diff --git a/expose.h b/expose.h
index 3d1da4fd0..f0fef3cc1 100644
--- a/expose.h
+++ b/expose.h
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ struct load_model_inputs
     const int visionmaxtokens = -1;
     const bool use_mmap = false;
     const bool use_mlock = false;
+    const bool use_direct_io = false;
     const bool no_host = false;
     const bool use_mtp = false;
     const bool use_smartcontext = false;
diff --git a/gpttype_adapter.cpp b/gpttype_adapter.cpp
index baf861799..1bc941163 100644
--- a/gpttype_adapter.cpp
+++ b/gpttype_adapter.cpp
@@ -3274,11 +3274,22 @@ ModelLoadResult gpttype_load_model(const load_model_inputs inputs, FileFormat in
             // Match llama-server's target rollback slots for speculative verification.
             llama_ctx_params.n_rs_seq = inputs.draft_amount;
         }
-        model_params.load_mode = inputs.use_mlock ? (inputs.use_mmap ? LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_MMAP_MLOCK : LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_MLOCK) : (inputs.use_mmap ? LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_MMAP : LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_NONE);
+        if(inputs.use_direct_io)
+        {
+            model_params.load_mode = LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_DIRECT_IO;
+        }
+        else if(inputs.use_mlock)
+        {
+            model_params.load_mode = inputs.use_mmap ? LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_MMAP_MLOCK : LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_MLOCK;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            model_params.load_mode = inputs.use_mmap ? LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_MMAP : LLAMA_LOAD_MODE_NONE;
+        }
         model_params.n_gpu_layers = inputs.gpulayers;
         model_params.no_host = inputs.no_host;
         model_params.load_mtp = inputs.use_mtp;
-        kcpp_permit_any_repack = (inputs.use_mmap?false:true);
+        kcpp_permit_any_repack = !(inputs.use_mmap || inputs.use_direct_io);
 
         //set device overrides if needed
         std::vector<ggml_backend_dev_t> devices_override;
diff --git a/koboldcpp.py b/koboldcpp.py
index e34c47dba..80e22847d 100644
--- a/koboldcpp.py
+++ b/koboldcpp.py
@@ -318,6 +318,7 @@ class load_model_inputs(ctypes.Structure):
                 ("visionmaxtokens", ctypes.c_int),
                 ("use_mmap", ctypes.c_bool),
                 ("use_mlock", ctypes.c_bool),
+                ("use_direct_io", ctypes.c_bool),
                 ("no_host", ctypes.c_bool),
                 ("use_mtp", ctypes.c_bool),
                 ("use_smartcontext", ctypes.c_bool),
@@ -2020,6 +2021,7 @@ def load_model(model_filename):
     inputs.blasthreads = args.blasthreads
     inputs.use_mmap = args.usemmap
     inputs.use_mlock = args.usemlock
+    inputs.use_direct_io = args.usedirectio
     inputs.no_host = False
     inputs.use_mtp = args.usemtp
     inputs.lora_filename = "".encode("UTF-8")
@@ -8562,6 +8564,7 @@ def show_gui():
     highpriority = ctk.IntVar()
     usemmap = ctk.IntVar(value=0)
     usemlock = ctk.IntVar()
+    usedirectio = ctk.IntVar()
     debugmode = ctk.IntVar()
     keepforeground = ctk.IntVar()
     terminalonly = ctk.IntVar()
@@ -9240,6 +9243,7 @@ def show_gui():
     quick_boxes = {
         "Launch Browser": [launchbrowser, "Launches your default browser after model loading is complete"],
         "Use MMAP": [usemmap,  "Use mmap to load models if enabled, model will not be unloadable"],
+        "Direct I/O": [usedirectio, "Use direct I/O when loading GGUF models. May improve cold-load times on some storage."],
         "Use ContextShift": [contextshift_var, "Uses Context Shifting to reduce reprocessing.\nRecommended. Check the wiki for more info."],
         "Remote Tunnel": [remotetunnel_var,  "Creates a trycloudflare tunnel.\nAllows you to access koboldcpp from other devices over an internet URL."],
         "Use FlashAttention": [flashattention_var, "Enable flash attention for GGUF models."],
@@ -9298,6 +9302,7 @@ def show_gui():
