Storage CleanerHow to delete Ollama models on Mac
Every model you ollama pull stays on disk until you remove it, and big ones are 20–40 GB each. Here's how to see what you have and delete what you don't use.
1. List your models and their sizes
ollama listThis shows each model's name, tag, size and when it was last modified.
2. Remove a model
ollama rm llama3.3:70bUse the exact name:tag from ollama list. You can pull it again any time with ollama pull.
Where Ollama stores models on macOS
By default, models live in ~/.ollama/models, unless you've set the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable. Inside are two folders:
manifests/: one small file per model and tag, listing the layers it uses.blobs/: the actual weights, named by their SHA-256 hash.
Don't delete blobs by hand. Models built from the same base share layers, so removing a blob can break a model you still use. ollama rm only deletes layers no other model needs.
How much space will I actually get back?
Because of shared layers, a model's listed size isn't always what you'll reclaim. If two models share a 4 GB base, removing one frees less than its listed size.
Rather not do this by hand? Storage Cleaner finds every Ollama model in one scan, shows when you last used each one, and removes them safely with Undo.
Try Storage Cleaner freeFrequently asked
Does quitting Ollama free the space? No. Quitting frees memory, not disk. Only removing models frees disk space.
Can I move models to an external drive? Yes: set OLLAMA_MODELS to a folder on the external drive and restart Ollama. Existing models need to be moved or pulled again.