Ollama change model directory service with my regular username (UID 1000) has proven effective for me. Select Environment Variables…. If the output shows ~/. ollama/models; macOS: ~/. Follow the step-by-step guide with screenshots and examples to download and verify the new save location. Step 5: Test Ollama. If you want to change the model directory to another location, such as an external storage device, you can follow one of the methods below. How do you control this? I suggest a directory flag to let the user decide in which folder the mo In this quick video, I will go through the steps how to change the default directory location when you download an Ollama model. Oct 2, 2023 · And everything seems to work fine, ollama silently starts in my shell and models download to the custom directory when calling ollama run for the first time, for example ollama run gemma3 downloads the default gemma3 model to the custom path set in OLLAMA_MODELS under the folders ollama makes (the blobs and manifests sub-directories). Sep 29, 2024 · Ollama Models location. 💻 Learn how to build an Olla Mar 10, 2024 · Hi im trying ollama, but i need to change the directory where the models are downloaded as default place i have not enough free space. May 31, 2024 · Learn how to set an environment variable to change the default directory for Ollama models on your Windows PC. Open windows settings app and search for Environment and click on Edit environment variables for your account. Click on New. Run a model to confirm it's downloading to the new location: ollama run deepseek-r1:32b. Following the doc, i edited the service and added a Environment inside Service. 6. 3K subscribers in the ollama community. Apr 24, 2025 · Learn how to change the Ollama models directory with our step-by-step guide for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Once this is done, open cmd. Follow the steps to set an environment variable or use a symbolic link or a bind mount. The rest is simple: start Ollama and the WebUI Docker container. Jul 30, 2024 · Learn how to change the default directory where Ollama saves its models on Windows, Linux and macOS. safetensor) and Import/load it into Ollama (. ollama now points to your chosen directory: ls -l ~/. Select About; Select Advanced System Settings. Other users reply with suggestions, such as using environment variables, symlinks, or mount commands. ollama\models D:\Docker\Ollama\Models. A user asks how to move ollama models to a different SSD on Linux. How does one fine-tune a model from HF (. exe in admin mode and create a link like so (adjust the parameters to match your configuration): mklink /D C:\Users\username\. Creating a Custom Directory for Models Feb 1, 2025 · Now we need to tell Ollama where to look for the models when it runs. Have you ever found yourself struggling with limited disk space or wanting more control over where your Ollama models are stored? You're not alone. the /D ensures that a directory symlink is created. To create an environment variable on Windows you can follow these instructions: Open Windows Settings. 10, Previously, Ollama used to download the models into the root directory. Moreover, replacing the user/group 'ollama' in the file ollama. Go to System. Feb 21, 2024 · I understand the Ollama handles the model directory folder, however, I'm launching Ollama and open-webui with docker compose: . . ollama/models directory. Go to the Advanced tab. Afterwards, it worked as before but the model files were located on the other disk. Now, it is downloading in the Home directory. macOS: ~/. ollama/models; Configuring Ollama models path on Windows. ollama -> /Volumes/SSD/Ollama, it's working. By default the model files are stored: Windows: C:\Users%username%. ollama/models; Configuring Feb 16, 2024 · My workaround was to create a symbolic link between the original models folder and the new location. ollama Step 4: Verify the Symlink. /run-compose. May 7, 2024 · When you download a model using ollama run mixtral:8x22b, the model blobs and manifests will be downloaded and stored in the ~/. Make sure ollama does not run. sh --enable-gpu --build I see in Ollama to set a differen Dec 31, 2023 · Hey, In Ubuntu 23. Feb 1, 2022 · A user shares a solution to move Ollama models directory to another partition using a bind mount or an environment variable. Check that ~/. and fill in. Other users comment on the issue and the solution. This is done through an environment variable called OLLAMA_MODELS. ollama\models; Linux: /usr/share/ollama/. Then check the model Jan 27, 2025 · By default, all models pulled from Ollama are stored in the /Users/username/. Click on New… And create a variable called OLLAMA Jun 16, 2024 · Now, move your existing “models” folder from the original locations to its new home. ollama directory on macOS, where username is your system's current user. gguf) so it can be used in Ollama WebUI? Feb 3, 2025 · ln -s /Volumes/SSD/Ollama ~/. Variable name: OLLAMA_MODELS; Variable value: Your new path to the May 30, 2024 · Instead of using OLLAMA_MODELS, I simply created a symbolic link using ln -s. ollama. oubedur toqx bfimyy vndgt qtpol jndop gdkavxn ytjrg fojczvrqa esmbec