Download and manage models

The Local Models surface can report runtime health, list installed models, and show selected model details. Its interface also contains a catalog browser and install-progress area, but the inspected page leaves the catalog empty, marks pull or installation as future work, does not wire dedicated running-model detection, and treats deletion as UI-only. This guide separates observable model state from management operations that remain incomplete.

Browse models

Treat the installed list as the current source of truth for models exposed by the runtime. The broader Model Library can help with research, but a catalog entry does not prove that the model can be installed through this page or that it is compatible with the configured runtime.

The inspected Local Models implementation can request runtime status, list installed models, and show details for a selected model. Its catalog array is empty, running-model detection is not connected to a dedicated endpoint, installation is marked for future work, and deletion is UI-only. Document those states directly instead of translating bridge method names into available controls.

Use the installed-model list as the authoritative current inventory. The broader Model Library can help discover models, but presence in that catalog does not prove that a model can be installed or run through the detected local runtime.

Open an installed model to review the details returned by the runtime. Do not infer storage size, quantization, context capacity, license, or hardware fit unless those values are actually present.

The current page reliably exposes installed inventory, while its broader catalog is empty. Installed, selected, running, available, and catalog are separate states. The page calls status, list, and show API routes for runtime and model inspection. The current catalog array is empty, so Model Library presence does not prove local installability.

Installed, selected, running, available, and catalog are separate states; use the installed-model list as the authoritative current inventory. Pull or install is marked as future in the inspected Local Models page; use Model Library for broader discovery without assuming a one-click local installation path. A bridge method does not prove that the visible page safely exposes the operation.

Running-model detection is not connected to a dedicated endpoint in the inspected implementation; open model details before selecting the model for Local Chat. The page calls status, list, and show API routes for runtime and model inspection; do not rely on catalog, install, update, running-state, or removal controls unless the inspected interface confirms they are enabled. The presence of a bridge method does not prove that the visible page safely exposes the operation.

Download

The desktop bridge contains a pull method, but the inspected Local Models page marks installation as future work. A low-level method does not prove a complete, safe, or supported user workflow.

Do not publish a command, model identifier, registry URL, progress guarantee, resume behavior, or supported catalog because those details are not verified. If the runtime provides its own approved installation process, use that process outside Ethen and return to Local Models to verify the installed result.

The interface’s install-progress drawer should not be described as functional for every model. Keep the install-delete-not-wired and catalog-not-available flags until the page is connected to a verified catalog and pull action.

Pull and installation behavior is not wired as a complete user flow in the inspected page. Pull or install is marked as future in the inspected Local Models page. Delete is UI-only in that page even though the lower-level desktop bridge includes a delete method. Running-model detection is not connected to a dedicated endpoint in the inspected implementation.

Current catalog array is empty, so model library presence does not prove local installability, as shown by the current implementation; open model details before selecting the model for Local Chat. Running-model detection is not connected to a dedicated endpoint in the inspected implementation; do not rely on catalog, install, update, running-state, or removal controls unless the inspected interface confirms they are enabled. Avoid manual deletion or invented download commands because storage layout and recovery behavior were not verified.

Installed, selected, running, available, and catalog are separate states; use Model Library for broader discovery without assuming a one-click local installation path. Pull or install is marked as future in the inspected Local Models page; review runtime and storage documentation before changing model files outside Ethen. Manual deletion and invented download commands should be avoided because storage layout and recovery behavior were not verified.

Storage

Model storage belongs to the runtime’s installation and configuration. No universal Ethen model directory is documented. Disk use can vary with model format, quantization, and runtime behavior. Before making storage changes, use the runtime’s approved documentation and preserve any models or data required by other applications that share the same service.

Model storage belongs to the runtime and deployment. Model directories, disk estimates, cache policy, shared storage, encryption, and cleanup behavior remain undocumented.

Before installing a model through a separate runtime process, review that runtime’s approved storage documentation and available disk space. Do not manually move or remove files based on an assumed layout.

A model listed in Ethen proves that the runtime reports it, not that Ethen owns or manages the underlying files.

Model location and disk-space behavior are controlled by the runtime and are not documented by the supplied sources. Storage directories, disk estimates, resume behavior, update semantics, and safe-delete guarantees remain unverified. Use Model Library for broader discovery without assuming a one-click local installation path. Do not rely on catalog, install, update, running-state, or removal controls unless the inspected interface confirms they are enabled.

Delete is UI-only in that page even though the lower-level desktop bridge includes a delete method; use Model Library for broader discovery without assuming a one-click local installation path. Installed, selected, running, available, and catalog are separate states; review runtime and storage documentation before changing model files outside Ethen.

Updates

No verified contract explains how installed models are updated, replaced, pinned, or rolled back. A model with a similar name can still differ by version, quantization, digest, or runtime metadata.

Record the exact installed identifier and runtime version before changing the inventory. After an update performed through the runtime’s approved workflow, refresh Local Models and recheck details.

Do not promise automatic updates or assume that updating Ethen Desktop updates the runtime or its models.

No verified update contract explains model revisions, replacement, or rollback. Review runtime and storage documentation before changing model files outside Ethen. Open model details before selecting the model for Local Chat.

Storage directories, disk estimates, resume behavior, update semantics, and safe-delete guarantees remain unverified; do not rely on catalog, install, update, running-state, or removal controls unless the inspected interface confirms they are enabled. The current catalog array is empty, so Model Library presence does not prove local installability; use the installed-model list as the authoritative current inventory.

Removal

The current page does not establish a working delete path or safe-delete contract. Remove a model only through a verified runtime control, after confirming that no other application depends on it. Ethen should not claim deletion from a UI-only action.

The bridge includes a delete method, but deletion is UI-only in the inspected Local Models page. Do not describe removal as a complete working feature or recommend manual filesystem deletion.

Safe removal would require confirmation of the selected model, running state, storage ownership, cancellation behavior, and recovery expectations. Those contracts are not established here.

If storage must be reclaimed, follow the runtime’s verified removal process and then confirm that the model no longer appears in the installed inventory. Keep a different model available if Local Chat must continue to function.

Deletion is UI-only in the inspected page despite a lower-level bridge method.

The page calls status, list, and show API routes for runtime and model inspection; review runtime and storage documentation before changing model files outside Ethen. Delete is UI-only in that page even though the lower-level desktop bridge includes a delete method; open model details before selecting the model for Local Chat.

Troubleshooting

Separate management problems into layers:

• Runtime unavailable: fix runtime detection before inspecting models.
• Installed list is empty: verify the runtime inventory directly.
• Catalog is empty: this is a current page limitation, not proof that no local models exist.
• Install control is unavailable: use only an approved runtime-specific process.
• Running state is unclear: dedicated running-model detection is not wired.
• Delete does not complete: the current page does not establish a functional removal path.

For support, record the provider, runtime version, endpoint label, installed identifiers, and exact page state. Do not share private model files or invent destructive recovery steps.

Management problems should first be separated into runtime, inventory, catalog, installation, or UI-wiring states.

Pull or install is marked as future in the inspected Local Models page; use the installed-model list as the authoritative current inventory. Storage directories, disk estimates, resume behavior, update semantics, and safe-delete guarantees remain unverified; use Model Library for broader discovery without assuming a one-click local installation path.