README.md

@@ -144,10 +144,19 @@ vicinae 'vicinae://launch/lam-agent/chat?fallbackText=summarise%20this'
 | Action | Notes |
 | --- | --- |
 | **Use This Model** | The primary action. Immediate, and survives restarts. |
+| **Unload Model** | Only on a row that is loaded. No confirmation, because nothing is deleted. |
 | **Copy Model Name** | For pasting into the `Model` preference. |
 | **Delete Model** | Confirmed first. A server you run only. |
 | **Pull a Model…** | Confirmed by the download itself. A server you run only. |
 
+### Loaded models
+
+Installed and loaded are different states, and the list shows both. `GET /api/ps` reports what is holding memory right now, and those rows get a green `loaded` tag, so "why is my GPU busy" has an answer in the same place as "what do I have".
+
+**Unload** frees the memory without deleting anything, which is why it needs no confirmation: the worst case is that the next question pays to load the model again. It is `POST /api/generate` with `keep_alive: 0` and no prompt, which is how Ollama expresses "release this now", and what its own `ollama stop` does. The reply reports `done_reason: "unload"`, and the toast says how much was freed.
+
+A host that does not serve `/api/ps` (older builds answer 404) simply shows no loaded tags. That check resolving to nothing is not an error, and it must not take the model list down with it.
+
 ### Why a pick is not written to the preference
 
 It cannot be. `@vicinae/api` exposes `getPreferenceValues` and nothing that sets one, so the only way to change the preference would be to write Vicinae's own config file. That does not work: preferences are read once at startup and held in memory, so an edit to `~/.config/vicinae/settings.json` is invisible until Vicinae restarts. This was measured rather than assumed. Pointing `ollamaHost` at a local listener that logged every request, then launching a command, showed the requests still going to the old host.

package.json

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
       "name": "models",
       "title": "Ollama Models",
       "subtitle": "Lam Agent",
-      "description": "Browse the models your Ollama host can reach, pick the one Lam should use, and pull or delete models on a server you run. A pick takes effect immediately; a pull keeps downloading until it finishes, so leave the launcher open.",
+      "description": "Browse the models your Ollama host can reach, pick the one Lam should use, unload one that is holding memory, and pull or delete models on a server you run. A pick takes effect immediately; a pull keeps downloading until it finishes, so leave the launcher open.",
       "mode": "view"
     },
     {

