Revert "Add Gemma 4 model sampling defaults"

This reverts commit f01affa6a3.

UNSLOTH_UPDATE_DETAILS.json

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "unsloth_source": "pypi",
+  "unsloth_github_ref": "main",
+  "llama_cpp_source": "unslothai",
+  "llama_cpp_tag": "latest",
+  "CRITICAL_TIME": null,
+  "announcement": null
+}

studio/backend/main.py

@@ -118,6 +118,25 @@ async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
 
     threading.Thread(target = _precache, daemon = True).start()
 
+    # Fetch remote update manifest in the background and print a terminal
+    # banner when a critical update or announcement is present.
+    def _check_updates():
+        try:
+            from utils.update_check import fetch_and_cache_update_status
+
+            status = fetch_and_cache_update_status()
+            if status.critical:
+                print("\n" + "=" * 60)
+                print("CRITICAL UPDATE AVAILABLE")
+                print("    Run `unsloth studio update` then restart Studio.")
+                print("=" * 60 + "\n")
+            elif status.announcement_message:
+                print(f"\n  [Update] {status.announcement_message}\n")
+        except Exception:
+            pass  # non-critical
+
+    threading.Thread(target = _check_updates, daemon = True).start()
+
     if storage.ensure_default_admin():
         bootstrap_pw = storage.get_bootstrap_password()
         app.state.bootstrap_password = bootstrap_pw
@@ -203,6 +222,27 @@ async def health_check():
     }
 
 
+@app.get("/api/update-check")
+async def update_check():
+    """Return cached update status from the remote manifest (unauthenticated)."""
+    from utils.update_check import fetch_and_cache_update_status, get_update_status
+
+    s = get_update_status()
+    if not s.manifest_fetched:
+        # Background thread may not have finished yet -- fetch inline.
+        # Run in a thread to avoid blocking the async event loop.
+        import asyncio
+
+        s = await asyncio.to_thread(fetch_and_cache_update_status)
+    return {
+        "critical": s.critical,
+        "announcement_badge": s.announcement_badge,
+        "announcement_message": s.announcement_message,
+        "announcement_url": s.announcement_url,
+        "manifest_fetched": s.manifest_fetched,
+    }
+
+
 @app.post("/api/shutdown")
 async def shutdown_server(
     request: Request,

studio/backend/utils/update_check.py

@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
+# Copyright 2026-present the Unsloth AI Inc. team. All rights reserved. See /studio/LICENSE.AGPL-3.0
+
+"""Remote manifest fetch and update-status cache for Unsloth Studio.
+
+Uses only stdlib (urllib.request, json, time, calendar) so it can run
+without any third-party dependencies.  The module exposes two public
+functions:
+
+  fetch_and_cache_update_status()  -- fetches the manifest, reads the
+      local UNSLOTH_STUDIO_INFO.json, compares CRITICAL_TIME, and caches
+      the result at module level.
+
+  get_update_status()  -- returns the cached UpdateStatus (or defaults
+      when the fetch has not completed yet).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import calendar
+import json
+import time
+import urllib.request
+import logging
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Optional
+
+_log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+_MANIFEST_URL = (
+    "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unslothai/unsloth/main/"
+    "UNSLOTH_UPDATE_DETAILS.json"
+)
+_STUDIO_INFO_PATH = Path.home() / ".unsloth" / "studio" / "UNSLOTH_STUDIO_INFO.json"
+_FETCH_TIMEOUT = 8  # seconds
+
+
+@dataclass
+class UpdateStatus:
+    critical: bool = False
+    announcement_badge: Optional[str] = None
+    announcement_message: Optional[str] = None
+    announcement_url: Optional[str] = None
+    manifest_fetched: bool = False
+
+
+_cached_status: UpdateStatus = UpdateStatus()
+
+
+def _parse_iso_utc(s: str) -> float:
+    """Parse an ISO-8601 UTC string (ending in Z) to a Unix timestamp."""
+    s = s.strip().rstrip("Z")
+    try:
+        t = time.strptime(s, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
+    except ValueError:
+        t = time.strptime(s[:19], "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
+    return float(calendar.timegm(t))
+
+
+def fetch_and_cache_update_status() -> UpdateStatus:
+    """Fetch the remote manifest, compare with local info, and cache."""
+    global _cached_status
+
+    try:
+        req = urllib.request.Request(_MANIFEST_URL, method = "GET")
+        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout = _FETCH_TIMEOUT) as resp:
+            manifest = json.loads(resp.read().decode("utf-8"))
+    except Exception:
+        _log.debug("manifest fetch failed", exc_info = True)
+        return _cached_status
+
+    status = UpdateStatus(manifest_fetched = True)
+
+    # -- Critical time check --
+    critical_time_str = manifest.get("CRITICAL_TIME")
+    if critical_time_str:
+        try:
+            critical_ts = _parse_iso_utc(critical_time_str)
+            installed_ts = 0.0
+            if _STUDIO_INFO_PATH.is_file():
+                try:
+                    info = json.loads(_STUDIO_INFO_PATH.read_text(encoding = "utf-8"))
+                    installed_ts = _parse_iso_utc(info.get("installed_at_utc", ""))
+                except Exception:
+                    _log.debug("failed to read studio info", exc_info = True)
+            if installed_ts < critical_ts:
+                status.critical = True
+        except Exception:
+            _log.debug("critical time comparison failed", exc_info = True)
+
+    # -- Announcement --
+    announcement = manifest.get("announcement")
+    if isinstance(announcement, dict):
+        status.announcement_badge = announcement.get("badge") or None
+        status.announcement_message = announcement.get("message") or None
+        _url = announcement.get("url") or None
+        # Only allow http/https URLs to prevent javascript: or data: injection.
+        if _url and _url.startswith(("https://", "http://")):
+            status.announcement_url = _url
+
+    _cached_status = status
+    return status
+
+
+def get_update_status() -> UpdateStatus:
+    """Return the cached update status (safe to call before fetch completes)."""
+    return _cached_status

