Build Size and Compression Improvements

Ollama v0.17.8-rc3 refines the Windows release process with two key changes aimed at keeping distributables under the 2GB size limit:

• 7z Compression: The build now uses 7z compression (which offers better compression rates than previous methods) when the tool is available in the build path
• MLX Module Split: The MLX component is now packaged as a discrete download separate from the main binary, reducing the monolithic Windows package size

CI Pipeline Enhancements

The release candidate also strengthens the continuous integration pipeline by adding failure detection: CI will now explicitly fail if artifact uploads don't complete successfully, preventing silent failures in the release process.

What Developers Need to Know

This is a release candidate (rc3), so expect it to be testing-only. If you maintain Windows installations of Ollama, monitor the v0.17.8 stable release for these improvements. The separate MLX download may require adjusted installation scripts for automated deployments.