Problem: Model loading takes 2-3 minutes on first load with no user feedback, causing confusion about whether the system is frozen or working. Root Cause: GPU initialization (reserveWorstCaseGraph) takes ~164 seconds on Tesla K80 GPUs due to CUDA kernel compilation (PTX JIT for compute 3.7). This is by design - it validates GPU compatibility before committing to full load. Solution: 1. Add comprehensive timing instrumentation to identify bottlenecks 2. Add user-facing progress messages explaining the delay Changes: - cmd/cmd.go: Update spinner with informative message for users - llama/llama.go: Add timing logs for CGO model loading - runner/llamarunner/runner.go: Add detailed timing for llama runner - runner/ollamarunner/runner.go: Add timing + stderr messages for new engine - server/sched.go: Add timing for scheduler load operation User Experience: Before: Silent wait with blinking cursor for 2-3 minutes After: Rotating spinner with message "loading model (may take 1-3 min on first load)" Performance Metrics Captured: - GGUF file reading: ~0.4s - GPU kernel compilation: ~164s (bottleneck identified) - Model weight loading: ~0.002s - Total end-to-end: ~165s 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
llama
This package provides Go bindings to llama.cpp.
Vendoring
Ollama vendors llama.cpp and ggml. While we generally strive to contribute changes back upstream to avoid drift, we carry a small set of patches which are applied to the tracking commit.
If you update the vendoring code, start by running the following command to establish the tracking llama.cpp repo in the ./vendor/ directory.
make -f Makefile.sync apply-patches
Updating Base Commit
Pin to new base commit
To change the base commit, update FETCH_HEAD in Makefile.sync.
When updating to a newer base commit, the existing patches may not apply cleanly and require manual merge resolution.
Start by applying the patches. If any of the patches have conflicts, the git am will stop at the first failure.
make -f Makefile.sync apply-patches
If there are conflicts, you will see an error message. Resolve the conflicts in ./vendor/, and continue the patch series with git am --continue and rerun make -f Makefile.sync apply-patches. Repeat until all patches are successfully applied.
Once all patches are applied, commit the changes to the tracking repository.
make -f Makefile.sync format-patches sync
Generating Patches
When working on new fixes or features that impact vendored code, use the following model. First get a clean tracking repo with all current patches applied:
make -f Makefile.sync clean apply-patches
Iterate until you're ready to submit PRs. Once your code is ready, commit a change in the ./vendor/ directory, then generate the patches for ollama with
make -f Makefile.sync format-patches
In your ./vendor/ directory, create a branch, and cherry-pick the new commit to that branch, then submit a PR upstream to llama.cpp.
Commit the changes in the ollama repo and submit a PR to Ollama, which will include the vendored code update with your change, along with the patches.
After your PR upstream is merged, follow the Updating Base Commit instructions above, however first remove your patch before running apply-patches since the new base commit contains your change already.