A temporary chat that keeps the model it was started on

The new-chat screen keeps its preselections in the query string, and the
three ways off it each rebuilt the URL with only their own key: the
Temporary button went to /chat?temporary=1, the model picker to
/chat?model=<id>, and /temp to /chat?temporary=1. So each undid the other,
and a temporary chat could only be started on the default model. The
folder from "New chat here" and the agent kind were dropped the same way.

chat_index now builds both URLs from one set of carried values and changes
only its own key; /temp keeps location.search when run on /chat.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -16,6 +16,47 @@ for 1.0.0 have something to be assembled from.
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+## 1.9.1
+
+- **A temporary chat can be started on any model.** On the new-chat screen,
+  turning on Temporary switched the model back to the default, and choosing a
+  model switched Temporary off, so a temporary chat could only ever be started
+  on the default model. The Temporary button, the model menu and `/temp` now
+  keep each other's choice, and also keep the folder a chat was started in
+  ("New chat here") and whether it is an agent chat.
+
+## 1.9.0
+
+The model menu says which model is loaded, and a new chat now matches the
+model it is about to talk to.
+
+- **A dot on the model that is loaded.** Opening the model menu asks each
+  connection which of its models is in memory. llama-swap says so in its
+  ordinary model list, so the one it is holding gets a green dot, and one being
+  loaded gets a pulsing amber one. Picking a model without a dot means waiting
+  for it to load first. A hosted API such as DeepSeek never unloads anything and
+  does not report it, so its models show no dot, not a false "not loaded". Each
+  connection is asked once per menu opening, at most every five seconds. One
+  that reports nothing is asked again only after ten minutes, and one that is
+  slow or down just leaves the menu without dots.
+
+- **A new chat offers the model's own effort levels.** The new-chat screen
+  offered low, medium and high whatever the model took. On a model like Bonsai,
+  which takes low, medium and xhigh with xhigh as its default, the menu offered a
+  `high` it rejects. It had no xhigh, so it showed "off" while the chat it
+  created used xhigh. It now shows the same levels, and the same default, as the
+  chat will have.
+
+- **The message box is the same width for every model.** It was sized by its
+  widest content, so the "has no vision, so images will not be sent" line made
+  it wider for models without vision than for models with it. It is now always
+  the width of the conversation column.
+
+- **"Speak friend and enter."** The line under an empty chat (and on the "not
+  yours" error page) lost its commas. On the Doors of Durin it is a riddle: the
+  answer is to say *friend*, not to be greeted as one. Only the shipped wording
+  changed. An instance that has overridden the line keeps its own.
+
 ## 1.8.5
 
 - **No more grey slivers at the ends of the tab bars.** Tab bars fade at an edge

src/lembas/__init__.py

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """LLeMbas - a Middle-earth themed web UI for OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoints."""
 
-__version__ = "1.8.5"
+__version__ = "1.9.1"

src/lembas/api/admin_audio.py

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/admin/audio", tags=["admin-audio"])
 
 # Read out by the speech test. Short, and the one line this project would pick.
-TEST_PHRASE = "Speak, friend, and enter."
+TEST_PHRASE = "Speak friend and enter."
 
 
 def _page_context(db: Db) -> dict:

src/lembas/api/models.py

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+"""What the model menu asks for when it opens."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter
+
+from lembas.api.deps import Db, RequiredUser
+from lembas.services import chat as chat_service
+from lembas.services import model_state
+
+router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/models", tags=["models"])
+
+
+@router.get("/state")
+async def model_states(db: Db, user: RequiredUser) -> dict:
+    """`{"states": {model_id: "loaded" | "loading" | "unloaded"}}`.
+
+    Only models this reader may use, so the answer never names a model the
+    menu would not show. Only those whose endpoint reports a state, so a hosted
+    API's models are simply absent. See `services/model_state.py`.
+    """
+    models = chat_service.available_models(db, user)
+    return {"states": await model_state.states_for(models)}

src/lembas/api/pages.py

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from urllib.parse import urlencode
 from zoneinfo import available_timezones
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, Request, Response, status
@@ -727,6 +728,24 @@ async def chat_index(
     if preselected is None and context["models"]:
         preselected = context["models"][0]
 