         "High Priority": [highpriority, "Increases the koboldcpp process priority.\nMay cause lag or slowdown instead. Not recommended."],
         "Use MMAP": [usemmap, "Use mmap to load models if enabled, model will not be unloadable"],
         "Use mlock": [usemlock, "Enables mlock, preventing the RAM used to load the model from being paged out."],
+        "Direct I/O": [usedirectio, "Use direct I/O when loading GGUF models. May improve cold-load times on some storage."],
         "Debug Mode": [debugmode, "Enables debug mode, with extra info printed to the terminal."],
         "Keep Foreground": [keepforeground, "Bring KoboldCpp to the foreground every time there is a new generation."],
         "CLI Terminal Only": [terminalonly, "Does not launch KoboldCpp HTTP server. Instead, enables KoboldCpp from the command line, accepting interactive console input and displaying responses to the terminal."],
@@ -9793,7 +9798,8 @@ def show_gui():
         args.debugmode  = debugmode.get()
         args.launch     = launchbrowser.get()==1
         args.highpriority = highpriority.get()==1
-        args.usemmap = usemmap.get()==1
+        args.usedirectio = usedirectio.get()==1
+        args.usemmap = (usemmap.get()==1 and not args.usedirectio)
         args.smartcontext = smartcontext_var.get()==1
         args.noflashattention = flashattention_var.get()==0
         args.noshift = contextshift_var.get()==0
@@ -9849,6 +9855,7 @@ def show_gui():
             args.noavx2 = True
             args.usecpu = True
             args.usemmap = False
+            args.usedirectio = False
             args.failsafe = True
         args.tensor_split = None
         if tensor_split_str_vars.get()!="":
@@ -10040,7 +10047,8 @@ def show_gui():
             debugmode.set(mydict["debugmode"])
         launchbrowser.set(1 if "launch" in mydict and mydict["launch"] else 0)
         highpriority.set(1 if "highpriority" in mydict and mydict["highpriority"] else 0)
-        usemmap.set(1 if "usemmap" in mydict and mydict["usemmap"] else 0)
+        usedirectio.set(1 if (("usedirectio" in mydict and mydict["usedirectio"]) or ("directio" in mydict and mydict["directio"])) else 0)
+        usemmap.set(1 if "usemmap" in mydict and mydict["usemmap"] and not usedirectio.get() else 0)
         smartcontext_var.set(1 if "smartcontext" in mydict and mydict["smartcontext"] else 0)
         flashattention_var.set(0 if "noflashattention" in mydict and mydict["noflashattention"] else 1)
         contextshift_var.set(0 if "noshift" in mydict and mydict["noshift"] else 1)
@@ -10972,6 +10980,7 @@ def convert_args_to_template(savdict):
     savdict["adminpassword"] = None
     savdict["usemmap"] = False
     savdict["usemlock"] = False
+    savdict["usedirectio"] = False
     savdict["debugmode"] = 0
     savdict["ssl"] = None
     savdict["usecuda"] = None
@@ -12851,6 +12860,7 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
     advparser.add_argument("--usemlock","--mlock", help="Enables mlock, preventing the RAM used to load the model from being paged out. Not usually recommended.", action='store_true')
     compatgroup3 = advparser.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
     compatgroup3.add_argument("--usemmap", help="If set, uses mmap to load model.", action='store_true')
+    compatgroup3.add_argument("--usedirectio","--directio","--direct-io","-dio", help="Use direct I/O to load GGUF models if available. May improve cold-load times on some storage.", action='store_true')
     advparser.add_argument("--visionmaxres", metavar=('[max px]'), help="Clamp MMProj vision maximum allowed resolution. Allowed values are between 512 to 2048 px (default 1024).", type=int, default=default_visionmaxres)
     advparser.add_argument("--visionmaxtokens","--image-max-tokens", metavar=('[tokens]'), help="Override the maximum tokens for the MMProj embedding (default -1).", type=int, default=-1)
     advparser.add_argument("--visionmintokens","--image-min-tokens", metavar=('[tokens]'), help="Override the minimum tokens for the MMProj embedding (default -1).", type=int, default=-1)