docs(distributed): document per-node breakdown in the operations bar

Adds a short subsection covering the expandable "N nodes" chevron in
the OperationsBar admin UI, the meaning of each status pill, and
how it relates to the /api/operations nodes array.

Signed-off-by: Ettore Di Giacinto <mudler@localai.io>

.agents/backend-signing.md

@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@ side (`pkg/oci/cosignverify` plus the gallery YAML).
   per-arch manifest before checking signatures.
 - **Storage:** Signatures are written as OCI 1.1 referrers
   (`--registry-referrers-mode=oci-1-1`) in the new Sigstore bundle format
-  (current cosign releases do this by default; no `--new-bundle-format`
-  flag). No `:sha256-<hex>.sig` tag clutter.
+  (`--new-bundle-format`). No `:sha256-<hex>.sig` tag clutter.
 - **Consumer:** `pkg/oci/cosignverify` discovers the bundle via the
   referrers API, hands it to `sigstore-go`, and verifies it against the
   policy declared in the gallery YAML (`Gallery.Verification`).
@@ -34,14 +33,15 @@ to sign. The job needs:
 
 - `permissions: { id-token: write, contents: read }` at the job level so
   the runner can exchange its GitHub OIDC token for a Fulcio cert.
-- `sigstore/cosign-installer@v3` step (current cosign releases already
-  default to the new bundle format).
+- `sigstore/cosign-installer@v3` step (cosign ≥ 2.2 for
+  `--new-bundle-format`).
 - After each `docker buildx imagetools create`, resolve the resulting
   list digest with `docker buildx imagetools inspect <tag> --format
   '{{.Manifest.Digest}}'` and sign:
 
 ```sh
 cosign sign --yes --recursive \
+  --new-bundle-format \
   --registry-referrers-mode=oci-1-1 \
   "${REGISTRY_REPO}@${DIGEST}"
 ```

.github/workflows/backend_merge.yml

@@ -66,8 +66,7 @@ jobs:
 
       # cosign signs each pushed manifest list with --recursive so the
       # index and every per-arch entry get an attached Sigstore bundle.
-      # Recent cosign releases always emit the new bundle format, so
-      # there's no extra CLI flag to opt into it.
+      # 2.2+ is required for --new-bundle-format.
       - name: Install cosign
         if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
         uses: sigstore/cosign-installer@v3
@@ -154,6 +153,7 @@ jobs:
           # manifest before checking signatures need the per-arch
           # signatures, not just the list-level one.
           cosign sign --yes --recursive \
+            --new-bundle-format \
             --registry-referrers-mode=oci-1-1 \
             "quay.io/go-skynet/local-ai-backends@${digest}"
 
@@ -180,6 +180,7 @@ jobs:
           ' <<< "$DOCKER_METADATA_OUTPUT_JSON")
           digest=$(docker buildx imagetools inspect "$first_tag" --format '{{.Manifest.Digest}}')
           cosign sign --yes --recursive \
+            --new-bundle-format \
             --registry-referrers-mode=oci-1-1 \
             "localai/localai-backends@${digest}"
 

backend/cpp/ik-llama-cpp/Makefile

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 
-IK_LLAMA_VERSION?=b3d39cff8bffbd67296d6badd4076a1486a0715c
+IK_LLAMA_VERSION?=48a55f74e4c6e2aeda363dd386c1ac9170a0af71
 LLAMA_REPO?=https://github.com/ikawrakow/ik_llama.cpp
 
 CMAKE_ARGS?=

backend/python/sglang/install.sh

@@ -36,11 +36,15 @@ fi
 # flash-attn-4 4.0 stable lands.
 EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS+=" --prerelease=allow"
 
-# JetPack 7 / L4T arm64 sglang + torch wheels come straight from PyPI now
-# (torch 2.11+ ships aarch64 + cu130 manylinux wheels and sglang 0.5.11+
-# ships a cp312 aarch64 wheel pinned to that torch). They're cp312-only,
-# so bump the venv Python accordingly.
-# https://pytorch.org/blog/vllm-and-pytorch-work-together-to-improve-the-developer-experience-on-aarch64/
+# JetPack 7 / L4T arm64 wheels are built for cp312 and shipped via
+# pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io. Bump the venv Python so the prebuilt sglang
+# wheel resolves cleanly. The actual install on l4t13 goes through
+# pyproject.toml (see the elif branch below) so [tool.uv.sources] can
+# pin only torch/torchvision/torchaudio/sglang to the jetson-ai-lab
+# index — leaving PyPI as the path for transitive deps like
+# markdown-it-py / anthropic / propcache that the L4T mirror's proxy
+# 503s on. No --index-strategy flag here: the explicit index keeps the
+# scoping clean.
 if [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xl4t13" ]; then
     PYTHON_VERSION="3.12"
     PYTHON_PATCH="12"
@@ -106,6 +110,27 @@ if [ "x${BUILD_TYPE}" == "x" ] || [ "x${FROM_SOURCE:-}" == "xtrue" ]; then
         fi
         uv pip install ${EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS:-} .
     popd
+# L4T arm64 (JetPack 7): drive the install through pyproject.toml so that
+# [tool.uv.sources] can pin torch/torchvision/torchaudio/sglang to the
+# jetson-ai-lab index, while everything else (transitive deps and
+# PyPI-resolvable packages like transformers / accelerate) comes from
+# PyPI. Bypasses installRequirements because uv pip install -r
+# requirements.txt does not honor sources — see
+# backend/python/sglang/pyproject.toml for the rationale. Mirrors the
+# equivalent path in backend/python/vllm/install.sh.
+elif [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xl4t13" ]; then
+    ensureVenv
+    if [ "x${PORTABLE_PYTHON}" == "xtrue" ]; then
+        export C_INCLUDE_PATH="${C_INCLUDE_PATH:-}:$(_portable_dir)/include/python${PYTHON_VERSION}"
+    fi
+    pushd "${backend_dir}"
+        # Build deps first (matches installRequirements' requirements-install.txt
+        # pass — sglang/sgl-kernel sdists need packaging/setuptools-scm in the
+        # venv before they can build under --no-build-isolation).
+        uv pip install ${EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS:-} -r requirements-install.txt
+        uv pip install ${EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS:-} --requirement pyproject.toml
+    popd
+    runProtogen
 else
     installRequirements
 fi

backend/python/sglang/pyproject.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# L4T arm64 (JetPack 7 / sbsa cu130) install spec for the sglang backend.
+#
+# Why this file exists, and why only the l4t13 BUILD_PROFILE consumes it:
+#
+# pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io hosts the L4T-specific torch / sglang / sgl-kernel
+# wheels we need on aarch64 + cuda13, but it ALSO transparently proxies the
+# rest of PyPI through `/+f/<sha>/<filename>` URLs that 503 frequently.
+# With `--extra-index-url` + `--index-strategy=unsafe-best-match` (the
+# historical fix in install.sh) uv would pick those proxy URLs for ordinary
+# PyPI packages — markdown-it-py, anthropic, propcache, etc. — and trip on
+# the 503s. See e.g. CI run 25439791228 (markdown-it-py-4.0.0).
+#
+# `explicit = true` on the index makes uv consult the L4T mirror ONLY for
+# packages mapped under [tool.uv.sources]. Everything else goes to PyPI.
+# This breaks the historical 503 path without losing access to the L4T
+# wheels we actually need from there. Mirrors the equivalent fix already
+# in backend/python/vllm/pyproject.toml.
+#
+# `uv pip install -r requirements.txt` does NOT honor [tool.uv.sources]
+# (sources are project-mode only, not pip-compat mode), so install.sh's
+# l4t13 branch invokes `uv pip install --requirement pyproject.toml`
+# directly. Other BUILD_PROFILEs continue to use the requirements-*.txt
+# pipeline through libbackend.sh's installRequirements and never read
+# this file.
+[project]
+name = "localai-sglang-l4t13"
+version = "0.0.0"
+requires-python = ">=3.12,<3.13"
+dependencies = [
+    # Mirror of requirements.txt — kept in sync manually for now since the
+    # l4t13 path bypasses installRequirements (see install.sh).
+    "grpcio==1.80.0",
+    "protobuf",
+    "certifi",
+    "setuptools",
+    "pillow",
+    # L4T-specific accelerator stack (sourced from jetson-ai-lab below).
+    "torch",
+    "torchvision",
+    "torchaudio",
+    # sglang on jetson — the [all] extra is deliberately omitted because it
+    # pulls outlines/decord, and decord has no aarch64 cp312 wheel anywhere
+    # (PyPI nor the jetson-ai-lab index ships only legacy cp35-cp37). With
+    # [all] uv backtracks through versions trying to satisfy decord and
+    # lands on sglang==0.1.16. The 0.5.0 floor matches the only major
+    # series the jetson-ai-lab sbsa/cu130 mirror currently publishes
+    # (sglang==0.5.1.post2 as of 2026-05-06). Bumping to >=0.5.11 here
+    # would make the build unsatisfiable until the mirror catches up.
+    # Gemma 4 / MTP recipes are therefore not supported on l4t13 — those
+    # features land on cublas12/cublas13 hosts that pull the newer wheel
+    # from PyPI. backend.py keeps backward compat with the 0.5.x SamplingParams
+    # field rename via runtime detection.
+    "sglang>=0.5.0",
+    # PyPI-resolvable packages that complete the runtime.
+    "accelerate",
+    "transformers",
+]
+
+[[tool.uv.index]]
+name = "jetson-ai-lab"
+url = "https://pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io/sbsa/cu130"
+explicit = true
+
+[tool.uv.sources]
+torch = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }
+torchvision = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }
+torchaudio = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }
+sglang = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }

backend/python/sglang/requirements-l4t13-after.txt

@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-# sglang 0.5.11+ ships an aarch64 manylinux wheel on PyPI whose Requires-Dist
-# pins torch==2.11.0 / torchaudio==2.11.0, locking an ABI-consistent set with
-# the cu130 torch wheel installed above. 0.5.11 is the floor for Gemma 4
-# support (sgl-project/sglang#21952).
-#
-# The [all] extra is deliberately NOT used on aarch64: it pulls the
-# [diffusion] sub-extra which requires `xatlas`, and xatlas ships no
-# aarch64 wheel and its sdist depends on scikit_build_core without
-# declaring it in build-system.requires — so under --no-build-isolation
-# uv can't build it. Upstream sglang gates st_attn and vsa on
-# platform_machine != aarch64 in the diffusion extra but forgot xatlas.
-# Plain `sglang` carries everything backend.py uses (Engine, ServerArgs,
-# FunctionCallParser, ReasoningParser); the [all] extras are optional
-# accelerators not required at import time.
-sglang>=0.5.11

backend/python/sglang/requirements-l4t13.txt

@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-# JetPack 7 / L4T arm64 + CUDA 13. Since PyTorch 2.11 (April 2026), PyPI ships
-# aarch64 + cu130 manylinux wheels for torch/torchvision/torchaudio directly,
-# so we no longer need a custom --extra-index-url for the L4T mirror.
-# https://pytorch.org/blog/vllm-and-pytorch-work-together-to-improve-the-developer-experience-on-aarch64/
-accelerate
-torch
-torchvision
-torchaudio
-transformers

backend/python/vllm-omni/install.sh

@@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Handle l4t build profiles (Python 3.12, pip fallback) if needed.
-# Since PyTorch 2.11 (April 2026) PyPI ships aarch64 + cu130 manylinux wheels
-# directly for torch/torchvision/torchaudio and an aarch64 vllm wheel pinned
-# to that torch, so the jetson-ai-lab mirror is no longer needed.
-# https://pytorch.org/blog/vllm-and-pytorch-work-together-to-improve-the-developer-experience-on-aarch64/
+# unsafe-best-match is required on l4t13 because the jetson-ai-lab index
+# lists transitive deps at limited versions — without it uv pins to the
+# first matching index and fails to resolve a compatible wheel from PyPI.
 if [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xl4t13" ]; then
   PYTHON_VERSION="3.12"
   PYTHON_PATCH="12"
   PY_STANDALONE_TAG="20251120"
+  EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS="${EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS:-} --index-strategy=unsafe-best-match"
 fi
 
 if [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xl4t12" ]; then
@@ -42,11 +42,18 @@ if [ "x${BUILD_TYPE}" == "xhipblas" ]; then
     else
         uv pip install vllm==0.14.0 --extra-index-url https://wheels.vllm.ai/rocm/0.14.0/rocm700
     fi
-elif [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xcublas13" ] || [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xl4t13" ]; then
-    # cublas13 (x86_64) and l4t13 (aarch64) both pull vllm from PyPI now:
-    # vllm 0.19+ defaults to cu130 wheels on x86_64 and vllm 0.20+ ships an
-    # aarch64 manylinux wheel pinned to torch==2.11.0. No extra index needed
-    # in either case.
+elif [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xl4t13" ]; then
+    # JetPack 7 / L4T arm64 cu130 — vllm comes from the prebuilt SBSA wheel
+    # at jetson-ai-lab. Version is unpinned: the index ships whatever build
+    # matches the cu130/cp312 ABI. unsafe-best-match lets uv fall through
+    # to PyPI for transitive deps not present on the jetson-ai-lab index.
+    if [ "x${USE_PIP}" == "xtrue" ]; then
+        pip install vllm --extra-index-url https://pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io/sbsa/cu130
+    else
+        uv pip install --index-strategy=unsafe-best-match vllm --extra-index-url https://pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io/sbsa/cu130
+    fi
+elif [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xcublas13" ]; then
+    # vllm 0.19+ defaults to cu130 wheels on PyPI, no extra index needed.
     if [ "x${USE_PIP}" == "xtrue" ]; then
         pip install vllm --torch-backend=auto
     else

backend/python/vllm-omni/requirements-l4t13.txt

@@ -1,15 +1,11 @@
-# JetPack 7 / L4T arm64 + CUDA 13. PyPI ships aarch64 + cu130 manylinux wheels
-# for torch/torchvision/torchaudio directly since PyTorch 2.11 (April 2026),
-# so no custom index is needed. flash-attn is dropped here: PyPI has no
-# aarch64 wheel for it, but vLLM 0.20+ bundles its own vllm_flash_attn
-# (fa2 + fa3) inside the main wheel, so it is not required at runtime.
-# https://pytorch.org/blog/vllm-and-pytorch-work-together-to-improve-the-developer-experience-on-aarch64/
+--extra-index-url https://pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io/sbsa/cu130
 accelerate
 torch
 torchvision
 torchaudio
 transformers
 bitsandbytes
+flash-attn
 diffusers
 librosa
 soundfile

backend/python/vllm/install.sh

@@ -43,11 +43,14 @@ if [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xcublas13" ]; then
     EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS+=" --index-strategy=unsafe-best-match"
 fi
 
-# JetPack 7 / L4T arm64 vllm + torch wheels come straight from PyPI now
-# (torch 2.11+ ships aarch64 + cu130 manylinux wheels and vllm 0.20+ ships
-# an aarch64 wheel pinned to that torch). They're cp312-only, so bump the
-# venv Python accordingly. JetPack 6 keeps cp310 + USE_PIP=true.
-# https://pytorch.org/blog/vllm-and-pytorch-work-together-to-improve-the-developer-experience-on-aarch64/
+# JetPack 7 / L4T arm64 wheels (torch, vllm, flash-attn) live on
+# pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io and are built for cp312, so bump the venv Python
+# accordingly. JetPack 6 keeps cp310 + USE_PIP=true.
+#
+# l4t13 uses pyproject.toml (see the elif branch below) to pin only the
+# L4T-specific wheels to the jetson-ai-lab index via [tool.uv.sources].
+# That keeps PyPI as the resolution path for transitive deps like
+# anthropic/openai/propcache, which the L4T mirror's proxy 503s on.
 if [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xl4t12" ]; then
     USE_PIP=true
 fi
@@ -100,6 +103,25 @@ if [ "x${BUILD_TYPE}" == "xintel" ]; then
         export CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(python -c 'import site; print(site.getsitepackages()[0])'):${CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH:-}"
         VLLM_TARGET_DEVICE=xpu uv pip install ${EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS:-} --no-deps .
     popd
+# L4T arm64 (JetPack 7): drive the install through pyproject.toml so that
+# [tool.uv.sources] can pin torch/vllm/flash-attn/torchvision/torchaudio
+# to the jetson-ai-lab index, while everything else (transitive deps and
+# PyPI-resolvable packages like transformers) comes from PyPI. Bypasses
+# installRequirements because uv pip install -r requirements.txt does not
+# honor sources — see backend/python/vllm/pyproject.toml for the rationale.
+elif [ "x${BUILD_PROFILE}" == "xl4t13" ]; then
+    ensureVenv
+    if [ "x${PORTABLE_PYTHON}" == "xtrue" ]; then
+        export C_INCLUDE_PATH="${C_INCLUDE_PATH:-}:$(_portable_dir)/include/python${PYTHON_VERSION}"
+    fi
+    pushd "${backend_dir}"
+        # Build deps first (matches installRequirements' requirements-install.txt
+        # pass — fastsafetensors and friends need pybind11 in the venv before
+        # their sdists can build under --no-build-isolation).
+        uv pip install ${EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS:-} -r requirements-install.txt
+        uv pip install ${EXTRA_PIP_INSTALL_FLAGS:-} --requirement pyproject.toml
+    popd
+    runProtogen
 # FROM_SOURCE=true on a CPU build skips the prebuilt vllm wheel in
 # requirements-cpu-after.txt and compiles vllm locally against the host's
 # actual CPU. Not used by default because it takes ~30-40 minutes, but

backend/python/vllm/pyproject.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# L4T arm64 (JetPack 7 / sbsa cu130) install spec for the vllm backend.
+#
+# Why this file exists, and why only the l4t13 BUILD_PROFILE consumes it:
+#
+# pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io hosts the L4T-specific torch / vllm / flash-attn
+# wheels we need on aarch64 + cuda13, but it ALSO transparently proxies the
+# rest of PyPI through `/+f/<sha>/<filename>` URLs that 503 frequently. With
+# `--extra-index-url` + `--index-strategy=unsafe-best-match` (the historical
+# fix in install.sh) uv would pick those proxy URLs for ordinary PyPI
+# packages — `anthropic`, `openai`, `propcache`, `annotated-types` — and
+# trip on the 503s. See e.g. CI run 25212201349 (anthropic-0.97.0).
+#
+# `explicit = true` on the index makes uv consult the L4T mirror ONLY for
+# packages mapped under [tool.uv.sources]. Everything else goes to PyPI.
+# This breaks the historical 503 path without losing access to the L4T
+# wheels we actually need from there.
+#
+# `uv pip install -r requirements.txt` does NOT honor [tool.uv.sources]
+# (sources are project-mode only, not pip-compat mode), so install.sh's
+# l4t13 branch invokes `uv pip install --requirement pyproject.toml`
+# directly. Other BUILD_PROFILEs continue to use the requirements-*.txt
+# pipeline through libbackend.sh's installRequirements and never read
+# this file.
+[project]
+name = "localai-vllm-l4t13"
+version = "0.0.0"
+requires-python = ">=3.12,<3.13"
+dependencies = [
+    # Mirror of requirements.txt — kept in sync manually for now since the
+    # l4t13 path bypasses installRequirements (see install.sh).
+    "grpcio==1.80.0",
+    "protobuf",
+    "certifi",
+    "setuptools",
+    "pillow",
+    "charset-normalizer>=3.4.7",
+    "chardet",
+    # L4T-specific accelerator stack (sourced from jetson-ai-lab below).
+    "torch",
+    "torchvision",
+    "torchaudio",
+    "flash-attn",
+    "vllm",
+    # PyPI-resolvable packages that complete the runtime — accelerate,
+    # transformers, bitsandbytes carry their own wheels for aarch64.
+    "accelerate",
+    "transformers",
+    "bitsandbytes",
+]
+
+[[tool.uv.index]]
+name = "jetson-ai-lab"
+url = "https://pypi.jetson-ai-lab.io/sbsa/cu130"
+explicit = true
+
+[tool.uv.sources]
+torch = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }
+torchvision = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }
+torchaudio = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }
+flash-attn = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }
+vllm = { index = "jetson-ai-lab" }

backend/python/vllm/requirements-l4t13-after.txt

@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-# vLLM 0.20+ ships an aarch64 manylinux wheel on PyPI whose Requires-Dist pins
-# torch==2.11.0 / torchvision==0.26.0 / torchaudio==2.11.0, locking an ABI-
-# consistent set with the cu130 torch wheel installed above.
-vllm

backend/python/vllm/requirements-l4t13.txt

@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-# JetPack 7 / L4T arm64 + CUDA 13. Since PyTorch 2.11 (April 2026), PyPI ships
-# aarch64 + cu130 manylinux wheels for torch/torchvision/torchaudio directly,
-# so we no longer need a custom --extra-index-url for the L4T mirror.
-# https://pytorch.org/blog/vllm-and-pytorch-work-together-to-improve-the-developer-experience-on-aarch64/
-accelerate
-torch
-transformers
-bitsandbytes

core/application/distributed.go

@@ -233,7 +233,12 @@ func initDistributed(cfg *config.ApplicationConfig, authDB *gorm.DB, configLoade
 		xlog.Info("File stager initialized (HTTP direct transfer)")
 	}
 	// Create RemoteUnloaderAdapter — needed by SmartRouter and startup.go
-	remoteUnloader := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, natsClient)
+	remoteUnloader := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(
+		registry,
+		natsClient,
+		cfg.Distributed.BackendInstallTimeoutOrDefault(),
+		cfg.Distributed.BackendUpgradeTimeoutOrDefault(),
+	)
 