studio/frontend/src/app/routes/__root.tsx

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 // Copyright 2026-present the Unsloth AI Inc. team. All rights reserved. See /studio/LICENSE.AGPL-3.0
 
 import { Navbar } from "@/components/navbar";
+import { useUpdateCheck } from "@/hooks/use-update-check";
 import { usePlatformStore } from "@/config/env";
 import {
   Outlet,
@@ -33,12 +34,27 @@ export const Route = createRootRoute({
 
 const HIDDEN_NAVBAR_ROUTES = ["/onboarding", "/login", "/change-password"];
 
+function CriticalUpdateBanner() {
+  const { critical } = useUpdateCheck();
+  if (!critical) return null;
+  return (
+    <div className="w-full bg-amber-500 px-4 py-2 text-center text-sm font-medium text-white dark:bg-amber-600">
+      A critical update is available. Run{" "}
+      <code className="rounded bg-amber-600/50 px-1 py-0.5 text-xs dark:bg-amber-700/50">
+        unsloth studio update
+      </code>{" "}
+      then restart Studio.
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
 function RootLayout() {
   const pathname = useRouterState({ select: (s) => s.location.pathname });
   const hideNavbar = HIDDEN_NAVBAR_ROUTES.includes(pathname);
 
   return (
     <AppProvider>
+      {!hideNavbar && <CriticalUpdateBanner />}
       {!hideNavbar && <Navbar />}
       <AnimatePresence initial={false}>
         <motion.div

studio/frontend/src/components/navbar.tsx

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import {
 import { HugeiconsIcon } from "@hugeicons/react";
 import { copyToClipboard } from "@/lib/copy-to-clipboard";
 import { useTrainingRuntimeStore } from "@/features/training";
+import { useUpdateCheck } from "@/hooks/use-update-check";
 import { usePlatformStore } from "@/config/env";
 import { Link, useRouterState } from "@tanstack/react-router";
 import { AnimatePresence, motion, useReducedMotion } from "motion/react";
@@ -127,10 +128,14 @@ function UpdateStudioInstructions({
   className,
   defaultShell,
   showTitle = true,
+  announcementMessage,
+  announcementUrl,
 }: {
   className?: string;
   defaultShell: UpdateShell;
   showTitle?: boolean;
+  announcementMessage?: string | null;
+  announcementUrl?: string | null;
 }): ReactElement {
   const [shell, setShell] = useState<UpdateShell>(defaultShell);
   const prefersReducedMotion = useReducedMotion();
@@ -148,6 +153,17 @@ function UpdateStudioInstructions({
 
   return (
     <div className={cn("flex flex-col gap-3", className)}>
+      {announcementMessage ? (
+        <div className="rounded-md border border-amber-300 bg-amber-50 px-3 py-2 text-xs text-amber-900 dark:border-amber-700 dark:bg-amber-950/40 dark:text-amber-200">
+          {announcementUrl ? (
+            <a href={announcementUrl} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" className="underline">
+              {announcementMessage}
+            </a>
+          ) : (
+            announcementMessage
+          )}
+        </div>
+      ) : null}
       <div
         className={cn(
           "flex items-center gap-3",
@@ -247,6 +263,11 @@ export function Navbar() {
   const deviceType = usePlatformStore((s) => s.deviceType);
   const chatOnly = usePlatformStore((s) => s.isChatOnly());
   const defaultUpdateShell = getDefaultUpdateShell(deviceType);
+  const updateStatus = useUpdateCheck();
+
+  const updateBadgeText = updateStatus.critical
+    ? "Critical Update"
+    : updateStatus.announcementBadge ?? null;
 
