diff --git a/core/config/model_config.go b/core/config/model_config.go
index 33fe12d21..533da24ec 100644
--- a/core/config/model_config.go
+++ b/core/config/model_config.go
@@ -302,6 +302,26 @@ const (
 	ProxyProviderAnthropic = "anthropic"
 )
 
+// ResolveAPIKey returns the upstream key from api_key_env or api_key_file, or
+// "" when neither is set. The cloud-proxy backend applies the same rules.
+func (p ProxyConfig) ResolveAPIKey() (string, error) {
+	switch {
+	case p.APIKeyEnv != "":
+		v, ok := os.LookupEnv(p.APIKeyEnv)
+		if !ok {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("proxy api_key_env %q is not set", p.APIKeyEnv)
+		}
+		return v, nil
+	case p.APIKeyFile != "":
+		b, err := os.ReadFile(p.APIKeyFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("proxy api_key_file: %w", err)
+		}
+		return strings.TrimSpace(string(b)), nil
+	}
+	return "", nil
+}
+
 // IsCloudProxyBackendPassthrough reports whether this model uses the
 // cloud-proxy gRPC backend in passthrough mode. Empty Mode counts as
 // passthrough (SetDefaults normalises it, but Validate accepts empty
diff --git a/core/config/model_config_failover_test.go b/core/config/model_config_failover_test.go
index e79ed5f45..fe34c5c66 100644
--- a/core/config/model_config_failover_test.go
+++ b/core/config/model_config_failover_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 package config
 
 import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
@@ -66,3 +68,22 @@ failover:
 		Entry("no name", func(c *ModelConfig) { c.Name = "" }, "requires a name"),
 	)
 })
+
+var _ = Describe("ProxyConfig.ResolveAPIKey", func() {
+	It("reads the env var", func() {
+		GinkgoT().Setenv("FAILOVER_TEST_KEY", "k1")
+		Expect(ProxyConfig{APIKeyEnv: "FAILOVER_TEST_KEY"}.ResolveAPIKey()).To(Equal("k1"))
+	})
+	It("fails on an unset env var", func() {
+		_, err := ProxyConfig{APIKeyEnv: "FAILOVER_TEST_UNSET_KEY"}.ResolveAPIKey()
+		Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
+	})
+	It("reads and trims the key file", func() {
+		f := filepath.Join(GinkgoT().TempDir(), "key")
+		Expect(os.WriteFile(f, []byte(" k2\n"), 0o600)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(ProxyConfig{APIKeyFile: f}.ResolveAPIKey()).To(Equal("k2"))
+	})
+	It("returns empty when nothing is set", func() {
+		Expect(ProxyConfig{}.ResolveAPIKey()).To(Equal(""))
+	})
+})
diff --git a/core/services/failover/prober.go b/core/services/failover/prober.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b3055c17f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/services/failover/prober.go
@@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
+package failover
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"io/fs"
+	"mime/multipart"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/grpc"
+	pb "github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/grpc/proto"
+)
+
+// LoadFunc returns the backend for a local target, loading it if needed.
+type LoadFunc func(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig) (grpc.Backend, error)
+
+// DefaultProber probes remote targets over the upstream's OpenAI-compatible
+// API and local targets through their gRPC backend.
+type DefaultProber struct {
+	HTTP      *http.Client
+	Load      LoadFunc
+	ModelPath string
+}
+
+func NewProber(load LoadFunc, modelPath string) *DefaultProber {
+	return &DefaultProber{HTTP: &http.Client{}, Load: load, ModelPath: modelPath}
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) Liveness(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig, kind Kind, warm bool) error {
+	switch {
+	case kind == KindRemote:
+		return p.remoteLiveness(ctx, cfg)
+	case warm:
+		return p.localHealth(ctx, cfg)
+	}
+	return p.coldLiveness(cfg)
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) Inference(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig, kind Kind, warm bool) error {
+	if kind == KindRemote {
+		return p.remoteInference(ctx, cfg)
+	}
+	return p.localInference(ctx, cfg)
+}
+
+// UpstreamBase strips the endpoint path from a cloud-proxy upstream_url:
+// everything from "/v1" on, so a path prefix before it survives.
+func UpstreamBase(raw string) (string, error) {
+	u, err := url.Parse(raw)
+	if err != nil || u.Scheme == "" || u.Host == "" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid upstream_url %q", raw)
+	}
+	path := u.Path
+	if i := strings.Index(path, "/v1"); i >= 0 {
+		path = path[:i]
+	}
+	return u.Scheme + "://" + u.Host + strings.TrimSuffix(path, "/"), nil
+}
+
+// UpstreamModel is the model name the upstream knows the target by.
