LM Studio models directory: audit and move off the system drive

LM Studio downloads GGUF models (3–70 GB each) and lets you pick the directory — but the default sneaks onto your system drive.

Find your models dir

In the app: My Models → the path is shown at top. Typical defaults:

OS	Default
Linux	`~/.cache/lm-studio/models`
macOS	`~/.lmstudio/models` (or as configured)
Windows	`%USERPROFILE%\.lmstudio\models` (or as configured)

Same model at multiple quantizations (Q4_K_M vs Q8) = keep one.
Delete from inside the app so its index stays consistent; or delete folders and rescan.
Duplicate *.gguf.part files = interrupted downloads, always safe to remove.

Settings → Models Directory → change to an external SSD, then move existing folders over.

Move vs re-download?
Moving the folder preserves models; just update the path in settings.