+    # Every preselection lives in the URL, so every link that changes one of
+    # them has to carry the rest. The temporary toggle used to link to a bare
+    # `/chat?temporary=1` and the model picker to a bare `/chat?model=`, so
+    # each undid the other: temporary chats could only ever be started on the
+    # default model. The model goes last in the picker's URL because ui.js
+    # appends the chosen id to it.
+    carried = {
+        "model": model if model and preselected and preselected.model_id == model else "",
+        "temporary": "1" if temporary else "",
+        "kind": kind if kind in KINDS and kind != KIND_CHAT else "",
+        "folder": starting_folder.id if starting_folder is not None else "",
+    }
+
+    def new_chat_url(**changes: str) -> str:
+        query = urlencode({k: v for k, v in {**carried, **changes}.items() if v})
+        return f"/chat?{query}" if query else "/chat"
+
+    without_model = new_chat_url(model="")
     return render(
         request,
         "chat/index.html",
@@ -736,7 +755,21 @@ async def chat_index(
             "bodies": {},
             **context,
             "current_model": preselected,
+            # `_chat_context` reads the efforts off the *chat's* model, and there
+            # is no chat here -- so every new chat was offered the generic three
+            # whatever it was about to talk to. On Bonsai (low, medium, xhigh)
+            # the configured `xhigh` was not among them, and the picker fell
+            # through to "off". The chat created from this screen then got
+            # `xhigh` anyway, so the control said one thing and the first reply
+            # did another.
+            "efforts": (
+                chat_service.efforts_for(preselected)
+                if preselected
+                else chat_service.DEFAULT_EFFORTS
+            ),
             "starting_temporary": temporary,
+            "temporary_toggle_url": new_chat_url(temporary="" if temporary else "1"),
+            "model_navigate_url": without_model + ("&" if "?" in without_model else "?") + "model=",
             "starting_kind": kind if kind in KINDS else KIND_CHAT,
             "starting_folder": starting_folder,
             "suggestions": suggestions_service.visible(db),

src/lembas/main.py

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ from lembas.api import (
     folders,
     library,
     messages,
+    models,
     pages,
     preferences,
     push,
@@ -204,6 +205,7 @@ def create_app() -> FastAPI:
     app.include_router(folders.router)
     app.include_router(library.router)
     app.include_router(messages.router)
+    app.include_router(models.router)
     app.include_router(reports.router)
     app.include_router(schedules.router)
     app.include_router(agents.router)

src/lembas/services/branding.py

@@ -71,7 +71,11 @@ FLAVOUR: dict[str, tuple[str, str, str]] = {
     "chat_empty": (
         "Empty chat",
         "Above the composer on a chat with nothing in it yet.",
-        "Speak, friend, and enter.",
+        # No commas, on purpose. It is the riddle on the Doors of Durin, and
+        # its answer is to *say* "friend" -- the password is the word itself.
+        # With commas it is an invitation to a friend, which is the misreading
+        # that kept the Fellowship outside the door.
+        "Speak friend and enter.",
     ),
     "offline_title": (
         "Offline heading",
@@ -87,7 +91,7 @@ FLAVOUR: dict[str, tuple[str, str, str]] = {
     "error_403": (
         "403 — not yours",
         "Shown on a page somebody is not allowed to see.",
-        "Speak, friend, and enter. This door is not yours to open.",
+        "Speak friend and enter. This door is not yours to open.",
     ),
     "error_404": (
         "404 — not found",

