diff --git a/argocd/manifests/ollama/sync-models.sh b/argocd/manifests/ollama/sync-models.sh
index 8f1921f..9430704 100644
--- a/argocd/manifests/ollama/sync-models.sh
+++ b/argocd/manifests/ollama/sync-models.sh
@@ -1,20 +1,22 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 # Sync models from ConfigMap to Ollama server
-# Runs as a sidecar in the ollama deployment
+# Runs as a sidecar in the ollama deployment, using the ollama CLI
 set -euo pipefail
 
 MODEL_LIST="${MODEL_LIST:-/config/models.txt}"
 OLLAMA_HOST="${OLLAMA_HOST:-http://localhost:11434}"
 SYNC_INTERVAL="${SYNC_INTERVAL:-1800}"
 
-echo "Syncing models from ${MODEL_LIST} to ollama at ${OLLAMA_HOST}"
+export OLLAMA_HOST
+
+echo "Syncing models from ${MODEL_LIST} via ollama CLI (host: ${OLLAMA_HOST})"
 
 while true; do
     # Wait for ollama server to be ready
     echo "Waiting for Ollama API..."
     max_attempts=60
     attempt=0
-    until curl -sf "${OLLAMA_HOST}/api/tags" > /dev/null 2>&1; do
+    until ollama list > /dev/null 2>&1; do
         attempt=$((attempt + 1))
         if [[ $attempt -ge $max_attempts ]]; then
             echo "Ollama not ready after ${max_attempts} attempts, will retry next cycle"
@@ -26,7 +28,7 @@ while true; do
     echo "Ollama is ready"
 
     # Get list of currently pulled models
-    current=$(curl -sf "${OLLAMA_HOST}/api/tags" | grep -o '"name":"[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f4 || true)
+    current=$(ollama list 2>/dev/null | tail -n +2 | awk '{print $1}' || true)
 
     pulled=0
     skipped=0
@@ -38,13 +40,13 @@ while true; do
         model=$(echo "$model" | xargs)
         [[ -z "$model" ]] && continue
 
-        # Check if model is already pulled
+        # Check if model is already pulled (ollama list shows name:tag)
         if echo "$current" | grep -qF "$model"; then
             echo "Already present: $model"
             ((skipped++)) || true
         else
             echo "Pulling: $model"
-            if curl -sf "${OLLAMA_HOST}/api/pull" -d "{\"name\":\"$model\"}" > /dev/null; then
+            if ollama pull "$model"; then
                 echo "Pulled: $model"
                 ((pulled++)) || true
             else