diff --git a/studio/backend/core/inference/llama_cpp.py b/studio/backend/core/inference/llama_cpp.py
index bc3734fde2..1efd78c06d 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/inference/llama_cpp.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/inference/llama_cpp.py
@@ -204,11 +204,12 @@ class LlamaCppBackend:
     def _get_gpu_free_memory() -> list[tuple[int, int]]:
         """Query free memory per GPU via nvidia-smi.
 
-        Returns list of (gpu_index, free_mib) for ALL physical GPUs,
-        ignoring CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES. llama-server manages its own GPU
-        allocation via _select_gpus which sets CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES
-        explicitly for the subprocess.
+        Returns list of (gpu_index, free_mib) sorted by index.
+        Respects CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES if set.
+        Returns empty list if nvidia-smi is not available.
         """
+        import os
+
         try:
             result = subprocess.run(
                 [
@@ -223,12 +224,23 @@ class LlamaCppBackend:
             if result.returncode != 0:
                 return []
 
+            # Parse which GPUs are allowed by existing CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES
+            allowed = None
+            cvd = os.environ.get("CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES")
+            if cvd is not None and cvd.strip():
+                try:
+                    allowed = set(int(x.strip()) for x in cvd.split(","))
+                except ValueError:
+                    pass  # Non-numeric (e.g., "GPU-uuid"), ignore filter
+
             gpus = []
             for line in result.stdout.strip().splitlines():
                 parts = line.split(",")
                 if len(parts) == 2:
                     idx = int(parts[0].strip())
                     free_mib = int(parts[1].strip())
+                    if allowed is not None and idx not in allowed:
+                        continue
                     gpus.append((idx, free_mib))
             return gpus
         except Exception: