diff --git a/studio/backend/core/inference/diffusion.py b/studio/backend/core/inference/diffusion.py
index 78c2e242b6..0defec3fd1 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/inference/diffusion.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/inference/diffusion.py
@@ -306,6 +306,9 @@ class DiffusionBackend:
         transformer_cache_threshold: Optional[float] = None,
     ) -> dict[str, Any]:
         """Validate, then run the (slow) load on a daemon thread. Returns at once."""
+        # A blank token (the Studio default when none is configured) must mean
+        # "anonymous", not an explicit empty credential the Hub rejects with 401.
+        hf_token = (hf_token.strip() if isinstance(hf_token, str) else hf_token) or None
         fam = self.validate_load_request(
             repo_id, gguf_filename = gguf_filename, family_override = family_override
         )
@@ -416,6 +419,18 @@ class DiffusionBackend:
         fraction = min(downloaded / expected, 1.0) if expected > 0 else 0.0
         return _progress("downloading", downloaded, expected, fraction)
 
+    def loading_repo_ids(self) -> tuple[str, ...]:
+        """Repo ids an in-flight background load is downloading (empty when idle).
+
+        The delete-cached guard needs this: during a load ``status()["loaded"]`` is
+        still False, but deleting the target repo (or its companion base) would yank
+        blobs and snapshot files from under the download/assembly."""
+        with self._lock:
+            loading = self._loading
+            if loading is None or loading.error is not None:
+                return ()
+            return tuple(r for r in (loading.repo_id, loading.base_repo) if r)
+
     @staticmethod
     def _estimate_download_bytes(
         repo_id: str, gguf_filename: Optional[str], base_repo: str, hf_token: Optional[str]
@@ -483,7 +498,10 @@ class DiffusionBackend:
         _load_token: Optional[int] = None,
     ) -> dict[str, Any]:
         # Validate first (cheap, no torch/diffusers) so a direct call with a bad
-        # family fails with ValueError even in a no-diffusers runtime.
+        # family fails with ValueError even in a no-diffusers runtime. Sanitize the
+        # token here too (direct callers bypass begin_load): a blank string must
+        # load anonymously, not 401 as an explicit empty credential.
+        hf_token = (hf_token.strip() if isinstance(hf_token, str) else hf_token) or None
         fam = self.validate_load_request(
             repo_id, gguf_filename = gguf_filename, family_override = family_override
         )
diff --git a/studio/backend/core/inference/sd_cpp_backend.py b/studio/backend/core/inference/sd_cpp_backend.py
index 88661f2be1..cdd2b1c543 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/inference/sd_cpp_backend.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/inference/sd_cpp_backend.py
@@ -446,6 +446,16 @@ class SdCppDiffusionBackend:
         fraction = min(downloaded / expected, 1.0) if expected > 0 else 0.0
         return _progress("downloading", downloaded, expected, fraction)
 
+    def loading_repo_ids(self) -> tuple[str, ...]:
+        """Repo ids an in-flight background load is downloading (empty when idle).
+        Mirrors the diffusers backend so the delete-cached guard can query whichever
+        engine is active without caring which one it got."""
+        with self._lock:
+            loading = self._loading
+            if loading is None or loading.error is not None:
+                return ()
+            return tuple(r for r in (loading.repo_id, loading.base_repo) if r)
+
     # ── Generate ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     def generate(
diff --git a/studio/backend/models/inference.py b/studio/backend/models/inference.py
index 2c1701f6ea..e2e57a4648 100644
--- a/studio/backend/models/inference.py
+++ b/studio/backend/models/inference.py
@@ -1806,8 +1806,11 @@ class DiffusionGenerateRequest(BaseModel):
     )
     steps: int = Field(9, ge = 1, le = 100, description = "Number of denoising steps")
     guidance: float = Field(0.0, ge = 0.0, le = 20.0, description = "Classifier-free guidance scale")
+    # le = 2**53-1: seeds round-trip through JSON gallery recipes, where JavaScript
+    # rounds integers above Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER -- a restored recipe would then
+    # generate a different image. Random seeds are already masked to this range.
     seed: Optional[int] = Field(
-        None, ge = 0, le = 2**64 - 1, description = "Seed for reproducibility (random if omitted)"
+        None, ge = 0, le = 2**53 - 1, description = "Seed for reproducibility (random if omitted)"
     )
     batch_size: int = Field(
         1, ge = 1, le = 32, description = "Images generated in one forward pass (VRAM-heavy)"
diff --git a/studio/backend/routes/models.py b/studio/backend/routes/models.py
index 321f87072f..da23205f07 100644
--- a/studio/backend/routes/models.py
+++ b/studio/backend/routes/models.py
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ class CachedModelRepo(BaseModel):
     repo_id: str
     size_bytes: int
     last_modified: Optional[float] = None
+    # "text-to-image" for cached diffusers image repos; response_model would silently
+    # drop the value the handler sets, letting image-only repos pass the chat picker's
+    # task gate.
+    task: Optional[str] = None
 
