What this does

Maps the container's model storage directory to a host filesystem path so models, history, and configuration survive container restarts and rebuilds. After this guide the Ollama data directory is backed by a persistent volume.

Steps

Identify the default models directory inside the container. Ollama stores models at /root/.ollama/models by default.
```
docker exec ollama ls /root/.ollama/models
```
Expected output: Directory listing showing downloaded model folders.
Create the host directory for persistence.
```
mkdir -p ~/ollama-data
```
Expected output: Quiet success.
Stop and remove the existing container.
```
docker stop ollama && docker rm ollama
```
Expected output: Container ID printed for both commands.

Launch Ollama with a bind mount for the models directory.

docker run -d \
  --name ollama \
  -p 11434:11434 \
  -v ~/ollama-data:/root/.ollama/models \
  ollama/ollama

Expected output: Full container ID string.

Store the Docker Compose manifest for repeatability.

services:
  ollama:
    image: ollama/ollama:latest
    container_name: ollama
    ports:
      - "11434:11434"
    volumes:
      - ~/ollama-data:/root/.ollama/models
    restart: unless-stopped

docker compose up -d

Verification

docker exec ollama ls /root/.ollama/models
# Expected: Directory listing identical to the host ~/ollama-data contents

Common failures

Error: no such container: ollama — The container was not named ollama when created. Find the name with docker ps -a.
Models not found after recreate — The host path was empty at first run. Always stop the container before removing it.
Permission denied — Run chmod -R 755 ~/ollama-data or adjust ownership.
Container exits immediately — The bind mount syntax is incorrect. Use an absolute path.
Port already allocated — Port conflict with another process. Change the host port to 11435:11434.
Volume mount not propagating — On macOS Docker Desktop, file changes may be delayed. Use docker restart ollama to force re-mount.

How to persist Ollama data in Docker

What this does

Steps

Verification

Common failures

Related guides