A `.cache/huggingface/` folder is created at the root of your local directory containing metadata about the downloaded files. This prevents re-downloading files if they're already up-to-date. If the metadata has changed, then the new file version is downloaded. This makes the `local-dir` optimized for pulling only the latest changes.  
<Tip>  
For more details on how downloading to a local file works, check out the [download](./download.md#download-files-to-a-local-folder) guide.  
</Tip>  
```bash