src/lembas/services/model_state.py

@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+"""Which models are loaded right now, where the endpoint is able to say.
+
+llama-swap holds one model at a time and reports which, inside the ordinary
+`GET /v1/models` answer: every entry carries `"status": {"value": "loaded"}`
+or `"unloaded"`. Choosing a model that is not loaded costs a load (seconds for
+a small one, most of a minute for the 26B), so the model menu shows a dot on
+the one that is ready.
+
+**Only what an endpoint states, and nothing inferred.** The OpenAI spec has
+no such field. A hosted API such as DeepSeek leaves it out because nothing is
+ever unloaded there, so its models get no state and no dot, rather than a
+guess dressed up as a reading. The same shape covers the next runner that
+reports it: `status` as an object with `value`, or as a bare string.
+
+**Cheap by construction**, because the menu asks every time it opens:
+
+- one `/v1/models` per *connection*, not per model, all at once;
+- a short timeout, because a slow endpoint must never hold up a menu;
+- five seconds of cache per connection, so opening the menu repeatedly costs
+  one request;
+- and ten minutes for a connection that said nothing about state, so a hosted
+  API is not asked for its model list on every click only to answer nothing
+  again.
+
+Process-level, like the branding cache. With several workers each keeps its
+own, which costs at most one extra request each and cannot be wrong for longer
+than the TTL.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import logging
+import time
+from typing import Any
+
+from lembas.services.llm.openai_client import Endpoint, list_models
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+TIMEOUT = 3.0
+TTL = 5.0
+TTL_SILENT = 600.0
+
+LOADED = "loaded"
+LOADING = "loading"
+UNLOADED = "unloaded"
+
+_LOADED_WORDS = frozenset({"loaded", "ready", "running"})
+_LOADING_WORDS = frozenset({"loading", "starting"})
+
+# connection id -> (monotonic time read, TTL, {model_id: state})
+_CACHE: dict[str, tuple[float, float, dict[str, str]]] = {}
+
+
+def state_of(entry: dict[str, Any]) -> str:
+    """One `/v1/models` entry's state, or "" when it states none."""
+    status = entry.get("status")
+    value = status.get("value") if isinstance(status, dict) else status
+    if not isinstance(value, str) or not value.strip():
+        return ""
+    word = value.strip().lower()
+    if word in _LOADED_WORDS:
+        return LOADED
+    if word in _LOADING_WORDS:
+        return LOADING
+    return UNLOADED
+
+
+async def _read(connection) -> dict[str, str]:
+    now = time.monotonic()
+    cached = _CACHE.get(connection.id)
+    if cached and now - cached[0] < cached[1]:
+        return cached[2]
+    try:
+        entries = await asyncio.wait_for(
+            list_models(Endpoint.from_connection(connection)), TIMEOUT
+        )
+    except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 - an unreachable endpoint has no state, not an error page
+        log.debug("model state unavailable for %s", connection.name, exc_info=True)
+        # Not cached: the next open asks again, which is right for an endpoint
+        # that is merely starting up.
+        return {}
+    states = {entry["id"]: state for entry in entries if (state := state_of(entry))}
+    _CACHE[connection.id] = (now, TTL if states else TTL_SILENT, states)
+    return states
+
+
+async def states_for(models) -> dict[str, str]:
+    """`{model_id: state}` for the models whose endpoint reports one.
+
+    Models without a stated state are absent, not `""`, so the page can treat
+    "no key" as "draw nothing".
+    """
+    connections = {}
+    for model in models:
+        connection = getattr(model, "connection", None)
+        if connection is not None and connection.enabled:
+            connections[connection.id] = connection
+    if not connections:
+        return {}
+    results = await asyncio.gather(*(_read(c) for c in connections.values()))
+    by_connection = dict(zip(connections, results, strict=True))
+    out: dict[str, str] = {}
+    for model in models:
+        state = by_connection.get(model.connection_id, {}).get(model.model_id)
+        if state:
+            out[model.model_id] = state
+    return out
+
+
+def forget() -> None:
+    """Drop the cache. For tests."""
+    _CACHE.clear()

src/lembas/web/i18n/sk.py

@@ -681,6 +681,8 @@ MESSAGES.update(
         "Model": "Model",
         "Context window": "Kontextové okno",
         "Sees images": "Vidí obrázky",
+        "Loaded": "Načítaný",
+        "Loading": "Načítava sa",
         "Groups": "Skupiny",
         "Members": "Členovia",
         "Account": "Účet",

