diff --git a/envconfig/config.go b/envconfig/config.go
index 7ae521ab..286f51d4 100644
--- a/envconfig/config.go
+++ b/envconfig/config.go
@@ -99,6 +99,21 @@ func Origins() (origins []string) {
 	return origins
 }
 
+// Models returns the path to the models directory. Models directory can be configured via the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable.
+// Default is $HOME/.ollama/models
+func Models() string {
+	if s, ok := os.LookupEnv("OLLAMA_MODELS"); ok {
+		return s
+	}
+
+	home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	return filepath.Join(home, ".ollama", "models")
+}
+
 var (
 	// Experimental flash attention
 	FlashAttention bool
@@ -154,7 +169,7 @@ func AsMap() map[string]EnvVar {
 		"OLLAMA_LLM_LIBRARY":       {"OLLAMA_LLM_LIBRARY", LLMLibrary, "Set LLM library to bypass autodetection"},
 		"OLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELS": {"OLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELS", MaxRunners, "Maximum number of loaded models per GPU"},
 		"OLLAMA_MAX_QUEUE":         {"OLLAMA_MAX_QUEUE", MaxQueuedRequests, "Maximum number of queued requests"},
-		"OLLAMA_MODELS":            {"OLLAMA_MODELS", ModelsDir, "The path to the models directory"},
+		"OLLAMA_MODELS":            {"OLLAMA_MODELS", Models(), "The path to the models directory"},
 		"OLLAMA_NOHISTORY":         {"OLLAMA_NOHISTORY", NoHistory, "Do not preserve readline history"},
 		"OLLAMA_NOPRUNE":           {"OLLAMA_NOPRUNE", NoPrune, "Do not prune model blobs on startup"},
 		"OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLEL":      {"OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLEL", NumParallel, "Maximum number of parallel requests"},
@@ -295,12 +310,6 @@ func LoadConfig() {
 		loadKeepAlive(ka)
 	}
 
-	var err error
-	ModelsDir, err = getModelsDir()
-	if err != nil {
-		slog.Error("invalid setting", "OLLAMA_MODELS", ModelsDir, "error", err)
-	}
-
 	if set, err := strconv.ParseBool(clean("OLLAMA_INTEL_GPU")); err == nil {
 		IntelGpu = set
 	}
@@ -312,17 +321,6 @@ func LoadConfig() {
 	HsaOverrideGfxVersion = clean("HSA_OVERRIDE_GFX_VERSION")
 }
 
-func getModelsDir() (string, error) {
-	if models, exists := os.LookupEnv("OLLAMA_MODELS"); exists {
-		return models, nil
-	}
-	home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	return filepath.Join(home, ".ollama", "models"), nil
-}
-
 func loadKeepAlive(ka string) {
 	v, err := strconv.Atoi(ka)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/server/modelpath.go b/server/modelpath.go
index 3fdb4238..354eeed7 100644
--- a/server/modelpath.go
+++ b/server/modelpath.go
@@ -105,9 +105,7 @@ func (mp ModelPath) GetShortTagname() string {
 
 // GetManifestPath returns the path to the manifest file for the given model path, it is up to the caller to create the directory if it does not exist.
 func (mp ModelPath) GetManifestPath() (string, error) {
-	dir := envconfig.ModelsDir
-
-	return filepath.Join(dir, "manifests", mp.Registry, mp.Namespace, mp.Repository, mp.Tag), nil
+	return filepath.Join(envconfig.Models(), "manifests", mp.Registry, mp.Namespace, mp.Repository, mp.Tag), nil
 }
 
 func (mp ModelPath) BaseURL() *url.URL {
@@ -118,9 +116,7 @@ func (mp ModelPath) BaseURL() *url.URL {
 }
 
 func GetManifestPath() (string, error) {
-	dir := envconfig.ModelsDir
-
-	path := filepath.Join(dir, "manifests")
+	path := filepath.Join(envconfig.Models(), "manifests")
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(path, 0o755); err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
@@ -129,8 +125,6 @@ func GetManifestPath() (string, error) {
 }
 
 func GetBlobsPath(digest string) (string, error) {
-	dir := envconfig.ModelsDir
-
 	// only accept actual sha256 digests
 	pattern := "^sha256[:-][0-9a-fA-F]{64}$"
 	re := regexp.MustCompile(pattern)
@@ -140,7 +134,7 @@ func GetBlobsPath(digest string) (string, error) {
 	}
 
 	digest = strings.ReplaceAll(digest, ":", "-")
-	path := filepath.Join(dir, "blobs", digest)
+	path := filepath.Join(envconfig.Models(), "blobs", digest)
 	dirPath := filepath.Dir(path)
 	if digest == "" {
 		dirPath = path