ollama rm

Remove one or more models from your local library

Synopsis

ollama rm MODEL [MODEL...]

Description

The rm command permanently deletes models from your local library, freeing up disk space. This removes:

• Model weights
• Configuration files
• Metadata
• All associated files

You can remove multiple models in a single command.

This action is irreversible. Once removed, you’ll need to pull or create the model again to use it.

Arguments

MODEL · string · required

Name(s) of the model(s) to remove. Multiple models can be specified separated by spaces.

Examples:

• ollama rm llama3.2
• ollama rm mistral:7b codellama:13b
• ollama rm myusername/custom-model:v1

Options

The rm command has no flags or options.

Examples

Remove a Single Model

Delete one model:

ollama rm llama3.2

Output:

deleted 'llama3.2'

Remove Multiple Models

Delete several models at once:

ollama rm llama3.2 mistral:7b codellama

Output:

deleted 'llama3.2'
deleted 'mistral:7b'
deleted 'codellama'

Remove Specific Tag

Remove a specific version:

ollama rm llama3.2:8b

This removes only the 8b variant, leaving other tags like :latest or :13b intact.

Remove Custom Model

Delete a model you created:

ollama rm myusername/custom-assistant

Before Removing

Check Model Details

Review model information before deleting:

ollama show llama3.2

List All Models

See what’s available:

ollama list

Check Disk Space

See how much space you’ll free:

ollama list | grep llama3.2

Output:

llama3.2:latest    8934d96d3f08    4.7 GB    2 hours ago

Automatic Stop

If the model is currently running, it will be stopped automatically before removal:

# Model is running
ollama ps
# NAME              ID          SIZE     PROCESSOR    CONTEXT    UNTIL
# llama3.2:latest   8934d96d    4.7 GB   100% GPU     2048       4 minutes

# Remove it (stops first, then deletes)
ollama rm llama3.2

# Verify it's gone
ollama list

Disk Space Recovery

Check disk space before and after:

# Check current usage
du -sh ~/.ollama/models

# Remove models
ollama rm large-model-1 large-model-2

# Check new usage
du -sh ~/.ollama/models

Scripting Usage

Use in scripts and automation:

# Remove all models starting with "test-"
for model in $(ollama list | grep "^test-" | awk '{print $1}'); do
    ollama rm "$model"
done

# Remove old models (example: keep only latest)
ollama list | grep -v ":latest" | tail -n +2 | awk '{print $1}' | xargs -r ollama rm

# Remove model with confirmation
read -p "Remove llama3.2? (y/n) " -n 1 -r
echo
if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
    ollama rm llama3.2
fi

# Remove only if it exists
if ollama list | grep -q "llama3.2"; then
    ollama rm llama3.2
fi

Cleanup Patterns

Remove Old Versions

Keep only the latest version of each model:

# Remove specific old versions
ollama rm llama3.2:8b-v1 llama3.2:8b-v2

# Keep only :latest
ollama list llama3.2 | grep -v ":latest" | awk '{print $1}' | xargs -r ollama rm

Remove Test Models

Clean up experimental models:

# Remove all models with "test" in the name
ollama list | grep "test" | awk '{print $1}' | xargs -r ollama rm

Free Up Space

Remove largest models:

# List models by size
ollama list | tail -n +2 | sort -h -k3

# Remove largest ones
ollama rm huge-model-1 huge-model-2

Recovery

Once removed, models can be recovered by:

Re-pulling from Registry

# Remove
ollama rm llama3.2

# Later, pull it back
ollama pull llama3.2

Re-creating from Modelfile

# Remove custom model
ollama rm my-custom-model

# Later, recreate it
ollama create my-custom-model -f Modelfile

Re-creating a model requires the original Modelfile and any referenced files (adapters, weights, etc.).

Storage Location

Models are removed from:

• Linux/macOS: ~/.ollama/models
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.ollama\models
• Custom: $OLLAMA_MODELS

Environment Variables

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

Ollama server address

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

Directory where models are stored (affects what gets deleted)

Exit Codes

• 0 - Success, all models removed
• 1 - Error occurred (model not found, permission denied, etc.)

Troubleshooting

Model Not Found

Error: model 'mymodel' not found

Solution: Check the exact model name:

ollama list
ollama rm exact-name:exact-tag

Server Not Running

Error: could not connect to ollama server

Solution: Start the Ollama server:

ollama serve

Permission Denied

Error: permission denied

Solution: Check file permissions on the models directory:

ls -la ~/.ollama/models
sudo chown -R $USER ~/.ollama

Model Still Running

If you see a warning about a running model, it will be stopped automatically:

Warning: unable to stop model 'llama3.2'
deleted 'llama3.2'

This is usually harmless—the model is deleted despite the warning.

Safety Tips

Check Before Deleting

Use ollama list and ollama show to verify you’re removing the right model

Keep Modelfiles

Save Modelfiles for custom models so you can recreate them if needed

Document Custom Models

Keep notes about custom models, their purpose, and configuration

Consider Alternatives

If disk space isn’t critical, consider keeping models you might reuse

Comparison with Stop

Command	Effect	Recoverable
ollama stop	Unload from memory	Yes, immediately
ollama rm	Delete from disk	Yes, by re-pulling/creating

Related Commands

• ollama list - See which models can be removed
• ollama show - Check model details before removing
• ollama ps - See if a model is running before removal
• ollama pull - Re-download a removed model
• ollama create - Recreate a custom model