Where Does text-generation-webui Store Models?
Where oobabooga text-generation-webui keeps models, characters, presets, and LoRAs inside its folder.
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text-generation-webui is folder-portable: models, characters, presets, and settings all live under the directory you cloned, now under user_data. There is no registry or AppData split. Move the folder and everything follows.
Older guides reference a top-level models folder; current builds use user_data/models. Both layouts appear in the wild because people upgrade in place. Check user_data first, then fall back to the legacy names if a folder looks empty.
Where text-generation-webui stores this, by platform
~/text-generation-webui/user_data/models
GGUF files directly here; multi-file models in subfolders. Legacy builds used ./models/ instead. Characters in user_data/characters, presets in user_data/presets. Override with --model-dir if needed.
%USERPROFILE%\text-generation-webui\user_data\models
Same user_data layout as Linux (models, characters, presets, loras). One-click installs nest this under installer_files in some builds; check there if the clone root looks bare.
~/text-generation-webui/user_data/models
Same layout as Linux. Clone location varies (home folder common). Use --user-data-dir to relocate the whole tree for external drives.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I put a downloaded model?
Drop single-file GGUF models directly into user_data/models. Multi-file Transformer or EXL3 models go in their own subfolder with config.json and weights together. Use the in-app refresh or restart so the model dropdown picks them up.
Where are chat characters stored?
Characters are YAML (or JSON) files in user_data/characters, one per character with optional portrait beside it. Prompts, presets, and LoRAs sit in sibling folders. Copy those folders to migrate a personality between installs.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.