src/lembas/web/static/css/app.css

@@ -1775,6 +1775,33 @@ body.is-resizing .canvas__body { pointer-events: none; }
   gap: inherit;
 }
 .picker__list--models .picker__option .picker__avatar { margin-top: 0; }
+
+/* Whether a model is loaded, where its endpoint says so (llama-swap does; a
+   hosted API does not, and gets nothing). A dot on the avatar's corner, ringed
+   in the menu's own surface so it reads against any avatar colour. Nothing is
+   drawn until ui.js has an answer -- an empty `data-model-state` is "unknown",
+   which is not the same claim as "unloaded". */
+.model-slot { position: relative; display: flex; flex: none; }
+.model-state {
+  position: absolute;
+  right: calc(var(--model-state-size) / -3);
+  bottom: calc(var(--model-state-size) / -3);
+  width: var(--model-state-size);
+  height: var(--model-state-size);
+  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
+  box-shadow: 0 0 0 var(--outline-w) var(--surface);
+  display: none;
+}
+.model-slot[data-model-state="loaded"] .model-state { display: block; background: var(--model-state-loaded); }
+.model-slot[data-model-state="loading"] .model-state {
+  display: block;
+  background: var(--model-state-loading);
+  animation: model-state-pulse var(--dur-slow) var(--ease-in-out) infinite;
+}
+@keyframes model-state-pulse { 50% { opacity: 0.35; } }
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+  .model-slot[data-model-state="loading"] .model-state { animation: none; }
+}
 .picker__list--models .picker__option-name { min-width: 0; }
 .model-ctx {
   font-size: var(--text-xs);

src/lembas/web/static/css/chat.css

@@ -1003,9 +1003,17 @@
   flex-direction: column;
   justify-content: flex-end;
 }
-/* position: relative anchors the `@` and `/` menu to the box. */
+/* position: relative anchors the `@` and `/` menu to the box.
+
+   `width: 100%` is the width; `max-width` only caps it. Without it the box was
+   as wide as its widest content: `.composer` is a flex column, and auto margins
+   on a flex item switch off the stretch it would otherwise get. So the hint
+   under it decided. "GPT-OSS has no vision, so images will not be sent" made
+   the box 768px, and the same screen with a model that sees images made it
+   538px. */
 .composer__inner {
   position: relative;
+  width: 100%;
   max-width: var(--thread-max-width);
   margin: 0 auto;
 }

src/lembas/web/static/css/tokens.css

@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@
   --radius-xl: 18px;
   --radius-full: 999px;
 
+  /* The load-state dot on a model's avatar in the model menu. Its colours are
+     tokens of their own, defaulting to the theme's success and warning, so
+     an instance whose success colour is not green can still say "loaded" in
+     green -- that is what people read a dot beside a name as. */
+  --model-state-size: 0.625rem;
+  --model-state-loaded: var(--success);
+  --model-state-loading: var(--warning);
+
   /*
     --- Controls ----------------------------------------------------------
     Every button, input and select resolves its height from these. That is the

src/lembas/web/static/js/commands.js

@@ -222,7 +222,16 @@
     {
       name: "temp",
       summary: "Start a temporary chat, gone after a day",
-      run: function () { window.location = "/chat?temporary=1"; }
+      run: function () {
+        /* On the new-chat screen the model, folder and kind already chosen are
+           in the query string. Add the flag to them rather than starting over,
+           or the chat is made on the default model. */
+        var query = new URLSearchParams(
+          window.location.pathname === "/chat" ? window.location.search : ""
+        );
+        query.set("temporary", "1");
+        window.location = "/chat?" + query.toString();
+      }
     },
     {
       name: "stop",

