DELETE /api/delete

Delete a model and its layers

Delete a model from the local system. This removes the model manifest and associated layers if they are not referenced by other models.

Request

Endpoint

DELETE /api/delete

Request Body

model · string · required

Name of the model to delete

Response

Returns HTTP status code 200 on success with no response body.

Examples

cURL

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:11434/api/delete -d '{
  "model": "llama3.2"
}'

Delete with Full Qualifier

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:11434/api/delete -d '{
  "model": "registry.ollama.ai/library/llama3.2:latest"
}'

Safe Delete with Verification (Python)

import requests

def delete_model_safe(model_name):
    # Check if model exists
    models = requests.get('http://localhost:11434/api/tags').json()
    model_names = [m['name'] for m in models['models']]
    
    if model_name not in model_names:
        print(f"Model '{model_name}' not found")
        return False
    
    # Confirm deletion
    confirm = input(f"Delete '{model_name}'? (yes/no): ")
    if confirm.lower() != 'yes':
        print("Deletion cancelled")
        return False
    
    # Delete
    response = requests.delete(
        'http://localhost:11434/api/delete',
        json={'model': model_name}
    )
    
    if response.status_code == 200:
        print(f"Model '{model_name}' deleted successfully")
        return True
    else:
        print(f"Error: {response.json()['error']}")
        return False

delete_model_safe('llama3.2')

Bulk Delete (JavaScript)

async function deleteModels(modelNames) {
  const results = [];
  
  for (const model of modelNames) {
    try {
      const response = await fetch('http://localhost:11434/api/delete', {
        method: 'DELETE',
        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
        body: JSON.stringify({ model })
      });
      
      if (response.ok) {
        results.push({ model, success: true });
        console.log(`✓ Deleted ${model}`);
      } else {
        const error = await response.json();
        results.push({ model, success: false, error: error.error });
        console.error(`✗ Failed to delete ${model}: ${error.error}`);
      }
    } catch (err) {
      results.push({ model, success: false, error: err.message });
      console.error(`✗ Error deleting ${model}: ${err.message}`);
    }
  }
  
  return results;
}

// Delete multiple models
const toDelete = ['old-model-1', 'old-model-2', 'test-model'];
const results = await deleteModels(toDelete);

console.log(`\nDeleted ${results.filter(r => r.success).length} of ${results.length} models`);

Error Responses

error · string

Description of the error

Common Errors

• 400 Bad Request: Invalid model name format
• 404 Not Found: Model not found
• 500 Internal Server Error: Error deleting model or layers

Example Error Response

{
  "error": "model 'nonexistent-model' not found"
}

Cleanup Script Example

import requests
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def cleanup_old_models(days_old=30):
    """Delete models older than specified days"""
    response = requests.get('http://localhost:11434/api/tags')
    models = response.json()['models']
    
    cutoff_date = datetime.now() - timedelta(days=days_old)
    deleted_count = 0
    
    for model in models:
        modified_date = datetime.fromisoformat(
            model['modified_at'].replace('Z', '+00:00')
        )
        
        if modified_date < cutoff_date:
            print(f"Deleting old model: {model['name']}")
            response = requests.delete(
                'http://localhost:11434/api/delete',
                json={'model': model['name']}
            )
            
            if response.status_code == 200:
                deleted_count += 1
                size_gb = model['size'] / (1024 ** 3)
                print(f"  ✓ Freed {size_gb:.2f} GB")
            else:
                print(f"  ✗ Error: {response.json()['error']}")
    
    print(f"\nDeleted {deleted_count} old models")

cleanup_old_models(days_old=30)

Deleting a model removes its manifest immediately. Model layers (files) are only removed if they are not referenced by any other models on the system.

There is no undo operation. Deleted models must be re-pulled or re-created. Consider using /api/copy to create backups before deletion.

Deletion is permanent and immediate. The operation does not prompt for confirmation.