diff --git a/server/storage/models/.gitignore b/server/storage/models/.gitignore
index c3183aa4..55624667 100644
--- a/server/storage/models/.gitignore
+++ b/server/storage/models/.gitignore
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 Xenova
-downloaded/*
\ No newline at end of file
+downloaded/*
+!downloaded/.placeholder
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/storage/models/README.md b/server/storage/models/README.md
index 8ed7ec0d..1a63484c 100644
--- a/server/storage/models/README.md
+++ b/server/storage/models/README.md
@@ -30,4 +30,8 @@ If you would like to use a local Llama compatible LLM model for chatting you can
 > If running in Docker you should be running the container to a mounted storage location on the host machine so you
 > can update the storage files directly without having to re-download or re-build your docker container. [See suggested Docker config](../../../README.md#recommended-usage-with-docker-easy)
 
-All local models you want to have available for LLM selection should be placed in the `storage/models/downloaded` folder. Only `.gguf` files will be allowed to be selected from the UI.
\ No newline at end of file
+> [!NOTE]
+> `/server/storage/models/downloaded` is the default location that your model files should be at. 
+> Your storage directory may differ if you changed the STORAGE_DIR environment variable.
+
+All local models you want to have available for LLM selection should be placed in the `server/storage/models/downloaded` folder. Only `.gguf` files will be allowed to be selected from the UI.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/storage/models/downloaded/.placeholder b/server/storage/models/downloaded/.placeholder
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6121f697
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/storage/models/downloaded/.placeholder
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+All your .GGUF model file downloads you want to use for chatting should go into this folder.
\ No newline at end of file