ollama list

List all models in your local library

Synopsis

ollama list [MODEL_PREFIX]
ollama ls [MODEL_PREFIX]

Description

The list command (alias: ls) displays all models currently available in your local library. It shows:

• Model names
• Model IDs (digest)
• Size on disk
• Last modified time

You can optionally filter the list by providing a model name prefix.

Arguments

MODEL_PREFIX · string

Optional prefix to filter models. Shows only models whose names start with this prefix.

ollama list llama  # Show only llama models

Options

The list command has no flags or options.

Examples

List All Models

Show all models in your library:

ollama list

Output:

NAME                    ID              SIZE      MODIFIED
llama3.2:latest         8934d96d3f08    4.7 GB    2 hours ago
mistral:7b-instruct     2e0493f67d0c    4.1 GB    1 day ago
codellama:7b            7c23fb36d801    3.8 GB    3 days ago
nomic-embed-text        42ba7f8a01dd    274 MB    1 week ago

Filter by Prefix

Show only models starting with “llama”:

ollama list llama

Output:

NAME                    ID              SIZE      MODIFIED
llama3.2:latest         8934d96d3f08    4.7 GB    2 hours ago
llama3.2:8b             a1b2c3d4e5f6    8.2 GB    1 day ago

Using the Alias

The ls alias works identically:

ollama ls
ollama ls mistral

Output Format

The output is formatted as a table with these columns:

NAME · string

Full model name including tag (e.g., llama3.2:latest)

ID · string

First 12 characters of the model’s SHA256 digest. Uniquely identifies the model.

SIZE · string

Disk space used by the model. Shown in human-readable format (MB, GB).

For cloud models, displays ”-” since they’re not stored locally.

MODIFIED · string

When the model was last pulled or created:

• “5 minutes ago”
• “2 hours ago”
• “3 days ago”
• “1 week ago”
• “Never” (for models that haven’t been updated)

Understanding Model Names

Model names follow this format:

name:tag

• name: The model name (e.g., llama3.2, mistral)
• tag: The variant or version (e.g., latest, 7b, 13b-instruct)

If no tag is specified, :latest is assumed.

Disk Usage

To see total disk space used by all models:

du -sh ~/.ollama/models

Or set a custom location:

du -sh $OLLAMA_MODELS

Scripting Usage

Extract model information for scripts:

# Check if a model exists
if ollama list | grep -q "llama3.2:latest"; then
    echo "Model exists"
fi

# Count total models
ollama list | tail -n +2 | wc -l

# List only model names
ollama list | tail -n +2 | awk '{print $1}'

# Get model ID
MODEL_ID=$(ollama list llama3.2 | tail -n +2 | awk '{print $2}')

Common Patterns

Find Large Models

Find models over 5GB:

ollama list | awk '$3 ~ /GB$/ && $3+0 > 5 {print $1, $3}'

List by Modification Time

Find recently updated models:

ollama list | grep "hour\|minute"

Check for Specific Tag

List all 7B parameter models:

ollama list | grep ":7b"

Model Storage Location

Models are stored in:

• Linux/macOS: ~/.ollama/models
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.ollama\models
• Custom: Set via OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable

Cloud Models

Cloud models (models running on remote servers) appear in the list but show:

• Size: - (not stored locally)
• Different ID format

Example:

NAME                    ID              SIZE      MODIFIED
llama3.2:latest         8934d96d3f08    4.7 GB    2 hours ago
gpt-4-turbo:latest      cloud:abc123    -         Never

Empty Library

If no models are installed:

ollama list

Output:

NAME    ID    SIZE    MODIFIED

Solution: Pull a model:

ollama pull llama3.2
ollama list

Environment Variables

OLLAMA_HOST · string · default: "http://127.0.0.1:11434"

Ollama server address to query for the model list

OLLAMA_MODELS · string · default: "~/.ollama/models"

Directory where models are stored (affects local vs cloud display)

Exit Codes

• 0 - Success
• 1 - Error (server not running, etc.)

Troubleshooting

Server Not Running

Error: could not connect to ollama server

Solution: Start the Ollama server:

ollama serve

No Models Showing

If the command succeeds but shows no models, you haven’t pulled any yet:

ollama pull llama3.2

Comparison with Other Commands

Command	Purpose
ollama list	Show all available models
ollama ps	Show currently running models
ollama show MODEL	Show detailed info about one model

Related Commands

• ollama ps - List currently running models
• ollama show - Show detailed information about a model
• ollama pull - Pull a new model
• ollama rm - Remove a model from the library
• ollama create - Create a custom model