 	// All dependencies ready — build SmartRouter with all options at once
 	var conflictResolver nodes.ConcurrencyConflictResolver

core/application/startup.go

@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/jobs"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/nodes"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/storage"
-	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/vram"
 	coreStartup "github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/startup"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/internal"
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/vram"
 
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/model"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/sanitize"
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ func New(opts ...config.AppOption) (*Application, error) {
 				nodes.NewDistributedModelManager(options, application.modelLoader, distSvc.Unloader),
 			)
 			application.galleryService.SetBackendManager(
-				nodes.NewDistributedBackendManager(options, application.modelLoader, distSvc.Unloader, distSvc.Registry),
+				nodes.NewDistributedBackendManager(options, application.modelLoader, distSvc.Unloader, distSvc.Registry, application.galleryService),
 			)
 		}
 	}

core/backend/options.go

@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ func gRPCPredictOpts(c config.ModelConfig, modelPath string) *pb.PredictOptions
 		MinP:                float32(*c.MinP),
 		Tokens:              int32(*c.Maxtokens),
 		Threads:             int32(*c.Threads),
-		PromptCacheAll:      *c.PromptCacheAll,
+		PromptCacheAll:      c.PromptCacheAll,
 		PromptCacheRO:       c.PromptCacheRO,
 		PromptCachePath:     promptCachePath,
 		F16KV:               *c.F16,

core/cli/run.go

@@ -39,19 +39,19 @@ type RunCMD struct {
 	LocalaiConfigDir             string        `env:"LOCALAI_CONFIG_DIR" type:"path" default:"${basepath}/configuration" help:"Directory for dynamic loading of certain configuration files (currently api_keys.json and external_backends.json)" group:"storage"`
 	LocalaiConfigDirPollInterval time.Duration `env:"LOCALAI_CONFIG_DIR_POLL_INTERVAL" help:"Typically the config path picks up changes automatically, but if your system has broken fsnotify events, set this to an interval to poll the LocalAI Config Dir (example: 1m)" group:"storage"`
 	// The alias on this option is there to preserve functionality with the old `--config-file` parameter
-	ModelsConfigFile         string   `env:"LOCALAI_MODELS_CONFIG_FILE,CONFIG_FILE" aliases:"config-file" help:"YAML file containing a list of model backend configs" group:"storage"`
-	BackendGalleries         string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_GALLERIES,BACKEND_GALLERIES" help:"JSON list of backend galleries" group:"backends" default:"${backends}"`
-	Galleries                string   `env:"LOCALAI_GALLERIES,GALLERIES" help:"JSON list of galleries" group:"models" default:"${galleries}"`
-	AutoloadGalleries        bool     `env:"LOCALAI_AUTOLOAD_GALLERIES,AUTOLOAD_GALLERIES" group:"models" default:"true"`
-	AutoloadBackendGalleries bool     `env:"LOCALAI_AUTOLOAD_BACKEND_GALLERIES,AUTOLOAD_BACKEND_GALLERIES" group:"backends" default:"true"`
-	BackendImagesReleaseTag  string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_IMAGES_RELEASE_TAG,BACKEND_IMAGES_RELEASE_TAG" help:"Fallback release tag for backend images" group:"backends" default:"latest"`
-	BackendImagesBranchTag   string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_IMAGES_BRANCH_TAG,BACKEND_IMAGES_BRANCH_TAG" help:"Fallback branch tag for backend images" group:"backends" default:"master"`
-	BackendDevSuffix         string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_DEV_SUFFIX,BACKEND_DEV_SUFFIX" help:"Development suffix for backend images" group:"backends" default:"development"`
+	ModelsConfigFile          string   `env:"LOCALAI_MODELS_CONFIG_FILE,CONFIG_FILE" aliases:"config-file" help:"YAML file containing a list of model backend configs" group:"storage"`
+	BackendGalleries          string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_GALLERIES,BACKEND_GALLERIES" help:"JSON list of backend galleries" group:"backends" default:"${backends}"`
+	Galleries                 string   `env:"LOCALAI_GALLERIES,GALLERIES" help:"JSON list of galleries" group:"models" default:"${galleries}"`
+	AutoloadGalleries         bool     `env:"LOCALAI_AUTOLOAD_GALLERIES,AUTOLOAD_GALLERIES" group:"models" default:"true"`
+	AutoloadBackendGalleries  bool     `env:"LOCALAI_AUTOLOAD_BACKEND_GALLERIES,AUTOLOAD_BACKEND_GALLERIES" group:"backends" default:"true"`
+	BackendImagesReleaseTag   string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_IMAGES_RELEASE_TAG,BACKEND_IMAGES_RELEASE_TAG" help:"Fallback release tag for backend images" group:"backends" default:"latest"`
+	BackendImagesBranchTag    string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_IMAGES_BRANCH_TAG,BACKEND_IMAGES_BRANCH_TAG" help:"Fallback branch tag for backend images" group:"backends" default:"master"`
+	BackendDevSuffix          string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_DEV_SUFFIX,BACKEND_DEV_SUFFIX" help:"Development suffix for backend images" group:"backends" default:"development"`
 	AutoUpgradeBackends       bool     `env:"LOCALAI_AUTO_UPGRADE_BACKENDS,AUTO_UPGRADE_BACKENDS" help:"Automatically upgrade backends when new versions are detected" group:"backends" default:"false"`
 	PreferDevelopmentBackends bool     `env:"LOCALAI_PREFER_DEV_BACKENDS,PREFER_DEV_BACKENDS" help:"Prefer development backend versions (shows development backends by default in UI)" group:"backends" default:"false"`
 	PreloadModels             string   `env:"LOCALAI_PRELOAD_MODELS,PRELOAD_MODELS" help:"A List of models to apply in JSON at start" group:"models"`
-	Models                   []string `env:"LOCALAI_MODELS,MODELS" help:"A List of model configuration URLs to load" group:"models"`
-	PreloadModelsConfig      string   `env:"LOCALAI_PRELOAD_MODELS_CONFIG,PRELOAD_MODELS_CONFIG" help:"A List of models to apply at startup. Path to a YAML config file" group:"models"`
+	Models                    []string `env:"LOCALAI_MODELS,MODELS" help:"A List of model configuration URLs to load" group:"models"`
+	PreloadModelsConfig       string   `env:"LOCALAI_PRELOAD_MODELS_CONFIG,PRELOAD_MODELS_CONFIG" help:"A List of models to apply at startup. Path to a YAML config file" group:"models"`
 
 	F16         bool `name:"f16" env:"LOCALAI_F16,F16" help:"Enable GPU acceleration" group:"performance"`
 	Threads     int  `env:"LOCALAI_THREADS,THREADS" short:"t" help:"Number of threads used for parallel computation. Usage of the number of physical cores in the system is suggested" group:"performance"`
@@ -145,16 +145,18 @@ type RunCMD struct {
 	DefaultAPIKeyExpiry  string `env:"LOCALAI_DEFAULT_API_KEY_EXPIRY" help:"Default expiry for API keys (e.g. 90d, 1y; empty = no expiry)" group:"auth"`
 
 	// Distributed / Horizontal Scaling
-	Distributed       bool   `env:"LOCALAI_DISTRIBUTED" default:"false" help:"Enable distributed mode (requires PostgreSQL + NATS)" group:"distributed"`
-	InstanceID        string `env:"LOCALAI_INSTANCE_ID" help:"Unique instance ID for distributed mode (auto-generated UUID if empty)" group:"distributed"`
-	NatsURL           string `env:"LOCALAI_NATS_URL" help:"NATS server URL (e.g., nats://localhost:4222)" group:"distributed"`
-	StorageURL        string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_URL" help:"S3-compatible storage endpoint URL (e.g., http://minio:9000)" group:"distributed"`
-	StorageBucket     string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_BUCKET" default:"localai" help:"S3 bucket name for object storage" group:"distributed"`
-	StorageRegion     string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_REGION" default:"us-east-1" help:"S3 region" group:"distributed"`
-	StorageAccessKey  string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY" help:"S3 access key ID" group:"distributed"`
-	StorageSecretKey  string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_SECRET_KEY" help:"S3 secret access key" group:"distributed"`
-	RegistrationToken string `env:"LOCALAI_REGISTRATION_TOKEN" help:"Token that backend nodes must provide to register (empty = no auth required)" group:"distributed"`
-	AutoApproveNodes  bool   `env:"LOCALAI_AUTO_APPROVE_NODES" default:"false" help:"Auto-approve new worker nodes (skip admin approval)" group:"distributed"`
+	Distributed           bool   `env:"LOCALAI_DISTRIBUTED" default:"false" help:"Enable distributed mode (requires PostgreSQL + NATS)" group:"distributed"`
+	InstanceID            string `env:"LOCALAI_INSTANCE_ID" help:"Unique instance ID for distributed mode (auto-generated UUID if empty)" group:"distributed"`
+	NatsURL               string `env:"LOCALAI_NATS_URL" help:"NATS server URL (e.g., nats://localhost:4222)" group:"distributed"`
+	StorageURL            string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_URL" help:"S3-compatible storage endpoint URL (e.g., http://minio:9000)" group:"distributed"`
+	StorageBucket         string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_BUCKET" default:"localai" help:"S3 bucket name for object storage" group:"distributed"`
+	StorageRegion         string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_REGION" default:"us-east-1" help:"S3 region" group:"distributed"`
+	StorageAccessKey      string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY" help:"S3 access key ID" group:"distributed"`
+	StorageSecretKey      string `env:"LOCALAI_STORAGE_SECRET_KEY" help:"S3 secret access key" group:"distributed"`
+	RegistrationToken     string `env:"LOCALAI_REGISTRATION_TOKEN" help:"Token that backend nodes must provide to register (empty = no auth required)" group:"distributed"`
+	AutoApproveNodes      bool   `env:"LOCALAI_AUTO_APPROVE_NODES" default:"false" help:"Auto-approve new worker nodes (skip admin approval)" group:"distributed"`
+	BackendInstallTimeout string `env:"LOCALAI_NATS_BACKEND_INSTALL_TIMEOUT" help:"NATS round-trip timeout for backend.install requests sent to worker nodes (default 15m). Increase for slow links pulling multi-GB images." group:"distributed"`
+	BackendUpgradeTimeout string `env:"LOCALAI_NATS_BACKEND_UPGRADE_TIMEOUT" help:"NATS round-trip timeout for backend.upgrade requests (default 15m)." group:"distributed"`
 
 	Version bool
 }
@@ -255,6 +257,20 @@ func (r *RunCMD) Run(ctx *cliContext.Context) error {
 	if r.StorageSecretKey != "" {
 		opts = append(opts, config.WithStorageSecretKey(r.StorageSecretKey))
 	}
+	if r.BackendInstallTimeout != "" {
+		d, err := time.ParseDuration(r.BackendInstallTimeout)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("invalid LOCALAI_NATS_BACKEND_INSTALL_TIMEOUT %q: %w", r.BackendInstallTimeout, err)
+		}
+		opts = append(opts, config.WithBackendInstallTimeout(d))
+	}
+	if r.BackendUpgradeTimeout != "" {
+		d, err := time.ParseDuration(r.BackendUpgradeTimeout)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("invalid LOCALAI_NATS_BACKEND_UPGRADE_TIMEOUT %q: %w", r.BackendUpgradeTimeout, err)
+		}
+		opts = append(opts, config.WithBackendUpgradeTimeout(d))
+	}
 	if r.RegistrationToken != "" {
 		opts = append(opts, config.WithRegistrationToken(r.RegistrationToken))
 	}

core/config/distributed_config.go

@@ -40,7 +40,10 @@ type DistributedConfig struct {
 	// model-row cleanup on MarkUnhealthy / MarkDraining).
 	DisablePerModelHealthCheck bool
 
-	MCPCIJobTimeout     time.Duration // MCP CI job execution timeout (default 10m)
+	MCPCIJobTimeout time.Duration // MCP CI job execution timeout (default 10m)
+
+	BackendInstallTimeout time.Duration // NATS round-trip timeout for backend.install (default 15m)
+	BackendUpgradeTimeout time.Duration // NATS round-trip timeout for backend.upgrade (default 15m)
 
 	MaxUploadSize int64 // Maximum upload body size in bytes (default 50 GB)
 
@@ -68,13 +71,15 @@ func (c DistributedConfig) Validate() error {
 	}
 	// Check for negative durations
 	for name, d := range map[string]time.Duration{
-		"mcp-tool-timeout":      c.MCPToolTimeout,
-		"mcp-discovery-timeout": c.MCPDiscoveryTimeout,
-		"worker-wait-timeout":   c.WorkerWaitTimeout,
-		"drain-timeout":         c.DrainTimeout,
-		"health-check-interval": c.HealthCheckInterval,
-		"stale-node-threshold":  c.StaleNodeThreshold,
-		"mcp-ci-job-timeout":    c.MCPCIJobTimeout,
+		"mcp-tool-timeout":        c.MCPToolTimeout,
+		"mcp-discovery-timeout":   c.MCPDiscoveryTimeout,
+		"worker-wait-timeout":     c.WorkerWaitTimeout,
+		"drain-timeout":           c.DrainTimeout,
+		"health-check-interval":   c.HealthCheckInterval,
+		"stale-node-threshold":    c.StaleNodeThreshold,
+		"mcp-ci-job-timeout":      c.MCPCIJobTimeout,
+		"backend-install-timeout": c.BackendInstallTimeout,
+		"backend-upgrade-timeout": c.BackendUpgradeTimeout,
 	} {
 		if d < 0 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("%s must not be negative", name)
@@ -137,24 +142,48 @@ func WithStorageSecretKey(key string) AppOption {
 	}
 }
 
+func WithBackendInstallTimeout(d time.Duration) AppOption {
+	return func(o *ApplicationConfig) {
+		o.Distributed.BackendInstallTimeout = d
+	}
+}
+
+func WithBackendUpgradeTimeout(d time.Duration) AppOption {
+	return func(o *ApplicationConfig) {
+		o.Distributed.BackendUpgradeTimeout = d
+	}
+}
+
 var EnableAutoApproveNodes = func(o *ApplicationConfig) {
 	o.Distributed.AutoApproveNodes = true
 }
 
 // Defaults for distributed timeouts.
 const (
-	DefaultMCPToolTimeout      = 360 * time.Second
-	DefaultMCPDiscoveryTimeout = 60 * time.Second
-	DefaultWorkerWaitTimeout   = 5 * time.Minute
-	DefaultDrainTimeout        = 30 * time.Second
-	DefaultHealthCheckInterval = 15 * time.Second
-	DefaultStaleNodeThreshold  = 60 * time.Second
-	DefaultMCPCIJobTimeout     = 10 * time.Minute
+	DefaultMCPToolTimeout        = 360 * time.Second
+	DefaultMCPDiscoveryTimeout   = 60 * time.Second
+	DefaultWorkerWaitTimeout     = 5 * time.Minute
+	DefaultDrainTimeout          = 30 * time.Second
+	DefaultHealthCheckInterval   = 15 * time.Second
+	DefaultStaleNodeThreshold    = 60 * time.Second
+	DefaultMCPCIJobTimeout       = 10 * time.Minute
+	DefaultBackendInstallTimeout = 15 * time.Minute
+	DefaultBackendUpgradeTimeout = 15 * time.Minute
 )
 
 // DefaultMaxUploadSize is the default maximum upload body size (50 GB).
 const DefaultMaxUploadSize int64 = 50 << 30
 
+// BackendInstallTimeoutOrDefault returns the configured timeout or the default.
+func (c DistributedConfig) BackendInstallTimeoutOrDefault() time.Duration {
+	return cmp.Or(c.BackendInstallTimeout, DefaultBackendInstallTimeout)
+}
+
+// BackendUpgradeTimeoutOrDefault returns the configured timeout or the default.
+func (c DistributedConfig) BackendUpgradeTimeoutOrDefault() time.Duration {
+	return cmp.Or(c.BackendUpgradeTimeout, DefaultBackendUpgradeTimeout)
+}
+
 // MCPToolTimeoutOrDefault returns the configured timeout or the default.
 func (c DistributedConfig) MCPToolTimeoutOrDefault() time.Duration {
 	return cmp.Or(c.MCPToolTimeout, DefaultMCPToolTimeout)

core/config/distributed_config_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package config_test
+
+import (
+	"time"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
+)
+
+var _ = Describe("DistributedConfig backend NATS timeouts", func() {
+	Context("BackendInstallTimeoutOrDefault", func() {
+		It("returns 15 minutes when unset", func() {
+			c := config.DistributedConfig{}
+			Expect(c.BackendInstallTimeoutOrDefault()).To(Equal(15 * time.Minute))
+		})
+
+		It("returns the configured value when set", func() {
+			c := config.DistributedConfig{BackendInstallTimeout: 42 * time.Minute}
+			Expect(c.BackendInstallTimeoutOrDefault()).To(Equal(42 * time.Minute))
+		})
+	})
+
+	Context("BackendUpgradeTimeoutOrDefault", func() {
+		It("returns 15 minutes when unset", func() {
+			c := config.DistributedConfig{}
+			Expect(c.BackendUpgradeTimeoutOrDefault()).To(Equal(15 * time.Minute))
+		})
+
+		It("returns the configured value when set", func() {
+			c := config.DistributedConfig{BackendUpgradeTimeout: 30 * time.Minute}
+			Expect(c.BackendUpgradeTimeoutOrDefault()).To(Equal(30 * time.Minute))
+		})
+	})
+})

core/config/hooks_test.go

@@ -136,36 +136,4 @@ var _ = Describe("Backend hooks and parser defaults", func() {
 			Expect(cfg.EngineArgs["enable_chunked_prefill"]).To(Equal(true))
 		})
 	})
-
-	Context("PromptCacheAll default", func() {
-		It("defaults to true when omitted from YAML", func() {
-			cfg := &ModelConfig{}
-			cfg.SetDefaults()
-
-			Expect(cfg.PromptCacheAll).NotTo(BeNil())
-			Expect(*cfg.PromptCacheAll).To(BeTrue())
-		})
-
-		It("preserves an explicit false from YAML", func() {
-			falseV := false
-			cfg := &ModelConfig{
-				LLMConfig: LLMConfig{PromptCacheAll: &falseV},
-			}
-			cfg.SetDefaults()
-
-			Expect(cfg.PromptCacheAll).NotTo(BeNil())
-			Expect(*cfg.PromptCacheAll).To(BeFalse())
-		})
-
-		It("preserves an explicit true from YAML", func() {
-			trueV := true
-			cfg := &ModelConfig{
-				LLMConfig: LLMConfig{PromptCacheAll: &trueV},
-			}
-			cfg.SetDefaults()
-
-			Expect(cfg.PromptCacheAll).NotTo(BeNil())
-			Expect(*cfg.PromptCacheAll).To(BeTrue())
-		})
-	})
 })

core/config/model_config.go

@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ type LLMConfig struct {
 	RMSNormEps      float32  `yaml:"rms_norm_eps,omitempty" json:"rms_norm_eps,omitempty"`
 	NGQA            int32    `yaml:"ngqa,omitempty" json:"ngqa,omitempty"`
 	PromptCachePath string   `yaml:"prompt_cache_path,omitempty" json:"prompt_cache_path,omitempty"`
-	PromptCacheAll  *bool    `yaml:"prompt_cache_all,omitempty" json:"prompt_cache_all,omitempty"`
+	PromptCacheAll  bool     `yaml:"prompt_cache_all,omitempty" json:"prompt_cache_all,omitempty"`
 	PromptCacheRO   bool     `yaml:"prompt_cache_ro,omitempty" json:"prompt_cache_ro,omitempty"`
 	MirostatETA     *float64 `yaml:"mirostat_eta,omitempty" json:"mirostat_eta,omitempty"`
 	MirostatTAU     *float64 `yaml:"mirostat_tau,omitempty" json:"mirostat_tau,omitempty"`
@@ -494,13 +494,6 @@ func (cfg *ModelConfig) SetDefaults(opts ...ConfigLoaderOption) {
 		cfg.Reranking = &falseV
 	}
 
