Pull a model from the Ollama library programmatically with POST /api/pull and track download progress
domain: ollama.com · 6 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
POST http://localhost:11434/api/pull with {"model": "llama3.2"}.
By default the response streams JSON objects: first {"status": "pulling manifest"}, then repeated {"status": "pulling <digest>", "digest": "...", "total": <bytes>, "completed": <bytes>} per layer.
Compute progress per layer as completed/total; the number of download objects depends on how many layers the manifest lists.
Final objects are status: "verifying sha256 digest", "writing manifest", "removing any unused layers", then {"status": "success"}.
With "stream": false you get only the single final {"status": "success"} object (the call blocks until the pull finishes).
Cancelled pulls resume from where they left off, and concurrent pulls of the same model share download progress.
Known gotchas
Until a layer's download has made progress, the completed key may be absent from its status objects — guard your progress math.
insecure:true is only for pulling from your own library during development; leave it off for ollama.com.
A stream:false pull of a large model looks like a hung request — the single response only arrives at the end.
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