Part of: Local AI models on Mac: where Ollama, LM Studio and Hugging Face store them (AI models)
The safe way to delete an Ollama model is to remove it with Ollama itself. Ollama’s CLI reference documents two commands for this: one that lists the models you have and one that removes a model by name. Removing a model deletes the download from your Mac. If you want it back, you pull it again.
Where Ollama keeps models
The Ollama FAQ gives ~/.ollama/models as the location on macOS, and says you can use a different directory by setting the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable. Ollama’s macOS page says ~/.ollama contains models and configuration, and that logs are in ~/.ollama/logs.
To see how much room the models take, du is read-only:
du -sh ~/.ollama/modelsI could not run this against an Ollama install, because Ollama is not installed on the Mac I used for this article. The command works on any folder, but the path comes from Ollama’s documentation, not from my own check.
Find out which models you have
The Ollama CLI reference lists the ls subcommand to show installed models. I did not test it for this article, so check your own output. Decide which models you actually use. Names you do not recognise are often experiments from a tutorial.
Remove models through Ollama
The same reference documents an rm subcommand that takes a model name. Why use it instead of deleting files in ~/.ollama/models? Ollama’s documentation describes the CLI for managing models, and it does not describe deleting files by hand, so the tool is the supported route. Deleting files by hand is not a documented method, so you cannot count on it behaving well.
I did not run rm while writing this, so I do not give the exact line here. The CLI reference shows it with an example model name.
Quit anything that is running the model first, so nothing is using it. Then check the folder size again with du to confirm the space came back. Space freed by deleting files also returns only when they are gone, not just moved to the Trash. See why the Trash does not free space.
Before you remove anything
Write down the names of the models you plan to remove. If you later need one, you will know what to pull again. If you built a model from a Modelfile, keep that file somewhere else: it is the recipe, and the model is the result. Check for scripts, editor plugins or apps that call a model by name, because they will fail or trigger a download after the model is gone.
Safe, risky, never
| Item | Verdict | What breaks | Cost to recreate |
|---|---|---|---|
| A model you have not used in months, removed with Ollama | Safe | Nothing, unless a script names it | Pull it again; the size is on its Ollama library page |
| A model your app or script uses | Risky | That app fails or waits for a re-download | Same as above, plus the time it takes |
| A model you built yourself from a Modelfile | Risky | The custom setup is gone with it | Keep the Modelfile; without it you must rebuild it by hand |
Files in ~/.ollama/models deleted in Finder |
Risky | Not a documented method, so the result is unpredictable | Pull again |
The whole ~/.ollama folder |
Never, unless you mean to start over | All models and Ollama configuration | Every model, and the setup |
What a re-download costs
Ollama models are large downloads, and the size depends on the model. The Ollama library page for a model shows its size, so look there before you remove something you might want again. On a slow or metered connection, keep the models you use.
Check that the space came back
After removing a model, measure the folder again with du -sh ~/.ollama/models and compare it with the number you saw before. If the number did not change, the model was probably not the one you thought. Run Ollama’s list command again and make sure the name is gone. Also check your overall free space in System Settings, General, Storage. Free space can lag behind for a while, because macOS reports some space as purgeable. The Trash guide explains the numbers.
Same model in two tools?
If you also use LM Studio, the same model may sit on your disk twice. See models stored twice. For the full list of where local AI tools store things, read the overview. If you want to remove Ollama itself, AI tool leftovers covers it.
How DiskJoy fits in
DiskJoy is our product. It is pre-alpha: it scans and shows reclaimable space, so a large model folder would appear in its results. Cleanup is not built yet, so it does not remove Ollama models. The download page shows the current status of the scan.
Frequently asked questions
How do I delete an Ollama model?
Ollama CLI reference documents a list command to see your models and a remove command to delete one by name. Use these rather than deleting files in Finder.
Where does Ollama store models on a Mac?
Ollama documentation gives ~/.ollama/models. You can use another directory by setting the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable.
Can I keep Ollama models on another drive?
Ollama FAQ says you can use a different directory by setting the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable. This article did not test that setup.