Where does Ollama store models on Windows?

Where does Ollama store models on Windows?

By default, Ollama stores all downloaded models in your Windows user profile:

The .ollama folder structure contains:

• .ollama\models\manifests — model metadata and version info
• .ollama\models\blobs — the actual model weight files (the large files)

Move models to a different drive

If your system drive (C:) is running low on space, you can move the models folder to another drive using the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable.

• 1

  Quit Ollama

  Right-click the Ollama tray icon → Quit Ollama.

• 2

  Copy the existing models folder

  PowerShell

  # Copy to D: drive (adjust path as needed):

  PS> Copy-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.ollama\models" -Destination "D:\OllamaModels" -Recurse
• 3

  Set the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable

  Settings → System → Advanced system settings → Environment Variables → New user variable:

  • Name: OLLAMA_MODELS
  • Value: D:\OllamaModels

  Or via PowerShell (permanent):

  PowerShell

  PS> [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("OLLAMA_MODELS", "D:\OllamaModels", "User")
• 4

  Restart Ollama and verify

  cmd.exe — new window

  C:\> ollama list

  llama3:latest 4.7 GB

  # Models are now loaded from D:\OllamaModels
• 5

  Delete the old folder to free space

  PowerShell

  PS> Remove-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.ollama\models" -Recurse -Force

  # This frees the disk space on C:

  Only delete the old folder after confirming models load correctly from the new location.

List, remove and manage model files

Model location questions