src/lembas/web/static/js/ui.js

@@ -334,6 +334,45 @@
     // Keep the chosen model in view when the list is long.
     var current = menu.querySelector(".picker__option.is-selected");
     if (current) current.scrollIntoView({ block: "nearest" });
+    refreshStates(menu);
+  }
+
+  /* Which models are loaded, asked for each time the model menu opens --
+     llama-swap holds one at a time and it changes by the minute, so a value
+     rendered with the page would be stale by the time anybody looked. Only
+     models whose endpoint reports a state come back; everything else keeps an
+     empty `data-model-state`, which draws nothing. While one is loading the
+     menu asks again every two seconds, and stops when it closes. */
+  function refreshStates(menu) {
+    var list = menu.querySelector(".picker__list--models");
+    if (!list || !window.fetch) return;
+    clearTimeout(menu._stateTimer);
+    fetch("/api/models/state", {
+      credentials: "same-origin",
+      headers: { Accept: "application/json" }
+    }).then(function (response) {
+      return response.ok ? response.json() : null;
+    }).then(function (data) {
+      var states = (data && data.states) || {};
+      var loading = false;
+      list.querySelectorAll(".picker__option[data-model-id]").forEach(function (option) {
+        var slot = option.querySelector("[data-model-state]");
+        if (!slot) return;
+        var state = states[option.dataset.modelId] || "";
+        slot.dataset.modelState = state;
+        if (state === "loading") loading = true;
+        var label = slot.querySelector("[data-model-state-label]");
+        if (label) {
+          label.textContent = state === "loaded" ? list.dataset.labelLoaded
+            : state === "loading" ? list.dataset.labelLoading : "";
+        }
+      });
+      if (loading && !menu.hidden) {
+        menu._stateTimer = setTimeout(function () {
+          if (!menu.hidden) refreshStates(menu);
+        }, 2000);
+      }
+    }).catch(function () { /* No state is a menu without dots, not an error. */ });
   }
 
   function applyFilter(menu, needle) {

src/lembas/web/templates/chat/_model_picker.html

@@ -38,14 +38,28 @@
     </div>
     {% endif %}
 
-    <div class="picker__list picker__list--models">
+    <div class="picker__list picker__list--models"
+         data-label-loaded="{{ t('Loaded') }}" data-label-loading="{{ t('Loading') }}">
       {% for model in models %}
       <button class="picker__option {{ 'is-selected' if current_model and model.model_id == current_model.model_id }}"
               type="button" role="option"
               aria-selected="{{ 'true' if current_model and model.model_id == current_model.model_id else 'false' }}"
               data-picker-value="{{ model.model_id }}"
-              data-picker-search="{{ model.label|lower }} {{ model.model_id|lower }}">
+              data-picker-search="{{ model.label|lower }} {{ model.model_id|lower }}"
-        {{ model_avatar(model, cls="picker__avatar") }}
+              data-model-id="{{ model.model_id }}">
+        {#
+          The avatar in a slot of its own size, carrying the load-state dot on
+          its corner. A dot there takes no track, so the columns the context
+          sizes and the eyes line up on are the ones they had. The state is
+          fetched when the menu opens (ui.js, /api/models/state) rather than
+          rendered here: it changes by the minute, and asking every endpoint on
+          every page render would put a network call in front of each page.
+        #}
+        <span class="model-slot" data-model-state="">
+          {{ model_avatar(model, cls="picker__avatar") }}
+          <span class="model-state" aria-hidden="true"></span>
+          <span class="visually-hidden" data-model-state-label></span>
+        </span>
         <span class="picker__option-name">
           <span class="truncate">{{ model.label }}</span>
           {% if model.pinned %}{{ icon("pin", "icon--sm picker__pin") }}{% endif %}
@@ -77,7 +91,9 @@
   </form>
   {% else %}
   {# No chat yet: selecting navigates so the whole composer re-renders with the
-     right vision warning and the right hidden model_id. #}
+     right vision warning and the right hidden model_id. The URL carries the
-  <span hidden data-picker-navigate="/chat?model="></span>
+     other preselections -- temporary, folder, kind -- and ends in `model=`,
+     which ui.js completes. #}
+  <span hidden data-picker-navigate="{{ model_navigate_url }}"></span>
   {% endif %}
 </div>

src/lembas/web/templates/chat/index.html

@@ -65,11 +65,12 @@
       <div class="topbar__actions">
         {#
           A link, not a script: the flag lives in the URL, so it survives a
-          reload and can be bookmarked.
+          reload and can be bookmarked. The URL is built in `chat_index` so it
+          keeps the chosen model, folder and kind.
         #}
         {% if not chat and can.get("chat.create") %}
         <a class="btn btn--icon {{ 'is-active' if starting_temporary }}"
-           href="{{ '/chat' if starting_temporary else '/chat?temporary=1' }}"
+           href="{{ temporary_toggle_url }}"
            aria-label="{{ t('Temporary chat') }}"
            title="{% if starting_temporary %}Starting a temporary chat. Click to go back to a normal one.{% else %}Start a temporary chat: not listed in the sidebar, and removed after a day.{% endif %}">
           {{ icon("clock") }}