src/__tests__/ollama.test.ts

@@ -4,11 +4,13 @@ import {
   describePullProgress,
   isSelfHosted,
   listModels,
+  listRunningModels,
   modelCapabilities,
   normalizeHost,
   parseNdjsonStream,
   pullModel,
   supportsVision,
+  unloadModel,
   webFetch,
   webSearch,
 } from "../lib/ollama";
@@ -490,3 +492,111 @@ describe("web tool paths", () => {
     );
   });
 });
+
+describe("listRunningModels", () => {
+  const fetchMock = vi.fn();
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fetchMock.mockReset();
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+  });
+
+  /** Trimmed from a real `GET /api/ps` on Ollama 0.35.1 with one model in VRAM. */
+  const realPayload = {
+    models: [
+      {
+        name: "ornith-1.5:9b",
+        model: "ornith-1.5:9b",
+        size: 10413733314,
+        size_vram: 10413733314,
+        expires_at: "2026-10-05T17:44:11.125356+08:00",
+        context_length: 131072,
+        details: { parameter_size: "9.0B" },
+      },
+    ],
+  };
+
+  it("reads what is in memory, including when it will go on its own", async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(new Response(JSON.stringify(realPayload), { status: 200 }));
+
+    const running = await listRunningModels({ host: "http://localhost:11434", apiKey: "k" });
+
+    expect(running).toEqual([
+      {
+        name: "ornith-1.5:9b",
+        parameterSize: "9.0B",
+        sizeVram: 10413733314,
+        expiresAt: Date.parse("2026-10-05T17:44:11.125356+08:00"),
+      },
+    ]);
+
+    expect(fetchMock.mock.calls[0][0]).toBe("http://localhost:11434/api/ps");
+  });
+
+  it("is empty, not an error, when the server does not serve /api/ps", async () => {
+    // Older builds answer 404. Taking the whole model list down because the
+    // *running* list is unavailable would be a bad trade.
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(new Response("404 page not found", { status: 404 }));
+
+    await expect(listRunningModels({ host: "http://localhost:11434", apiKey: "k" })).resolves.toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("is empty when the request fails outright", async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("connection refused"));
+
+    await expect(listRunningModels({ host: "http://localhost:11434", apiKey: "k" })).resolves.toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("copes with a model holding no VRAM figure, as a CPU-offloaded one would", async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(
+      new Response(JSON.stringify({ models: [{ name: "cpu-model:1b", size_vram: 0 }] }), { status: 200 }),
+    );
+
+    await expect(listRunningModels({ host: "http://localhost:11434", apiKey: "k" })).resolves.toEqual([
+      { name: "cpu-model:1b", parameterSize: undefined, sizeVram: 0, expiresAt: undefined },
+    ]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("unloadModel", () => {
+  const fetchMock = vi.fn();
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fetchMock.mockReset();
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+  });
+
+  it("posts keep_alive 0 with no prompt, which is how Ollama is told to release a model", async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(
+      new Response(JSON.stringify({ done: true, done_reason: "unload" }), { status: 200 }),
+    );
+
+    await unloadModel({ host: "http://localhost:11434", apiKey: "k", model: "ornith-1.5:9b" });
+
+    const [url, init] = fetchMock.mock.calls[0];
+    expect(url).toBe("http://localhost:11434/api/generate");
+    expect(init.method).toBe("POST");
+    // No `prompt` key at all, so this can never generate a completion.
+    expect(JSON.parse(init.body)).toEqual({
+      model: "ornith-1.5:9b",
+      keep_alive: 0,
+      stream: false,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("surfaces a refusal rather than pretending the memory came back", async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(new Response("nope", { status: 500 }));
+
+    await expect(
+      unloadModel({ host: "http://localhost:11434", apiKey: "k", model: "x:1" }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/HTTP 500/);
+  });
+});

