diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
index ab84c7a053..4277b55aa5 100755
--- a/setup.sh
+++ b/setup.sh
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ else
     VENV_T5_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/.venv_t5"
     mkdir -p "$VENV_T5_DIR"
     run_quiet "pip install transformers 5.x" pip install --target "$VENV_T5_DIR" --no-deps "transformers==5.1.0"
-    run_quiet "pip install huggingface_hub for t5" pip install --target "$VENV_T5_DIR" --no-deps "huggingface_hub>=1.3.0"
+    run_quiet "pip install huggingface_hub for t5" pip install --target "$VENV_T5_DIR" --no-deps "huggingface_hub==0.36.0"
     echo "✅ Transformers 5.x pre-installed to .venv_t5/"
 
     # ── 7. WSL: pre-install GGUF build dependencies ──
diff --git a/studio/backend/core/export/__init__.py b/studio/backend/core/export/__init__.py
index 66154f48eb..0a883f5f3f 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/export/__init__.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/export/__init__.py
@@ -1,9 +1,17 @@
 """
 Export submodule - Model export operations
+
+The default get_export_backend() returns an ExportOrchestrator that
+delegates to a subprocess. The original ExportBackend runs inside
+the subprocess and can be imported directly from .export when needed.
 """
-from .export import ExportBackend, get_export_backend
+from .orchestrator import ExportOrchestrator, get_export_backend
+
+# Expose ExportOrchestrator as ExportBackend for backward compat
+ExportBackend = ExportOrchestrator
 
 __all__ = [
     'ExportBackend',
+    'ExportOrchestrator',
     'get_export_backend',
 ]
diff --git a/studio/backend/core/export/orchestrator.py b/studio/backend/core/export/orchestrator.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..99c61edc3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/studio/backend/core/export/orchestrator.py
@@ -0,0 +1,385 @@
+"""
+Export orchestrator — subprocess-based.
+
+Provides the same API as ExportBackend, but delegates all ML work
+to a persistent subprocess. The subprocess is spawned on first checkpoint
+load and stays alive for subsequent export operations.
+
+When switching between checkpoints that need different transformers versions,
+the old subprocess is killed and a new one is spawned with the correct version.
+
+Pattern follows core/inference/orchestrator.py.
+"""
+import atexit
+import logging
+import multiprocessing as mp
+import queue
+import threading
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, List, Optional, Tuple
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+_CTX = mp.get_context("spawn")
+
+
+class ExportOrchestrator:
+    """
+    Export backend orchestrator — subprocess-based.
+
+    Exposes the same API surface as ExportBackend so routes/export.py
+    needs minimal changes. Internally, all heavy ML operations happen in
+    a persistent subprocess.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        # Subprocess state
+        self._proc: Optional[mp.Process] = None
+        self._cmd_queue: Any = None
+        self._resp_queue: Any = None
+        self._lock = threading.Lock()
+
+        # Local state mirrors (updated from subprocess responses)
+        self.current_checkpoint: Optional[str] = None
+        self.is_vision: bool = False
+        self.is_peft: bool = False
+
+        atexit.register(self._cleanup)
+        logger.info("ExportOrchestrator initialized (subprocess mode)")
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Subprocess lifecycle
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def _spawn_subprocess(self, config: dict) -> None:
+        """Spawn a new export subprocess."""
+        from .worker import run_export_process
+
+        self._cmd_queue = _CTX.Queue()
+        self._resp_queue = _CTX.Queue()
+
+        self._proc = _CTX.Process(
+            target=run_export_process,
+            kwargs={
+                "cmd_queue": self._cmd_queue,
+                "resp_queue": self._resp_queue,
+                "config": config,
+            },
+            daemon=True,
+        )
+        self._proc.start()
+        logger.info("Export subprocess started (pid=%s)", self._proc.pid)
+
+    def _shutdown_subprocess(self, timeout: float = 10.0) -> None:
+        """Gracefully shut down the export subprocess."""
