HOW-TO · INF
How to list all available models on your local Ollama installation
Target environment
Ubuntu 24.04 · Ollama 0.4.x
PREREQUISITES
Ollama installed and running (daemon active)
What this does
Inspects the local model store and displays every downloaded model with its size, disk digest, and last-modified date. Provides a complete inventory before performing operations such as deletion or version rollback.
Steps
- Invoke the model inventory command. Enumerates all stored models and their metadata.
ollama list
Expected output: A formatted table with columns NAME, ID, SIZE, MODIFIED.
2. **Read each column.** Identifies the model name including any tag suffix, the 12-character digest used in API calls, the size on disk in human-readable form, and the last-pulled timestamp.
3. **Identify a model for follow-up action.** Note the name exactly as shown, including any :version suffix, before passing it to ollama run or ollama rm.
- **Record the local run evidence.** Save the exact command, runtime or package version, model name if applicable, and observed output so the result can be reproduced later.
## Verification
```bash
ollama list
## Expected: table containing at least one row starting with a model name in the NAME column
Common failures
- command not found - Ollama binary not on PATH; verify installation with which ollama.
- Error: no models - No models downloaded yet; run ollama pull llama3.2 first.
- Error: service unavailable - Daemon not running; start with ollama serve.
- Empty table - All models deleted; no action required, but unexpected if previous pulls were confirmed.
- Permission denied reading model store - User lacks read access to ~/.ollama/models; check filesystem permissions.
Operator checkpoint
Before treating this as solved, write down the local runtime, model or package version, hardware/backend if relevant, and the verification output. This keeps the guide useful as a Will-It-Run style decision instead of a one-off command transcript.
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