[Feature Request] Custom Model Directory & Auto-Detection for Portable Mode #2134

Is your feature request related to a problem?

When using the Portable version of Handy, updating to a new release or moving the installation folder (e.g., to a different drive letter) often causes the app to lose track of previously downloaded models (Whisper, GigaAM, etc.).

Because Hugging Face Hub relies on an internal structure of symlinks (snapshots, blobs, refs), manually moving model folders via Windows File Explorer breaks these links. As a result, Handy considers the models missing or corrupted and starts re-downloading gigabytes of data from the internet.

Furthermore, when the default storage path changes between updates (for example, from hf_cache/hub to Data/huggingface/hub), portable installations do not automatically inherit or detect existing models from the previous folder.

Proposed Solution

To make Portable mode truly self-contained and convenient, I suggest implementing one (or both) of the following features:

1. GUI Option to Set Custom Model Directory (Best Option)

   • Add a settings option (e.g., under Settings ➔ Models) with a "Browse" button to let users select an existing folder containing downloaded models.
   • This would allow users to store heavy models on any drive or share a single model cache across multiple versions.

2. Automatic Detection & Migration in Portable Mode

   • In Portable mode, make model paths strictly relative (e.g., %APP_DIR%\Data\huggingface\hub).
   • On startup, scan for existing model directories from previous portable layouts (like ./hf_cache/hub) and automatically handle directory mapping without forcing a re-download.

Current Workaround

Currently, power users have to rely on custom Windows batch scripts using Directory Junctions (mklink /J) to point new application paths back to old model folders without breaking Hugging Face symlinks.

Why this is important

AI models are multi-gigabyte files. Providing a native way to locate or select existing model folders in Portable mode will significantly improve UX, especially for offline users or those with limited bandwidth.