+        if self._proc is None or not self._proc.is_alive():
+            self._proc = None
+            return
+
+        # 1. Drain stale responses
+        self._drain_queue()
+
+        # 2. Send shutdown command
+        try:
+            self._cmd_queue.put({"type": "shutdown"})
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            pass
+
+        # 3. Wait for graceful shutdown
+        try:
+            self._proc.join(timeout=timeout)
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+        # 4. Force kill if still alive
+        if self._proc is not None and self._proc.is_alive():
+            logger.warning("Export subprocess did not exit gracefully, terminating")
+            try:
+                self._proc.terminate()
+                self._proc.join(timeout=5)
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+            if self._proc is not None and self._proc.is_alive():
+                logger.warning("Subprocess still alive after terminate, killing")
+                try:
+                    self._proc.kill()
+                    self._proc.join(timeout=3)
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+
+        self._proc = None
+        self._cmd_queue = None
+        self._resp_queue = None
+        logger.info("Export subprocess shut down")
+
+    def _cleanup(self):
+        """atexit handler."""
+        self._shutdown_subprocess(timeout=5.0)
+
+    def _ensure_subprocess_alive(self) -> bool:
+        """Check if subprocess is alive."""
+        return self._proc is not None and self._proc.is_alive()
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Queue helpers
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def _send_cmd(self, cmd: dict) -> None:
+        """Send a command to the subprocess."""
+        if self._cmd_queue is None:
+            raise RuntimeError("No export subprocess running")
+        try:
+            self._cmd_queue.put(cmd)
+        except (OSError, ValueError) as exc:
+            raise RuntimeError(f"Failed to send command to subprocess: {exc}")
+
+    def _read_resp(self, timeout: float = 1.0) -> Optional[dict]:
+        """Read a response from the subprocess (non-blocking with timeout)."""
+        if self._resp_queue is None:
+            return None
+        try:
+            return self._resp_queue.get(timeout=timeout)
+        except queue.Empty:
+            return None
+        except (EOFError, OSError, ValueError):
+            return None
+
+    def _wait_response(
+        self, expected_type: str, timeout: float = 600.0
+    ) -> dict:
+        """Block until a response of the expected type arrives.
+
+        Export operations can take a long time (GGUF build, push to Hub),
+        so default timeout is 10 minutes.
+        """
+        deadline = time.monotonic() + timeout
+
+        while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+            remaining = max(0.1, deadline - time.monotonic())
+            resp = self._read_resp(timeout=min(remaining, 2.0))
+
+            if resp is None:
+                # Check subprocess health
+                if not self._ensure_subprocess_alive():
+                    raise RuntimeError("Export subprocess crashed during wait")
+                continue
+
+            rtype = resp.get("type", "")
+
+            if rtype == expected_type:
+                return resp
+
+            if rtype == "error":
+                error_msg = resp.get("error", "Unknown error")
+                raise RuntimeError(f"Subprocess error: {error_msg}")
+
+            if rtype == "status":
+                logger.info("Export subprocess status: %s", resp.get("message", ""))
+                continue
+
+            # Other response types during wait — skip
+            logger.debug(
+                "Skipping response type '%s' while waiting for '%s'",
+                rtype, expected_type,
+            )
+
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"Timeout waiting for '{expected_type}' response after {timeout}s"
+        )
+
+    def _drain_queue(self) -> list:
+        """Drain all pending responses."""
+        events = []
+        if self._resp_queue is None:
+            return events
+        while True:
+            try:
+                events.append(self._resp_queue.get_nowait())
+            except queue.Empty:
+                return events
+            except (EOFError, OSError, ValueError):
+                return events
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Public API — same interface as ExportBackend
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def load_checkpoint(
+        self,
+        checkpoint_path: str,
+        max_seq_length: int = 2048,
+        load_in_4bit: bool = True,
+    ) -> Tuple[bool, str]:
+        """Load a checkpoint for export.
+
+        Always spawns a fresh subprocess to ensure a clean Python interpreter.
+        """
+        project_root = str(
+            Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent.parent.parent.parent
+        )
+
+        sub_config = {
+            "project_root": project_root,
+            "checkpoint_path": checkpoint_path,
+            "max_seq_length": max_seq_length,
+            "load_in_4bit": load_in_4bit,
+        }
+
+        # Always kill existing subprocess and spawn fresh.