tests/test_branding.py

@@ -448,3 +448,16 @@ def test_only_an_administrator_may_customise(db, client, registered):
 
     for path in ("identity", "flavour", "css", "themes"):
         assert client.post(f"/admin/customization/{path}", data={}).status_code == 403
+
+
+def test_the_doors_of_durin_are_a_riddle_not_a_greeting():
+    """"Speak, friend, and enter" invites a friend to speak. The inscription is a
+    riddle whose answer is to say the word *friend*, so the shipped line has no
+    commas. The owner caught it, and the commas must not come back in a
+    tidy-up."""
+    from lembas.services.branding import FLAVOUR
+
+    for key in ("chat_empty", "error_403"):
+        line = FLAVOUR[key][2]
+        assert line.startswith("Speak friend and enter.")
+        assert "Speak, friend" not in line

tests/test_commands_js.py

@@ -58,3 +58,12 @@ def test_send_from_anywhere_never_means_stop():
     stops."""
     window = SOURCE[SOURCE.index('event.code === "Enter"') :][:600]
     assert 'composerAction === "send"' in window
+
+
+def test_temp_keeps_what_the_new_chat_screen_already_chose():
+    """`/temp` went to a bare `/chat?temporary=1`, so on a new-chat screen with
+    a model picked it quietly swapped back to the default model."""
+    window = SOURCE[SOURCE.index('name: "temp"') :][:600]
+    assert 'window.location = "/chat?temporary=1"' not in window
+    assert "window.location.search" in window
+    assert 'query.set("temporary", "1")' in window

tests/test_effort.py

@@ -582,3 +582,25 @@ def test_an_endpoint_with_no_props_leaves_the_list_alone(client, db, registered,
 
     db.expire_all()
     assert db.get(Model, model.id).reasoning_efforts == ["low", "high"]
+
+
+def test_a_new_chat_offers_the_models_own_efforts(client: TestClient, db, registered):
+    """`/chat?model=` offered the generic three whatever the model took.
+
+    On Bonsai (low, medium, xhigh, default xhigh) that drew `high`, which it
+    rejects, and no `xhigh`, so the configured default was not an option and
+    the picker fell through to "off". The chat created from that screen got
+    `xhigh` anyway, so the control said one thing and the first reply did
+    another. Reported from the live instance.
+    """
+    model = _model(db)
+    model.model_id = "bonsai"
+    model.reasoning_efforts = ["low", "medium", "xhigh"]
+    model.params_json = {"reasoning_effort": "xhigh"}
+    db.commit()
+
+    html = client.get("/chat?model=bonsai").text.replace("\n", "").replace("  ", "")
+
+    assert '<option value="xhigh" selected>' in html
+    assert '<option value="high"' not in html
+    assert '<option value="off" selected' not in html

