---
name: unload-local-model
description: Unload the local llama.cpp model (Qwen3-Coder-30B) from the 7900 XTX to free VRAM. Stops the llama-server systemd user service and reaps any stray foreground server. Idempotent — safe to run when already unloaded. Use when done with local-model work or when you want the GPU's VRAM back.
---

# /unload-local-model

Free the GPU by unloading the local Qwen3-Coder-30B model that backs the
`local-coder` subagent (see [local-delegate](../local-delegate/SKILL.md)). The
model is served by `llama-server` (llama.cpp) and pins ~9.5 GB of VRAM on the
Radeon RX 7900 XTX while resident. This skill stops it cleanly and verifies the
VRAM is back.

## What holds the GPU

| Layer | Holds VRAM? | This skill touches it? |
|---|---|---|
| `llama-server.service` (systemd --user, port 8080) | **Yes** — the model weights + KV cache | **Stops it** |
| stray foreground `llama-server` (from `llama-server-foreground.sh`) | **Yes**, if running outside systemd | **Reaps it** |
| `claude-code-router` / `ccr` (port 3456) | No — pure API translator, no VRAM | Left running |
| `ollama` daemon (port 11434) | Only while a model is loaded | Out of scope — see note below |

Leaving CCR up is deliberate: it holds no VRAM and re-attaches to llama-server
the next time the stack warms. There is nothing to restart.

## Run it

```bash
# 1. Canonical path — stop the systemd user service (idempotent; no-op if dead).
systemctl --user stop llama-server.service

# 2. Reap any stray foreground server started outside systemd. Match the binary
#    PATH (leading slash) — NOT the bare word "llama-server", or pkill matches
#    its own command line and SIGTERMs the shell running this skill.
pkill -f '/llama-server ' 2>/dev/null || true
```

## Verify

```bash
echo "service: $(systemctl --user is-active llama-server.service)"   # want: inactive
pgrep -af '/llama-server' | grep -v pgrep || echo "no server process"  # want: none
curl -sf --max-time 2 http://127.0.0.1:8080/health >/dev/null 2>&1 \
  && echo "port 8080: UP (STILL LOADED)" || echo "port 8080: down (unloaded)"
# VRAM should drop to desktop baseline (~2.4 GiB); a loaded model adds ~9.5 GB.
rocm-smi --showmeminfo vram 2>/dev/null | awk '/Used/{printf "VRAM used: ~%d MiB\n", $NF/1024/1024}'
```

A clean unload reads: `service: inactive`, `no server process`, `port 8080:
down`, VRAM near the desktop baseline.

## Gotchas

- **Self-pkill footgun.** `pkill -f 'llama-server'` (no slash) matches *this
  skill's own command string* and kills the shell mid-run (exit 144 = SIGTERM).
  Always anchor on the binary path: `pkill -f '/llama-server '`.
- **Already unloaded is the common case.** The systemd unit is `disabled` and
  only runs on demand (the wrapper auto-starts it), so most of the time the
  model is already down. The skill is idempotent — running it then is a no-op
  that just confirms state. Report "already unloaded" rather than implying you
  stopped something.
- **Don't disable or mask the service.** Stopping unloads the model; the next
  `/local-delegate` call auto-starts it again (~65 s cold load). Disabling would
  break that auto-start. Stop only.

## Note on ollama

The stack can alternatively serve the same model via the `ollama` daemon (port
11434). If a request asks to free the GPU broadly and ollama has a model
resident, also run:

```bash
ollama stop qwen3-coder-30b-a3b-q5kxl 2>/dev/null || true
```

This skill's default scope is the llama.cpp path (`llama-server`), which is what
`local-coder` uses. Reach for the ollama stop only when ollama is the active
backend (`~/llm/scripts/use-ollama.sh` was run).

## See also

- [local-delegate](../local-delegate/SKILL.md) — when/how to *use* the local model.
- `~/llm/scripts/use-ollama.sh` — stops llama-server so ollama can take the GPU.
- `~/llm/scripts/use-llama-server.sh` — the inverse: load llama-server, free ollama.