diff --git a/api/client.go b/api/client.go
index e86dc530..c89ff38f 100644
--- a/api/client.go
+++ b/api/client.go
@@ -18,10 +18,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jmorganca/ollama/version"
 )
 
-const DefaultHost = "127.0.0.1:11434"
-
-var envHost = os.Getenv("OLLAMA_HOST")
-
 type Client struct {
 	base *url.URL
 	http http.Client
diff --git a/docs/faq.md b/docs/faq.md
index 2c7711d5..a1d11fc5 100644
--- a/docs/faq.md
+++ b/docs/faq.md
@@ -60,3 +60,7 @@ systemctl restart ollama
 
 - macOS: Raw model data is stored under `~/.ollama/models`.
 - Linux: Raw model data is stored under `/usr/share/ollama/.ollama/models`
+
+### How can I change where Ollama stores models?
+
+To modify where models are stored, you can use the `OLLAMA_MODELS` environment variable. Note that on Linux this means defining `OLLAMA_MODELS` in a drop-in `/etc/systemd/system/ollama.service.d` service file, reloading systemd, and restarting the ollama service.
diff --git a/server/images.go b/server/images.go
index 5ae8d008..e249f8f9 100644
--- a/server/images.go
+++ b/server/images.go
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ func (m *ManifestV2) GetTotalSize() (total int64) {
 }
 
 func GetManifest(mp ModelPath) (*ManifestV2, string, error) {
-	fp, err := mp.GetManifestPath(false)
+	fp, err := mp.GetManifestPath()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, "", err
 	}
@@ -595,10 +595,13 @@ func CreateManifest(name string, cfg *LayerReader, layers []*Layer) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	fp, err := mp.GetManifestPath(true)
+	fp, err := mp.GetManifestPath()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(fp), 0o755); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	return os.WriteFile(fp, manifestJSON, 0o644)
 }
 
@@ -710,16 +713,19 @@ func CreateLayer(f io.ReadSeeker) (*LayerReader, error) {
 
 func CopyModel(src, dest string) error {
 	srcModelPath := ParseModelPath(src)
-	srcPath, err := srcModelPath.GetManifestPath(false)
+	srcPath, err := srcModelPath.GetManifestPath()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
 	destModelPath := ParseModelPath(dest)
-	destPath, err := destModelPath.GetManifestPath(true)
+	destPath, err := destModelPath.GetManifestPath()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(destPath), 0o755); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
 	// copy the file
 	input, err := os.ReadFile(srcPath)
@@ -882,7 +888,7 @@ func DeleteModel(name string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	fp, err := mp.GetManifestPath(false)
+	fp, err := mp.GetManifestPath()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -1121,10 +1127,13 @@ func PullModel(ctx context.Context, name string, regOpts *RegistryOptions, fn fu
 		return err
 	}
 
-	fp, err := mp.GetManifestPath(true)
+	fp, err := mp.GetManifestPath()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(fp), 0o755); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
 	err = os.WriteFile(fp, manifestJSON, 0o644)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/server/modelpath.go b/server/modelpath.go
index c6798a02..13b26eeb 100644
--- a/server/modelpath.go
+++ b/server/modelpath.go
@@ -85,20 +85,27 @@ func (mp ModelPath) GetShortTagname() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s/%s:%s", mp.Registry, mp.Namespace, mp.Repository, mp.Tag)
 }
 
-func (mp ModelPath) GetManifestPath(createDir bool) (string, error) {
+// modelsDir returns the value of the OLLAMA_MODELS environment variable or the user's home directory if OLLAMA_MODELS is not set.
+// The models directory is where Ollama stores its model files and manifests.
+func modelsDir() (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
+}
 
-	path := filepath.Join(home, ".ollama", "models", "manifests", mp.Registry, mp.Namespace, mp.Repository, mp.Tag)
-	if createDir {
-		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(path), 0o755); err != nil {
-			return "", err
-		}
+// 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, err := modelsDir()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
 	}
 
-	return path, nil
+	return filepath.Join(dir, "manifests", mp.Registry, mp.Namespace, mp.Repository, mp.Tag), nil
 }
 
 func (mp ModelPath) BaseURL() *url.URL {
@@ -109,12 +116,12 @@ func (mp ModelPath) BaseURL() *url.URL {
 }
 
 func GetManifestPath() (string, error) {
-	home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+	dir, err := modelsDir()
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
 
-	path := filepath.Join(home, ".ollama", "models", "manifests")
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "manifests")
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(path, 0o755); err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
@@ -123,7 +130,7 @@ func GetManifestPath() (string, error) {
 }
 
 func GetBlobsPath(digest string) (string, error) {
-	home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+	dir, err := modelsDir()
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
@@ -132,7 +139,7 @@ func GetBlobsPath(digest string) (string, error) {
 		digest = strings.ReplaceAll(digest, ":", "-")
 	}
 
-	path := filepath.Join(home, ".ollama", "models", "blobs", digest)
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "blobs", digest)
 	dirPath := filepath.Dir(path)
 	if digest == "" {
 		dirPath = path