performing well