src/lib/ollama.ts

@@ -263,6 +263,108 @@ export interface DeleteModelOptions {
   signal?: AbortSignal;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A model the server has in memory right now, as reported by `GET /api/ps`.
+ *
+ * Distinct from {@link ModelInfo}, which is what is on disk. A model can be
+ * installed without being loaded, and loaded models are the ones holding VRAM.
+ */
+export interface RunningModel {
+  name: string;
+  parameterSize?: string;
+  /**
+   * Bytes held in memory. Equal to the on-disk size when the model is fully
+   * offloaded to the GPU, and less when part of it is running on the CPU.
+   */
+  sizeVram?: number;
+  /** When the server will drop it on its own, as a Unix timestamp. */
+  expiresAt?: number;
+}
+
+export interface ListRunningModelsOptions {
+  host: string;
+  apiKey: string;
+  signal?: AbortSignal;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The models holding memory on this server.
+ *
+ * Resolves to an empty list rather than throwing. Nothing here is worth failing
+ * over: a server that does not serve `/api/ps` (older builds answer 404) simply
+ * has nothing known to be loaded, and taking the whole model list down because
+ * the *running* list is unavailable would be a bad trade.
+ */
+export async function listRunningModels(options: ListRunningModelsOptions): Promise<RunningModel[]> {
+  const host = normalizeHost(options.host);
+
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(`${host}/api/ps`, {
+      headers: authHeaders(options.apiKey),
+      signal: options.signal,
+    });
+
+    if (!response.ok) return [];
+
+    const payload = (await response.json()) as {
+      models?: Array<{
+        name?: string;
+        model?: string;
+        size_vram?: number;
+        expires_at?: string;
+        details?: { parameter_size?: string };
+      }>;
+    };
+
+    return (payload.models ?? [])
+      .map((model) => ({
+        name: model.name ?? model.model ?? "",
+        parameterSize: model.details?.parameter_size,
+        sizeVram: typeof model.size_vram === "number" ? model.size_vram : undefined,
+        expiresAt: model.expires_at ? Date.parse(model.expires_at) : undefined,
+      }))
+      .filter((model) => model.name.length > 0);
+  } catch {
+    return [];
+  }
+}
+
+export interface UnloadModelOptions {
+  host: string;
+  apiKey: string;
+  model: string;
+  signal?: AbortSignal;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Drops a model out of memory, freeing the VRAM it was holding.
+ *
+ * `POST /api/generate` with `keep_alive: 0` and no prompt is how Ollama says
+ * "release this now"; its own `ollama stop` does the same thing. Probed against
+ * 0.35.1: the reply is `{"done":true,"done_reason":"unload"}` and `/api/ps`
+ * comes back empty. The `DELETE` form of the same route answers 405, so there is
+ * no delete-shaped way to do this.
+ *
+ * Nothing is deleted, so a mistake costs a reload. That is why this needs no
+ * confirmation while `deleteModel` does.
+ */
+export async function unloadModel(options: UnloadModelOptions): Promise<void> {
+  const host = normalizeHost(options.host);
+
+  const response = await fetch(`${host}/api/generate`, {
+    method: "POST",
+    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json", ...authHeaders(options.apiKey) },
+    // No `prompt`, so this never generates anything, and `stream: false` because
+    // there is exactly one reply to read.
+    body: JSON.stringify({ model: options.model, keep_alive: 0, stream: false }),
+    signal: options.signal,
+  });
+
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    throw describeHttpError(response.status, await safeText(response), host);
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Removes a model from a server the user runs.
  *

src/models.tsx

@@ -12,7 +12,16 @@ import {
 } from "@vicinae/api";
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { usePreferences } from "./lib/hooks/usePreferences";
-import { deleteModel, describePullProgress, isSelfHosted, listModels, pullModel } from "./lib/ollama";
+import {
+  deleteModel,
+  describePullProgress,
+  isSelfHosted,
+  listModels,
+  listRunningModels,
+  pullModel,
+  unloadModel,
+  type RunningModel,
+} from "./lib/ollama";
 import { clearModelSelection, selectModel, type ResolvedPreferences } from "./lib/preferences";
 import type { ModelInfo } from "./lib/types";
 import { errorMessage, formatBytes } from "./lib/utils";
@@ -20,10 +29,12 @@ import { errorMessage, formatBytes } from "./lib/utils";
 /**
  * Browse, pick, and manage the models the configured Ollama host can reach.
  *
- * Three jobs in one command, because they are three answers to the same question
+ * Four jobs in one command, because they are four answers to the same question
- * ("what models do I have?"): pick one, delete one, pull a new one. The last two
+ * ("what models do I have?"): pick one, unload one, delete one, pull a new one.
- * only appear on a host the user runs, since there is nothing to pull onto
+ * Unloading is the odd one out and the reason a row needs two states rather than
- * Ollama Cloud and nothing to delete from it.
+ * one: a model can be installed without being loaded, and only the loaded ones
+ * are holding memory. Delete and pull only appear on a host the user runs, since
+ * there is nothing to pull onto Ollama Cloud and nothing to delete from it.
  *
  * ## Where a pick is stored
  *
@@ -70,6 +81,8 @@ interface ModelsScreenProps {
 