   // Warn before closing the tab only when training is running (data loss risk).
   // We store the handler in a ref so removeUnloadHandler() can clean it up
@@ -434,17 +455,24 @@ export function Navbar() {
               <HoverCardTrigger asChild={true}>
                 <button
                   type="button"
-                  className="flex h-9 items-center gap-1.5 rounded-md px-3 text-sm font-medium text-muted-foreground transition-colors hover:bg-accent hover:text-foreground"
+                  className={cn(
+                    "flex h-9 items-center gap-1.5 rounded-md px-3 text-sm font-medium transition-colors hover:bg-accent",
+                    updateBadgeText
+                      ? "text-amber-600 hover:text-amber-700 dark:text-amber-400 dark:hover:text-amber-300"
+                      : "text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground",
+                  )}
                   aria-label="How to update Unsloth Studio"
                 >
                   <HugeiconsIcon icon={ArrowReloadHorizontalIcon} className="size-4" />
-                  Update
+                  {updateBadgeText ?? "Update"}
                 </button>
               </HoverCardTrigger>
               <HoverCardContent align="end" className="w-[22.5rem] p-0">
                 <UpdateStudioInstructions
                   className="p-4"
                   defaultShell={defaultUpdateShell}
+                  announcementMessage={updateStatus.announcementMessage}
+                  announcementUrl={updateStatus.announcementUrl}
                 />
               </HoverCardContent>
             </HoverCard>
@@ -555,17 +583,23 @@ export function Navbar() {
                 <Collapsible
                   open={mobileUpdateOpen}
                   onOpenChange={setMobileUpdateOpen}
-                  className="rounded-md border border-border"
+                  className={cn(
+                    "rounded-md border",
+                    updateBadgeText ? "border-amber-400 dark:border-amber-700" : "border-border",
+                  )}
                 >
                   <CollapsibleTrigger asChild={true}>
                     <button
                       type="button"
-                      className="flex w-full items-center justify-between rounded-md px-3 py-2 text-left text-sm font-medium text-foreground transition-colors hover:bg-accent"
+                      className={cn(
+                        "flex w-full items-center justify-between rounded-md px-3 py-2 text-left text-sm font-medium transition-colors hover:bg-accent",
+                        updateBadgeText ? "text-amber-600 dark:text-amber-400" : "text-foreground",
+                      )}
                       aria-label="Toggle update instructions"
                     >
                       <span className="flex items-center gap-2">
                         <HugeiconsIcon icon={ArrowReloadHorizontalIcon} className="size-4" />
-                        Update Unsloth Studio
+                        {updateBadgeText ?? "Update Unsloth Studio"}
                       </span>
                       <HugeiconsIcon
                         icon={ArrowRight01Icon}
@@ -580,6 +614,8 @@ export function Navbar() {
                     <UpdateStudioInstructions
                       defaultShell={defaultUpdateShell}
                       showTitle={false}
+                      announcementMessage={updateStatus.announcementMessage}
+                      announcementUrl={updateStatus.announcementUrl}
                     />
                   </CollapsibleContent>
                 </Collapsible>

studio/frontend/src/hooks/index.ts

@@ -11,3 +11,4 @@ export { useHfDatasetSearch } from "./use-hf-dataset-search";
 export { useHfDatasetSplits } from "./use-hf-dataset-splits";
 export { useHfTokenValidation } from "./use-hf-token-validation";
 export { useInfiniteScroll } from "./use-infinite-scroll";
+export { useUpdateCheck } from "./use-update-check";

