When I download model files they fail to complete and are slow to download at first

Beginners
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Ive been able to download all the other files for a model, like the smaller files, but the larger gigabyte files fail everytime. I got a pro account to think maybe its a pay for speed thing but, no still just nothing happens when trying to download. I’ve tried with and without a vpn. Account and no account. Im not really sure what else I can do to download the large model files. I was watching youtube tutorials to help and they just download with out issues.

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Hmm… There’s a possibility of some kind of error on the Hub side, but even before that, if you’re using Windows, you must install both of the following in advance to download large files via Git.

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yeah i did more learning about it, the git lfs thing i was totally oblivious about. chat gpt actually was a huge help

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Oh. Assuming it’s not a library issue and falls within the scope of what users can resolve themselves, this is about the extent of it. Knowing the error message or error code helps narrow down possibilities, and in some cases, you might get information suggesting an error on the site’s side.

Here’s a compact checklist. Apply top to bottom.

1) Auth + license
Private/gated repos need accepted terms and a valid token. Run hf auth whoami. If 401/403, accept the model card terms and pass --token to hf download. (Hugging Face)

2) Use the fast path
Enable the Rust downloader and prefer the CLI.

pip install -U "huggingface_hub[cli]" hf_transfer  # docs in comments
export HF_HUB_ENABLE_HF_TRANSFER=1                 # https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/en/package_reference/environment_variables
hf download repo/name --include "*.safetensors"    # https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/en/guides/cli

(Hugging Face)

3) Proxies, VPNs, TLS inspection
If behind a corporate proxy or SSL MITM, set HTTP[S]_PROXY, NO_PROXY, and REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE. Make sure your firewall allows current Hub/CDN hosts: huggingface.co, cdn-lfs.hf.co, cdn-lfs-us-1.hf.co, cdn-lfs-eu-1.hf.co, and cas-bridge.xethub.hf.co (added Feb 2025). Test off-VPN if unsure. (Hugging Face Forums)

4) Xet-backed repos
Some repos use Xet storage (2025 rollout). If downloads stall, either update or disable Xet.

pip install -U hf_xet
export HF_HUB_DISABLE_XET=1        # toggle off if it misbehaves
# optional tuning if enabled:
export HF_XET_NUM_CONCURRENT_RANGE_GETS=4

Background on Xet migration and env vars. (Hugging Face)

5) Timeouts and flaky links
Slow networks need higher timeouts.

export HF_HUB_DOWNLOAD_TIMEOUT=60
export HF_HUB_ETAG_TIMEOUT=900

Rerun with HF_DEBUG=1 to see retry behavior. (Hugging Face)

6) Cache issues or low disk
Interrupted downloads can poison cache entries. Check size first, then prune the specific entry.

hf download repo/name --dry-run
hf cache scan
hf cache delete                # interactive or use --pattern

Ensure free space ≥ 2× model size to allow resume. (Hugging Face)

7) Windows symlink penalties
If on Windows, enable Developer Mode or run as admin so the cache can use symlinks. This avoids slow copies. (Hugging Face)

8) DNS or region pinning oddities
If you resolve to the wrong region or hit DNS errors, try a different network or DNS, then verify the *.hf.co hosts above. (Hugging Face Forums)

9) Mirrors and custom endpoints (enterprise only)
If your org mirrors the Hub, set:

export HF_ENDPOINT=https://your.hub.mirror

Then use the normal CLI. (Hugging Face)

10) Minimal repro to share

HF_DEBUG=1 HF_HUB_ENABLE_HF_TRANSFER=1 HF_HUB_DOWNLOAD_TIMEOUT=60 \
hf download repo/name --include "*.safetensors"

This prints the exact HTTP calls for diagnosis. (Hugging Face)

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