tests/test_model_state.py

@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+"""The load-state dot in the model menu: only what an endpoint states.
+
+llama-swap reports `"status": {"value": "loaded" | "unloaded"}` on every entry
+of `GET /v1/models`, verified against the live one on 2026-09-28. A hosted API
+such as DeepSeek has no such field, so its models must get no state at all --
+not "unloaded", which would be a claim nobody made.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+
+import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from lembas.db.models import Connection, Model
+from lembas.services import model_state
+
+LLAMA_SWAP = [
+    {"id": "bonsai", "status": {"value": "loaded"}},
+    {"id": "gpt-oss", "status": {"value": "unloaded"}},
+    {"id": "qwen36", "status": {"value": "starting"}},
+]
+HOSTED = [{"id": "deepseek-flash", "object": "model"}]
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _fresh_cache():
+    model_state.forget()
+    yield
+    model_state.forget()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("entry", "state"),
+    [
+        ({"status": {"value": "loaded"}}, "loaded"),
+        ({"status": {"value": "ready"}}, "loaded"),
+        ({"status": "loaded"}, "loaded"),
+        ({"status": {"value": "starting"}}, "loading"),
+        ({"status": {"value": "unloaded"}}, "unloaded"),
+        ({"status": {"value": "stopped"}}, "unloaded"),
+        ({}, ""),
+        ({"status": {}}, ""),
+        ({"status": 3}, ""),
+    ],
+)
+def test_state_is_read_from_the_entry_or_not_at_all(entry, state):
+    assert model_state.state_of({"id": "x", **entry}) == state
+
+
+def _two_connections(db):
+    local = Connection(name="llama", base_url="http://llama.test/v1", api_key_encrypted="")
+    hosted = Connection(name="deepseek", base_url="http://hosted.test/v1", api_key_encrypted="")
+    db.add_all([local, hosted])
+    db.commit()
+    served = ((local, ("bonsai", "gpt-oss", "qwen36")), (hosted, ("deepseek-flash",)))
+    for connection, ids in served:
+        for model_id in ids:
+            db.add(Model(connection_id=connection.id, model_id=model_id))
+    db.commit()
+    return local, hosted
+
+
+def _fake_endpoints(monkeypatch, calls):
+    async def fake(endpoint):
+        calls.append(endpoint.base_url)
+        return LLAMA_SWAP if "llama" in endpoint.base_url else HOSTED
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(model_state, "list_models", fake)
+
+
+def test_only_models_whose_endpoint_states_one_get_a_state(
+    client: TestClient, db, registered, monkeypatch
+):
+    _two_connections(db)
+    calls: list[str] = []
+    _fake_endpoints(monkeypatch, calls)
+
+    states = client.get("/api/models/state").json()["states"]
+
+    assert states == {"bonsai": "loaded", "gpt-oss": "unloaded", "qwen36": "loading"}
+    assert "deepseek-flash" not in states
+    # One request per connection, not per model.
+    assert sorted(calls) == ["http://hosted.test/v1", "http://llama.test/v1"]
+
+
+def test_a_silent_endpoint_is_not_asked_again_on_every_open(
+    client: TestClient, db, registered, monkeypatch
+):
+    """A hosted API answers with no state every time. Asking it on each click
+    only to hear nothing again is a request to a third party for no reason."""
+    _two_connections(db)
+    calls: list[str] = []
+    _fake_endpoints(monkeypatch, calls)
+
+    client.get("/api/models/state")
+    client.get("/api/models/state")
+
+    assert calls.count("http://hosted.test/v1") == 1
+
+
+def test_an_unreachable_endpoint_is_a_menu_without_dots(
+    client: TestClient, db, registered, monkeypatch
+):
+    _two_connections(db)
+
+    async def broken(endpoint):
+        raise OSError("connection refused")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(model_state, "list_models", broken)
+    response = client.get("/api/models/state")
+
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    assert response.json() == {"states": {}}
+
+
+def test_a_slow_endpoint_cannot_hold_the_menu(db, monkeypatch):
+    connection = Connection(name="slow", base_url="http://slow.test/v1", api_key_encrypted="")
+    db.add(connection)
+    db.commit()
+    db.add(Model(connection_id=connection.id, model_id="m"))
+    db.commit()
+
+    async def slow(endpoint):
+        await asyncio.sleep(10)
+        return LLAMA_SWAP
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(model_state, "list_models", slow)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(model_state, "TIMEOUT", 0.05)
+    models = db.query(Model).all()
+
+    assert asyncio.run(model_state.states_for(models)) == {}
+
+
+def test_the_menu_has_a_slot_for_every_model(client: TestClient, db, registered):
+    """Every option emits the slot, whatever its endpoint says: the dot is
+    placed by ui.js after the menu opens, so a model with no slot could never
+    show one."""
+    _two_connections(db)
+    html = client.get("/chat").text
+
+    for model_id in ("bonsai", "gpt-oss", "qwen36", "deepseek-flash"):
+        start = html.index(f'data-model-id="{model_id}"')
+        option = html[start : html.index("</button>", start)]
+        assert 'data-model-state=""' in option
+    assert "data-label-loaded=" in html
+
+
+def test_the_state_needs_a_signed_in_reader(client: TestClient):
+    response = client.get("/api/models/state", follow_redirects=False)
+    assert response.status_code in (401, 303, 307)