 
 class CachedModelsResponse(BaseModel):
@@ -3320,8 +3324,13 @@ async def delete_cached_model(
     # delete guard is otherwise chat-only, so its GGUF could be removed from
     # under a live pipeline. Repo-level match, like the chat guards above.
     try:
-        from core.inference.diffusion import get_diffusion_backend
-        diffusion_status = get_diffusion_backend().status()
+        # The ACTIVE engine (diffusers or native sd_cpp): on a native selection the
+        # diffusers singleton reports unloaded while sd-cli still generates from the
+        # cached GGUF, so checking it alone would let the files be deleted mid-use.
+        from core.inference.diffusion_engine_router import get_active_diffusion_engine
+
+        engine = get_active_diffusion_engine()
+        diffusion_status = engine.status()
         if diffusion_status.get("loaded") and diffusion_status.get("repo_id"):
             loaded_id = str(diffusion_status["repo_id"]).lower()
             if loaded_id == repo_id.lower() or loaded_id.startswith(repo_id.lower()):
@@ -3329,6 +3338,17 @@ async def delete_cached_model(
                     status_code = 400,
                     detail = "Unload the model before deleting",
                 )
+        # Also refuse while a background image load is DOWNLOADING this repo (or its
+        # companion base): status().loaded is still False in that window, but deleting
+        # would remove blobs from under the in-flight download/assembly.
+        loading_ids = getattr(engine, "loading_repo_ids", tuple)()
+        for lid in loading_ids:
+            lid = str(lid).lower()
+            if lid == repo_id.lower() or lid.startswith(repo_id.lower()):
+                raise HTTPException(
+                    status_code = 400,
+                    detail = "An Images model load is using this repo; wait for it to finish",
+                )
     except HTTPException:
         raise
     except Exception:
diff --git a/studio/backend/routes/training.py b/studio/backend/routes/training.py
index d5ab4ae29a..bcb0c344e0 100644
--- a/studio/backend/routes/training.py
+++ b/studio/backend/routes/training.py
@@ -372,9 +372,14 @@ async def start_training(
                 # release the arbiter so it doesn't think the gone pipeline owns
                 # the GPU. Must precede the chat block, which early-returns.
                 from core.inference import gpu_arbiter
-                from core.inference.diffusion import get_diffusion_backend
+                from core.inference.diffusion_engine_router import (
+                    get_active_diffusion_engine,
+                )
 
-                diffusion = get_diffusion_backend()
+                # The ACTIVE engine, not the diffusers singleton: on a native
+                # (sd_cpp) selection the diffusers backend reports unloaded while
+                # the native engine still holds model state / a live generation.
+                diffusion = get_active_diffusion_engine()
                 if diffusion.is_loaded:
                     logger.info(
                         "Unloading diffusion (Images) model to free GPU memory for training"
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/components/app-sidebar.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/components/app-sidebar.tsx
index bee562f4bd..73e2b6c5d8 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/components/app-sidebar.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/components/app-sidebar.tsx
@@ -1203,10 +1203,7 @@ export function AppSidebar() {
                 icon={PaintBrush02Icon}
                 label={t("shell.navigation.images")}
                 active={pathname === "/images" || pathname.startsWith("/images/")}
-                disabled={chatOnly}
-                tooltip={trainExportDisabledHint}
                 onClick={() => {
-                  if (chatOnly) return;
                   navigate({ to: "/images" });
                   closeMobileIfOpen();
                 }}
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/images/images-page.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/images/images-page.tsx
index d2421ef8a1..14174985de 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/images/images-page.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/images/images-page.tsx
@@ -695,7 +695,9 @@ export function ImagesPage({ active = true }: { active?: boolean }) {
   }, [refreshStatus, dismissLoadToast, pollLoadProgress]);
 
   const handleLoad = useCallback(
-    async (repoId: string, ggufFilename: string) => {
+    // Resolves true when the background load STARTED (callers may revert
+    // optimistic picker state on false); poll outcomes are handled internally.
+    async (repoId: string, ggufFilename: string): Promise<boolean> => {
       // Cancel any prior poll loop so two can't run at once.
       if (pollTimer.current) clearTimeout(pollTimer.current);
       setBusy("loading");
@@ -717,9 +719,10 @@ export function ImagesPage({ active = true }: { active?: boolean }) {
         toast.error(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to start load");
         setBusy(null);
         void refreshStatus();
-        return;
+        return false;
       }
       void pollLoadProgress();
+      return true;
     },
     [pollLoadProgress, refreshStatus, dismissLoadToast],
   );
@@ -733,11 +736,17 @@ export function ImagesPage({ active = true }: { active?: boolean }) {
       // busy, while the backend rejects the second load with a 409.
       if (busy !== null) return;
       if (meta.ggufVariant && meta.ggufFilename) {
+        // Optimistic for instant picker feedback, but revert if the load fails to
+        // START (400/409/network): the selector must not advertise a quant that
+        // is not the loaded one. Poll-phase failures re-sync via refreshStatus.
+        const prevQuant = quant;
         setQuant(meta.ggufVariant);
         const d = defaultsFor(id);
         setSteps(d.steps);
         setGuidance(d.guidance);
-        void handleLoad(id, meta.ggufFilename);
+        void handleLoad(id, meta.ggufFilename).then((started) => {
+          if (!started) setQuant(prevQuant);
+        });
         return;
       }
       // A direct single-file local .gguf pick has no variant/filename (custom folder /
@@ -755,7 +764,7 @@ export function ImagesPage({ active = true }: { active?: boolean }) {
         void handleLoad(dir, filename);
       }
     },
-    [busy, handleLoad],
+    [busy, handleLoad, quant],
   );
 
   const handleUnload = useCallback(async () => {
@@ -841,7 +850,10 @@ export function ImagesPage({ active = true }: { active?: boolean }) {
           height: h,
           steps,
           guidance,
-          seed: baseSeed + i,
+          // Offset runs by the batch size: the native engine seeds image j of a
+          // run at seed+j, so a +1 run offset would regenerate the previous run's
+          // batch-mates. Unique per image on both engines, reproducible via recipes.
+          seed: baseSeed + i * batchSize,
           batch_size: batchSize,
         });
         if (!isMounted.current) break;