-	if cfg.PromptCacheAll == nil {
-		// Match upstream llama.cpp's default (common/common.h: cache_prompt = true)
-		// and let cache_idle_slots / kv_unified actually do useful work; users can
-		// opt out with an explicit `prompt_cache_all: false` in the model YAML.
-		cfg.PromptCacheAll = &trueV
-	}
-
 	if threads == 0 {
 		// Threads can't be 0
 		threads = 4

core/http/react-ui/src/App.css

@@ -649,6 +649,7 @@
   align-items: center;
   gap: var(--spacing-md);
   padding: var(--spacing-xs) 0;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
 }
 
 .operation-info {
@@ -739,6 +740,110 @@
   color: var(--color-error);
 }
 
+/* Operations bar: per-node breakdown (multi-worker installs) */
+.operation-expand {
+  background: none;
+  border: none;
+  color: var(--color-text-muted);
+  cursor: pointer;
+  padding: 0 var(--spacing-xs);
+  font-size: var(--text-xs);
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 0.25rem;
+}
+.operation-expand:hover {
+  color: var(--color-text-primary);
+}
+.operation-expand-label {
+  font-size: var(--text-xs);
+}
+
+.operation-nodes-list {
+  list-style: none;
+  margin: var(--spacing-xs) 0 0;
+  padding: var(--spacing-xs) 0 0;
+  border-top: 1px solid var(--color-border-subtle);
+  flex-basis: 100%;
+  width: 100%;
+}
+.operation-node {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: var(--spacing-sm);
+  padding: var(--spacing-xs) 0;
+  font-size: var(--text-xs);
+  color: var(--color-text-muted);
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+}
+.operation-node-status {
+  padding: 2px 6px;
+  border-radius: var(--radius-md);
+  font-size: 0.65rem;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  letter-spacing: 0.025em;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.operation-node-status-success {
+  background: var(--color-success-light);
+  color: var(--color-success);
+}
+.operation-node-status-error {
+  background: var(--color-error-light);
+  color: var(--color-error);
+}
+.operation-node-status-queued {
+  background: var(--color-bg-tertiary);
+  color: var(--color-text-muted);
+}
+.operation-node-status-running_on_worker {
+  background: var(--color-warning-light);
+  color: var(--color-warning);
+}
+.operation-node-status-downloading {
+  background: var(--color-primary-light);
+  color: var(--color-primary);
+}
+.operation-node-name {
+  font-weight: 500;
+  color: var(--color-text-secondary);
+}
+.operation-node-file {
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  color: var(--color-text-tertiary);
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  max-width: 30ch;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.operation-node-bytes {
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  color: var(--color-text-tertiary);
+}
+.operation-node-pct {
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  color: var(--color-primary);
+  font-weight: 500;
+}
+.operation-node-error {
+  color: var(--color-error);
+}
+.operation-node-bar-container {
+  flex-basis: 100%;
+  height: 3px;
+  background: var(--color-surface-sunken);
+  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
+  overflow: hidden;
+  margin-top: 0.25rem;
+}
+.operation-node-bar {
+  height: 100%;
+  background: var(--color-primary);
+  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
+  transition: width var(--duration-slow, 0.3s) var(--ease-spring, ease);
+}
+
 /* Toast */
 .toast-container {
   position: fixed;

core/http/react-ui/src/components/OperationsBar.jsx

@@ -1,14 +1,33 @@
+import { useState } from 'react'
 import { useOperations } from '../hooks/useOperations'
 
+const nodeStatusLabels = {
+  success: 'Done',
+  error: 'Failed',
+  queued: 'Queued',
+  running_on_worker: 'Worker busy',
+  downloading: 'Downloading',
+}
+
+const runningOnWorkerTooltip = 'NATS round-trip timed out, but the worker is still installing in the background. The reconciler will confirm completion.'
+
 export default function OperationsBar() {
   const { operations, cancelOperation, dismissFailedOp } = useOperations()
+  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState({})
 
   if (operations.length === 0) return null
 
+  const toggle = (key) => setExpanded((m) => ({ ...m, [key]: !m[key] }))
+
   return (
     <div className="operations-bar">
-      {operations.map(op => (
-        <div key={op.jobID || op.id} className="operation-item">
+      {operations.map(op => {
+        const key = op.jobID || op.id
+        const nodes = Array.isArray(op.nodes) ? op.nodes : []
+        const canExpand = nodes.length > 1
+        const isOpen = !!expanded[key]
+        return (
+        <div key={key} className="operation-item">
           <div className="operation-info">
             {op.error ? (
               <i className="fas fa-circle-exclamation" style={{ color: 'var(--color-error)', marginRight: 'var(--spacing-xs)' }} />
@@ -80,8 +99,55 @@ export default function OperationsBar() {
               <i className="fas fa-xmark" />
             </button>
           ) : null}
+          {canExpand && (
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              className="operation-expand"
+              onClick={() => toggle(key)}
+              aria-expanded={isOpen}
+              title={isOpen ? 'Hide per-node detail' : `Show ${nodes.length} nodes`}
+            >
+              <i className={`fas fa-chevron-${isOpen ? 'up' : 'down'}`} />
+              <span className="operation-expand-label">{nodes.length} nodes</span>
+            </button>
+          )}
+          {canExpand && isOpen && (
+            <ul className="operation-nodes-list">
+              {nodes.map((n) => (
+                <li key={n.node_id} className={`operation-node operation-node-${n.status}`}>
+                  <span
+                    className={`operation-node-status operation-node-status-${n.status}`}
+                    title={n.status === 'running_on_worker' ? runningOnWorkerTooltip : undefined}
+                  >
+                    {nodeStatusLabels[n.status] || n.status}
+                  </span>
+                  <span className="operation-node-name">{n.node_name || n.node_id}</span>
+                  {n.file_name && <span className="operation-node-file">{n.file_name}</span>}
+                  {(n.current || n.total) && (
+                    <span className="operation-node-bytes">
+                      {n.current || '?'} / {n.total || '?'}
+                    </span>
+                  )}
+                  {n.percentage > 0 && (
+                    <span className="operation-node-pct">{Math.round(n.percentage)}%</span>
+                  )}
+                  {n.error && (
+                    <span className="operation-node-error" title={n.error}>
+                      {n.error.length > 80 ? n.error.slice(0, 80) + '...' : n.error}
+                    </span>
+                  )}
+                  {n.percentage > 0 && n.percentage < 100 && (
+                    <div className="operation-node-bar-container">
+                      <div className="operation-node-bar" style={{ width: `${n.percentage}%` }} />
+                    </div>
+                  )}
+                </li>
+              ))}
+            </ul>
+          )}
         </div>
-      ))}
+        )
+      })}
     </div>
   )
 }

core/http/react-ui/src/pages/BackendLogs.jsx

@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 import { useState, useEffect, useCallback, useRef, useMemo } from 'react'
-import { useParams, useSearchParams, useOutletContext, Link, Navigate } from 'react-router-dom'
-import { backendLogsApi, nodesApi } from '../utils/api'
+import { useParams, useSearchParams, useOutletContext, Link } from 'react-router-dom'
+import { backendLogsApi } from '../utils/api'
 import { formatTimestamp } from '../utils/format'
 import { apiUrl } from '../utils/basePath'
 import LoadingSpinner from '../components/LoadingSpinner'
-import { useDistributedMode } from '../hooks/useDistributedMode'
 
 function wsUrl(path) {
   const proto = window.location.protocol === 'https:' ? 'wss:' : 'ws:'
@@ -275,158 +274,11 @@ function BackendLogsDetail({ modelId }) {
   )
 }
 
-// DistributedBackendLogsResolver runs only in distributed mode. The local
-// /api/backend-logs WebSocket has no backend behind it here (inference lives
-// on workers), so we resolve modelId → hosting node(s) and forward to the
-// per-node logs page. One hit redirects automatically; multiple hits render
-// a picker so the operator can pick which worker's logs to inspect.
-function DistributedBackendLogsResolver({ modelId, fromTimestamp }) {
-  const [hits, setHits] = useState(null) // [{ node, model }] once resolved
-  const [error, setError] = useState(null)
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    let cancelled = false
-    ;(async () => {
-      try {
-        const nodes = await nodesApi.list()
-        const nodeList = Array.isArray(nodes) ? nodes : []
-        // Fan out to each node and collect entries that match this model.
-        // Per-node failures are tolerated — a single offline worker shouldn't
-        // hide logs available on its peers.
-        const perNode = await Promise.all(nodeList.map(async (node) => {
-          try {
-            const models = await nodesApi.getModels(node.id)
-            const matches = (Array.isArray(models) ? models : []).filter(m => m.model_name === modelId)
-            return matches.map(m => ({ node, model: m }))
-          } catch {
-            return []
-          }
-        }))
-        if (cancelled) return
-        setHits(perNode.flat())
-      } catch (err) {
-        if (!cancelled) setError(err)
-      }
-    })()
-    return () => { cancelled = true }
-  }, [modelId])
-
-  if (error) {
-    return (
-      <div className="page page--wide">
-        <div className="empty-state">
-          <div className="empty-state-icon"><i className="fas fa-exclamation-triangle" /></div>
-          <h2 className="empty-state-title">Failed to resolve hosting nodes</h2>
-          <p className="empty-state-text">{error.message}</p>
-        </div>
-      </div>
-    )
-  }
-
-  if (hits === null) {
-    return (
-      <div style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', padding: 'var(--spacing-xl)' }}>
-        <LoadingSpinner size="lg" />
-      </div>
-    )
-  }
-
-  if (hits.length === 0) {
-    return (
-      <div className="page page--wide">
-        <div className="empty-state">
-          <div className="empty-state-icon"><i className="fas fa-terminal" /></div>
-          <h2 className="empty-state-title">Model not loaded on any worker</h2>
-          <p className="empty-state-text">
-            <span style={{ fontFamily: 'var(--font-mono)' }}>{modelId}</span> isn't currently loaded on any node in the cluster.
-            Check the <Link to="/app/nodes" style={{ color: 'var(--color-primary)' }}>Nodes page</Link> to see which models are running where.
-          </p>
-        </div>
-      </div>
-    )
-  }
-
-  // Bare model name aggregates this node's replicas via the worker's log
-  // store; preserve ?from= so the deep-link from a trace still scrolls to
-  // the right line on arrival.
-  const buildHref = (nodeId) => {
-    const base = `/app/node-backend-logs/${nodeId}/${encodeURIComponent(modelId)}`
-    return fromTimestamp ? `${base}?from=${encodeURIComponent(fromTimestamp)}` : base
-  }
-
-  if (hits.length === 1) {
-    return <Navigate to={buildHref(hits[0].node.id)} replace />
-  }
-
-  // Multiple workers host this model — let the operator pick.
-  return (
-    <div className="page page--wide">
-      <div className="page-header">
-        <div>
-          <h1 className="page-title" style={{ marginBottom: 0 }}>
-            <i className="fas fa-terminal" style={{ fontSize: '0.8em', marginRight: 'var(--spacing-sm)' }} />
-            {modelId}
-          </h1>
-          <p className="page-subtitle" style={{ marginTop: 'var(--spacing-xs)' }}>
-            Hosted on {hits.length} workers — pick one to view its logs.
-          </p>
-        </div>
-      </div>
-      <div style={{ display: 'flex', flexDirection: 'column', gap: 'var(--spacing-xs)' }}>
-        {hits.map(({ node, model }) => (
-          <Link
-            key={`${node.id}#${model.replica_index ?? 0}`}
-            to={buildHref(node.id)}
-            style={{
-              display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'space-between',
-              padding: 'var(--spacing-sm) var(--spacing-md)',
-              background: 'var(--color-bg-primary)', border: '1px solid var(--color-border)',
-              borderRadius: 'var(--radius-md)', textDecoration: 'none', color: 'inherit',
-            }}
-          >
-            <div>
-              <div style={{ fontWeight: 500 }}>{node.name || node.id}</div>
-              <div style={{ fontSize: '0.75rem', color: 'var(--color-text-secondary)', fontFamily: 'var(--font-mono)' }}>
-                {node.id}{model.replica_index ? ` · replica ${model.replica_index}` : ''} · {model.state}
-              </div>
-            </div>
-            <i className="fas fa-chevron-right" style={{ color: 'var(--color-text-muted)' }} />
-          </Link>
-        ))}
-      </div>
-    </div>
-  )
-}
-
-// BackendLogsRouter picks between the local WebSocket view (standalone) and
-// the distributed resolver. The probe runs once via useDistributedMode so a
-// 503 from /api/nodes (the canonical "distributed disabled" signal) keeps the
-// existing standalone path intact.
-function BackendLogsRouter({ modelId }) {
-  const [searchParams] = useSearchParams()
-  const fromTimestamp = searchParams.get('from')
-  const { enabled: distributedMode, loading } = useDistributedMode()
-
-  if (loading) {
-    return (
-      <div style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', padding: 'var(--spacing-xl)' }}>
-        <LoadingSpinner size="lg" />
-      </div>
-    )
-  }
-
-  if (distributedMode) {
-    return <DistributedBackendLogsResolver modelId={modelId} fromTimestamp={fromTimestamp} />
-  }
-
-  return <BackendLogsDetail modelId={modelId} />
-}
-
 export default function BackendLogs() {
   const { modelId } = useParams()
 
   if (modelId) {
-    return <BackendLogsRouter modelId={decodeURIComponent(modelId)} />
+    return <BackendLogsDetail modelId={decodeURIComponent(modelId)} />
   }
 
   // No model specified — redirect to System page

core/http/react-ui/src/pages/Manage.jsx

@@ -660,7 +660,8 @@ export default function Manage() {
                             { key: 'edit', icon: 'fa-pen-to-square', label: 'Edit configuration',
                               onClick: () => navigate(`/app/model-editor/${encodeURIComponent(model.id)}`) },
                             { key: 'logs', icon: 'fa-terminal', label: 'Backend logs',
-                              onClick: () => navigate(`/app/backend-logs/${encodeURIComponent(model.id)}`) },
+                              onClick: () => navigate(`/app/backend-logs/${encodeURIComponent(model.id)}`),
+                              hidden: distributedMode },
                             { divider: true },
                             { key: 'delete', icon: 'fa-trash', label: 'Delete model', danger: true,
                               onClick: () => handleDeleteModel(model.id) },

core/http/react-ui/src/pages/Traces.jsx

@@ -220,10 +220,7 @@ function BackendTraceDetail({ trace }) {
         </div>
       )}
 
-      {/* Backend logs link — /app/backend-logs/:modelId is the unified entry
-          point: in standalone mode it streams local logs, in distributed mode
-          it resolves the model to the host worker(s) and either redirects to
-          /app/node-backend-logs/<nodeId>/<modelId> or shows a node picker. */}
+      {/* Backend logs link */}
       {trace.model_name && (
         <div style={{ marginBottom: 'var(--spacing-md)' }}>
           <a

core/http/routes/ui_api.go

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"net/url"
 	"slices"
+	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -57,7 +58,6 @@ var usecaseFilters = map[string]config.ModelConfigUsecase{
 	config.UsecaseRealtimeAudio:   config.FLAG_REALTIME_AUDIO,
 }
 
-
 // extractHFRepo tries to find a HuggingFace repo ID from model overrides or URLs.
 func extractHFRepo(overrides map[string]any, urls []string) string {
 	if overrides != nil {
@@ -257,6 +257,44 @@ func RegisterUIAPIRoutes(app *echo.Echo, cl *config.ModelConfigLoader, ml *model
 			if status != nil && status.Error != nil {
 				opData["error"] = status.Error.Error()
 			}
+			// Expose the per-node breakdown when the Phase 4 progress sink
+			// has populated OpStatus.Nodes (distributed backend installs).
+			// We sort by node_name for stable UI rendering across polls;
+			// the underlying slice is order-dependent on UpdateNodeProgress
+			// arrival order, which the UI must not depend on. Single-node
+			// ops and model installs leave Nodes empty so this block emits
+			// no key, preserving the legacy payload shape.
+			if status != nil && len(status.Nodes) > 0 {
+				nodes := make([]map[string]any, 0, len(status.Nodes))
+				for _, n := range status.Nodes {
+					entry := map[string]any{
+						"node_id":    n.NodeID,
+						"node_name":  n.NodeName,
+						"status":     n.Status,
+						"percentage": n.Percentage,
+					}
+					if n.FileName != "" {
+						entry["file_name"] = n.FileName
+					}
+					if n.Current != "" {
+						entry["current"] = n.Current
+					}
+					if n.Total != "" {
+						entry["total"] = n.Total
+					}
+					if n.Phase != "" {
+						entry["phase"] = n.Phase
+					}
+					if n.Error != "" {
+						entry["error"] = n.Error
+					}
+					nodes = append(nodes, entry)
+				}
+				sort.SliceStable(nodes, func(i, j int) bool {
+					return fmt.Sprintf("%v", nodes[i]["node_name"]) < fmt.Sprintf("%v", nodes[j]["node_name"])
+				})
+				opData["nodes"] = nodes
+			}
 			operations = append(operations, opData)
 		}
 
@@ -557,11 +595,11 @@ func RegisterUIAPIRoutes(app *echo.Echo, cl *config.ModelConfigLoader, ml *model
 			NodeStatus string `json:"node_status"`
 		}
 		type modelCapability struct {
-			ID           string     `json:"id"`
-			Capabilities []string   `json:"capabilities"`
-			Backend      string     `json:"backend"`
-			Disabled     bool       `json:"disabled"`
-			Pinned       bool       `json:"pinned"`
+			ID           string   `json:"id"`
+			Capabilities []string `json:"capabilities"`
+			Backend      string   `json:"backend"`
+			Disabled     bool     `json:"disabled"`
+			Pinned       bool     `json:"pinned"`
 			// LoadedOn is populated only when the node registry is active
 			// (distributed mode). Lets the UI show "loaded on worker-1" without
 			// the operator having to expand every node manually. An empty slice
@@ -1159,17 +1197,17 @@ func RegisterUIAPIRoutes(app *echo.Echo, cl *config.ModelConfigLoader, ml *model
 		}
 
 		return c.JSON(200, map[string]any{
-			"backends":           backendsJSON,
-			"repositories":       appConfig.BackendGalleries,
-			"allTags":            tags,
-			"processingBackends": processingBackendsData,
-			"taskTypes":          taskTypes,
-			"availableBackends":  totalBackends,
-			"installedBackends":  installedBackendsCount,
-			"currentPage":        pageNum,
-			"totalPages":         totalPages,
-			"prevPage":           prevPage,
-			"nextPage":           nextPage,
+			"backends":                  backendsJSON,
+			"repositories":              appConfig.BackendGalleries,
+			"allTags":                   tags,
+			"processingBackends":        processingBackendsData,
+			"taskTypes":                 taskTypes,
+			"availableBackends":         totalBackends,
+			"installedBackends":         installedBackendsCount,
+			"currentPage":               pageNum,
+			"totalPages":                totalPages,
+			"prevPage":                  prevPage,
+			"nextPage":                  nextPage,
 			"systemCapability":          detectedCapability,
 			"preferDevelopmentBackends": appConfig.PreferDevelopmentBackends,
 		})
@@ -1599,4 +1637,3 @@ func RegisterUIAPIRoutes(app *echo.Echo, cl *config.ModelConfigLoader, ml *model
 	app.DELETE("/api/branding/asset/:kind", localai.DeleteBrandingAssetEndpoint(appConfig), adminMiddleware)
 