tests/test_temporary_chat.py

@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import html
+import re
 from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
 
 from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
@@ -100,6 +102,59 @@ def test_the_new_chat_screen_carries_the_flag(client: TestClient, db, registered
     assert 'name="temporary"' in client.get("/chat?temporary=1").text
 
 
+def _temporary_link(page: str) -> str:
+    match = re.search(r'href="([^"]*)"\s+aria-label="Temporary chat"', page)
+    assert match, "no temporary toggle on the page"
+    return html.unescape(match.group(1))
+
+
+def _picker_url(page: str) -> str:
+    match = re.search(r'data-picker-navigate="([^"]*)"', page)
+    assert match, "no navigating model picker on the page"
+    return html.unescape(match.group(1))
+
+
+def test_the_temporary_toggle_keeps_the_chosen_model(client: TestClient, db, registered):
+    """Temporary chats could only be started on the default model: the toggle
+    linked to a bare `/chat?temporary=1`, so the model picked a moment before
+    was dropped."""
+    connection = _connection(db)
+    db.add(Model(connection_id=connection.id, model_id="other-model"))
+    db.commit()
+
+    on = _temporary_link(client.get("/chat?model=other-model").text)
+    assert "model=other-model" in on and "temporary=1" in on
+    assert 'name="model_id" value="other-model"' in client.get(on).text
+
+    off = _temporary_link(client.get(on).text)
+    assert "model=other-model" in off and "temporary" not in off
+
+
+def test_choosing_a_model_keeps_the_temporary_flag(client: TestClient, db, registered):
+    """The other half: the picker navigated to a bare `/chat?model=`, so
+    picking a model after the toggle quietly made the chat an ordinary one."""
+    connection = _connection(db)
+    db.add(Model(connection_id=connection.id, model_id="other-model"))
+    db.commit()
+
+    url = _picker_url(client.get("/chat?temporary=1").text)
+    assert url.endswith("model=")
+    page = client.get(url + "other-model").text
+    assert 'name="temporary"' in page
+    assert 'name="model_id" value="other-model"' in page
+    assert _picker_url(client.get("/chat").text) == "/chat?model="
+
+
+def test_both_links_keep_the_folder(client: TestClient, db, registered):
+    _connection(db)
+    client.post("/api/folders", data={"name": "Quests"})
+    folder = db.scalar(select(Folder))
+
+    page = client.get(f"/chat?folder={folder.id}").text
+    assert f"folder={folder.id}" in _temporary_link(page)
+    assert f"folder={folder.id}" in _picker_url(page)
+
+
 def test_starting_a_temporary_chat_sets_the_flag(client: TestClient, db, registered):
     _connection(db)
     client.post("/api/chats/start", data={"content": "hello", "temporary": "true"})

tests/test_ui_js.py

@@ -219,6 +219,19 @@ def test_the_tab_bar_edge_fade_is_covered_when_nothing_overflows():
     assert solid >= float(shadow.group(1)) == float(sizes.group(2))
 
 
+def test_the_composer_is_as_wide_as_its_column_not_its_hint():
+    """With `max-width` and auto margins alone, the box was as wide as its
+    widest content inside a flex column, so the vision hint under it decided:
+    768px for GPT-OSS ("has no vision, so images will not be sent") and 538px
+    for a model that sees images. Reported from the live instance with four
+    screenshots."""
+    chat = (ROOT / "web/static/css/chat.css").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    start = chat.index(".composer__inner {")
+    rule = chat[start : chat.index("}", start)]
+    assert "width: 100%" in rule
+    assert "max-width: var(--thread-max-width)" in rule
+
+
 def test_the_two_ends_of_the_shell_stay_level():
     """The sidebar footer and the composer sit either side of the same vertical
     edge and are both content-sized, so without a common floor they end at