studio/frontend/src/hooks/use-update-check.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
+// Copyright 2026-present the Unsloth AI Inc. team. All rights reserved. See /studio/LICENSE.AGPL-3.0
+
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+
+export interface UpdateCheckInfo {
+  critical: boolean;
+  announcementBadge: string | null;
+  announcementMessage: string | null;
+  announcementUrl: string | null;
+  manifestFetched: boolean;
+}
+
+const DEFAULT: UpdateCheckInfo = {
+  critical: false,
+  announcementBadge: null,
+  announcementMessage: null,
+  announcementUrl: null,
+  manifestFetched: false,
+};
+
+// Module-level cache so multiple components share one fetch.
+let cached: UpdateCheckInfo | null = null;
+let fetchPromise: Promise<UpdateCheckInfo> | null = null;
+
+async function fetchOnce(): Promise<UpdateCheckInfo> {
+  if (cached) return cached;
+  if (fetchPromise) return fetchPromise;
+
+  fetchPromise = (async () => {
+    try {
+      // Unauthenticated endpoint -- use plain fetch, not authFetch.
+      const res = await fetch("/api/update-check");
+      if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`);
+      const data = await res.json();
+      const info: UpdateCheckInfo = {
+        critical: data?.critical ?? false,
+        announcementBadge: data?.announcement_badge ?? null,
+        announcementMessage: data?.announcement_message ?? null,
+        announcementUrl: data?.announcement_url ?? null,
+        manifestFetched: data?.manifest_fetched ?? false,
+      };
+      cached = info;
+      return info;
+    } catch {
+      fetchPromise = null;
+      return DEFAULT;
+    }
+  })();
+
+  return fetchPromise;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Fetch update-check info from `GET /api/update-check`.
+ *
+ * The result is cached at module level -- only one network request is made
+ * regardless of how many components call this hook.
+ */
+export function useUpdateCheck(): UpdateCheckInfo {
+  const [info, setInfo] = useState<UpdateCheckInfo>(cached ?? DEFAULT);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (cached) return;
+
+    let cancelled = false;
+    fetchOnce().then((status) => {
+      if (!cancelled) setInfo(status);
+    });
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+    };
+  }, []);
+
+  return info;
+}

studio/install_python_stack.py

@@ -523,19 +523,66 @@ def install_python_stack() -> int:
             package_name,
         )
     else:
-        # Update path: upgrade only unsloth + unsloth-zoo while preserving
-        # existing torch/CUDA installations.  Torch is pre-installed by
-        # install.sh / setup.ps1; --upgrade-package targets only base pkgs.
-        _progress("base packages")
-        pip_install(
-            "Updating base packages",
-            "--no-cache-dir",
-            "--upgrade-package",
-            "unsloth",
-            "--upgrade-package",
-            "unsloth-zoo",
-            req = REQ_ROOT / "base.txt",
-        )
+        # Manifest override: install from git main instead of PyPI
+        _git_ref = os.environ.get("STUDIO_UNSLOTH_GIT_REF", "")
+        if _git_ref:
+            _progress("base packages (git)")
+            pip_install(
+                f"Installing unsloth from git@{_git_ref}",
+                "--no-cache-dir",
+                "--no-deps",
+                f"git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth.git@{_git_ref}",
+                constrain = False,
+            )
+            # Install remaining base deps (unsloth-zoo etc.) but exclude
+            # the "unsloth" line so pip does not revert the git checkout
+            # back to the PyPI wheel.  We match "unsloth" exactly (not
+            # "unsloth-zoo") by checking for a version specifier or EOL
+            # immediately after the package name.
+            import re as _re
+
+            _base_lines = (
+                (REQ_ROOT / "base.txt")
+                .read_text(encoding = "utf-8")
+                .splitlines(keepends = True)
+            )
+            _base_filtered = [
+                ln
+                for ln in _base_lines
+                if not _re.match(r"^\s*unsloth\s*([<>=!~;\[#]|$)", ln.strip())
+            ]
+            _base_tmp = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
+                mode = "w",
+                suffix = ".txt",
+                delete = False,
+                encoding = "utf-8",
+            )
+            _base_tmp.writelines(_base_filtered)
+            _base_tmp.close()
+            try:
+                pip_install(
+                    "Updating remaining base packages",
+                    "--no-cache-dir",
+                    "--upgrade-package",
+                    "unsloth-zoo",
+                    req = Path(_base_tmp.name),
+                )
+            finally:
+                Path(_base_tmp.name).unlink(missing_ok = True)
+        else:
+            # Update path: upgrade only unsloth + unsloth-zoo while preserving
+            # existing torch/CUDA installations.  Torch is pre-installed by
+            # install.sh / setup.ps1; --upgrade-package targets only base pkgs.
+            _progress("base packages")
+            pip_install(
+                "Updating base packages",
+                "--no-cache-dir",
+                "--upgrade-package",
+                "unsloth",
+                "--upgrade-package",
+                "unsloth-zoo",
+                req = REQ_ROOT / "base.txt",
+            )
 
