One huge problem with downloading models on the fly is that at best, your docker images are no longer hermetic. Dockerfile 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 # During the docker build trigger download of models e.g. via embedding computation ... # Now, disable only access completely ENV TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE = 1 ENV HF_HUB_DISABLE_TELEMETRY = 1 ENV HF_HUB_OFFLINE = 1 ENTRYPOINT ... Do verify by running these images on the CI before deployment as it might fail in case you forgot to download certain models.