+        if self._ensure_subprocess_alive():
+            self._shutdown_subprocess()
+        elif self._proc is not None:
+            self._shutdown_subprocess(timeout=2)
+
+        logger.info("Spawning fresh export subprocess for '%s'", checkpoint_path)
+        self._spawn_subprocess(sub_config)
+
+        try:
+            resp = self._wait_response("loaded", timeout=300)
+        except RuntimeError as exc:
+            self._shutdown_subprocess(timeout=5)
+            return False, str(exc)
+
+        if resp.get("success"):
+            self.current_checkpoint = resp.get("checkpoint")
+            self.is_vision = resp.get("is_vision", False)
+            self.is_peft = resp.get("is_peft", False)
+            logger.info("Checkpoint '%s' loaded in subprocess", checkpoint_path)
+            return True, resp.get("message", "Loaded successfully")
+        else:
+            error = resp.get("message", "Failed to load checkpoint")
+            logger.error("Failed to load checkpoint: %s", error)
+            return False, error
+
+    def export_merged_model(
+        self,
+        save_directory: str,
+        format_type: str = "16-bit (FP16)",
+        push_to_hub: bool = False,
+        repo_id: Optional[str] = None,
+        hf_token: Optional[str] = None,
+        private: bool = False,
+    ) -> Tuple[bool, str]:
+        """Export merged PEFT model."""
+        return self._run_export("merged", {
+            "save_directory": save_directory,
+            "format_type": format_type,
+            "push_to_hub": push_to_hub,
+            "repo_id": repo_id,
+            "hf_token": hf_token,
+            "private": private,
+        })
+
+    def export_base_model(
+        self,
+        save_directory: str,
+        push_to_hub: bool = False,
+        repo_id: Optional[str] = None,
+        hf_token: Optional[str] = None,
+        private: bool = False,
+        base_model_id: Optional[str] = None,
+    ) -> Tuple[bool, str]:
+        """Export base model (non-PEFT)."""
+        return self._run_export("base", {
+            "save_directory": save_directory,
+            "push_to_hub": push_to_hub,
+            "repo_id": repo_id,
+            "hf_token": hf_token,
+            "private": private,
+            "base_model_id": base_model_id,
+        })
+
+    def export_gguf(
+        self,
+        save_directory: str,
+        quantization_method: str = "Q4_K_M",
+        push_to_hub: bool = False,
+        repo_id: Optional[str] = None,
+        hf_token: Optional[str] = None,
+    ) -> Tuple[bool, str]:
+        """Export model in GGUF format."""
+        return self._run_export("gguf", {
+            "save_directory": save_directory,
+            "quantization_method": quantization_method,
+            "push_to_hub": push_to_hub,
+            "repo_id": repo_id,
+            "hf_token": hf_token,
+        })
+
+    def export_lora_adapter(
+        self,
+        save_directory: str,
+        push_to_hub: bool = False,
+        repo_id: Optional[str] = None,
+        hf_token: Optional[str] = None,
+        private: bool = False,
+    ) -> Tuple[bool, str]:
+        """Export LoRA adapter only."""
+        return self._run_export("lora", {
+            "save_directory": save_directory,
+            "push_to_hub": push_to_hub,
+            "repo_id": repo_id,
+            "hf_token": hf_token,
+            "private": private,
+        })
+
+    def _run_export(self, export_type: str, params: dict) -> Tuple[bool, str]:
+        """Send an export command to the subprocess and wait for result."""
+        if not self._ensure_subprocess_alive():
+            return False, "No export subprocess running. Load a checkpoint first."
+
+        cmd = {"type": "export", "export_type": export_type, **params}
+
+        try:
+            self._send_cmd(cmd)
+            resp = self._wait_response(
+                f"export_{export_type}_done",
+                timeout=600,  # Export can take a long time
+            )
+            return resp.get("success", False), resp.get("message", "")
+        except RuntimeError as exc:
+            return False, str(exc)
+
+    def cleanup_memory(self) -> bool:
+        """Cleanup export-related models from memory."""
+        if not self._ensure_subprocess_alive():
+            # No subprocess — just clear local state
+            self.current_checkpoint = None
+            self.is_vision = False
+            self.is_peft = False
+            return True
+
+        try:
+            self._send_cmd({"type": "cleanup"})
+            resp = self._wait_response("cleanup_done", timeout=30)
+            success = resp.get("success", False)
+        except RuntimeError:
+            success = False
+
+        # Shut down subprocess after cleanup — no model loaded
+        self._shutdown_subprocess()
+
+        self.current_checkpoint = None
+        self.is_vision = False
+        self.is_peft = False
+        return success
+
+    def scan_checkpoints(
+        self, outputs_dir: str = "./outputs"
+    ) -> List[Tuple[str, list]]:
+        """Scan for checkpoints — no ML imports needed, runs locally."""
+        from utils.models.checkpoints import scan_checkpoints
+        return scan_checkpoints(outputs_dir=outputs_dir)
+
+
+# ========== GLOBAL INSTANCE ==========
+_export_backend = None
+
+
+def get_export_backend() -> ExportOrchestrator:
+    """Get global export backend instance (orchestrator)."""