 }
-

core/http/routes/ui_api_operations_test.go

@@ -62,6 +62,63 @@ var _ = Describe("/api/operations with node-scoped backend ops", func() {
 		Expect(found["isBackend"]).To(Equal(true))
 	})
 
+	It("surfaces per-node OpStatus entries on /api/operations", func() {
+		appCfg := &config.ApplicationConfig{}
+		galleryService := galleryop.NewGalleryService(appCfg, nil)
+		opcache := galleryop.NewOpCache(galleryService)
+
+		jobID := "test-op-nodes-1"
+		// Register a backend op so the handler treats this as a backend
+		// install (no need to consult the gallery during the test).
+		opcache.SetBackend("vllm", jobID)
+
+		// Populate per-node entries via the P4.2 helper. The helper also
+		// allocates an OpStatus under jobID, which the handler will read.
+		galleryService.UpdateNodeProgress(jobID, "node-b", galleryop.NodeProgress{
+			NodeID: "node-b", NodeName: "worker-b", Status: "running_on_worker",
+		})
+		galleryService.UpdateNodeProgress(jobID, "node-a", galleryop.NodeProgress{
+			NodeID: "node-a", NodeName: "worker-a", Status: "downloading", Percentage: 30, FileName: "vllm.tar",
+		})
+
+		e := echo.New()
+		routes.RegisterUIAPIRoutes(e, nil, nil, appCfg, galleryService, opcache, &application.Application{}, noopMw)
+
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/operations", nil)
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		e.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+		Expect(rec.Code).To(Equal(http.StatusOK))
+
+		var envelope struct {
+			Operations []map[string]any `json:"operations"`
+		}
+		Expect(json.Unmarshal(rec.Body.Bytes(), &envelope)).To(Succeed())
+
+		var found map[string]any
+		for _, op := range envelope.Operations {
+			if op["jobID"] == jobID {
+				found = op
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		Expect(found).ToNot(BeNil(), "operation should appear in /api/operations")
+		nodes, ok := found["nodes"].([]any)
+		Expect(ok).To(BeTrue(), "operation should have a nodes array")
+		Expect(nodes).To(HaveLen(2))
+
+		// Stable sort by node_name: "worker-a" comes before "worker-b"
+		// even though UpdateNodeProgress was called in reverse order.
+		first := nodes[0].(map[string]any)
+		Expect(first["node_name"]).To(Equal("worker-a"))
+		Expect(first["status"]).To(Equal("downloading"))
+		Expect(first["file_name"]).To(Equal("vllm.tar"))
+		Expect(first["percentage"]).To(Equal(30.0))
+
+		second := nodes[1].(map[string]any)
+		Expect(second["node_name"]).To(Equal("worker-b"))
+		Expect(second["status"]).To(Equal("running_on_worker"))
+	})
+
 	It("does not emit nodeID for non-node-scoped backend ops", func() {
 		appCfg := &config.ApplicationConfig{}
 		galleryService := galleryop.NewGalleryService(appCfg, nil)

core/services/galleryop/backends.go

@@ -91,6 +91,21 @@ func (g *GalleryService) backendHandler(op *ManagementOp[gallery.GalleryBackend,
 			})
 			return err
 		}
+		if errors.Is(err, ErrWorkerStillInstalling) {
+			// Soft failure: at least one worker timed out replying but is
+			// still running the install in the background. Mark the op as
+			// processed with a non-error message so the admin UI shows a
+			// yellow in-progress state rather than red. The reconciler's
+			// next pass will reconcile the actual outcome via backend.list.
+			xlog.Info("worker still installing in background", "backend", op.GalleryElementName, "error", err)
+			g.UpdateStatus(op.ID, &OpStatus{
+				Processed:          true,
+				GalleryElementName: op.GalleryElementName,
+				Message:            fmt.Sprintf("backend %s: worker still installing in background; reconciler will confirm completion (%v)", op.GalleryElementName, err),
+				Cancellable:        false,
+			})
+			return nil
+		}
 		xlog.Error("error installing backend", "error", err, "backend", op.GalleryElementName)
 		if !op.Delete {
 			// If we didn't install the backend, we need to make sure we don't have a leftover directory

core/services/galleryop/errors.go

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+package galleryop
+
+import "errors"
+
+// ErrWorkerStillInstalling indicates a distributed backend install
+// timed out at the NATS round-trip layer but the worker is most likely
+// still pulling the OCI image in the background. Producers
+// (DistributedBackendManager) wrap this when the round-trip times out;
+// consumers (backendHandler) use errors.Is(err, ErrWorkerStillInstalling)
+// to surface a yellow "in progress" OpStatus instead of a red error,
+// leaving the pending_backend_ops row in place for the reconciler to
+// confirm via backend.list.
+var ErrWorkerStillInstalling = errors.New("worker did not reply in time; install may still be running in the background")

core/services/galleryop/node_progress_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+package galleryop_test
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/galleryop"
+)
+
+var _ = Describe("OpStatus.Nodes", func() {
+	It("defaults to empty on a fresh OpStatus", func() {
+		os := &galleryop.OpStatus{}
+		Expect(os.Nodes).To(BeEmpty())
+	})
+
+	It("JSON round-trips with all NodeProgress fields", func() {
+		os := &galleryop.OpStatus{
+			Nodes: []galleryop.NodeProgress{
+				{
+					NodeID:     "node-1",
+					NodeName:   "worker-a",
+					Status:     "running_on_worker",
+					FileName:   "vllm.tar.zst",
+					Current:    "412 MB",
+					Total:      "2.1 GB",
+					Percentage: 19.6,
+					Phase:      "downloading",
+					Error:      "",
+				},
+			},
+		}
+		raw, err := json.Marshal(os)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+		got := &galleryop.OpStatus{}
+		Expect(json.Unmarshal(raw, got)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(got.Nodes).To(HaveLen(1))
+		Expect(got.Nodes[0]).To(Equal(os.Nodes[0]))
+	})
+})
+
+var _ = Describe("GalleryService.UpdateNodeProgress", func() {
+	var svc *galleryop.GalleryService
+
+	BeforeEach(func() {
+		// UpdateNodeProgress + GetStatus only touch the in-memory statuses
+		// map. A zero-value ApplicationConfig is enough to get past the
+		// LocalModelManager / LocalBackendManager constructors.
+		svc = galleryop.NewGalleryService(&config.ApplicationConfig{}, nil)
+	})
+
+	It("creates a node entry on first call", func() {
+		svc.UpdateNodeProgress("op1", "n1", galleryop.NodeProgress{
+			NodeID: "n1", NodeName: "worker-a", Status: "downloading", Percentage: 12.0,
+		})
+		st := svc.GetStatus("op1")
+		Expect(st).ToNot(BeNil())
+		Expect(st.Nodes).To(HaveLen(1))
+		Expect(st.Nodes[0].NodeID).To(Equal("n1"))
+		Expect(st.Nodes[0].Percentage).To(Equal(12.0))
+	})
+
+	It("merges subsequent updates into the same NodeID entry, not appending", func() {
+		svc.UpdateNodeProgress("op1", "n1", galleryop.NodeProgress{NodeID: "n1", NodeName: "worker-a", Status: "downloading", Percentage: 12.0})
+		svc.UpdateNodeProgress("op1", "n1", galleryop.NodeProgress{NodeID: "n1", NodeName: "worker-a", Status: "downloading", Percentage: 48.0, FileName: "vllm.tar"})
+		st := svc.GetStatus("op1")
+		Expect(st.Nodes).To(HaveLen(1))
+		Expect(st.Nodes[0].Percentage).To(Equal(48.0))
+		Expect(st.Nodes[0].FileName).To(Equal("vllm.tar"))
+	})
+
+	It("appends a new entry for a different NodeID", func() {
+		svc.UpdateNodeProgress("op1", "n1", galleryop.NodeProgress{NodeID: "n1", NodeName: "worker-a", Status: "downloading", Percentage: 12.0})
+		svc.UpdateNodeProgress("op1", "n2", galleryop.NodeProgress{NodeID: "n2", NodeName: "worker-b", Status: "queued"})
+		st := svc.GetStatus("op1")
+		Expect(st.Nodes).To(HaveLen(2))
+	})
+
+	It("mirrors the latest tick into the aggregate OpStatus fields", func() {
+		svc.UpdateNodeProgress("op1", "n1", galleryop.NodeProgress{
+			NodeID: "n1", NodeName: "worker-a", Status: "downloading",
+			Percentage: 33.0, FileName: "vllm.tar", Current: "330 MB", Total: "1 GB",
+		})
+		st := svc.GetStatus("op1")
+		Expect(st.Progress).To(Equal(33.0))
+		Expect(st.FileName).To(Equal("vllm.tar"))
+		Expect(st.DownloadedFileSize).To(Equal("330 MB"))
+		Expect(st.TotalFileSize).To(Equal("1 GB"))
+	})
+})

core/services/galleryop/operation.go

@@ -53,6 +53,30 @@ type OpStatus struct {
 	GalleryElementName string  `json:"gallery_element_name"`
 	Cancelled          bool    `json:"cancelled"`   // Cancelled is true if the operation was cancelled
 	Cancellable        bool    `json:"cancellable"` // Cancellable is true if the operation can be cancelled
+
+	// Nodes is the per-node breakdown for a fanned-out backend install.
+	// Populated by DistributedBackendManager (per-node terminal status)
+	// and by the Phase 2 progress bridge (per-byte ticks). The
+	// /api/operations handler surfaces this so the UI can render an
+	// expandable per-node view of an in-flight install.
+	Nodes []NodeProgress `json:"nodes,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// NodeProgress is a single node's contribution to a backend install
+// operation. Populated by DistributedBackendManager (per-node terminal
+// status) and by the Phase 2 progress bridge (per-byte ticks). Read by
+// the /api/operations handler so the UI can render an expandable
+// per-node breakdown.
+type NodeProgress struct {
+	NodeID     string  `json:"node_id"`
+	NodeName   string  `json:"node_name"`
+	Status     string  `json:"status"` // "queued" | "running_on_worker" | "success" | "error" | "downloading"
+	FileName   string  `json:"file_name,omitempty"`
+	Current    string  `json:"current,omitempty"`
+	Total      string  `json:"total,omitempty"`
+	Percentage float64 `json:"percentage"`
+	Phase      string  `json:"phase,omitempty"`
+	Error      string  `json:"error,omitempty"`
 }
 
 type OpCache struct {

core/services/galleryop/service.go

@@ -135,6 +135,47 @@ func (g *GalleryService) UpdateStatus(s string, op *OpStatus) {
 	}
 }
 
+// UpdateNodeProgress merges a per-node progress tick into OpStatus.Nodes,
+// keyed by nodeID, and mirrors the latest values into the aggregate
+// Progress / FileName / DownloadedFileSize / TotalFileSize / Message
+// fields so the legacy single-bar OperationsBar view keeps working
+// unchanged alongside the new per-node breakdown.
+//
+// We deliberately do NOT delegate the aggregate mirror to UpdateStatus
+// here: UpdateStatus overwrites the entire OpStatus, which would clobber
+// the Nodes slice we just merged into. Doing the merge + mirror under a
+// single lock keeps both views consistent and concurrent-safe.
+func (g *GalleryService) UpdateNodeProgress(opID, nodeID string, np NodeProgress) {
+	g.Lock()
+	defer g.Unlock()
+	status := g.statuses[opID]
+	if status == nil {
+		status = &OpStatus{}
+		g.statuses[opID] = status
+	}
+	merged := false
+	for i := range status.Nodes {
+		if status.Nodes[i].NodeID == nodeID {
+			status.Nodes[i] = np
+			merged = true
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if !merged {
+		status.Nodes = append(status.Nodes, np)
+	}
+
+	// Mirror the latest tick into the legacy aggregate fields so the
+	// existing single-bar UI keeps rendering meaningful progress.
+	status.FileName = np.FileName
+	status.Progress = np.Percentage
+	status.DownloadedFileSize = np.Current
+	status.TotalFileSize = np.Total
+	if np.Phase != "" {
+		status.Message = np.Phase
+	}
+}
+
 func (g *GalleryService) GetStatus(s string) *OpStatus {
 	g.Lock()
 	defer g.Unlock()

core/services/messaging/backend_install_progress.go

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package messaging
+
+// BackendInstallProgressEvent is the wire payload published by a worker to
+// nodes.<nodeID>.backend.install.<opID>.progress while a long-running install
+// is in flight. Transient: dropped events are acceptable, the master relies
+// on BackendInstallReply for ground truth on success/failure.
+type BackendInstallProgressEvent struct {
+	OpID       string  `json:"op_id"`
+	NodeID     string  `json:"node_id"`
+	Backend    string  `json:"backend"`
+	FileName   string  `json:"file_name,omitempty"`
+	Current    string  `json:"current,omitempty"` // human-readable size, e.g. "412 MB"
+	Total      string  `json:"total,omitempty"`   // human-readable size, e.g. "2.1 GB"
+	Percentage float64 `json:"percentage"`
+	Phase      string  `json:"phase,omitempty"` // "resolving" | "downloading" | "extracting" | "starting"
+}
+
+// SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress returns the NATS subject for transient
+// progress events emitted by a worker during a single backend.install run.
+// Per-op so multiple concurrent installs on the same node never alias.
+func SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress(nodeID, opID string) string {
+	return subjectNodePrefix + sanitizeSubjectToken(nodeID) + ".backend.install." + sanitizeSubjectToken(opID) + ".progress"
+}

core/services/messaging/backend_install_progress_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+package messaging_test
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
+)
+
+var _ = Describe("BackendInstallProgress", func() {
+	Context("SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress", func() {
+		It("composes the per-op progress subject", func() {
+			Expect(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress("node-abc", "op-123")).
+				To(Equal("nodes.node-abc.backend.install.op-123.progress"))
+		})
+
+		It("sanitizes NATS-reserved characters in node and op tokens", func() {
+			// '.' is the NATS hierarchy delimiter, '*' and '>' are wildcards,
+			// and whitespace must be stripped - sanitizeSubjectToken replaces
+			// all of them with '-'. The resulting subject must still parse as
+			// exactly six hierarchy segments: nodes/<node>/backend/install/<op>/progress.
+			subj := messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress("a.b c", "x.y z")
+			Expect(subj).ToNot(ContainSubstring(" "))
+			Expect(strings.Count(subj, ".")).To(Equal(5))
+		})
+	})
+
+	Context("BackendInstallProgressEvent", func() {
+		It("JSON round-trips with all known fields", func() {
+			ev := messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent{
+				OpID:       "op-123",
+				NodeID:     "node-abc",
+				Backend:    "vllm",
+				FileName:   "vllm-cpu.tar.zst",
+				Current:    "412 MB",
+				Total:      "2.1 GB",
+				Percentage: 19.6,
+				Phase:      "downloading",
+			}
+			raw, err := json.Marshal(ev)
+			Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+			var got messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent
+			Expect(json.Unmarshal(raw, &got)).To(Succeed())
+			Expect(got).To(Equal(ev))
+		})
+	})
+})

core/services/messaging/subjects.go

@@ -144,6 +144,12 @@ type BackendInstallRequest struct {
 	// worker still works (the master's install fallback path also uses this
 	// when backend.upgrade returns nats.ErrNoResponders).
 	Force bool `json:"force,omitempty"`
+	// OpID identifies the admin-side operation. When non-empty the worker
+	// publishes BackendInstallProgressEvent values to
+	// SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress(nodeID, OpID) while the install is
+	// running, debounced to roughly 250ms. Empty means the caller is a
+	// reconciler-driven retry that does not need progress streamed.
+	OpID string `json:"op_id,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // BackendInstallReply is the response from a backend.install NATS request.

core/services/nodes/install_progress_publisher.go

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+package nodes
+
+import (
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
+)
+
+// DebouncedInstallProgressPublisher buffers backend-install download ticks
+// and publishes them to the per-op NATS progress subject at most once per
+// `interval`. Always publishes the final event on Flush so the UI sees the
+// terminal percentage.
+//
+// Behavior: leading-edge debounce. The first OnDownload after a quiet window
+// publishes immediately; subsequent ticks within `interval` only buffer the
+// latest event, which is then emitted via a single trailing timer. This
+// keeps the wire chatter bounded (~4 events per second at 250ms) while
+// still surfacing every meaningful percentage jump.
+//
+// Lock ordering: never hold p.mu across a Publish call. Publish hits the
+// NATS client which may block on a slow link, and we don't want a stalled
+// network to stall the underlying gallery download loop.
+type DebouncedInstallProgressPublisher struct {
+	mu              sync.Mutex
+	client          messaging.MessagingClient
+	subject         string
+	nodeID          string
+	opID            string
+	backend         string
+	interval        time.Duration
+	lastPublishedAt time.Time
+	pending         *messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent
+	timer           *time.Timer
+}
+
+// NewDebouncedInstallProgressPublisher constructs a publisher for one
+// install operation. interval is the leading-edge debounce window
+// (~250ms in production).
+func NewDebouncedInstallProgressPublisher(client messaging.MessagingClient, nodeID, opID, backend string, interval time.Duration) *DebouncedInstallProgressPublisher {
+	return &DebouncedInstallProgressPublisher{
+		client:   client,
+		subject:  messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress(nodeID, opID),
+		nodeID:   nodeID,
+		opID:     opID,
+		backend:  backend,
+		interval: interval,
+	}
+}
+
+// OnDownload is the callback shape gallery.InstallBackendFromGallery and
+// galleryop.InstallExternalBackend pass into the worker. Each invocation
+// represents a single tick from the underlying io.Reader copy loop.
+func (p *DebouncedInstallProgressPublisher) OnDownload(file, current, total string, percentage float64) {
+	ev := messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent{
+		OpID:       p.opID,
+		NodeID:     p.nodeID,
+		Backend:    p.backend,
+		FileName:   file,
+		Current:    current,
+		Total:      total,
+		Percentage: percentage,
+		Phase:      "downloading",
+	}
+
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	now := time.Now()
+	if p.lastPublishedAt.IsZero() || now.Sub(p.lastPublishedAt) >= p.interval {
+		// Leading edge: publish immediately.
+		p.lastPublishedAt = now
+		p.pending = nil
+		p.mu.Unlock()
+		_ = p.client.Publish(p.subject, ev)
+		return
+	}
+	// Within the window: buffer the latest event and arm a trailing
+	// publish. If a timer is already armed, we just overwrite p.pending so
+	// the trailing publish carries the freshest data.
+	p.pending = &ev
+	if p.timer == nil {
+		delay := p.interval - now.Sub(p.lastPublishedAt)
+		p.timer = time.AfterFunc(delay, p.flushPending)
+	}
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+// flushPending is the trailing-edge publisher fired by the AfterFunc timer.
+// It clears the pending slot under the lock, then publishes outside the
+// lock so Publish never blocks an in-progress OnDownload call.
+func (p *DebouncedInstallProgressPublisher) flushPending() {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	p.timer = nil
+	pending := p.pending
+	p.pending = nil
+	if pending != nil {
+		p.lastPublishedAt = time.Now()
+	}
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+	if pending != nil {
+		_ = p.client.Publish(p.subject, *pending)
+	}
+}
+
+// Flush publishes any pending buffered event synchronously and stops the
+// pending timer. Safe to call multiple times. Callers MUST defer Flush
+// after constructing the publisher so the terminal percentage reaches the
+// master even on error returns.
+func (p *DebouncedInstallProgressPublisher) Flush() {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	if p.timer != nil {
+		p.timer.Stop()
+		p.timer = nil
+	}
+	pending := p.pending
+	p.pending = nil
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+	if pending != nil {
+		_ = p.client.Publish(p.subject, *pending)
+	}
+}

core/services/nodes/install_progress_publisher_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package nodes
+
+import (
+	"time"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
+)
+
+var _ = Describe("DebouncedInstallProgressPublisher", func() {
+	It("publishes the first event immediately and debounces subsequent ones within the window", func() {
+		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient()
+		pub := NewDebouncedInstallProgressPublisher(mc, "n1", "op1", "vllm", 50*time.Millisecond)
+
+		// Three rapid-fire ticks within the debounce window.
+		pub.OnDownload("vllm.tar.zst", "100 MB", "1 GB", 10.0)
+		pub.OnDownload("vllm.tar.zst", "200 MB", "1 GB", 20.0)
+		pub.OnDownload("vllm.tar.zst", "300 MB", "1 GB", 30.0)
+		pub.Flush()
+
+		// First event publishes immediately; the others coalesce; Flush guarantees a final.
+		// So we expect at least 2 publishes and at most 4 (lead + final + any window-bounded).
+		Eventually(func() int {
+			return len(mc.publishCalls(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress("n1", "op1")))
+		}, "1s").Should(BeNumerically(">=", 2))
+		calls := mc.publishCalls(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress("n1", "op1"))
+		Expect(len(calls)).To(BeNumerically("<=", 4),
+			"three ticks within the debounce window should produce at most ~4 publishes")
+	})
+
+	It("publishes the final event after Flush with the latest percentage", func() {
+		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient()
+		pub := NewDebouncedInstallProgressPublisher(mc, "n1", "op1", "vllm", 50*time.Millisecond)
+
+		pub.OnDownload("vllm.tar.zst", "1 GB", "1 GB", 100.0)
+		pub.Flush()
+
+		Eventually(func() float64 {
+			calls := mc.publishCalls(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress("n1", "op1"))
+			if len(calls) == 0 {
+				return -1
+			}
+			return calls[len(calls)-1].Percentage
+		}, "1s").Should(Equal(100.0))
+	})
+})

core/services/nodes/managers_distributed.go

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/gallery"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/galleryop"
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/model"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/pkg/system"
 	"github.com/mudler/xlog"
@@ -48,6 +49,13 @@ func (d *DistributedModelManager) InstallModel(ctx context.Context, op *galleryo
 	return d.local.InstallModel(ctx, op, progressCb)
 }
 