     # 3. Extra dependencies
     _progress("unsloth extras")

studio/setup.sh

@@ -27,6 +27,50 @@ _DEFAULT_LLAMA_SOURCE="https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp"
 _DEFAULT_LLAMA_TAG="latest"
 _DEFAULT_LLAMA_FORCE_COMPILE_REF="master"
 
+# ── Fetch remote manifest ────────────────────────────────────────────
+# UNSLOTH_UPDATE_DETAILS.json controls update behavior centrally.
+# Fields are parsed into MANIFEST_* shell variables; all default to
+# empty when the fetch fails (graceful degradation).
+_MANIFEST_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unslothai/unsloth/main/UNSLOTH_UPDATE_DETAILS.json"
+MANIFEST_UNSLOTH_SOURCE=""
+MANIFEST_UNSLOTH_GITHUB_REF=""
+MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_SOURCE=""
+MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_TAG=""
+MANIFEST_CRITICAL_TIME=""
+MANIFEST_ANNOUNCEMENT_MESSAGE=""
+MANIFEST_ANNOUNCEMENT_BADGE=""
+MANIFEST_ANNOUNCEMENT_URL=""
+
+_fetch_manifest() {
+    local _raw
+    _raw=$(curl -fsSL --max-time 8 "$_MANIFEST_URL" 2>/dev/null) || return 0
+    # Parse all manifest fields in a single Python invocation to avoid
+    # spawning 8 separate processes (each adds ~50ms startup overhead).
+    eval "$(printf '%s' "$_raw" | python -c "
+import sys, json, shlex
+try:
+    m = json.load(sys.stdin)
+except Exception:
+    sys.exit(0)
+def s(v, default=''):
+    '''Convert to string, treating None/null as empty.'''
+    return str(v) if v is not None else default
+a = m.get('announcement') or {}
+for k, v in [
+    ('MANIFEST_UNSLOTH_SOURCE',        s(m.get('unsloth_source'))),
+    ('MANIFEST_UNSLOTH_GITHUB_REF',    s(m.get('unsloth_github_ref'), 'main')),
+    ('MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_SOURCE',      s(m.get('llama_cpp_source'))),
+    ('MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_TAG',         s(m.get('llama_cpp_tag'))),
+    ('MANIFEST_CRITICAL_TIME',         s(m.get('CRITICAL_TIME'))),
+    ('MANIFEST_ANNOUNCEMENT_MESSAGE',  s(a.get('message'))),
+    ('MANIFEST_ANNOUNCEMENT_BADGE',    s(a.get('badge'))),
+    ('MANIFEST_ANNOUNCEMENT_URL',      s(a.get('url'))),
+]:
+    print(f'{k}={shlex.quote(v)}')
+" 2>/dev/null)" || true
+    substep "manifest: source=${MANIFEST_UNSLOTH_SOURCE:-pypi} llama=${MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_SOURCE:-default}@${MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_TAG:-default}"
+}
+
 # ── Colors (same palette as startup_banner / install_python_stack) ──
 if [ -n "${NO_COLOR:-}" ]; then
     C_TITLE= C_DIM= C_OK= C_WARN= C_ERR= C_RST=
@@ -166,6 +210,7 @@ echo ""
 printf "  ${C_TITLE}%s${C_RST}\n" "🦥 Unsloth Studio Setup"
 printf "  ${C_DIM}%s${C_RST}\n" "$RULE"
 verbose_substep "verbose diagnostics enabled"
+_fetch_manifest
 _LLAMA_ONLY="${UNSLOTH_STUDIO_LLAMA_ONLY:-0}"
 if [ "$_LLAMA_ONLY" = "1" ]; then
     substep "llama.cpp only mode"
@@ -477,8 +522,22 @@ _SKIP_VERSION_CHECK=false
 if [ "$_COLAB_NO_VENV" = true ]; then
     _SKIP_VERSION_CHECK=true
 fi
+
+# Apply manifest: install from git main instead of PyPI when directed.
+# Must be evaluated BEFORE the PyPI version check so the fast-path
+# does not suppress the git-main install.
+_MANIFEST_FORCE_GIT=false
+if [ "$MANIFEST_UNSLOTH_SOURCE" = "main" ] && [ "${STUDIO_LOCAL_INSTALL:-0}" != "1" ]; then
+    export STUDIO_UNSLOTH_GIT_REF="${MANIFEST_UNSLOTH_GITHUB_REF:-main}"
+    _MANIFEST_FORCE_GIT=true
+    substep "manifest override: installing unsloth from git@${STUDIO_UNSLOTH_GIT_REF}"
+fi
+
 _PKG_NAME="${STUDIO_PACKAGE_NAME:-unsloth}"
-if [ "$_SKIP_VERSION_CHECK" != true ] && [ "${SKIP_STUDIO_BASE:-0}" != "1" ] && [ "${STUDIO_LOCAL_INSTALL:-0}" != "1" ]; then
+if [ "$_MANIFEST_FORCE_GIT" != true ] && \
+   [ "$_SKIP_VERSION_CHECK" != true ] && \
+   [ "${SKIP_STUDIO_BASE:-0}" != "1" ] && \
+   [ "${STUDIO_LOCAL_INSTALL:-0}" != "1" ]; then
     # Only check when NOT called from install.sh (which just installed the package)
     INSTALLED_VER=$("$VENV_DIR/bin/python" -c "
 from importlib.metadata import version
@@ -533,6 +592,23 @@ if [ "$_HOST_SYSTEM" = "Darwin" ]; then
 else
     _HELPER_RELEASE_REPO="unslothai/llama.cpp"
 fi
+
+# Apply manifest overrides for llama.cpp (only if user hasn't set env vars).
+# Skip on macOS -- macOS must use ggml-org (unslothai/llama.cpp has no macOS assets).
+if [ -n "$MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_SOURCE" ] && [ -z "${UNSLOTH_LLAMA_PUBLISHED_REPO:-}" ] && [ "$_HOST_SYSTEM" != "Darwin" ]; then
+    if [ "$MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_SOURCE" = "ggml-org" ]; then
+        _HELPER_RELEASE_REPO="ggml-org/llama.cpp"
+    elif [ "$MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_SOURCE" = "unslothai" ]; then
+        _HELPER_RELEASE_REPO="unslothai/llama.cpp"
+    fi
+    verbose_substep "manifest override: llama.cpp repo=$_HELPER_RELEASE_REPO"
+fi
+if [ -n "$MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_TAG" ] && [ -z "${UNSLOTH_LLAMA_TAG:-}" ]; then
+    _DEFAULT_LLAMA_TAG="$MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_TAG"
+    _REQUESTED_LLAMA_TAG="$MANIFEST_LLAMA_CPP_TAG"
+    verbose_substep "manifest override: llama.cpp tag=$_REQUESTED_LLAMA_TAG"
+fi
+
 _LLAMA_PR="${UNSLOTH_LLAMA_PR:-}"
 _SKIP_PREBUILT_INSTALL=false
 _LLAMA_PR_FORCE="${UNSLOTH_LLAMA_PR_FORCE:-${_DEFAULT_LLAMA_PR_FORCE}}"
@@ -989,6 +1065,38 @@ else
 }
 fi  # end _SKIP_GGUF_BUILD check
 