+func UpstreamModel(cfg config.ModelConfig) string {
+	if cfg.Proxy.UpstreamModel != "" {
+		return cfg.Proxy.UpstreamModel
+	}
+	return cfg.Name
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) authorize(req *http.Request, cfg config.ModelConfig) error {
+	key, err := cfg.Proxy.ResolveAPIKey()
+	if err != nil || key == "" {
+		return err
+	}
+	if cfg.Proxy.Provider == config.ProxyProviderAnthropic {
+		req.Header.Set("x-api-key", key)
+		req.Header.Set("anthropic-version", "2023-06-01")
+		return nil
+	}
+	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+key)
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) do(req *http.Request, cfg config.ModelConfig) (*http.Response, error) {
+	if err := p.authorize(req, cfg); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	resp, err := p.HTTP.Do(req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if resp.StatusCode/100 != 2 {
+		resp.Body.Close()
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("upstream %s: HTTP %d", req.URL.Path, resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+	return resp, nil
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) remoteLiveness(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig) error {
+	base, err := UpstreamBase(cfg.Proxy.UpstreamURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, base+"/v1/models", nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	resp, err := p.do(req, cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	var list struct {
+		Data []struct {
+			ID string `json:"id"`
+		} `json:"data"`
+	}
+	if err := json.NewDecoder(io.LimitReader(resp.Body, 4<<20)).Decode(&list); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("upstream /v1/models: %w", err)
+	}
+	want := UpstreamModel(cfg)
+	for _, d := range list.Data {
+		if d.ID == want {
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("upstream does not list model %q", want)
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) remoteInference(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig) error {
+	base, err := UpstreamBase(cfg.Proxy.UpstreamURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	model := UpstreamModel(cfg)
+	ping := []map[string]string{{"role": "user", "content": "ping"}}
+	switch {
+	case cfg.HasUsecases(config.FLAG_CHAT) || cfg.HasUsecases(config.FLAG_COMPLETION):
+		if cfg.Proxy.Provider == config.ProxyProviderAnthropic {
+			return p.postJSON(ctx, cfg, base+"/v1/messages", map[string]any{"model": model, "max_tokens": 1, "messages": ping})
+		}
+		return p.postJSON(ctx, cfg, base+"/v1/chat/completions", map[string]any{"model": model, "max_tokens": 1, "messages": ping})
+	case cfg.HasUsecases(config.FLAG_EMBEDDINGS):
+		return p.postJSON(ctx, cfg, base+"/v1/embeddings", map[string]any{"model": model, "input": "ping"})
+	case cfg.HasUsecases(config.FLAG_TRANSCRIPT):
+		return p.postTranscription(ctx, cfg, base, model)
+	case cfg.HasUsecases(config.FLAG_TTS):
+		return p.postJSON(ctx, cfg, base+"/v1/audio/speech", map[string]any{"model": model, "input": "ok"})
+	}
+	// Image, video and other costly usecases: liveness is the confirmation.
+	return p.remoteLiveness(ctx, cfg)
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) postJSON(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig, endpoint string, body any) error {
+	b, err := json.Marshal(body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodPost, endpoint, bytes.NewReader(b))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+	resp, err := p.do(req, cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, io.LimitReader(resp.Body, 1<<20))
+	return resp.Body.Close()
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) postTranscription(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig, base, model string) error {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	mw := multipart.NewWriter(&buf)
+	_ = mw.WriteField("model", model)
+	fw, err := mw.CreateFormFile("file", "probe.wav")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	_, _ = fw.Write(silenceWAV())
+	if err := mw.Close(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodPost, base+"/v1/audio/transcriptions", &buf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", mw.FormDataContentType())
+	resp, err := p.do(req, cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, io.LimitReader(resp.Body, 1<<20))
+	return resp.Body.Close()
+}
+
+// silenceWAV is 200 ms of 16 kHz mono 16-bit silence.
+func silenceWAV() []byte {
+	const rate, samples = 16000, 3200
+	data := samples * 2
+	b := make([]byte, 44+data)
+	copy(b[0:], "RIFF")
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint32(b[4:], uint32(36+data))
+	copy(b[8:], "WAVE")
+	copy(b[12:], "fmt ")
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint32(b[16:], 16)
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint16(b[20:], 1) // PCM
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint16(b[22:], 1) // mono
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint32(b[24:], rate)
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint32(b[28:], rate*2)
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint16(b[32:], 2)
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint16(b[34:], 16)
+	copy(b[36:], "data")
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint32(b[40:], uint32(data))
+	return b
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) localHealth(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig) error {
+	if p.Load == nil {
+		return errors.New("failover: no backend loader configured")
+	}
+	// Load returns the running backend, or starts it again after a crash.
