# Fix stuck or incomplete Hugging Face downloads

> Resume a stuck hf download, clear broken .incomplete partials with hf cache prune, and speed transfers with hf_xet when disk space allows.

- Canonical: https://guides-ai.com/guides/fix-huggingface-download-incomplete/
- Plate 16.12 · Topic: Hugging Face (https://guides-ai.com/topics/huggingface/)
- Published: 21 Oct 2026 · 3 min read
- Source site: guides-ai — https://guides-ai.com/

A `hf download` that stalled or died does not need to start over. Re-run the exact same command:
finished files are skipped from the cache and the interrupted file continues from its `.incomplete`
partial. If a partial is corrupt, prune it and pull again.

## 1. Re-run the same command

```bash
hf download bartowski/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-GGUF Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-Q4_K_M.gguf
```

Completed files come straight from the cache and the stalled transfer picks up where it stopped, so
nothing is fetched twice.

## 2. Clear broken partials

```bash
hf cache ls
```

Shows cached repos and flags leftover incomplete downloads with a hint.

```bash
hf cache prune
```

Deletes unreferenced revisions and every leftover `.incomplete` partial, which clears a corrupt
half-file so the next download is clean (`hf cache rm` never touches partials).

## 3. Speed it up with hf_xet

```bash
pip install -U huggingface_hub
```

Installs `hf_xet` alongside the library, which enables chunked, resumable transfers automatically —
no flag needed.

The older `hf_transfer` package and its `HF_HUB_ENABLE_HF_TRANSFER=1` switch are now deprecated; use
`hf_xet` instead.

## 4. Check disk and cache location

```bash
export HF_HOME=/mnt/big/hf
```

Moves the whole cache to another drive; the default is `~/.cache/huggingface/hub`, which fills the
home partition fast. See [where the Hugging Face cache lives](/guides/hugging-face-cache-location/)
to confirm the path first.

## Verify it worked

```bash
hf cache verify bartowski/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-GGUF
```

Checks the cached files against the Hub checksums and reports any mismatch. **If it fails:**

- **Download keeps timing out** — raise the timeout from its default of 10 seconds and re-run:
  `export HF_HUB_DOWNLOAD_TIMEOUT=30`.
- **401 or "gated repo"** — accept the licence and log in first; see
  [access gated models](/guides/hugging-face-gated-models-access/).
- **No space left on device** — run `hf cache prune`, or point `HF_HOME` at a larger disk.

Next: the full [hf download workflow](/guides/hugging-face-cli-download-models/). Cache internals:
[Hugging Face's cache guide](https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/guides/manage-cache).