Source: https://eugeneplexus.com/guides/bring-your-own-models

[Guides](https://eugeneplexus.com/guides) · v0.3.0

# Use model files you already have

Add a folder of existing model files to the Library, check what it found, and reach a folder on a NAS.

The Library reads model files where they already are. It does not move or copy them, and you do not download them again.

1.  Open **Library → Folders**.
2.  Press **add folder**. Type the folder’s path, or press **browse** to pick it. Write the path as the machine the Library runs on writes it.
3.  Press **save folders**.
4.  Open **Library** and press **scan**. The models appear in the list, and the page says when it last scanned.

Subfolders are searched. A model is one `.gguf` file, the first file of a split model, or a safetensors folder. A vision projector, a companion for [speculative decoding](https://eugeneplexus.com/guides/speed-up-with-speculative-decoding) and the later pieces of a split model are not listed as models of their own.

## If a model is missing

With no model selected, **Library** shows a link such as **show 12 skipped paths**. Open it. It lists every file the scan passed over, each with its reason, for example **not a model**, **could not be read**, **unsupported format** or **partial download**.

## A folder on a NAS

If your other machines reach the folder by a different path, fill in the folder’s row on **Library → Folders**:

1.  Under **Mounted on Linux / macOS nodes at**, type the path those machines use, for example `/mnt/models`.
2.  Under **Mounted on Windows nodes at**, type the path Windows machines use, for example `\\NAS\models`.
3.  Press **save folders**.

A machine that mounts the share somewhere else gets its own path: click the machine’s name in the table’s header, type the path in its **Override** box, and press **save overrides**.

**Good to know**

-   A machine runs a model only from one of these folders.
-   The scan skips symlinked folders unless **Follow symlinked directories** is on in the Library’s settings. A folder you add yourself is always scanned.
-   Scanning at startup is on by default. Turn off **Scan at startup** for a slow share, and press **scan** when you want it.
-   Files that have not changed are not read again. **full rescan** reads every model’s header again.
-   The Library reads `.gguf` and safetensors files. Ollama keeps its models as hash-named blob files, which the Library does not read as models.
-   **remove** on a folder only stops the Library listing it. Nothing on disk is touched.

Something different on your screen? [Tell us on GitHub](https://github.com/eugene-plexus/specs/issues/new?title=Guide%3A%20Use%20model%20files%20you%20already%20have), with your version and what you saw.

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