+// nodeProgressSink is the narrow interface DistributedBackendManager uses to
+// publish per-node progress without dragging in the full *GalleryService.
+// nil means "no sink, skip per-node writes" (used by single-node tests).
+type nodeProgressSink interface {
+	UpdateNodeProgress(opID, nodeID string, np galleryop.NodeProgress)
+}
+
 // DistributedBackendManager wraps a local BackendManager and adds NATS fan-out
 // for backend deletion so worker nodes clean up stale files.
 type DistributedBackendManager struct {
@@ -56,16 +64,20 @@ type DistributedBackendManager struct {
 	registry         *NodeRegistry
 	backendGalleries []config.Gallery
 	systemState      *system.SystemState
+	progressSink     nodeProgressSink
 }
 
 // NewDistributedBackendManager creates a DistributedBackendManager.
-func NewDistributedBackendManager(appConfig *config.ApplicationConfig, ml *model.ModelLoader, adapter *RemoteUnloaderAdapter, registry *NodeRegistry) *DistributedBackendManager {
+// progressSink may be nil to disable per-node OpStatus writes (single-node
+// tests don't need it).
+func NewDistributedBackendManager(appConfig *config.ApplicationConfig, ml *model.ModelLoader, adapter *RemoteUnloaderAdapter, registry *NodeRegistry, progressSink nodeProgressSink) *DistributedBackendManager {
 	return &DistributedBackendManager{
 		local:            galleryop.NewLocalBackendManager(appConfig, ml),
 		adapter:          adapter,
 		registry:         registry,
 		backendGalleries: appConfig.BackendGalleries,
 		systemState:      appConfig.SystemState,
+		progressSink:     progressSink,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -75,7 +87,7 @@ func NewDistributedBackendManager(appConfig *config.ApplicationConfig, ml *model
 type NodeOpStatus struct {
 	NodeID   string `json:"node_id"`
 	NodeName string `json:"node_name"`
-	Status   string `json:"status"` // "success" | "queued" | "error"
+	Status   string `json:"status"` // "success" | "queued" | "error" | "running_on_worker"
 	Error    string `json:"error,omitempty"`
 }
 
@@ -116,25 +128,48 @@ func (r BackendOpResult) Err() error {
 // when the node returns.
 // targetNodeIDs is an optional allowlist: when non-nil, only nodes whose ID is
 // in the set are visited. Used by UpgradeBackend to avoid asking nodes that
-// never had the backend installed to "upgrade" it — such requests fail at the
+// never had the backend installed to "upgrade" it - such requests fail at the
 // gallery (no platform variant) and would otherwise leave a forever-retrying
 // pending_backend_ops row. nil means "fan out to every node" (Install/Delete).
-func (d *DistributedBackendManager) enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx context.Context, op, backend string, galleriesJSON []byte, targetNodeIDs map[string]bool, apply func(node BackendNode) error) (BackendOpResult, error) {
+//
+// opID is the gallery operation identifier; when non-empty and progressSink is
+// set, every per-node terminal status appended to BackendOpResult is also
+// mirrored into the sink so the UI's per-node OpStatus.Nodes view stays in
+// lockstep with the manager's view. opID may be empty for ops that aren't
+// gallery-tracked (e.g. DeleteBackend's plain code path).
+func (d *DistributedBackendManager) enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx context.Context, opID, op, backend string, galleriesJSON []byte, targetNodeIDs map[string]bool, apply func(node BackendNode) error) (BackendOpResult, error) {
 	allNodes, err := d.registry.List(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return BackendOpResult{}, err
 	}
 
+	// emitNodeProgress is a small helper that funnels every NodeOpStatus we
+	// append to result.Nodes into the per-node OpStatus sink (when configured
+	// and opID is known). Keeping it inline avoids drift between the
+	// BackendOpResult view and the sink view - they're written from the same
+	// code path on the same terminal statuses.
+	emitNodeProgress := func(node BackendNode, status, errMsg string) {
+		if d.progressSink == nil || opID == "" {
+			return
+		}
+		d.progressSink.UpdateNodeProgress(opID, node.ID, galleryop.NodeProgress{
+			NodeID:   node.ID,
+			NodeName: node.Name,
+			Status:   status,
+			Error:    errMsg,
+		})
+	}
+
 	result := BackendOpResult{Nodes: make([]NodeOpStatus, 0, len(allNodes))}
 	for _, node := range allNodes {
-		// Pending nodes haven't been approved yet — no intent to apply.
+		// Pending nodes haven't been approved yet - no intent to apply.
 		if node.Status == StatusPending {
 			continue
 		}
 		// Backend lifecycle ops only make sense on backend-type workers.
 		// Agent workers don't subscribe to backend.install/delete/list, so
 		// enqueueing for them guarantees a forever-retrying row that the
-		// reconciler can never drain. Silently skip — they aren't consumers.
+		// reconciler can never drain. Silently skip - they aren't consumers.
 		if node.NodeType != "" && node.NodeType != NodeTypeBackend {
 			continue
 		}
@@ -143,19 +178,23 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx context.Context
 		}
 		if err := d.registry.UpsertPendingBackendOp(ctx, node.ID, backend, op, galleriesJSON); err != nil {
 			xlog.Warn("Failed to enqueue backend op", "op", op, "node", node.Name, "backend", backend, "error", err)
+			errMsg := fmt.Sprintf("enqueue failed: %v", err)
 			result.Nodes = append(result.Nodes, NodeOpStatus{
 				NodeID: node.ID, NodeName: node.Name, Status: "error",
-				Error: fmt.Sprintf("enqueue failed: %v", err),
+				Error: errMsg,
 			})
+			emitNodeProgress(node, "error", errMsg)
 			continue
 		}
 
 		if node.Status != StatusHealthy {
 			// Intent is recorded; reconciler will retry when the node recovers.
+			errMsg := fmt.Sprintf("node %s, will retry when healthy", node.Status)
 			result.Nodes = append(result.Nodes, NodeOpStatus{
 				NodeID: node.ID, NodeName: node.Name, Status: "queued",
-				Error: fmt.Sprintf("node %s, will retry when healthy", node.Status),
+				Error: errMsg,
 			})
+			emitNodeProgress(node, "queued", errMsg)
 			continue
 		}
 
@@ -169,12 +208,31 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx context.Context
 			result.Nodes = append(result.Nodes, NodeOpStatus{
 				NodeID: node.ID, NodeName: node.Name, Status: "success",
 			})
+			emitNodeProgress(node, "success", "")
 			continue
 		}
 
 		// Record failure for backoff. If it's an ErrNoResponders, the node's
-		// gone AWOL — mark unhealthy so the router stops picking it too.
+		// gone AWOL - mark unhealthy so the router stops picking it too.
 		errMsg := applyErr.Error()
+
+		// Worker-still-installing is a "soft" failure: the worker is most
+		// likely still pulling the OCI image. Keep the row, push NextRetryAt
+		// out so the reconciler does not immediately re-fire another install
+		// while the worker is still busy, and report the in-progress state
+		// to the caller. The next reconciler pass / backend.list confirms
+		// the actual outcome.
+		if errors.Is(applyErr, galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling) {
+			if id, err := d.findPendingRow(ctx, node.ID, backend, op); err == nil {
+				_ = d.registry.RecordPendingBackendOpInFlight(ctx, id, errMsg, d.adapter.InstallTimeout())
+			}
+			result.Nodes = append(result.Nodes, NodeOpStatus{
+				NodeID: node.ID, NodeName: node.Name, Status: "running_on_worker", Error: errMsg,
+			})
+			emitNodeProgress(node, "running_on_worker", errMsg)
+			continue
+		}
+
 		if errors.Is(applyErr, nats.ErrNoResponders) {
 			xlog.Warn("No NATS responders for node, marking unhealthy", "node", node.Name, "nodeID", node.ID)
 			d.registry.MarkUnhealthy(ctx, node.ID)
@@ -185,6 +243,7 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx context.Context
 		result.Nodes = append(result.Nodes, NodeOpStatus{
 			NodeID: node.ID, NodeName: node.Name, Status: "error", Error: errMsg,
 		})
+		emitNodeProgress(node, "error", errMsg)
 	}
 	return result, nil
 }
@@ -226,7 +285,11 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) DeleteBackend(name string) error {
 	}
 
 	ctx := context.Background()
-	result, err := d.enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx, OpBackendDelete, name, nil, nil, func(node BackendNode) error {
+	// Empty opID: plain DeleteBackend isn't gallery-tracked the same way as
+	// Install/Upgrade (no progress dialog), so we skip the per-node sink
+	// writes here. DeleteBackendDetailed is the HTTP path that surfaces
+	// per-node results in its own response.
+	result, err := d.enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx, "", OpBackendDelete, name, nil, nil, func(node BackendNode) error {
 		reply, err := d.adapter.DeleteBackend(node.ID, name)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -249,7 +312,7 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) DeleteBackendDetailed(ctx context.Context, n
 	if err := d.local.DeleteBackend(name); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, gallery.ErrBackendNotFound) {
 		return BackendOpResult{}, err
 	}
-	return d.enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx, OpBackendDelete, name, nil, nil, func(node BackendNode) error {
+	return d.enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx, "", OpBackendDelete, name, nil, nil, func(node BackendNode) error {
 		reply, err := d.adapter.DeleteBackend(node.ID, name)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -324,9 +387,60 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) ListBackends() (gallery.SystemBackends, erro
 			result[b.Name] = entry
 		}
 	}
+
+	// Proactively clear pending_backend_ops install rows whose intent is now
+	// satisfied: the backend is reported installed on its target node. Without
+	// this, the row sits in the queue until next_retry_at expires (up to the
+	// install timeout, default 15m) and the operator UI shows the install as
+	// "still installing in background" for that whole window even though the
+	// worker has actually been ready for minutes. We only clear install rows;
+	// upgrade and delete rows have presence-based semantics that do NOT match
+	// backend.list confirmation.
+	d.clearSatisfiedInstallRows(context.Background(), result)
 	return result, nil
 }
 
+// clearSatisfiedInstallRows removes pending_backend_ops install rows whose
+// (nodeID, backend) pair now appears in the cluster-wide backend listing.
+// Called by ListBackends after fan-out so the proactive clear sees every
+// node's report. Best-effort: a DB failure is logged and the row stays for
+// the reconciler to drain via its slower path.
+func (d *DistributedBackendManager) clearSatisfiedInstallRows(ctx context.Context, backends gallery.SystemBackends) {
+	rows, err := d.registry.ListPendingBackendOps(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		xlog.Debug("clearSatisfiedInstallRows: failed to list pending ops", "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+	if len(rows) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	// Build a (nodeID, backend) presence set from the listing.
+	present := make(map[string]map[string]bool, len(backends))
+	for name, b := range backends {
+		for _, ref := range b.Nodes {
+			if present[ref.NodeID] == nil {
+				present[ref.NodeID] = make(map[string]bool)
+			}
+			present[ref.NodeID][name] = true
+		}
+	}
+	for _, row := range rows {
+		if row.Op != OpBackendInstall {
+			continue
+		}
+		if !present[row.NodeID][row.Backend] {
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := d.registry.DeletePendingBackendOp(ctx, row.ID); err != nil {
+			xlog.Debug("clearSatisfiedInstallRows: delete failed",
+				"id", row.ID, "node", row.NodeID, "backend", row.Backend, "error", err)
+			continue
+		}
+		xlog.Info("Reconciler: pending install row satisfied by backend.list",
+			"node", row.NodeID, "backend", row.Backend)
+	}
+}
+
 // InstallBackend fans out installation through the pending-ops queue so
 // non-healthy nodes get retried when they come back instead of being silently
 // skipped. Reply success from the NATS round-trip deletes the queue row;
@@ -345,11 +459,41 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) InstallBackend(ctx context.Context, op *gall
 		targetNodeIDs = map[string]bool{op.TargetNodeID: true}
 	}
 
-	result, err := d.enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx, OpBackendInstall, backendName, galleriesJSON, targetNodeIDs, func(node BackendNode) error {
+	result, err := d.enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx, op.ID, OpBackendInstall, backendName, galleriesJSON, targetNodeIDs, func(node BackendNode) error {
+		// onProgress fans each BackendInstallProgressEvent into two
+		// observers: the legacy single-bar progressCb (kept so callers
+		// that only consume the aggregate view keep working) and the
+		// per-node sink (so OpStatus.Nodes gets a "downloading" tick
+		// per file/percentage with node attribution). Defined inside the
+		// loop so each node captures its own node.Name into the closure.
+		onProgress := func(ev messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent) {
+			if progressCb != nil {
+				progressCb(ev.FileName, ev.Current, ev.Total, ev.Percentage)
+			}
+			if d.progressSink != nil && op.ID != "" {
+				d.progressSink.UpdateNodeProgress(op.ID, ev.NodeID, galleryop.NodeProgress{
+					NodeID:     ev.NodeID,
+					NodeName:   node.Name,
+					Status:     "downloading",
+					FileName:   ev.FileName,
+					Current:    ev.Current,
+					Total:      ev.Total,
+					Percentage: ev.Percentage,
+					Phase:      ev.Phase,
+				})
+			}
+		}
+		// nil-callback shortcut: when there is nothing to deliver to,
+		// hand the adapter a nil onProgress so it skips the per-op NATS
+		// subscription. Matches the pre-Phase-4 bridgeProgressCb semantics.
+		var onProgressArg func(messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent)
+		if progressCb != nil || d.progressSink != nil {
+			onProgressArg = onProgress
+		}
 		// Admin-driven backend install: not tied to a specific replica slot.
 		// Pass replica 0 - the worker's processKey is "backend#0" when no
 		// modelID is supplied, matching pre-PR4 behavior.
-		reply, err := d.adapter.InstallBackend(node.ID, backendName, "", string(galleriesJSON), op.ExternalURI, op.ExternalName, op.ExternalAlias, 0)
+		reply, err := d.adapter.InstallBackend(node.ID, backendName, "", string(galleriesJSON), op.ExternalURI, op.ExternalName, op.ExternalAlias, 0, op.ID, onProgressArg)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -361,7 +505,19 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) InstallBackend(ctx context.Context, op *gall
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	return result.Err()
+	if hardErr := result.Err(); hardErr != nil {
+		return hardErr
+	}
+	// No hard failures, but if at least one node reported running_on_worker,
+	// surface a wrapped ErrWorkerStillInstalling so galleryop can render a
+	// yellow in-progress state instead of green success. The reconciler
+	// will confirm the actual outcome on its next pass via backend.list.
+	for _, n := range result.Nodes {
+		if n.Status == "running_on_worker" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling, summarizeRunningOnWorker(result.Nodes))
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 // UpgradeBackend uses a separate NATS subject (backend.upgrade) so the slow
@@ -392,7 +548,11 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) UpgradeBackend(ctx context.Context, name str
 		targetNodeIDs[n.NodeID] = true
 	}
 
-	result, err := d.enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx, OpBackendUpgrade, name, galleriesJSON, targetNodeIDs, func(node BackendNode) error {
+	// Empty opID: the caller (galleryop) doesn't thread an op ID into
+	// UpgradeBackend today, so we can't tag per-node sink writes with the
+	// right OpStatus key. Until the upgrade path takes a ManagementOp the
+	// way InstallBackend does, the sink stays no-op here.
+	result, err := d.enqueueAndDrainBackendOp(ctx, "", OpBackendUpgrade, name, galleriesJSON, targetNodeIDs, func(node BackendNode) error {
 		reply, err := d.adapter.UpgradeBackend(node.ID, name, string(galleriesJSON), "", "", "", 0)
 		if err != nil {
 			// Rolling-update fallback: an older worker doesn't know
@@ -417,7 +577,18 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) UpgradeBackend(ctx context.Context, name str
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	return result.Err()
+	if hardErr := result.Err(); hardErr != nil {
+		return hardErr
+	}
+	// Same in-progress surfacing as InstallBackend: a long-running worker
+	// upgrade that timed out the NATS round-trip must not be reported as
+	// green success.
+	for _, n := range result.Nodes {
+		if n.Status == "running_on_worker" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling, summarizeRunningOnWorker(result.Nodes))
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 // IsDistributed reports that installs from this manager fan out across the
@@ -443,3 +614,16 @@ func (d *DistributedBackendManager) CheckUpgrades(ctx context.Context) (map[stri
 	// it used to come from the empty frontend filesystem.
 	return gallery.CheckUpgradesAgainst(ctx, d.backendGalleries, d.systemState, installed)
 }
+
+// summarizeRunningOnWorker builds a short human-readable summary of which
+// nodes are still installing in the background, for inclusion in the
+// wrapped ErrWorkerStillInstalling error.
+func summarizeRunningOnWorker(nodes []NodeOpStatus) string {
+	var names []string
+	for _, n := range nodes {
+		if n.Status == "running_on_worker" {
+			names = append(names, n.NodeName)
+		}
+	}
+	return strings.Join(names, ", ")
+}

core/services/nodes/managers_distributed_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package nodes
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
 
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/gallery"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/galleryop"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
@@ -22,11 +24,35 @@ import (
 // (or error). Used so each fan-out request can simulate a different worker
 // outcome without spinning up real NATS.
 type scriptedMessagingClient struct {
-	mu             sync.Mutex
-	replies        map[string][]byte
-	errs           map[string]error
-	calls          []requestCall
-	matchedReplies map[string][]matchedReply
+	mu                         sync.Mutex
+	replies                    map[string][]byte
+	errs                       map[string]error
+	calls                      []requestCall
+	matchedReplies             map[string][]matchedReply
+	publishes                  []progressPublishCall
+	scheduledProgressPublishes []scheduledProgressPublish
+	subscribes                 []string
+}
+
+// progressPublishCall records a single Publish invocation. The progress
+// publisher tests assert on the sequence of BackendInstallProgressEvent
+// values written to a per-op subject, so we capture both subject and the
+// decoded event. Named to avoid clashing with the simpler `publishCall`
+// already defined in unloader_test.go (which stores raw JSON bytes for
+// non-progress assertions).
+type progressPublishCall struct {
+	Subject string
+	Event   messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent
+}
+
+// scheduledProgressPublish queues a batch of BackendInstallProgressEvent
+// values to be delivered the next time Subscribe is called with the matching
+// subject. This lets master-side tests assert that the adapter installs its
+// handler BEFORE publishing the install request, by scripting events to be
+// delivered as soon as the subscription appears.
+type scheduledProgressPublish struct {
+	subject string
+	events  []messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent
 }
 