+    global _export_backend
+    if _export_backend is None:
+        _export_backend = ExportOrchestrator()
+    return _export_backend
diff --git a/studio/backend/core/export/worker.py b/studio/backend/core/export/worker.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a184969c95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/studio/backend/core/export/worker.py
@@ -0,0 +1,330 @@
+"""
+Export subprocess entry point.
+
+Each export session runs in a persistent subprocess (mp.get_context("spawn")).
+This gives us a clean Python interpreter with no stale module state —
+solving the transformers version-switching problem completely.
+
+The subprocess stays alive while a model is loaded, accepting commands
+(load, export_merged, export_base, export_gguf, export_lora, cleanup,
+shutdown) via mp.Queue.
+
+Pattern follows core/inference/worker.py and core/training/worker.py.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+import os
+import sys
+import time
+import traceback
+from typing import Any
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def _activate_transformers_version(model_name: str, project_root: str) -> None:
+    """Activate the correct transformers version BEFORE any ML imports.
+
+    If the model needs transformers 5.x, prepend the pre-installed .venv_t5/
+    directory to sys.path. Otherwise do nothing (default 4.57.x in .venv/).
+    """
+    # Ensure backend is on path for utils imports
+    backend_path = os.path.join(project_root, "studio", "backend")
+    if backend_path not in sys.path:
+        sys.path.insert(0, backend_path)
+
+    from utils.transformers_version import needs_transformers_5, _resolve_base_model
+
+    resolved = _resolve_base_model(model_name)
+    if needs_transformers_5(resolved):
+        venv_t5 = os.path.join(project_root, ".venv_t5")
+        if os.path.isdir(venv_t5):
+            sys.path.insert(0, venv_t5)
+            logger.info("Activated transformers 5.x from %s", venv_t5)
+        else:
+            # Fallback: pip install at runtime (slower, ~10-15s)
+            logger.warning(".venv_t5 not found at %s — installing at runtime", venv_t5)
+            import subprocess as sp
+            os.makedirs(venv_t5, exist_ok=True)
+            sp.run(
+                [sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "--target", venv_t5,
+                 "--no-deps", "transformers==5.1.0"],
+                stdout=sp.PIPE, stderr=sp.STDOUT,
+            )
+            sp.run(
+                [sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "--target", venv_t5,
+                 "--no-deps", "huggingface_hub==0.36.0"],
+                stdout=sp.PIPE, stderr=sp.STDOUT,
+            )
+            if os.path.isdir(venv_t5):
+                sys.path.insert(0, venv_t5)
+    else:
+        logger.info("Using default transformers (4.57.x) for %s", model_name)
+
+
+def _send_response(resp_queue: Any, response: dict) -> None:
+    """Send a response to the parent process."""
+    try:
+        resp_queue.put(response)
+    except (OSError, ValueError) as exc:
+        logger.error("Failed to send response: %s", exc)
+
+
+def _handle_load(backend, cmd: dict, resp_queue: Any) -> None:
+    """Handle a load_checkpoint command."""
+    checkpoint_path = cmd["checkpoint_path"]
+    max_seq_length = cmd.get("max_seq_length", 2048)
+    load_in_4bit = cmd.get("load_in_4bit", True)
+
+    try:
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "status",
+            "message": f"Loading checkpoint: {checkpoint_path}",
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+
+        success, message = backend.load_checkpoint(
+            checkpoint_path=checkpoint_path,
+            max_seq_length=max_seq_length,
+            load_in_4bit=load_in_4bit,
+        )
+
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "loaded",
+            "success": success,
+            "message": message,
+            "checkpoint": checkpoint_path if success else None,
+            "is_vision": backend.is_vision if success else False,
+            "is_peft": backend.is_peft if success else False,
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+
+    except Exception as exc:
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "loaded",
+            "success": False,
+            "message": str(exc),
+            "stack": traceback.format_exc(limit=20),
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+
+
+def _handle_export(backend, cmd: dict, resp_queue: Any) -> None:
+    """Handle any export command (merged, base, gguf, lora)."""