+	b, err := p.Load(ctx, cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	ok, err := b.HealthCheck(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if !ok {
+		return errors.New("backend health check failed")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (p *DefaultProber) localInference(ctx context.Context, cfg config.ModelConfig) error {
+	if p.Load == nil {
+		return errors.New("failover: no backend loader configured")
+	}
+	b, err := p.Load(ctx, cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	switch {
+	case cfg.HasUsecases(config.FLAG_CHAT) || cfg.HasUsecases(config.FLAG_COMPLETION):
+		_, err = b.Predict(ctx, &pb.PredictOptions{Prompt: "ping", Tokens: 1})
+		return err
+	case cfg.HasUsecases(config.FLAG_EMBEDDINGS):
+		_, err = b.Embeddings(ctx, &pb.PredictOptions{Embeddings: "ping"})
+		return err
+	}
+	// A backend process that answers HealthCheck rarely fails only for TTS or
+	// transcription, so a real request adds little here.
+	return p.localHealth(ctx, cfg)
+}
+
+// coldLiveness checks the model file without loading the model.
+func (p *DefaultProber) coldLiveness(cfg config.ModelConfig) error {
+	f := cfg.Model
+	if f == "" || p.ModelPath == "" || strings.Contains(f, "://") {
+		return nil
+	}
+	path := f
+	if !filepath.IsAbs(path) {
+		path = filepath.Join(p.ModelPath, f)
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) && filepath.Ext(f) == "" {
+			return nil // a repository id, downloaded on demand
+		}
+		return fmt.Errorf("model file %s: %w", f, err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/core/services/failover/prober_test.go b/core/services/failover/prober_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2b8b7f42d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/services/failover/prober_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+package failover
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/grpc"
+	pb "github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/grpc/proto"
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+	ggrpc "google.golang.org/grpc"
+)
+
+type fakeUpstream struct {
+	mu     sync.Mutex
+	srv    *httptest.Server
+	models []string
+	status int
+	paths  []string
+	auth   string
+}
+
+func newFakeUpstream() *fakeUpstream {
+	u := &fakeUpstream{status: http.StatusOK}
+	u.srv = httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		u.mu.Lock()
+		u.paths = append(u.paths, r.Method+" "+r.URL.Path)
+		u.auth = r.Header.Get("Authorization")
+		status, models := u.status, u.models
+		u.mu.Unlock()
+		_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, r.Body)
+		if status != http.StatusOK {
+			w.WriteHeader(status)
+			return
+		}
+		if r.URL.Path == "/v1/models" {
+			var data []map[string]string
+			for _, m := range models {
+				data = append(data, map[string]string{"id": m})
+			}
+			_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]any{"data": data})
+			return
+		}
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{}`))
+	}))
+	return u
+}
+
+type fakeBackend struct {
+	grpc.Backend
+	healthy    bool
+	predictErr error
+	predicted  bool
+}
+
+func (b *fakeBackend) HealthCheck(context.Context) (bool, error) { return b.healthy, nil }
+func (b *fakeBackend) Predict(context.Context, *pb.PredictOptions, ...ggrpc.CallOption) (*pb.Reply, error) {
+	b.predicted = true
+	return &pb.Reply{}, b.predictErr
+}
+
+var _ = Describe("DefaultProber", func() {
+	var (
+		up  *fakeUpstream
+		p   *DefaultProber
+		ctx = context.Background()
+	)
+
+	BeforeEach(func() {
+		up = newFakeUpstream()
+		DeferCleanup(up.srv.Close)
+		p = NewProber(nil, "")
+	})
+
+	proxied := func(name, upstreamModel string, usecases ...string) config.ModelConfig {
+		c := config.ModelConfig{Name: name, Backend: "cloud-proxy", KnownUsecaseStrings: usecases}
+		c.KnownUsecases = config.GetUsecasesFromYAML(usecases)
+		c.Proxy.UpstreamURL = up.srv.URL + "/v1/chat/completions"
+		c.Proxy.UpstreamModel = upstreamModel
+		return c
+	}
+
+	DescribeTable("UpstreamBase",
+		func(in, want string) {
+			got, err := UpstreamBase(in)
+			Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+			Expect(got).To(Equal(want))
+		},
+		Entry("full endpoint", "https://h:8080/v1/chat/completions", "https://h:8080"),
+		Entry("path prefix", "https://h/api/v1/chat/completions", "https://h/api"),
+		Entry("bare host", "https://h", "https://h"),
+		Entry("bare host slash", "https://h/", "https://h"),
+	)
+
+	It("passes liveness when the upstream lists the model", func() {
+		up.models = []string{"big-llm"}
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, proxied("argus-llm", "big-llm"), KindRemote, false)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(up.paths).To(ContainElement("GET /v1/models"))
+	})
+
+	It("uses the target name when upstream_model is empty", func() {
+		up.models = []string{"argus-llm"}
