Ollama is great for running LLMs locally, but it doesn’t ask where you want to store your 5GB–10GB+ models. On Macs with limited internal SSD space, that’s a problem.

Here’s how I tracked down Ollama’s hidden model cache, moved it to an external drive, and kept everything running smoothly — even on my M1 Mac.

![The Ultimate Guide: Move Ollama Model Storage to an External Drive on macOS](/assets/images/infog/ollama-model-storage-location-macos.webp)

## **TL;DR**

Models are secretly stored in `~/.ollama/models`

### **Why This Guide?**

Other guides (like this gist) touch on this, but:

### **What You’ll Need**

## **Step-by-Step Instructions**

#### 1. Locate Ollama’s Storage Folder

Ollama doesn’t mention this anywhere, but it saves models to:

```
~/.ollama/models
```

Check if it exists:

```
ls -lah ~/.ollama/models
```

You’ll likely see folders and files totaling 5–15 GB, depending on how many models you’ve pulled.

#### 2. Create a Destination on Your External Drive

Plug in your external and make a folder for Ollama:

```
mkdir -p /Volumes/_EXTERNAL_DRIVE_NAME/_PATH_TO_/ollama
```

#### 3. Move the Models

```
mv ~/.ollama/models /Volumes/_EXTERNAL_DRIVE_NAME/_PATH_TO_/ollama
```

You now have freed up internal storage.

#### 4. Symlink It Back

Ollama expects the folder to be in `~/.ollama/models`, so we trick it:

```
ln -s /Volumes/_EXTERNAL_DRIVE_NAME/_PATH_TO_/ollama ~/.ollama/models
```

This way, the CLI keeps working as if nothing changed.

#### 5. Test It

List models:

```
ollama list
```

Run a model:

```
ollama run deepseek-r1:7b
```

If it responds — your symlink works.

#### 6. [Optional: Set the OLLAMA_MODELS Environment Variable](Optional:%20Set%20the%20OLLAMA_MODELS%20Environment%20Variable)

You can use this instead of a symlink, but it’s less reliable in current builds:

```zsh
echo ‘export OLLAMA_MODELS="/Volumes/2USBEXT/DEV/ollama"’ >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
```

Use it only if you want to switch between different drives easily.

## **Bonus Section: Best Models for M1 Macs**

I tested a bunch, and these are fast + stable:

| **Model** | **Use Case** | **Size** | **Notes** |
|---|---|---|---|
| **phi3** | Chat + reasoning | ~2.2 GB | Fast, small, ideal for M1 |
| **mistral** | Chat + code | ~4.1 GB | Great all‑rounder |
| **llama3:8b** | Smarter conversation | ~4.7 GB | Best Meta model < 10 GB |
| **codellama** | Code gen & fill | ~5.6 GB | If you’re building code tools |
| **gemma:2b** | Lightweight anything | ~1.4 GB | Tiny model for light tasks |

Pull with:

```bash
ollama pull phi3
ollama pull mistral
ollama pull llama3
```

All of them will now download straight to your external drive thanks to the symlink.

## **Cleanup Tip**

Want to find where that space went?

```bash
du -sh ~/.ollama/*
```

Or if you’re really unsure where Ollama is hiding files:

```bash
sudo find /Users -name "*.gguf" 2>/dev/null
```

## **Cleanup Tip**

Ollama is fast and powerful, but its CLI assumes you’re fine giving up 10–20 GB of SSD space without asking.

This guide puts that control back in your hands — and hopefully saves a few MacBook lives in the process.

***

### 🧠 Frequently Asked Questions: Ollama Storage

*Quick answers for common storage and performance concerns.*

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Where does Ollama store models on macOS by default?
By default, Ollama stores models in the hidden directory `~/.ollama/models` within your user home folder.

### Can I just move the folder through Finder?
It

### What is a symlink and why do I need it?
A symbolic link (symlink) acts like a shortcut. By creating one, you tell macOS that whenever Ollama looks for `~/.ollama/models`, it should actually go to your external drive.

### Will models run slower from an external drive?
If you are using a USB 3.0 or SSD external drive, the performance impact is usually negligible for inference. However, initial model loading might take a few seconds longer compared to an internal NVMe SSD.

### What happens if I open Ollama without the drive plugged in?
Ollama will see an empty directory or a broken link and won

### Can I use the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable instead?
Yes, you can set `OLLAMA_MODELS=/Volumes/YourDrive/ollama` in your `.zshrc`, but the symlink method is often more 

### How do I move models back to internal storage?
Delete the symlink (`rm ~/.ollama/models`), move the folder back from your external drive to `~/.ollama/`, and restart the Ollama service.

### Does this work for Linux or Windows too?
The concept is the same, but the paths differ. On Linux, the default path is usually `/usr/share/ollama/.ollama/models`. On Windows, it

### How can I see which models are taking up the most space?
Run `ollama list` to see sizes, or use `du -sh ~/.ollama/models/*` in your terminal for a detailed breakdown per model file.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Where does Ollama store models on macOS by default?
By default, Ollama stores models in the hidden directory `~/.ollama/models` within your user home folder.

### Can I just move the folder through Finder?
It

### What is a symlink and why do I need it?
A symbolic link (symlink) acts like a shortcut. By creating one, you tell macOS that whenever Ollama looks for `~/.ollama/models`, it should actually go to your external drive.

### Will models run slower from an external drive?
If you are using a USB 3.0 or SSD external drive, the performance impact is usually negligible for inference. However, initial model loading might take a few seconds longer compared to an internal NVMe SSD.

### What happens if I open Ollama without the drive plugged in?
Ollama will see an empty directory or a broken link and won

### Can I use the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable instead?
Yes, you can set `OLLAMA_MODELS=/Volumes/YourDrive/ollama` in your `.zshrc`, but the symlink method is often more 

### How do I move models back to internal storage?
Delete the symlink (`rm ~/.ollama/models`), move the folder back from your external drive to `~/.ollama/`, and restart the Ollama service.

### Does this work for Linux or Windows too?
The concept is the same, but the paths differ. On Linux, the default path is usually `/usr/share/ollama/.ollama/models`. On Windows, it

### How can I see which models are taking up the most space?
Run `ollama list` to see sizes, or use `du -sh ~/.ollama/models/*` in your terminal for a detailed breakdown per model file.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Where does Ollama store models on macOS by default?
By default, Ollama stores models in the hidden directory `~/.ollama/models` within your user home folder.

### Can I just move the folder through Finder?
It

### What is a symlink and why do I need it?
A symbolic link (symlink) acts like a shortcut. By creating one, you tell macOS that whenever Ollama looks for `~/.ollama/models`, it should actually go to your external drive.

### Will models run slower from an external drive?
If you are using a USB 3.0 or SSD external drive, the performance impact is usually negligible for inference. However, initial model loading might take a few seconds longer compared to an internal NVMe SSD.

### What happens if I open Ollama without the drive plugged in?
Ollama will see an empty directory or a broken link and won

### Can I use the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable instead?
Yes, you can set `OLLAMA_MODELS=/Volumes/YourDrive/ollama` in your `.zshrc`, but the symlink method is often more 

### How do I move models back to internal storage?
Delete the symlink (`rm ~/.ollama/models`), move the folder back from your external drive to `~/.ollama/`, and restart the Ollama service.

### Does this work for Linux or Windows too?
The concept is the same, but the paths differ. On Linux, the default path is usually `/usr/share/ollama/.ollama/models`. On Windows, it

### How can I see which models are taking up the most space?
Run `ollama list` to see sizes, or use `du -sh ~/.ollama/models/*` in your terminal for a detailed breakdown per model file.

***

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