 function ModelsScreen({ preferences, reloadPreferences }: ModelsScreenProps) {
   const [models, setModels] = useState<ModelInfo[] | undefined>(undefined);
+  /** By name, so a row can ask whether it is the one holding memory. */
+  const [running, setRunning] = useState<Map<string, RunningModel>>(new Map());
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | undefined>(undefined);
   const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);
   const [view, setView] = useState<View>("list");
@@ -81,10 +94,19 @@ function ModelsScreen({ preferences, reloadPreferences }: ModelsScreenProps) {
     setIsLoading(true);
 
     try {
-      setModels(await listModels({ host: preferences.host, apiKey: preferences.apiKey }));
+      // Both at once: what is installed and what is loaded are different
+      // questions, and the second must not hold up the first.
+      const [installed, loaded] = await Promise.all([
+        listModels({ host: preferences.host, apiKey: preferences.apiKey }),
+        listRunningModels({ host: preferences.host, apiKey: preferences.apiKey }),
+      ]);
+
+      setModels(installed);
+      setRunning(new Map(loaded.map((model) => [model.name, model])));
       setError(undefined);
     } catch (thrown) {
       setModels([]);
+      setRunning(new Map());
       setError(errorMessage(thrown));
     } finally {
       setIsLoading(false);
@@ -95,6 +117,38 @@ function ModelsScreen({ preferences, reloadPreferences }: ModelsScreenProps) {
     void load();
   }, [load]);
 
+  /**
+   * Releases a model from memory.
+   *
+   * No confirmation, unlike deleting: nothing is removed from disk, and the
+   * worst case is that the next question pays to load it again. The toast reports
+   * what was freed, because that is the whole reason to do this.
+   */
+  const unload = useCallback(
+    async (model: ModelInfo, loaded: RunningModel) => {
+      try {
+        await unloadModel({ host: preferences.host, apiKey: preferences.apiKey, model: model.name });
+      } catch (thrown) {
+        await showToast({
+          style: Toast.Style.Failure,
+          title: `Could not unload ${model.name}`,
+          message: errorMessage(thrown),
+        });
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const freed = formatBytes(loaded.sizeVram);
+      await showToast({
+        style: Toast.Style.Success,
+        title: `Unloaded ${model.name}`,
+        message: freed ? `${freed} of memory freed` : undefined,
+      });
+
+      void load();
+    },
+    [load, preferences.host, preferences.apiKey],
+  );
+
   const choose = useCallback(
     async (name: string) => {
       if (name === preferences.model) {
@@ -238,6 +292,7 @@ function ModelsScreen({ preferences, reloadPreferences }: ModelsScreenProps) {
       {loaded.map((model) => {
         const isCurrent = model.name === preferences.model;
         const size = model.remoteHost ? undefined : formatBytes(model.size);
+        const inMemory = running.get(model.name);
 
         return (
           <List.Item
@@ -247,6 +302,7 @@ function ModelsScreen({ preferences, reloadPreferences }: ModelsScreenProps) {
             title={model.name}
             subtitle={[model.parameterSize, size].filter(Boolean).join(" · ") || undefined}
             accessories={[
+              ...(inMemory ? [{ tag: { value: "loaded", color: "green" as const } }] : []),
               ...(isCurrent ? [{ tag: { value: "current", color: "blue" as const } }] : []),
               ...(model.capabilities?.includes("vision") ? [{ tag: "vision" }] : []),
               { tag: model.remoteHost ? "cloud" : selfHosted ? "local" : "cloud" },
@@ -258,6 +314,13 @@ function ModelsScreen({ preferences, reloadPreferences }: ModelsScreenProps) {
                   icon={isCurrent ? Icon.CheckCircle : Icon.Stars}
                   onAction={() => void choose(model.name)}
                 />
+                {inMemory ? (
+                  <Action
+                    title="Unload Model"
+                    icon={Icon.Eject}
+                    onAction={() => void unload(model, inMemory)}
+                  />
+                ) : null}
                 <Action.CopyToClipboard title="Copy Model Name" content={model.name} />
                 {selfHosted ? (
                   <Action