+    export_type = cmd["export_type"]  # "merged", "base", "gguf", "lora"
+    response_type = f"export_{export_type}_done"
+
+    try:
+        if export_type == "merged":
+            success, message = backend.export_merged_model(
+                save_directory=cmd.get("save_directory", ""),
+                format_type=cmd.get("format_type", "16-bit (FP16)"),
+                push_to_hub=cmd.get("push_to_hub", False),
+                repo_id=cmd.get("repo_id"),
+                hf_token=cmd.get("hf_token"),
+                private=cmd.get("private", False),
+            )
+        elif export_type == "base":
+            success, message = backend.export_base_model(
+                save_directory=cmd.get("save_directory", ""),
+                push_to_hub=cmd.get("push_to_hub", False),
+                repo_id=cmd.get("repo_id"),
+                hf_token=cmd.get("hf_token"),
+                private=cmd.get("private", False),
+                base_model_id=cmd.get("base_model_id"),
+            )
+        elif export_type == "gguf":
+            success, message = backend.export_gguf(
+                save_directory=cmd.get("save_directory", ""),
+                quantization_method=cmd.get("quantization_method", "Q4_K_M"),
+                push_to_hub=cmd.get("push_to_hub", False),
+                repo_id=cmd.get("repo_id"),
+                hf_token=cmd.get("hf_token"),
+            )
+        elif export_type == "lora":
+            success, message = backend.export_lora_adapter(
+                save_directory=cmd.get("save_directory", ""),
+                push_to_hub=cmd.get("push_to_hub", False),
+                repo_id=cmd.get("repo_id"),
+                hf_token=cmd.get("hf_token"),
+                private=cmd.get("private", False),
+            )
+        else:
+            success, message = False, f"Unknown export type: {export_type}"
+
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": response_type,
+            "success": success,
+            "message": message,
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+
+    except Exception as exc:
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": response_type,
+            "success": False,
+            "message": str(exc),
+            "stack": traceback.format_exc(limit=20),
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+
+
+def _handle_cleanup(backend, resp_queue: Any) -> None:
+    """Handle a cleanup command."""
+    try:
+        success = backend.cleanup_memory()
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "cleanup_done",
+            "success": success,
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+    except Exception as exc:
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "cleanup_done",
+            "success": False,
+            "message": str(exc),
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+
+
+def run_export_process(
+    *,
+    cmd_queue: Any,
+    resp_queue: Any,
+    config: dict,
+) -> None:
+    """Subprocess entrypoint. Persistent — runs command loop until shutdown.
+
+    Args:
+        cmd_queue: mp.Queue for receiving commands from parent.
+        resp_queue: mp.Queue for sending responses to parent.
+        config: Initial configuration dict with checkpoint_path and project_root.
+    """
+    import queue as _queue
+
+    os.environ["TOKENIZERS_PARALLELISM"] = "false"
+
+    project_root = config["project_root"]
+    checkpoint_path = config["checkpoint_path"]
+
+    # ── 1. Activate correct transformers version BEFORE any ML imports ──
+    try:
+        _activate_transformers_version(checkpoint_path, project_root)
+    except Exception as exc:
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "error",
+            "error": f"Failed to activate transformers version: {exc}",
+            "stack": traceback.format_exc(limit=20),
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+        return
+
+    # ── 2. Import ML libraries (fresh in this clean process) ──
+    try:
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "status",
+            "message": "Importing ML libraries...",
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+
+        backend_path = os.path.join(project_root, "studio", "backend")
+        if backend_path not in sys.path:
+            sys.path.insert(0, backend_path)
+
+        from core.export.export import ExportBackend
+
+        import transformers
+        logger.info("Export subprocess loaded transformers %s", transformers.__version__)
+
+    except Exception as exc:
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "error",
+            "error": f"Failed to import ML libraries: {exc}",
+            "stack": traceback.format_exc(limit=20),
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+        return
+
+    # ── 3. Create export backend and load initial checkpoint ──
+    try:
+        backend = ExportBackend()
+
+        _handle_load(backend, config, resp_queue)
+
+    except Exception as exc:
+        _send_response(resp_queue, {
+            "type": "error",
+            "error": f"Failed to initialize export backend: {exc}",
+            "stack": traceback.format_exc(limit=20),
+            "ts": time.time(),
+        })
+        return
+
+    # ── 4. Command loop — process commands until shutdown ──
+    logger.info("Export subprocess ready, entering command loop")
