[Bug]: "models & settings" empty page when using a remote LLM server

[lukasz-kastelik]

Issue Category

AI Assistant (Ollama)

Bug Description

I configured my AI assistant to use a remote LLM Server (LMStudio). After the initial config when I click "models & settings" I get an empty page.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Configure LMStudio as your OpenAI compatible server. My example: http://192.168.8.211:1234
2. Reopen Models & settings - you get an empty page

Expected Behavior

Page shows up

Actual Behavior

Empty page

N.O.M.A.D. Version

1.31.0

Operating System

Ubuntu 24.04

Docker Version

No response

Do you have a dedicated GPU?

Yes

GPU Model (if applicable)

No response

System Specifications

No response

Service Status (if relevant)

No response

Relevant Logs

Browser Console Errors (if UI issue)

Screenshots

No response

Additional Context

No response

Pre-submission Checklist

• I have searched for existing issues that might be related to this bug
• I am running the latest version of Project N.O.M.A.D. (or have noted my version above)
• I have redacted any personal or sensitive information from logs and screenshots
• This issue is NOT related to running N.O.M.A.D. on an unsupported/non-Debian-based OS

[chriscrosstalk]

Tied to the broader answer I just posted on your other issue #680 — the short version applies here too: remote LM Studio is not an officially supported backend for NOMAD's v1.31.0 remote AI host feature. It was built and tested against remote Ollama, which has a specific API shape (model metadata with details, installed models list format, etc.).

The empty Models & Settings page is almost certainly the frontend choking on a response shape it doesn't recognize — LM Studio's OpenAI-compatible endpoints return a different structure than Ollama's native API, and the page isn't written defensively enough to handle that. A community PR (#645) fixes a null check on model name for remote hosts that lack a details field, which may help with part of this, but it likely doesn't cover the full gap.

The supported path for remote AI on NOMAD today is:

• Run Ollama (not LM Studio) on your powerful PC
• Point NOMAD's remote AI host setting at that Ollama instance
• All the UI and RAG integration points work as intended

Closing as a compatibility limitation rather than a bug, since the LM Studio integration wasn't a supported configuration in the first place. If there's significant community demand for LM Studio support down the road, we'd look at it as a separate feature.