 // matchedReply lets a test script a canned reply that only fires when the
@@ -98,10 +124,10 @@ func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) scriptReplyMatching(subject string, pred func(
 	})
 }
 
-func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) Request(subject string, data []byte, _ time.Duration) ([]byte, error) {
+func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) Request(subject string, data []byte, timeout time.Duration) ([]byte, error) {
 	s.mu.Lock()
 	defer s.mu.Unlock()
-	s.calls = append(s.calls, requestCall{Subject: subject, Data: data})
+	s.calls = append(s.calls, requestCall{Subject: subject, Data: data, Timeout: timeout})
 
 	// Predicate-matched replies take precedence over flat scriptReply.
 	if matchers, ok := s.matchedReplies[subject]; ok {
@@ -135,8 +161,88 @@ func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) Request(subject string, data []byte, _ time.Du
 	return nil, &fakeNoRespondersErr{}
 }
 
-func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) Publish(_ string, _ any) error { return nil }
-func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) Subscribe(_ string, _ func([]byte)) (messaging.Subscription, error) {
+// Publish records each call so progress-publisher tests can assert on the
+// stream of events written to a subject. The real messaging.Client JSON
+// encodes the payload before sending, but our publisher hands a typed
+// struct directly, so we handle both shapes.
+func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) Publish(subject string, data any) error {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	switch ev := data.(type) {
+	case messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent:
+		s.publishes = append(s.publishes, progressPublishCall{Subject: subject, Event: ev})
+	case []byte:
+		var e messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent
+		_ = json.Unmarshal(ev, &e)
+		s.publishes = append(s.publishes, progressPublishCall{Subject: subject, Event: e})
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// publishCalls returns every BackendInstallProgressEvent that was published
+// to `subject`, in order. Lets tests assert on debounce behavior without
+// depending on internal Publish timing.
+func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) publishCalls(subject string) []messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	out := make([]messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent, 0)
+	for _, c := range s.publishes {
+		if c.Subject != subject {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, c.Event)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// scheduleProgressPublish queues a set of BackendInstallProgressEvent values
+// to be delivered on the next Subscribe call matching the per-op progress
+// subject. A short delay before delivery gives the subscriber time to install
+// its message handler before the events arrive.
+func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) scheduleProgressPublish(nodeID, opID string, events []messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent) {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	s.scheduledProgressPublishes = append(s.scheduledProgressPublishes, scheduledProgressPublish{
+		subject: messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress(nodeID, opID),
+		events:  events,
+	})
+}
+
+// subscribeCalls returns the subjects on which Subscribe was invoked.
+// Used to confirm the master skipped subscription when onProgress was nil.
+func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) subscribeCalls() []string {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	out := make([]string, len(s.subscribes))
+	copy(out, s.subscribes)
+	return out
+}
+
+func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) Subscribe(subject string, handler func([]byte)) (messaging.Subscription, error) {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	s.subscribes = append(s.subscribes, subject)
+	matched := []scheduledProgressPublish{}
+	remaining := s.scheduledProgressPublishes[:0]
+	for _, sp := range s.scheduledProgressPublishes {
+		if sp.subject == subject {
+			matched = append(matched, sp)
+		} else {
+			remaining = append(remaining, sp)
+		}
+	}
+	s.scheduledProgressPublishes = remaining
+	s.mu.Unlock()
+
+	go func() {
+		time.Sleep(20 * time.Millisecond)
+		for _, sp := range matched {
+			for _, ev := range sp.events {
+				raw, _ := json.Marshal(ev)
+				handler(raw)
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+
 	return &fakeSubscription{}, nil
 }
 func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) QueueSubscribe(_ string, _ string, _ func([]byte)) (messaging.Subscription, error) {
@@ -151,8 +257,43 @@ func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) SubscribeReply(_ string, _ func([]byte, func([
 func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) IsConnected() bool { return true }
 func (s *scriptedMessagingClient) Close()            {}
 
+// recordingNodeCall captures a single UpdateNodeProgress invocation so
+// per-node OpStatus tests can assert on the sequence of writes the
+// DistributedBackendManager fans out into the sink.
+type recordingNodeCall struct {
+	OpID     string
+	NodeID   string
+	Progress galleryop.NodeProgress
+}
+
+// recordingProgressSink is a test-only nodeProgressSink that just records
+// every call. Used by the per-node OpStatus specs below to assert the
+// manager wrote the expected terminal and downloading entries.
+type recordingProgressSink struct {
+	mu    sync.Mutex
+	calls []recordingNodeCall
+}
+
+func (r *recordingProgressSink) UpdateNodeProgress(opID, nodeID string, np galleryop.NodeProgress) {
+	r.mu.Lock()
+	defer r.mu.Unlock()
+	r.calls = append(r.calls, recordingNodeCall{OpID: opID, NodeID: nodeID, Progress: np})
+}
+
+func (r *recordingProgressSink) callsFor(opID, nodeID string) []galleryop.NodeProgress {
+	r.mu.Lock()
+	defer r.mu.Unlock()
+	out := []galleryop.NodeProgress{}
+	for _, c := range r.calls {
+		if c.OpID == opID && c.NodeID == nodeID {
+			out = append(out, c.Progress)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 // fakeNoRespondersErr is the unscripted-subject default. It matches
-// nats.ErrNoResponders by string only — used when a test forgets to script
+// nats.ErrNoResponders by string only - used when a test forgets to script
 // a node so the failure is loud but doesn't tickle errors.Is(...) sentinel
 // paths the test wasn't deliberately exercising. Tests that DO want the
 // real sentinel (e.g. to drive the manager's NoResponders fallback) call
@@ -204,7 +345,7 @@ var _ = Describe("DistributedBackendManager", func() {
 		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 
 		mc = newScriptedMessagingClient()
-		adapter = NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc)
+		adapter = NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 		mgr = &DistributedBackendManager{
 			local:    stubLocalBackendManager{},
 			adapter:  adapter,
@@ -352,6 +493,263 @@ var _ = Describe("DistributedBackendManager", func() {
 				Expect(mc.calls).To(BeEmpty())
 			})
 		})
+
+		Context("when InstallBackend times out on a worker", func() {
+			It("returns galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling and keeps the queue row with NextRetryAt pushed out", func() {
+				n := registerHealthyBackend("slow", "10.0.0.1:50051")
+
+				// Script a NATS timeout on the install subject. The adapter
+				// wraps this into galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling, which
+				// the manager should treat as a soft failure.
+				mc.scriptErr(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(n.ID), nats.ErrTimeout)
+
+				err := mgr.InstallBackend(ctx, op("vllm"), nil)
+				Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(errors.Is(err, galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling)).To(BeTrue(),
+					"expected wrapped ErrWorkerStillInstalling, got %v", err)
+
+				rows, err := registry.ListPendingBackendOps(ctx)
+				Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(rows).To(HaveLen(1))
+				Expect(rows[0].Backend).To(Equal("vllm"))
+				// The adapter is configured with a 3m install timeout in this
+				// suite (NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter above). NextRetryAt should
+				// be ~now+3m; a > now+2m bound is safe-but-tight enough to
+				// catch the buggy short default (30s exponential backoff).
+				Expect(rows[0].NextRetryAt).To(BeTemporally(">", time.Now().Add(2*time.Minute)),
+					"NextRetryAt should be pushed to ~now+installTimeout, not the short default")
+			})
+		})
+
+		Context("end-to-end: timeout then successful reconcile via backend.list", func() {
+			It("surfaces the install in ListBackends after the worker finishes", func() {
+				// Use the same node-registration helper the Task 5 test uses
+				// so the test fixture is identical to the prior context.
+				node := registerHealthyBackend("jetson", "10.0.0.2:50051")
+
+				// First install attempt: NATS times out. The adapter wraps
+				// this as galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling and the manager
+				// keeps the pending_backend_ops row alive with NextRetryAt
+				// pushed out (asserted in the previous context).
+				mc.scriptErr(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(node.ID), nats.ErrTimeout)
+
+				err := mgr.InstallBackend(ctx, op("vllm"), nil)
+				Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(errors.Is(err, galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling)).To(BeTrue(),
+					"expected wrapped ErrWorkerStillInstalling, got %v", err)
+
+				rows, listErr := registry.ListPendingBackendOps(ctx)
+				Expect(listErr).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(rows).To(HaveLen(1))
+
+				// The worker finished installing in the background. Script
+				// backend.list on the same scriptedMessagingClient so the
+				// manager's ListBackends fan-out reports the backend.
+				mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendList(node.ID), messaging.BackendListReply{
+					Backends: []messaging.NodeBackendInfo{{Name: "vllm"}},
+				})
+
+				backends, listErr := mgr.ListBackends()
+				Expect(listErr).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(backends).To(HaveKey("vllm"))
+				Expect(backends["vllm"].Nodes).To(HaveLen(1))
+				Expect(backends["vllm"].Nodes[0].NodeID).To(Equal(node.ID))
+
+				// Phase 1b shipped: ListBackends proactively clears install rows
+				// whose intent is now satisfied by backend.list confirmation. The
+				// operator UI clears immediately instead of waiting for the next
+				// reconciler tick after NextRetryAt.
+				rowsAfter, _ := registry.ListPendingBackendOps(ctx)
+				Expect(rowsAfter).To(BeEmpty(),
+					"install row should clear once backend.list confirms presence on the target node")
+			})
+		})
+
+		Context("ListBackends clears confirmed install rows", func() {
+			It("deletes the pending_backend_ops install row when the backend is reported installed on its target node", func() {
+				node := registerHealthyBackend("worker-a", "10.0.0.5:50051")
+
+				// Pre-stage: simulate an admin install that timed out at the NATS
+				// round-trip, leaving an install row in the queue.
+				mc.scriptErr(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(node.ID), nats.ErrTimeout)
+				err := mgr.InstallBackend(ctx, op("vllm"), nil)
+				Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(errors.Is(err, galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling)).To(BeTrue())
+
+				rows, _ := registry.ListPendingBackendOps(ctx)
+				Expect(rows).To(HaveLen(1))
+
+				// Worker finishes installing in the background. backend.list now
+				// confirms presence; ListBackends should proactively clear the row.
+				mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendList(node.ID), messaging.BackendListReply{
+					Backends: []messaging.NodeBackendInfo{{Name: "vllm"}},
+				})
+
+				backends, listErr := mgr.ListBackends()
+				Expect(listErr).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(backends).To(HaveKey("vllm"))
+
+				rowsAfter, _ := registry.ListPendingBackendOps(ctx)
+				Expect(rowsAfter).To(BeEmpty(),
+					"ListBackends should clear install rows whose intent is now satisfied by backend.list")
+			})
+
+			It("does NOT clear an upgrade row even if the backend is reported installed", func() {
+				node := registerHealthyBackend("worker-b", "10.0.0.6:50051")
+
+				Expect(registry.UpsertPendingBackendOp(ctx, node.ID, "vllm", OpBackendUpgrade, []byte("[]"))).To(Succeed())
+
+				mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendList(node.ID), messaging.BackendListReply{
+					Backends: []messaging.NodeBackendInfo{{Name: "vllm"}},
+				})
+
+				_, listErr := mgr.ListBackends()
+				Expect(listErr).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+				rowsAfter, _ := registry.ListPendingBackendOps(ctx)
+				Expect(rowsAfter).To(HaveLen(1), "upgrade rows must not be cleared by backend.list presence")
+			})
+		})
+
+		Context("InstallBackend streams progress events to the caller's progressCb", func() {
+			It("invokes progressCb once per worker-published progress event", func() {
+				node := registerHealthyBackend("worker-prog", "10.0.0.7:50051")
+
+				mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(node.ID), messaging.BackendInstallReply{Success: true, Address: "10.0.0.7:50051"})
+				mc.scheduleProgressPublish(node.ID, "op-prog-1", []messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent{
+					{OpID: "op-prog-1", NodeID: node.ID, Backend: "vllm", FileName: "vllm.tar", Current: "100 MB", Total: "1 GB", Percentage: 10},
+					{OpID: "op-prog-1", NodeID: node.ID, Backend: "vllm", FileName: "vllm.tar", Current: "1 GB", Total: "1 GB", Percentage: 100},
+				})
+
+				type tick struct {
+					FileName, Current, Total string
+					Percentage               float64
+				}
+				var (
+					pcCalls []tick
+					mu      sync.Mutex
+				)
+				progressCb := func(file, current, total string, pct float64) {
+					mu.Lock()
+					defer mu.Unlock()
+					pcCalls = append(pcCalls, tick{file, current, total, pct})
+				}
+
+				opVal := op("vllm")
+				opVal.ID = "op-prog-1"
+				Expect(mgr.InstallBackend(ctx, opVal, progressCb)).To(Succeed())
+
+				Eventually(func() int {
+					mu.Lock()
+					defer mu.Unlock()
+					return len(pcCalls)
+				}, "1s").Should(Equal(2))
+				mu.Lock()
+				defer mu.Unlock()
+				// The adapter dispatches each progress event to its own goroutine
+				// (see unloader.go: `go onProgress(ev)`) so two events emitted back
+				// to back can land at the bridge in either order. Assert the set of
+				// percentages observed contains both ticks, rather than depending
+				// on goroutine scheduling for ordering.
+				pcts := []float64{pcCalls[0].Percentage, pcCalls[1].Percentage}
+				Expect(pcts).To(ConsistOf(10.0, 100.0))
+			})
+		})
+
+		Context("InstallBackend tolerates silent (pre-Phase-2) workers", func() {
+			It("completes successfully even when no progress events are ever published", func() {
+				node := registerHealthyBackend("worker-silent", "10.0.0.8:50051")
+				mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(node.ID), messaging.BackendInstallReply{Success: true, Address: "10.0.0.8:50051"})
+				// NO scheduleProgressPublish call - silent worker.
+
+				var ticks int
+				var mu sync.Mutex
+				progressCb := func(file, current, total string, pct float64) {
+					mu.Lock()
+					defer mu.Unlock()
+					ticks++
+				}
+
+				opVal := op("vllm")
+				opVal.ID = "op-silent-1"
+				Expect(mgr.InstallBackend(ctx, opVal, progressCb)).To(Succeed())
+
+				Consistently(func() int {
+					mu.Lock()
+					defer mu.Unlock()
+					return ticks
+				}, "200ms").Should(Equal(0))
+			})
+		})
+
+		Context("populates per-node OpStatus entries", func() {
+			var sink *recordingProgressSink
+
+			BeforeEach(func() {
+				// Reconstruct mgr with the recording sink so the new code
+				// path (per-node OpStatus writes) is exercised. The default
+				// mgr in the outer BeforeEach has progressSink=nil so the
+				// pre-existing specs keep verifying the no-sink behavior.
+				sink = &recordingProgressSink{}
+				appCfg := &config.ApplicationConfig{}
+				mgr = NewDistributedBackendManager(appCfg, nil, adapter, registry, sink)
+				// stubLocalBackendManager mirrors the production behaviour
+				// where the frontend node rarely has the backend installed
+				// locally - the NATS fan-out is what these specs verify.
+				mgr.local = stubLocalBackendManager{}
+			})
+
+			It("emits a success entry for each healthy node visited", func() {
+				node := registerHealthyBackend("worker-ok", "10.0.0.9:50051")
+				mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(node.ID),
+					messaging.BackendInstallReply{Success: true, Address: "10.0.0.9:50051"})
+
+				opVal := op("vllm")
+				opVal.ID = "op-node-success"
+				Expect(mgr.InstallBackend(ctx, opVal, nil)).To(Succeed())
+
+				calls := sink.callsFor("op-node-success", node.ID)
+				Expect(calls).ToNot(BeEmpty())
+				Expect(calls[len(calls)-1].Status).To(Equal("success"))
+				Expect(calls[len(calls)-1].NodeName).To(Equal("worker-ok"))
+			})
+
+			It("emits a running_on_worker entry when NATS times out", func() {
+				node := registerHealthyBackend("worker-slow", "10.0.0.10:50051")
+				mc.scriptErr(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(node.ID), nats.ErrTimeout)
+
+				opVal := op("vllm")
+				opVal.ID = "op-node-slow"
+				// Soft failure: returns wrapped ErrWorkerStillInstalling.
+				_ = mgr.InstallBackend(ctx, opVal, nil)
+
+				calls := sink.callsFor("op-node-slow", node.ID)
+				Expect(calls).ToNot(BeEmpty())
+				Expect(calls[len(calls)-1].Status).To(Equal("running_on_worker"))
+			})
+
+			It("emits downloading entries from progress events", func() {
+				node := registerHealthyBackend("worker-dl", "10.0.0.11:50051")
+				mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(node.ID),
+					messaging.BackendInstallReply{Success: true})
+				mc.scheduleProgressPublish(node.ID, "op-node-dl", []messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent{
+					{OpID: "op-node-dl", NodeID: node.ID, Backend: "vllm", FileName: "vllm.tar", Current: "1 GB", Total: "1 GB", Percentage: 100, Phase: "downloading"},
+				})
+
+				opVal := op("vllm")
+				opVal.ID = "op-node-dl"
+				Expect(mgr.InstallBackend(ctx, opVal, nil)).To(Succeed())
+
+				Eventually(func() bool {
+					for _, np := range sink.callsFor("op-node-dl", node.ID) {
+						if np.Status == "downloading" && np.Percentage == 100.0 {
+							return true
+						}
+					}
+					return false
+				}, "1s").Should(BeTrue())
+			})
+		})
 	})
 