+# ── Write install timestamp (only when python deps were actually updated) ──
+# Guard against uninitialized _SKIP_PYTHON_DEPS in llama-only mode.
+if [ "$_LLAMA_ONLY" != "1" ] && [ "${_SKIP_PYTHON_DEPS:-true}" = false ]; then
+_STUDIO_INFO_DIR="$HOME/.unsloth/studio"
+mkdir -p "$_STUDIO_INFO_DIR"
+python - "$_STUDIO_INFO_DIR/UNSLOTH_STUDIO_INFO.json" <<'PY' 2>/dev/null || true
+import json, sys, time, calendar
+from pathlib import Path
+
+info_path = Path(sys.argv[1])
+existing = {}
+if info_path.is_file():
+    try:
+        existing = json.loads(info_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+
+import importlib.metadata as _meta
+try:
+    _ver = _meta.version("unsloth")
+except Exception:
+    _ver = "unknown"
+
+import os
+existing["installed_at_utc"] = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ", time.gmtime())
+existing["unsloth_version"] = _ver
+existing["unsloth_source"] = os.environ.get("STUDIO_UNSLOTH_GIT_REF", "pypi")
+info_path.write_text(json.dumps(existing, indent=2) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+PY
+verbose_substep "wrote install info to $_STUDIO_INFO_DIR/UNSLOTH_STUDIO_INFO.json"
+fi
+
 # ── Footer ──
 if [ "$_LLAMA_ONLY" = "1" ]; then
     echo ""