+
+    while True:
+        try:
+            cmd = cmd_queue.get(timeout=1.0)
+        except _queue.Empty:
+            continue
+        except (EOFError, OSError):
+            logger.info("Command queue closed, shutting down")
+            return
+
+        if cmd is None:
+            continue
+
+        cmd_type = cmd.get("type", "")
+        logger.info("Received command: %s", cmd_type)
+
+        try:
+            if cmd_type == "load":
+                # Load a new checkpoint (reusing this subprocess)
+                backend.cleanup_memory()
+                _handle_load(backend, cmd, resp_queue)
+
+            elif cmd_type == "export":
+                _handle_export(backend, cmd, resp_queue)
+
+            elif cmd_type == "cleanup":
+                _handle_cleanup(backend, resp_queue)
+
+            elif cmd_type == "status":
+                _send_response(resp_queue, {
+                    "type": "status_response",
+                    "checkpoint": backend.current_checkpoint,
+                    "is_vision": backend.is_vision,
+                    "is_peft": backend.is_peft,
+                    "ts": time.time(),
+                })
+
+            elif cmd_type == "shutdown":
+                logger.info("Shutdown command received, cleaning up and exiting")
+                try:
+                    backend.cleanup_memory()
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+                _send_response(resp_queue, {
+                    "type": "shutdown_ack",
+                    "ts": time.time(),
+                })
+                return
+
+            else:
+                logger.warning("Unknown command type: %s", cmd_type)
+                _send_response(resp_queue, {
+                    "type": "error",
+                    "error": f"Unknown command type: {cmd_type}",
+                    "ts": time.time(),
+                })
+
+        except Exception as exc:
+            logger.error("Error handling command '%s': %s", cmd_type, exc, exc_info=True)
+            _send_response(resp_queue, {
+                "type": "error",
+                "error": f"Command '{cmd_type}' failed: {exc}",
+                "stack": traceback.format_exc(limit=20),
+                "ts": time.time(),
+            })
diff --git a/studio/backend/core/inference/worker.py b/studio/backend/core/inference/worker.py
index 3e98fb0e3c..985ebc74a3 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/inference/worker.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/inference/worker.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def _activate_transformers_version(model_name: str, project_root: str) -> None:
             )
             sp.run(
                 [sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "--target", venv_t5,
-                 "--no-deps", "huggingface_hub>=1.3.0"],
+                 "--no-deps", "huggingface_hub==0.36.0"],
                 stdout=sp.PIPE, stderr=sp.STDOUT,
             )
             if os.path.isdir(venv_t5):
diff --git a/studio/backend/core/training/worker.py b/studio/backend/core/training/worker.py
index de7499f2a1..018345b0cf 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/training/worker.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/training/worker.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def _activate_transformers_version(model_name: str, project_root: str) -> None:
             )
             sp.run(
                 [sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "--target", venv_t5,
-                 "--no-deps", "huggingface_hub>=1.3.0"],
+                 "--no-deps", "huggingface_hub==0.36.0"],
                 stdout=sp.PIPE, stderr=sp.STDOUT,
             )
             if os.path.isdir(venv_t5):
diff --git a/studio/backend/routes/export.py b/studio/backend/routes/export.py
index 11d6377480..1b66306842 100644
--- a/studio/backend/routes/export.py
+++ b/studio/backend/routes/export.py
@@ -61,10 +61,8 @@ async def load_checkpoint(
     Wraps ExportBackend.load_checkpoint.
     """
     try:
-        # Ensure correct transformers version for this model architecture
-        from utils.transformers_version import ensure_transformers_version
-        ensure_transformers_version(request.checkpoint_path)
-
+        # Version switching is handled automatically by the subprocess-based
+        # export backend — no need for ensure_transformers_version() here.
         backend = get_export_backend()
         success, message = backend.load_checkpoint(
             checkpoint_path=request.checkpoint_path,
diff --git a/studio/backend/utils/transformers_version.py b/studio/backend/utils/transformers_version.py
index 5079021ffe..418105c145 100644
--- a/studio/backend/utils/transformers_version.py
+++ b/studio/backend/utils/transformers_version.py
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ def _ensure_venv_t5_exists() -> bool:
 
     logger.warning(".venv_t5 not found at %s — installing at runtime", _VENV_T5_DIR)
     os.makedirs(_VENV_T5_DIR, exist_ok=True)
-    for pkg in (f"transformers=={TRANSFORMERS_5_VERSION}", "huggingface_hub>=1.3.0"):
+    for pkg in (f"transformers=={TRANSFORMERS_5_VERSION}", "huggingface_hub==0.36.0"):
         cmd = [
             sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install",
             "--target", _VENV_T5_DIR,