 	Describe("UpgradeBackend", func() {

core/services/nodes/reconciler.go

@@ -68,9 +68,9 @@ type ModelScheduler interface {
 
 // ReplicaReconcilerOptions holds configuration for creating a ReplicaReconciler.
 type ReplicaReconcilerOptions struct {
-	Registry *NodeRegistry
+	Registry  *NodeRegistry
 	Scheduler ModelScheduler
-	Unloader NodeCommandSender
+	Unloader  NodeCommandSender
 	// Adapter is the NATS sender used to retry pending backend ops. When nil,
 	// the state-reconciler pending-drain pass is a no-op (single-node mode).
 	Adapter *RemoteUnloaderAdapter
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ type ReplicaReconcilerOptions struct {
 	// addresses. Matches the worker's token so HealthCheck auth succeeds.
 	RegistrationToken string
 	// Prober overrides the default gRPC health probe (used by tests).
-	Prober ModelProber
+	Prober          ModelProber
 	DB              *gorm.DB
 	Interval        time.Duration // default 30s
 	ScaleDownDelay  time.Duration // default 5m
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ func (rc *ReplicaReconciler) drainPendingBackendOps(ctx context.Context) {
 			// Pending-op drain for admin install — not a per-replica load.
 			// Replica 0 is the conventional admin slot. Install is idempotent:
 			// the worker short-circuits if the backend is already running.
-			reply, err := rc.adapter.InstallBackend(op.NodeID, op.Backend, "", string(op.Galleries), "", "", "", 0)
+			reply, err := rc.adapter.InstallBackend(op.NodeID, op.Backend, "", string(op.Galleries), "", "", "", 0, "", nil)
 			if err != nil {
 				applyErr = err
 			} else if !reply.Success {

core/services/nodes/registry.go

@@ -17,24 +17,24 @@ import (
 // Workers are generic — they don't have a fixed backend type.
 // The SmartRouter dynamically installs backends via NATS backend.install events.
 type BackendNode struct {
-	ID            string    `gorm:"primaryKey;size:36" json:"id"`
-	Name          string    `gorm:"uniqueIndex;size:255" json:"name"`
-	NodeType      string    `gorm:"size:32;default:backend" json:"node_type"`    // backend, agent
-	Address       string    `gorm:"size:255" json:"address"`                     // host:port for gRPC
-	HTTPAddress   string    `gorm:"size:255" json:"http_address"`                // host:port for HTTP file transfer
-	Status        string    `gorm:"size:32;default:registering" json:"status"`   // registering, healthy, unhealthy, draining, pending
-	TokenHash     string    `gorm:"size:64" json:"-"`                            // SHA-256 of registration token
-	TotalVRAM     uint64    `gorm:"column:total_vram" json:"total_vram"`         // Total GPU VRAM in bytes
-	AvailableVRAM uint64    `gorm:"column:available_vram" json:"available_vram"` // Available GPU VRAM in bytes
+	ID            string `gorm:"primaryKey;size:36" json:"id"`
+	Name          string `gorm:"uniqueIndex;size:255" json:"name"`
+	NodeType      string `gorm:"size:32;default:backend" json:"node_type"`    // backend, agent
+	Address       string `gorm:"size:255" json:"address"`                     // host:port for gRPC
+	HTTPAddress   string `gorm:"size:255" json:"http_address"`                // host:port for HTTP file transfer
+	Status        string `gorm:"size:32;default:registering" json:"status"`   // registering, healthy, unhealthy, draining, pending
+	TokenHash     string `gorm:"size:64" json:"-"`                            // SHA-256 of registration token
+	TotalVRAM     uint64 `gorm:"column:total_vram" json:"total_vram"`         // Total GPU VRAM in bytes
+	AvailableVRAM uint64 `gorm:"column:available_vram" json:"available_vram"` // Available GPU VRAM in bytes
 	// ReservedVRAM is a soft, in-tick reservation deducted by the scheduler when
 	// it picks this node to load a model. Workers reset it back to 0 on each
 	// heartbeat (the worker is the source of truth for actual free VRAM); the
 	// reservation is only here to keep two scheduling decisions within the
 	// same heartbeat window from over-committing the same node.
-	ReservedVRAM        uint64    `gorm:"column:reserved_vram;default:0" json:"reserved_vram"`
-	TotalRAM            uint64    `gorm:"column:total_ram" json:"total_ram"`         // Total system RAM in bytes (fallback when no GPU)
-	AvailableRAM        uint64    `gorm:"column:available_ram" json:"available_ram"` // Available system RAM in bytes
-	GPUVendor           string    `gorm:"column:gpu_vendor;size:32" json:"gpu_vendor"` // nvidia, amd, intel, vulkan, unknown
+	ReservedVRAM uint64 `gorm:"column:reserved_vram;default:0" json:"reserved_vram"`
+	TotalRAM     uint64 `gorm:"column:total_ram" json:"total_ram"`           // Total system RAM in bytes (fallback when no GPU)
+	AvailableRAM uint64 `gorm:"column:available_ram" json:"available_ram"`   // Available system RAM in bytes
+	GPUVendor    string `gorm:"column:gpu_vendor;size:32" json:"gpu_vendor"` // nvidia, amd, intel, vulkan, unknown
 	// MaxReplicasPerModel caps how many replicas of any one model can run on
 	// this node concurrently. Default 1 preserves the historical "one
 	// (node, model)" assumption; set higher (via worker --max-replicas-per-model)
@@ -44,12 +44,12 @@ type BackendNode struct {
 	// admin override. When true, the worker's CLI value is ignored on
 	// re-registration so the override survives worker restarts. Cleared
 	// by an explicit "reset to worker default" action.
-	MaxReplicasPerModelManuallySet bool `gorm:"column:max_replicas_per_model_manually_set;default:false" json:"max_replicas_per_model_manually_set"`
-	APIKeyID            string    `gorm:"size:36" json:"-"` // auto-provisioned API key ID (for cleanup)
-	AuthUserID          string    `gorm:"size:36" json:"-"` // auto-provisioned user ID (for cleanup)
-	LastHeartbeat       time.Time `gorm:"column:last_heartbeat" json:"last_heartbeat"`
-	CreatedAt           time.Time `json:"created_at"`
-	UpdatedAt           time.Time `json:"updated_at"`
+	MaxReplicasPerModelManuallySet bool      `gorm:"column:max_replicas_per_model_manually_set;default:false" json:"max_replicas_per_model_manually_set"`
+	APIKeyID                       string    `gorm:"size:36" json:"-"` // auto-provisioned API key ID (for cleanup)
+	AuthUserID                     string    `gorm:"size:36" json:"-"` // auto-provisioned user ID (for cleanup)
+	LastHeartbeat                  time.Time `gorm:"column:last_heartbeat" json:"last_heartbeat"`
+	CreatedAt                      time.Time `json:"created_at"`
+	UpdatedAt                      time.Time `json:"updated_at"`
 }
 
 const (
@@ -79,17 +79,17 @@ const (
 // gRPC Address (each replica is a separate worker process on its own port),
 // and its own InFlight counter.
 type NodeModel struct {
-	ID           string `gorm:"primaryKey;size:36" json:"id"`
-	NodeID       string `gorm:"index;size:36" json:"node_id"`
-	ModelName    string `gorm:"index;size:255" json:"model_name"`
-	ReplicaIndex int    `gorm:"column:replica_index;default:0;index" json:"replica_index"`
-	Address      string `gorm:"size:255" json:"address"`           // gRPC address for this replica's backend process
-	State        string `gorm:"size:32;default:idle" json:"state"` // loading, loaded, unloading, idle
-	InFlight     int    `json:"in_flight"`                         // number of active requests on this replica
-	LastUsed     time.Time `json:"last_used"`
-	LoadingBy     string    `gorm:"size:36" json:"loading_by,omitempty"`     // frontend ID that triggered loading
-	BackendType   string    `gorm:"size:128" json:"backend_type,omitempty"`  // e.g. "llama-cpp"; used by reconciler to replicate loads
-	ModelOptsBlob []byte    `gorm:"type:bytea" json:"-"`                     // serialized pb.ModelOptions for replica scale-ups
+	ID            string    `gorm:"primaryKey;size:36" json:"id"`
+	NodeID        string    `gorm:"index;size:36" json:"node_id"`
+	ModelName     string    `gorm:"index;size:255" json:"model_name"`
+	ReplicaIndex  int       `gorm:"column:replica_index;default:0;index" json:"replica_index"`
+	Address       string    `gorm:"size:255" json:"address"`           // gRPC address for this replica's backend process
+	State         string    `gorm:"size:32;default:idle" json:"state"` // loading, loaded, unloading, idle
+	InFlight      int       `json:"in_flight"`                         // number of active requests on this replica
+	LastUsed      time.Time `json:"last_used"`
+	LoadingBy     string    `gorm:"size:36" json:"loading_by,omitempty"`    // frontend ID that triggered loading
+	BackendType   string    `gorm:"size:128" json:"backend_type,omitempty"` // e.g. "llama-cpp"; used by reconciler to replicate loads
+	ModelOptsBlob []byte    `gorm:"type:bytea" json:"-"`                    // serialized pb.ModelOptions for replica scale-ups
 	CreatedAt     time.Time `json:"created_at"`
 	UpdatedAt     time.Time `json:"updated_at"`
 }
@@ -1287,7 +1287,7 @@ func (r *NodeRegistry) UpdateMaxReplicasPerModel(ctx context.Context, nodeID str
 	res := r.db.WithContext(ctx).Model(&BackendNode{}).
 		Where("id = ?", nodeID).
 		Updates(map[string]any{
-			ColMaxReplicasPerModel:    n,
+			ColMaxReplicasPerModel:                n,
 			"max_replicas_per_model_manually_set": true,
 		})
 	if res.Error != nil {
@@ -1460,7 +1460,7 @@ func (r *NodeRegistry) UpsertPendingBackendOp(ctx context.Context, nodeID, backe
 		NextRetryAt: time.Now(),
 	}
 	return r.db.WithContext(ctx).Clauses(clause.OnConflict{
-		Columns: []clause.Column{{Name: "node_id"}, {Name: "backend"}, {Name: "op"}},
+		Columns:   []clause.Column{{Name: "node_id"}, {Name: "backend"}, {Name: "op"}},
 		DoUpdates: clause.AssignmentColumns([]string{"galleries", "next_retry_at"}),
 	}).Create(&row).Error
 }
@@ -1515,6 +1515,27 @@ func (r *NodeRegistry) RecordPendingBackendOpFailure(ctx context.Context, id uin
 	})
 }
 
+// RecordPendingBackendOpInFlight is the "soft failure" cousin of
+// RecordPendingBackendOpFailure. Used when a NATS install round-trip timed
+// out but the worker is still installing in the background. Stores the
+// message in LastError and pushes NextRetryAt out by `retryDelay` (typically
+// the install timeout) so the reconciler does not immediately re-fire
+// another install while the worker is still busy.
+//
+// Attempts is intentionally NOT incremented: an in-flight timeout is not a
+// failed attempt, it is a still-in-progress one. Incrementing it would let a
+// genuinely-progressing slow install (e.g. 30 GB CUDA image on Wi-Fi) trip
+// the maxPendingBackendOpAttempts cap in the reconciler and dead-letter the
+// row while the worker is still legitimately working.
+func (r *NodeRegistry) RecordPendingBackendOpInFlight(ctx context.Context, id uint, lastError string, retryDelay time.Duration) error {
+	return r.db.WithContext(ctx).Model(&PendingBackendOp{}).
+		Where("id = ?", id).
+		Updates(map[string]any{
+			"last_error":    lastError,
+			"next_retry_at": time.Now().Add(retryDelay),
+		}).Error
+}
+
 // backoffForAttempt is exponential from 30s doubling up to a 15m cap. The
 // reconciler tick is 30s so anything shorter would just re-fire immediately.
 func backoffForAttempt(attempts int) time.Duration {

core/services/nodes/router.go

@@ -688,7 +688,7 @@ func (r *SmartRouter) installBackendOnNode(ctx context.Context, node *BackendNod
 
 	key := fmt.Sprintf("%s|%s|%s|%d", node.ID, backendType, modelID, replicaIndex)
 	v, err, _ := r.installFlight.Do(key, func() (any, error) {
-		reply, err := r.unloader.InstallBackend(node.ID, backendType, modelID, r.galleriesJSON, "", "", "", replicaIndex)
+		reply, err := r.unloader.InstallBackend(node.ID, backendType, modelID, r.galleriesJSON, "", "", "", replicaIndex, "", nil)
 		if err != nil {
 			return "", err
 		}

core/services/nodes/router_test.go

@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ type upgradeCall struct {
 	replica int
 }
 
-func (f *fakeUnloader) InstallBackend(nodeID, backend, modelID, _, _, _, _ string, replica int) (*messaging.BackendInstallReply, error) {
+func (f *fakeUnloader) InstallBackend(nodeID, backend, modelID, _, _, _, _ string, replica int, _ string, _ func(messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent)) (*messaging.BackendInstallReply, error) {
 	// installHook intentionally runs OUTSIDE the mutex: the hook may block
 	// on a channel and we don't want to serialize concurrent callers,
 	// which would defeat the singleflight-overlap test.

core/services/nodes/unloader.go

@@ -2,9 +2,15 @@ package nodes
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/galleryop"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
 	"github.com/mudler/xlog"
 )
@@ -28,7 +34,7 @@ type backendStopRequest struct {
 // nats.ErrNoResponders for old workers that don't subscribe to the new
 // backend.upgrade subject.
 type NodeCommandSender interface {
-	InstallBackend(nodeID, backendType, modelID, galleriesJSON, uri, name, alias string, replicaIndex int) (*messaging.BackendInstallReply, error)
+	InstallBackend(nodeID, backendType, modelID, galleriesJSON, uri, name, alias string, replicaIndex int, opID string, onProgress func(messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent)) (*messaging.BackendInstallReply, error)
 	UpgradeBackend(nodeID, backendType, galleriesJSON, uri, name, alias string, replicaIndex int) (*messaging.BackendUpgradeReply, error)
 	DeleteBackend(nodeID, backendName string) (*messaging.BackendDeleteReply, error)
 	ListBackends(nodeID string) (*messaging.BackendListReply, error)
@@ -43,18 +49,33 @@ type NodeCommandSender interface {
 // This mirrors the local ModelLoader's startProcess()/deleteProcess() but
 // over NATS for remote nodes.
 type RemoteUnloaderAdapter struct {
-	registry ModelLocator
-	nats     messaging.MessagingClient
+	registry       ModelLocator
+	nats           messaging.MessagingClient
+	installTimeout time.Duration
+	upgradeTimeout time.Duration
 }
 
-// NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter creates a new adapter.
-func NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry ModelLocator, nats messaging.MessagingClient) *RemoteUnloaderAdapter {
+// NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter creates a new adapter. installTimeout and
+// upgradeTimeout govern the NATS request-reply deadlines for backend.install
+// and backend.upgrade respectively. Use
+// DistributedConfig.BackendInstallTimeoutOrDefault() /
+// BackendUpgradeTimeoutOrDefault() at construction.
+func NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry ModelLocator, nats messaging.MessagingClient, installTimeout, upgradeTimeout time.Duration) *RemoteUnloaderAdapter {
 	return &RemoteUnloaderAdapter{
-		registry: registry,
-		nats:     nats,
+		registry:       registry,
+		nats:           nats,
+		installTimeout: installTimeout,
+		upgradeTimeout: upgradeTimeout,
 	}
 }
 
+// InstallTimeout returns the configured backend.install round-trip timeout.
+// Used by DistributedBackendManager to push NextRetryAt out by this duration
+// when a worker times out replying but is still installing in the background.
+func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) InstallTimeout() time.Duration {
+	return a.installTimeout
+}
+
 // UnloadRemoteModel finds the node(s) hosting the given model and tells them
 // to stop their backend process via NATS backend.stop event.
 // The worker process handles: Free() → kill process.
@@ -87,18 +108,59 @@ func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) UnloadRemoteModel(modelName string) error {
 // is on disk, the worker just spawns a process; only a missing binary
 // triggers a full gallery pull.
 //
-// Timeout: 3 minutes. Most calls return in under 2 seconds (process already
-// running). The 3-minute ceiling covers the cold-binary spawn-after-download
-// case while still failing fast enough to surface real worker hangs.
+// Timeout: configured via DistributedConfig.BackendInstallTimeoutOrDefault
+// (default 15m). Most calls return in under 2 seconds (process already
+// running). The 15-minute ceiling covers the cold-binary spawn-after-download
+// case on slow links (Jetson Wi-Fi, multi-GB CUDA images) while still
+// failing fast enough to surface real worker hangs.
 //
-// For force-reinstall (admin-driven Upgrade), use UpgradeBackend instead —
+// For force-reinstall (admin-driven Upgrade), use UpgradeBackend instead -
 // it lives on a different NATS subject so it cannot head-of-line-block
 // routine load traffic on the same worker.
-func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) InstallBackend(nodeID, backendType, modelID, galleriesJSON, uri, name, alias string, replicaIndex int) (*messaging.BackendInstallReply, error) {
+func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) InstallBackend(
+	nodeID, backendType, modelID, galleriesJSON, uri, name, alias string,
+	replicaIndex int,
+	opID string,
+	onProgress func(messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent),
+) (*messaging.BackendInstallReply, error) {
 	subject := messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(nodeID)
-	xlog.Info("Sending NATS backend.install", "nodeID", nodeID, "backend", backendType, "modelID", modelID, "replica", replicaIndex)
+	xlog.Info("Sending NATS backend.install", "nodeID", nodeID, "backend", backendType, "modelID", modelID, "replica", replicaIndex, "opID", opID)
 
-	return messaging.RequestJSON[messaging.BackendInstallRequest, messaging.BackendInstallReply](a.nats, subject, messaging.BackendInstallRequest{
+	// Subscribe to the per-op progress subject BEFORE publishing the install
+	// request so we don't miss early events. When onProgress is nil OR opID
+	// is empty (the reconciler-driven retry path), skip subscription entirely:
+	// silent installs cost nothing extra.
+	var sub messaging.Subscription
+	if onProgress != nil && opID != "" {
+		progressSubject := messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstallProgress(nodeID, opID)
+		s, subErr := a.nats.Subscribe(progressSubject, func(raw []byte) {
+			var ev messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &ev); err != nil {
+				xlog.Debug("malformed install progress event", "subject", progressSubject, "error", err)
+				return
+			}
+			// Goroutine guard: a slow onProgress callback must not stall
+			// the NATS reader thread.
+			//
+			// NOTE: events spawn one goroutine each, so ordering at the
+			// consumer is best-effort. In practice the worker debounces to
+			// ~250ms which is far larger than goroutine scheduling jitter,
+			// so reordering is rare. The worker's final Flush() event is
+			// intended to win as the terminal tick. A future hardening pass
+			// could add a Seq uint64 field to BackendInstallProgressEvent
+			// and drop stale-by-seq at the bridge if reordering becomes a
+			// real UX issue.
+			go onProgress(ev)
+		})
+		if subErr != nil {
+			xlog.Warn("Failed to subscribe to install progress subject; proceeding without progress streaming",
+				"subject", progressSubject, "error", subErr)
+		} else {
+			sub = s
+		}
+	}
+
+	reply, err := messaging.RequestJSON[messaging.BackendInstallRequest, messaging.BackendInstallReply](a.nats, subject, messaging.BackendInstallRequest{
 		Backend:          backendType,
 		ModelID:          modelID,
 		BackendGalleries: galleriesJSON,
@@ -106,29 +168,46 @@ func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) InstallBackend(nodeID, backendType, modelID, gal
 		Name:             name,
 		Alias:            alias,
 		ReplicaIndex:     int32(replicaIndex),
-	}, 3*time.Minute)
+		OpID:             opID,
+	}, a.installTimeout)
+
+	if sub != nil {
+		_ = sub.Unsubscribe()
+	}
+
+	if err != nil && isNATSTimeout(err) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w (subject=%s nodeID=%s backend=%s): %v",
+			galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling, subject, nodeID, backendType, err)
+	}
+	return reply, err
 }
 
 // UpgradeBackend sends a backend.upgrade request-reply to a worker node.
 // The worker stops every live process for this backend, force-reinstalls
 // from the gallery (overwriting the on-disk artifact), and replies. The
 // next routine InstallBackend call spawns a fresh process with the new
-// binary — upgrade itself does not start a process.
+// binary - upgrade itself does not start a process.
 //
-// Timeout: 15 minutes. Real-world worst case observed: 8–10 minutes for
-// large CUDA-l4t backend images on Jetson over WiFi.
+// Timeout: configured via DistributedConfig.BackendUpgradeTimeoutOrDefault
+// (default 15m). Real-world worst case observed: 8-10 minutes for large
+// CUDA-l4t backend images on Jetson over WiFi.
 func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) UpgradeBackend(nodeID, backendType, galleriesJSON, uri, name, alias string, replicaIndex int) (*messaging.BackendUpgradeReply, error) {
 	subject := messaging.SubjectNodeBackendUpgrade(nodeID)
 	xlog.Info("Sending NATS backend.upgrade", "nodeID", nodeID, "backend", backendType, "replica", replicaIndex)
 
-	return messaging.RequestJSON[messaging.BackendUpgradeRequest, messaging.BackendUpgradeReply](a.nats, subject, messaging.BackendUpgradeRequest{
+	reply, err := messaging.RequestJSON[messaging.BackendUpgradeRequest, messaging.BackendUpgradeReply](a.nats, subject, messaging.BackendUpgradeRequest{
 		Backend:          backendType,
 		BackendGalleries: galleriesJSON,
 		URI:              uri,
 		Name:             name,
 		Alias:            alias,
 		ReplicaIndex:     int32(replicaIndex),
-	}, 15*time.Minute)
+	}, a.upgradeTimeout)
+	if err != nil && isNATSTimeout(err) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w (subject=%s nodeID=%s backend=%s): %v",
+			galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling, subject, nodeID, backendType, err)
+	}
+	return reply, err
 }
 
 // installWithForceFallback is the rolling-update fallback used by
@@ -141,7 +220,7 @@ func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) installWithForceFallback(nodeID, backendType, ga
 	subject := messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall(nodeID)
 	xlog.Warn("Falling back to legacy backend.install Force=true (old worker)", "nodeID", nodeID, "backend", backendType)
 