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, proxied("argus-llm", ""), KindRemote, false)).To(Succeed())
+	})
+
+	It("fails liveness when the model is not listed or the upstream errors", func() {
+		up.models = []string{"other"}
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, proxied("argus-llm", ""), KindRemote, false)).To(MatchError(ContainSubstring("does not list")))
+		up.status = http.StatusServiceUnavailable
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, proxied("argus-llm", ""), KindRemote, false)).To(MatchError(ContainSubstring("503")))
+	})
+
+	It("sends the API key as a bearer token", func() {
+		GinkgoT().Setenv("FAILOVER_PROBE_KEY", "sekret")
+		up.models = []string{"argus-llm"}
+		c := proxied("argus-llm", "")
+		c.Proxy.APIKeyEnv = "FAILOVER_PROBE_KEY"
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, c, KindRemote, false)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(up.auth).To(Equal("Bearer sekret"))
+	})
+
+	DescribeTable("remote inference hits the usecase endpoint",
+		func(usecase, path string) {
+			Expect(p.Inference(ctx, proxied("m", "", usecase), KindRemote, false)).To(Succeed())
+			Expect(up.paths).To(ContainElement("POST " + path))
+		},
+		Entry("chat", "chat", "/v1/chat/completions"),
+		Entry("embeddings", "embeddings", "/v1/embeddings"),
+		Entry("transcription", "transcript", "/v1/audio/transcriptions"),
+		Entry("tts", "tts", "/v1/audio/speech"),
+	)
+
+	It("uses HealthCheck for warm local liveness and Predict for local chat inference", func() {
+		b := &fakeBackend{healthy: true}
+		p = NewProber(func(context.Context, config.ModelConfig) (grpc.Backend, error) { return b, nil }, "")
+		c := config.ModelConfig{Name: "gemma", Backend: "llama-cpp", KnownUsecaseStrings: []string{"chat"}}
+		c.KnownUsecases = config.GetUsecasesFromYAML(c.KnownUsecaseStrings)
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, c, KindLocal, true)).To(Succeed())
+		b.healthy = false
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, c, KindLocal, true)).To(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(p.Inference(ctx, c, KindLocal, true)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(b.predicted).To(BeTrue())
+		b.predictErr = errors.New("boom")
+		Expect(p.Inference(ctx, c, KindLocal, true)).To(HaveOccurred())
+	})
+
+	It("checks the model file for cold local liveness without loading", func() {
+		dir := GinkgoT().TempDir()
+		p = NewProber(func(context.Context, config.ModelConfig) (grpc.Backend, error) {
+			Fail("cold liveness must not load the model")
+			return nil, nil
+		}, dir)
+		c := config.ModelConfig{Name: "cold", Backend: "llama-cpp"}
+		c.Model = "weights.gguf"
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, c, KindLocal, false)).To(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, "weights.gguf"), []byte("x"), 0o600)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, c, KindLocal, false)).To(Succeed())
+		c.Model = "org/some-hf-repo" // no extension: downloaded on demand
+		Expect(p.Liveness(ctx, c, KindLocal, false)).To(Succeed())
+	})
+})
diff --git a/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-09-26-model-failover-chains-design.md b/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-09-26-model-failover-chains-design.md
index c332082bf..11ef80e4f 100644
--- a/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-09-26-model-failover-chains-design.md
+++ b/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-09-26-model-failover-chains-design.md
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ Chain states:
 |---|---|---|
 | remote | `GET <base>/v1/models` returns 2xx and lists the upstream model. `<base>` is the scheme and host of `proxy.upstream_url` plus any path prefix before `/v1`. The upstream model is `proxy.upstream_model`, or the target name when it is empty. `/v1/models` works on any OpenAI-compatible upstream, and `/readyz` exists only on LocalAI. | one minimal real request, chosen by usecase |
 | local, `warm: true` | gRPC `HealthCheck` on the loaded backend. If the backend is not loaded (it crashed), a reload is the recovery attempt. | chat and completion: `Predict` with 1 token; embeddings: `Embedding` of `"ping"`; other usecases: `HealthCheck`. A local backend process that answers `HealthCheck` rarely fails only for TTS or transcription. |
-| local, cold | the config and model files exist and the backend is installed. The model is never loaded only to probe it. | none. After a trip, the target returns to `healthy` when `min_dwell` has passed. The next real request is the test. |
+| local, cold | the model file exists (skipped for URLs and repository ids). The model is never loaded only to probe it. | none. After a trip, the target returns to `healthy` when `min_dwell` has passed. The next real request is the test. |
 
 Minimal requests by usecase: