Demo Essential Ollama CLI Commands

In this guide, we’ll walk through the most common Ollama CLI commands with practical examples. Whether you’re spinning up a model server, inspecting metadata, or managing local models, these commands form the foundation of any AI application workflow.

Table of Contents

1. List All Commands
2. Run a Model Interactively
3. Stop a Running Model
4. View Local Models
5. Remove a Model
6. Download Models Without Running
7. Show Model Details
8. Monitor Active Models
9. Links and References

1. List All Commands

To discover every available Ollama subcommand, simply run:

ollama

You’ll see output similar to:

Available Commands:
  serve      Start Ollama model server
  create     Create a model from a Modelfile
  show       Show information for a model
  run        Run a model
  stop       Stop a running model
  pull       Pull a model from a registry
  push       Push a model to a registry
  list       List local models
  ps         List running models
  cp         Copy a model
  rm         Remove a model
  help       Help about any command

Flags:
  -h, --help     Help for ollama
  -v, --version  Show version information

ollama run --help

2. Run a Model Interactively

Launch an interactive chat session with a model (e.g., llama3.2):

ollama run llama3.2

Once running, type your queries:

>>> What is the time?
I'm not sure what time you are referring to, as I'm a large language model without real-time access...

To exit the chat, enter:

>>> /bye

3. Stop a Running Model

Models continue running in the background even after you exit the chat interface. To completely terminate:

ollama stop llama3.2

4. View Local Models

List all models downloaded on your machine:

ollama list

5. Remove a Model

Free up disk space by deleting a model:

ollama rm llava

Confirm removal:

ollama list

6. Download Models Without Running

Use ollama pull to fetch a model without immediately launching it. For example, to pull Mistral 7B:

ollama pull mistral

You’ll see progress bars like:

pulling manifest
pulling ff82381e2bea... 28%

7. Show Model Details

Inspect model metadata, architecture, and licensing:

ollama show llama3.2

Model
  architecture     llama
  parameters       3.2B
  context length   131072
  embedding length 3072
  quantization     Q4_K_M

Parameters
  stop  "<|start_header_id|>"
  stop  "<|end_header_id|>"
  stop  "<|eot_id|>"

License
  LLAMA 3.2 COMMUNITY LICENSE AGREEMENT
  Release Date: March 26, 2024

Understanding the license ensures you comply with usage restrictions.

8. Monitor Active Models

Similar to Docker’s ps, this command lists all currently running models:

ollama ps

After launching a model in one terminal:

ollama run llama3.2

Open another terminal and run:

ollama ps

To stop the model:

ollama stop llama3.2

Verify no active models remain:

ollama ps

9. Links and References

• Ollama CLI Documentation
• Mistral AI Models
• LLAMA 3.2 License Details
• Local LLM Best Practices