-	return messaging.RequestJSON[messaging.BackendInstallRequest, messaging.BackendInstallReply](a.nats, subject, messaging.BackendInstallRequest{
+	reply, err := messaging.RequestJSON[messaging.BackendInstallRequest, messaging.BackendInstallReply](a.nats, subject, messaging.BackendInstallRequest{
 		Backend:          backendType,
 		BackendGalleries: galleriesJSON,
 		URI:              uri,
@@ -149,7 +228,12 @@ func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) installWithForceFallback(nodeID, backendType, ga
 		Alias:            alias,
 		ReplicaIndex:     int32(replicaIndex),
 		Force:            true,
-	}, 15*time.Minute)
+	}, a.upgradeTimeout)
+	if err != nil && isNATSTimeout(err) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w (subject=%s nodeID=%s backend=%s): %v",
+			galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling, subject, nodeID, backendType, err)
+	}
+	return reply, err
 }
 
 // ListBackends queries a worker node for its installed backends via NATS request-reply.
@@ -228,3 +312,14 @@ func (a *RemoteUnloaderAdapter) StopNode(nodeID string) error {
 	subject := messaging.SubjectNodeStop(nodeID)
 	return a.nats.Publish(subject, nil)
 }
+
+// isNATSTimeout returns true if err looks like a NATS request-reply timeout.
+// nats.ErrTimeout is the canonical sentinel; context.DeadlineExceeded can
+// also surface depending on the client's path; we accept both, plus a
+// string-match fallback for clients that return a bare error.
+func isNATSTimeout(err error) bool {
+	if errors.Is(err, nats.ErrTimeout) || errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
+		return true
+	}
+	return err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nats: timeout")
+}

core/services/nodes/unloader_test.go

@@ -3,13 +3,16 @@ package nodes
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
 
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/galleryop"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
 )
 
@@ -60,6 +63,7 @@ type publishCall struct {
 type requestCall struct {
 	Subject string
 	Data    []byte
+	Timeout time.Duration
 }
 
 func (f *fakeMessagingClient) Publish(subject string, data any) error {
@@ -93,10 +97,10 @@ func (f *fakeMessagingClient) SubscribeReply(_ string, _ func(data []byte, reply
 	return &fakeSubscription{}, nil
 }
 
-func (f *fakeMessagingClient) Request(subject string, data []byte, _ time.Duration) ([]byte, error) {
+func (f *fakeMessagingClient) Request(subject string, data []byte, timeout time.Duration) ([]byte, error) {
 	f.mu.Lock()
 	defer f.mu.Unlock()
-	f.requestCalls = append(f.requestCalls, requestCall{Subject: subject, Data: data})
+	f.requestCalls = append(f.requestCalls, requestCall{Subject: subject, Data: data, Timeout: timeout})
 	return f.requestReply, f.requestErr
 }
 
@@ -119,7 +123,7 @@ var _ = Describe("RemoteUnloaderAdapter", func() {
 	BeforeEach(func() {
 		locator = &fakeModelLocator{}
 		mc = &fakeMessagingClient{}
-		adapter = NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(locator, mc)
+		adapter = NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(locator, mc, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 	})
 
 	Describe("UnloadRemoteModel", func() {
@@ -154,7 +158,7 @@ var _ = Describe("RemoteUnloaderAdapter", func() {
 			}
 			// Use a messaging client that fails the first Publish call only.
 			failOnce := &failOnceMessagingClient{inner: mc, failOn: 0}
-			adapter = NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(locator, failOnce)
+			adapter = NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(locator, failOnce, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 
 			Expect(adapter.UnloadRemoteModel("llama")).To(Succeed())
 
@@ -259,3 +263,96 @@ func (f *failOnceMessagingClient) Request(subject string, data []byte, timeout t
 
 func (f *failOnceMessagingClient) IsConnected() bool { return true }
 func (f *failOnceMessagingClient) Close()            {}
+
+var _ = Describe("RemoteUnloaderAdapter timeout configuration", func() {
+	It("passes the configured install timeout to the messaging client", func() {
+		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient()
+		mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall("n1"), messaging.BackendInstallReply{Success: true, Address: "127.0.0.1:0"})
+		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 7*time.Minute, 11*time.Minute)
+
+		_, err := adapter.InstallBackend("n1", "llama-cpp", "", "[]", "", "", "", 0, "", nil)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+		Expect(mc.calls).To(HaveLen(1))
+		Expect(mc.calls[0].Timeout).To(Equal(7 * time.Minute))
+	})
+
+	It("passes the configured upgrade timeout to the messaging client", func() {
+		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient()
+		mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendUpgrade("n1"), messaging.BackendUpgradeReply{Success: true})
+		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 7*time.Minute, 11*time.Minute)
+
+		_, err := adapter.UpgradeBackend("n1", "llama-cpp", "[]", "", "", "", 0)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+		Expect(mc.calls).To(HaveLen(1))
+		Expect(mc.calls[0].Timeout).To(Equal(11 * time.Minute))
+	})
+})
+
+var _ = Describe("RemoteUnloaderAdapter NATS timeout handling", func() {
+	It("wraps nats.ErrTimeout from InstallBackend in galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling", func() {
+		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient()
+		mc.scriptErr(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall("n1"), nats.ErrTimeout)
+		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 100*time.Millisecond, 1*time.Second)
+
+		_, err := adapter.InstallBackend("n1", "vllm", "", "[]", "", "", "", 0, "", nil)
+		Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(errors.Is(err, galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling)).To(BeTrue(),
+			"expected wrapped ErrWorkerStillInstalling, got %v", err)
+	})
+
+	It("does NOT wrap non-timeout errors", func() {
+		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient()
+		mc.scriptErr(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall("n1"), nats.ErrNoResponders)
+		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 100*time.Millisecond, 1*time.Second)
+
+		_, err := adapter.InstallBackend("n1", "vllm", "", "[]", "", "", "", 0, "", nil)
+		Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(errors.Is(err, galleryop.ErrWorkerStillInstalling)).To(BeFalse())
+		Expect(errors.Is(err, nats.ErrNoResponders)).To(BeTrue())
+	})
+})
+
+var _ = Describe("RemoteUnloaderAdapter install progress streaming", func() {
+	It("forwards BackendInstallProgressEvent values into the onProgress callback when the worker publishes them", func() {
+		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient()
+		mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall("n1"), messaging.BackendInstallReply{Success: true, Address: "127.0.0.1:0"})
+		mc.scheduleProgressPublish("n1", "op-abc", []messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent{
+			{OpID: "op-abc", NodeID: "n1", Backend: "vllm", FileName: "vllm.tar.zst", Current: "100 MB", Total: "1 GB", Percentage: 10},
+			{OpID: "op-abc", NodeID: "n1", Backend: "vllm", FileName: "vllm.tar.zst", Current: "500 MB", Total: "1 GB", Percentage: 50},
+		})
+
+		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 1*time.Second, 1*time.Second)
+		var (
+			received []messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent
+			mu       sync.Mutex
+		)
+		onProgress := func(ev messaging.BackendInstallProgressEvent) {
+			mu.Lock()
+			defer mu.Unlock()
+			received = append(received, ev)
+		}
+
+		_, err := adapter.InstallBackend("n1", "vllm", "", "[]", "", "", "", 0, "op-abc", onProgress)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+		Eventually(func() int {
+			mu.Lock()
+			defer mu.Unlock()
+			return len(received)
+		}, "1s").Should(Equal(2))
+	})
+
+	It("does NOT subscribe when onProgress is nil (reconciler retry path)", func() {
+		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient()
+		mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall("n1"), messaging.BackendInstallReply{Success: true})
+
+		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 1*time.Second, 1*time.Second)
+		_, err := adapter.InstallBackend("n1", "vllm", "", "[]", "", "", "", 0, "", nil)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+		Expect(mc.subscribeCalls()).To(BeEmpty(),
+			"reconciler-driven retries must not subscribe to the per-op progress subject")
+	})
+})

core/services/nodes/unloader_upgrade_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 package nodes
 
 import (
+	"time"
+
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
 
@@ -15,7 +17,7 @@ var _ = Describe("RemoteUnloaderAdapter.UpgradeBackend", func() {
 		mc.scriptReply(messaging.SubjectNodeBackendUpgrade(nodeID),
 			messaging.BackendUpgradeReply{Success: true})
 
-		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc)
+		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 		reply, err := adapter.UpgradeBackend(nodeID, "llama-cpp", `[{"name":"x"}]`, "", "", "", 0)
 		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 		Expect(reply.Success).To(BeTrue())
@@ -24,7 +26,7 @@ var _ = Describe("RemoteUnloaderAdapter.UpgradeBackend", func() {
 	It("returns the underlying error when the subject has no responders", func() {
 		mc := newScriptedMessagingClient() // unscripted subject => fakeNoRespondersErr by harness convention
 
-		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc)
+		adapter := NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(nil, mc, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 		_, err := adapter.UpgradeBackend("missing-node", "llama-cpp", "", "", "", "", 0)
 		Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
 	})

core/services/worker/install.go

@@ -7,14 +7,22 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/gallery"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/galleryop"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/nodes"
 	"github.com/mudler/xlog"
 )
 
+// installProgressDebounce is the leading-edge window the worker uses when
+// streaming download progress to the master. 250ms caps wire chatter at
+// ~4 events/sec per in-flight install while still surfacing every
+// meaningful percentage jump.
+const installProgressDebounce = 250 * time.Millisecond
+
 // buildProcessKey is the supervisor's stable identifier for a backend gRPC
 // process. It includes the replica index so the same model can run multiple
 // processes on a worker simultaneously without colliding on the same map slot
@@ -100,6 +108,20 @@ func (s *backendSupervisor) installBackend(req messaging.BackendInstallRequest,
 		}
 	}
 
+	// When the master tagged this install with an OpID, stream the
+	// gallery download progress back to it on the per-op NATS subject.
+	// Old masters that omit OpID stay on the silent path so they keep
+	// working without changes. The publisher releases its mutex before
+	// every Publish so a slow link never stalls the download loop, and
+	// the deferred Flush guarantees a terminal-percentage event reaches
+	// the master even when the install errors out.
+	var downloadCb func(file, current, total string, percentage float64)
+	if req.OpID != "" && s.nats != nil {
+		publisher := nodes.NewDebouncedInstallProgressPublisher(s.nats, s.nodeID, req.OpID, req.Backend, installProgressDebounce)
+		downloadCb = publisher.OnDownload
+		defer publisher.Flush()
+	}
+
 	// On upgrade, run the gallery install path even if the binary already
 	// exists on disk: findBackend would otherwise short-circuit and we'd
 	// restart the same stale binary. The force flag passed to
@@ -112,14 +134,14 @@ func (s *backendSupervisor) installBackend(req messaging.BackendInstallRequest,
 		if req.URI != "" {
 			xlog.Info("Installing backend from external URI", "backend", req.Backend, "uri", req.URI, "force", force)
 			if err := galleryop.InstallExternalBackend(
-				context.Background(), galleries, s.systemState, s.ml, nil, req.URI, req.Name, req.Alias, s.cfg.RequireBackendIntegrity,
+				context.Background(), galleries, s.systemState, s.ml, downloadCb, req.URI, req.Name, req.Alias, s.cfg.RequireBackendIntegrity,
 			); err != nil {
 				return "", fmt.Errorf("installing backend from gallery: %w", err)
 			}
 		} else {
 			xlog.Info("Installing backend from gallery", "backend", req.Backend, "force", force)
 			if err := gallery.InstallBackendFromGallery(
-				context.Background(), galleries, s.systemState, s.ml, req.Backend, nil, force, s.cfg.RequireBackendIntegrity,
+				context.Background(), galleries, s.systemState, s.ml, req.Backend, downloadCb, force, s.cfg.RequireBackendIntegrity,
 			); err != nil {
 				return "", fmt.Errorf("installing backend from gallery: %w", err)
 			}

docs/content/features/distributed-mode.md

@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ The frontend is a standard LocalAI instance with distributed mode enabled. These
 | `--auto-approve-nodes` | `LOCALAI_AUTO_APPROVE_NODES` | `false` | Auto-approve new worker nodes (skip admin approval) |
 | `--auth` | `LOCALAI_AUTH` | `false` | **Must be `true`** for distributed mode |
 | `--auth-database-url` | `LOCALAI_AUTH_DATABASE_URL` | *(required)* | PostgreSQL connection URL |
+| `--backend-install-timeout` | `LOCALAI_NATS_BACKEND_INSTALL_TIMEOUT` | `15m` | NATS round-trip timeout for `backend.install` requests sent to worker nodes. Raise on slow links pulling multi-GB OCI images (e.g. Jetson over Wi-Fi). If the round-trip times out but the worker is still installing in the background, the admin UI shows the operation as `still installing in background` rather than failed, and the reconciler confirms completion via the next `backend.list` poll. |
+| `--backend-upgrade-timeout` | `LOCALAI_NATS_BACKEND_UPGRADE_TIMEOUT` | `15m` | NATS round-trip timeout for `backend.upgrade` requests (force-reinstall path). Same semantics as install timeout. |
 
 ### Optional: S3 Object Storage
 
@@ -103,6 +105,46 @@ When S3 is not configured, model files are transferred directly from the fronten
 
 For high-throughput or very large model files, S3 can be more efficient since it avoids streaming through the frontend.
 
+### Install Progress Streaming
+
+While a worker is pulling an OCI image for a backend install, it publishes
+debounced progress events (~250ms) on `nodes.<nodeID>.backend.install.<opID>.progress`.
+The frontend subscribes for the duration of the install request and forwards each
+event into the operation status so the admin UI surfaces per-file byte progress
+and percentage in real time, the same way local-mode installs already do.
+
+The NATS reply for `backend.install` is still the source of truth for the
+final success/failure; dropped progress events are acceptable and the install
+completes regardless.
+
+**Mixed-version clusters:** Workers running pre-2026-05-22 code do not publish
+on the new progress subject. New frontends tolerate that silently. The install
+still completes via the reply; the UI keeps showing the message from the
+install-timeout fallback path (`still installing in background`) until the
+pending operation row clears.
+
+#### Per-Node Operations Breakdown
+
+When an admin backend install fans out to more than one worker, the
+**Operations Bar** at the top of the admin UI shows a per-node breakdown.
+Click the "N nodes" chevron on the operation row to expand a list with one
+entry per target node, each carrying:
+
+- A color-coded status pill: queued (gray), downloading (blue), worker
+  busy / running on worker (yellow), done (green), failed (red).
+- The current file being pulled, current/total bytes, percentage.
+- A thin per-node progress bar.
+- Any error message returned by the worker for that node.
+
+The yellow "Worker busy" pill appears when the NATS round-trip to a node
+timed out but the worker is still installing in the background. Hover the
+pill for the full tooltip.
+
+The breakdown is driven by the `nodes` array on the `/api/operations`
+response, which the frontend polls every second. Single-node installs and
+model installs render the same single-line card as before: the per-node
+section only appears when more than one node is involved.
+
 ## Worker Configuration
 
 Workers are started with the `worker` subcommand. Each worker is generic — it doesn't need a backend type at startup:

tests/e2e/distributed/distributed_full_flow_test.go

@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Full Distributed Inference Flow", Label("Distributed"), func()
 	// newTestSmartRouter creates a SmartRouter with NATS wired up and a mock
 	// backend.install handler that always replies success for all registered nodes.
 	newTestSmartRouter := func(reg *nodes.NodeRegistry, extraOpts ...nodes.SmartRouterOptions) *nodes.SmartRouter {
-		unloader := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(reg, infra.NC)
+		unloader := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(reg, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 
 		opts := nodes.SmartRouterOptions{
 			Unloader: unloader,
@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Full Distributed Inference Flow", Label("Distributed"), func()
 		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 
 		// Create RemoteUnloaderAdapter and unload model
-		unloader := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
+		unloader := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 		err = unloader.UnloadRemoteModel("old-model")
 		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 

tests/e2e/distributed/managers_test.go

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"sync/atomic"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/galleryop"
@@ -175,7 +176,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Model and Backend Managers", Label("Distributed"), func() {
 			appCfg := config.NewApplicationConfig()
 			appCfg.SystemState = ss
 
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 			distMgr := nodes.NewDistributedModelManager(appCfg, ml, adapter)
 
 			err = distMgr.DeleteModel("big-model")
@@ -251,8 +252,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Model and Backend Managers", Label("Distributed"), func() {
 			appCfg := config.NewApplicationConfig()
 			appCfg.SystemState = ss
 
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
-			distMgr := nodes.NewDistributedBackendManager(appCfg, ml, adapter, registry)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
+			distMgr := nodes.NewDistributedBackendManager(appCfg, ml, adapter, registry, nil)
 
 			err = distMgr.DeleteBackend("my-backend")
 			Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -298,8 +299,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Model and Backend Managers", Label("Distributed"), func() {
 			appCfg := config.NewApplicationConfig()
 			appCfg.SystemState = ss
 
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
-			distMgr := nodes.NewDistributedBackendManager(appCfg, ml, adapter, registry)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
+			distMgr := nodes.NewDistributedBackendManager(appCfg, ml, adapter, registry, nil)
 
 			// Should NOT return an error even though the backend doesn't exist locally
 			err = distMgr.DeleteBackend("remote-only-backend")

tests/e2e/distributed/node_lifecycle_test.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"sync/atomic"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/nodes"
@@ -56,8 +57,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Node Backend Lifecycle (NATS-driven)", Label("Distributed"), f
 
 			FlushNATS(infra.NC)
 
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
-			installReply, err := adapter.InstallBackend(node.ID, "llama-cpp", "", "", "", "", "", 0)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
+			installReply, err := adapter.InstallBackend(node.ID, "llama-cpp", "", "", "", "", "", 0, "", nil)
 			Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 			Expect(installReply.Success).To(BeTrue())
 		})
@@ -77,8 +78,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Node Backend Lifecycle (NATS-driven)", Label("Distributed"), f
 
 			FlushNATS(infra.NC)
 
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
-			installReply, err := adapter.InstallBackend(node.ID, "nonexistent", "", "", "", "", "", 0)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
+			installReply, err := adapter.InstallBackend(node.ID, "nonexistent", "", "", "", "", "", 0, "", nil)
 			Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 			Expect(installReply.Success).To(BeFalse())
 			Expect(installReply.Error).To(ContainSubstring("backend not found"))
@@ -103,7 +104,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Node Backend Lifecycle (NATS-driven)", Label("Distributed"), f
 			FlushNATS(infra.NC)
 
 			// Frontend calls UnloadRemoteModel (triggered by UI "Stop" or WatchDog)
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 			Expect(adapter.UnloadRemoteModel("whisper-large")).To(Succeed())
 
 			Eventually(func() int32 { return stopReceived.Load() }, "5s").Should(Equal(int32(1)))
@@ -133,14 +134,14 @@ var _ = Describe("Node Backend Lifecycle (NATS-driven)", Label("Distributed"), f
 
 			FlushNATS(infra.NC)
 
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 			adapter.UnloadRemoteModel("shared-model")
 
 			Eventually(func() int32 { return count.Load() }, "5s").Should(Equal(int32(2)))
 		})
 
 		It("should be no-op for models not on any node", func() {
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 			Expect(adapter.UnloadRemoteModel("nonexistent-model")).To(Succeed())
 		})
 	})
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Node Backend Lifecycle (NATS-driven)", Label("Distributed"), f
 
 			FlushNATS(infra.NC)
 
-			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
+			adapter := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 			Expect(adapter.StopNode(node.ID)).To(Succeed())
 
 			Eventually(func() int32 { return stopped.Load() }, "5s").Should(Equal(int32(1)))

tests/e2e/distributed/router_tracking_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package distributed_test
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/nodes"
@@ -78,7 +79,7 @@ var _ = Describe("SmartRouter trackingKey", Label("Distributed"), func() {
 		Expect(registry.Register(context.Background(), node, true)).To(Succeed())
 		nodeID = node.ID
 
-		unloader := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC)
+		unloader := nodes.NewRemoteUnloaderAdapter(registry, infra.NC, 3*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 		router = nodes.NewSmartRouter(registry, nodes.SmartRouterOptions{
 			Unloader: unloader,
 		})