---
title: "How to Manage Hugging Face CLI Model Caches"
date: 2026-01-24T10:00:00.000Z
author: Z.SHINCHVEN
tags: [tech, guide, ai, huggingface, llm]
canonical: https://atlassc.net/2026/01/24/manage-huggingface-cli-model-caches
---
If you are experimenting with AI models locally—whether it's generating images with **Stable Diffusion**, exploring **Diffusers**, or running large language models (LLMs) like Llama or Mistral—you've likely noticed your disk space vanishing rapidly. This is often due to the Hugging Face cache.

Hugging Face has migrated its command-line interface to the new `hf` command (from the older `huggingface-cli`). This post explains how to use the modern `hf` tools to reclaim that precious storage space.

## Quick Command

To see what's taking up space:

```bash
hf cache ls
```

To delete a specific model (e.g., `model/runwayml/stable-diffusion-v1-5`):

```bash
hf cache rm model/runwayml/stable-diffusion-v1-5
```

## What Are Hugging Face Model Caches?

When you load a model using libraries like `transformers`, `diffusers`, or `datasets`, the library downloads the model files from the Hugging Face Hub.

Instead of downloading these large files every single time you run your script, Hugging Face stores them in a local cache. This speeds up subsequent loads significantly. However, because these models can be massive (often gigabytes in size), this cache can grow indefinitely.

## Where Are They Stored?

By default, the cache is stored in your home directory.

-   **Linux/macOS:** `~/.cache/huggingface/hub`
-   **Windows:** `%USERPROFILE%\.cache\huggingface\hub`

## How to Check Your Cache Usage

With the new `hf` CLI, you use the `cache ls` command to list your cached models.

```bash
hf cache ls
```

**Output Example:**

```text
ID                                      REPO TYPE  SIZE     CREATED         ACCESSED
model/runwayml/stable-diffusion-v1-5    model      4.2G     2 weeks ago     1 hour ago
model/stabilityai/stable-diffusion-xl   model      6.9G     1 month ago     2 days ago
...
```

You can also sort by size to find the biggest offenders:

```bash
hf cache ls --sort size:desc
```

## How to Remove Cached Models

To remove models, use the `hf cache rm` command followed by the ID of the repository you want to delete (as shown in the `ls` output).

```bash
hf cache rm model/runwayml/stable-diffusion-v1-5
```

You can also delete specific revisions (snapshots) if you don't want to remove the entire model history.

### Legacy Interactive Mode

If you miss the interactive Text User Interface (TUI) from the older version, you might still be able to use the legacy command if it's available in your path, though `hf` is the recommended way forward.

```bash
huggingface-cli delete-cache
```

This opens the interactive menu where you can select models with arrow keys and delete them with Enter.

## Conclusion

Regularly pruning your Hugging Face cache is essential for maintaining a healthy development environment. By using `hf cache ls` and `hf cache rm`, you can keep your favorite models ready to go while discarding the ones you no longer need.