diff --git a/server/images.go b/server/images.go
index 05dfe1468..fad4e102a 100644
--- a/server/images.go
+++ b/server/images.go
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ type Model struct {
 	Template *template.Template
 }
 
+func (m *Model) IsMLX() bool {
+	return m.Config.ModelFormat == "safetensors"
+}
+
 // Capabilities returns the capabilities that the model supports
 func (m *Model) Capabilities() []model.Capability {
 	capabilities := []model.Capability{}
diff --git a/server/prompt.go b/server/prompt.go
index c9a7702b8..0737fa215 100644
--- a/server/prompt.go
+++ b/server/prompt.go
@@ -30,42 +30,44 @@ func chatPrompt(ctx context.Context, m *Model, tokenize tokenizeFunc, opts *api.
 	lastMsgIdx := len(msgs) - 1
 	currMsgIdx := 0
 
-	// Start with all messages and remove from the front until it fits in context
-	for i := 0; i <= lastMsgIdx; i++ {
-		// Collect system messages from the portion we're about to skip
-		system = make([]api.Message, 0)
-		for j := range i {
-			if msgs[j].Role == "system" {
-				system = append(system, msgs[j])
+	if truncate {
+		// Start with all messages and remove from the front until it fits in context
+		for i := 0; i <= lastMsgIdx; i++ {
+			// Collect system messages from the portion we're about to skip
+			system = make([]api.Message, 0)
+			for j := range i {
+				if msgs[j].Role == "system" {
+					system = append(system, msgs[j])
+				}
 			}
-		}
 
-		p, err := renderPrompt(m, append(system, msgs[i:]...), tools, think)
-		if err != nil {
-			return "", nil, err
-		}
-
-		s, err := tokenize(ctx, p)
-		if err != nil {
-			return "", nil, err
-		}
-
-		ctxLen := len(s)
-		if m.ProjectorPaths != nil {
-			for _, msg := range msgs[i:] {
-				ctxLen += imageNumTokens * len(msg.Images)
+			p, err := renderPrompt(m, append(system, msgs[i:]...), tools, think)
+			if err != nil {
+				return "", nil, err
 			}
-		}
 
-		if !truncate || ctxLen <= opts.NumCtx {
-			currMsgIdx = i
-			break
-		}
+			s, err := tokenize(ctx, p)
+			if err != nil {
+				return "", nil, err
+			}
 
-		// Must always include at least the last message
-		if i == lastMsgIdx {
-			currMsgIdx = lastMsgIdx
-			break
+			ctxLen := len(s)
+			if m.ProjectorPaths != nil {
+				for _, msg := range msgs[i:] {
+					ctxLen += imageNumTokens * len(msg.Images)
+				}
+			}
+
+			if ctxLen <= opts.NumCtx {
+				currMsgIdx = i
+				break
+			}
+
+			// Must always include at least the last message
+			if i == lastMsgIdx {
+				currMsgIdx = lastMsgIdx
+				break
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/server/routes.go b/server/routes.go
index 123993af2..a5f6d3f88 100644
--- a/server/routes.go
+++ b/server/routes.go
@@ -484,7 +484,8 @@ func (s *Server) GenerateHandler(c *gin.Context) {
 		// the real chat handler, but doing this as a stopgap to get renderer
 		// support for generate
 		if values.Messages != nil && values.Suffix == "" && req.Template == "" {
-			prompt, images, err = chatPrompt(c.Request.Context(), m, r.Tokenize, opts, values.Messages, []api.Tool{}, req.Think, req.Truncate == nil || *req.Truncate)
+			genTruncate := (req.Truncate == nil || *req.Truncate) && !m.IsMLX()
+			prompt, images, err = chatPrompt(c.Request.Context(), m, r.Tokenize, opts, values.Messages, []api.Tool{}, req.Think, genTruncate)
 			if err != nil {
 				c.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, gin.H{"error": err.Error()})
 				return
@@ -2217,6 +2218,9 @@ func (s *Server) ChatHandler(c *gin.Context) {
 	}
 
 	truncate := req.Truncate == nil || *req.Truncate
+	if m.IsMLX() {
+		truncate = false
+	}
 	prompt, images, err := chatPrompt(c.Request.Context(), m, r.Tokenize, opts, msgs, processedTools, req.Think, truncate)
 	if err != nil {
 		slog.Error("chat prompt error", "error", err)
diff --git a/server/sched.go b/server/sched.go
index af768cf56..4a64223e5 100644
--- a/server/sched.go
+++ b/server/sched.go
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ func (s *Scheduler) processPending(ctx context.Context) {
 					}
 
 					// Check for experimental safetensors LLM models
-					if pending.model.Config.ModelFormat == "safetensors" {
+					if pending.model.IsMLX() {
 						if slices.Contains(pending.model.Config.Capabilities, "completion") {
 							// LLM model with safetensors format - use MLX runner
 							if s.loadMLX(pending) {
@@ -764,7 +764,7 @@ func (runner *runnerRef) needsReload(ctx context.Context, req *LlmRequest) bool
 	defer cancel()
 	if !reflect.DeepEqual(runner.model.AdapterPaths, req.model.AdapterPaths) || // have the adapters changed?
 		!reflect.DeepEqual(runner.model.ProjectorPaths, req.model.ProjectorPaths) || // have the projectors changed?
-		!reflect.DeepEqual(optsExisting, optsNew) || // have the runner options changed?
+		(!runner.model.IsMLX() && !reflect.DeepEqual(optsExisting, optsNew)) || // have the runner options changed?
 		runner.llama.Ping(ctx) != nil {
 		return true
 	}
diff --git a/x/mlxrunner/client.go b/x/mlxrunner/client.go
index 58f8c87bc..b6ca5339f 100644
--- a/x/mlxrunner/client.go
+++ b/x/mlxrunner/client.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log/slog"
-	"math"
 	"math/rand"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
@@ -30,15 +29,16 @@ import (
 
 // Client wraps an MLX runner subprocess to implement llm.LlamaServer for LLM models.
 type Client struct {
-	port        int
-	modelName   string
-	memory      atomic.Uint64
-	done        chan error
-	client      *http.Client
-	lastErr     string
-	lastErrLock sync.Mutex
-	mu          sync.Mutex
-	cmd         *exec.Cmd
+	port          int
+	modelName     string
+	contextLength atomic.Int64
+	memory        atomic.Uint64
+	done          chan error
+	client        *http.Client
+	lastErr       string
+	lastErrLock   sync.Mutex
+	mu            sync.Mutex
+	cmd           *exec.Cmd
 }
 
 // NewClient spawns a new MLX runner subprocess for LLM models and waits until it's ready.
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ func (c *Client) Completion(ctx context.Context, req llm.CompletionRequest, fn f
 }
 
 func (c *Client) ContextLength() int {
-	return math.MaxInt
+	return int(c.contextLength.Load())
 }
 
 // Detokenize implements llm.LlamaServer.
@@ -351,9 +351,10 @@ func (c *Client) Pid() int {
 }
 
 type statusResponse struct {
-	Status   int
-	Progress int
-	Memory   uint64
+	Status        int
+	Progress      int
+	ContextLength int
+	Memory        uint64
 }
 
 // Ping implements llm.LlamaServer.
@@ -376,7 +377,10 @@ func (c *Client) Ping(ctx context.Context) error {
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&status); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+
+	c.contextLength.Store(int64(status.ContextLength))
 	c.memory.Store(status.Memory)
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/x/mlxrunner/model/base/base.go b/x/mlxrunner/model/base/base.go
index e35eddd2d..4cdf6df33 100644
--- a/x/mlxrunner/model/base/base.go
+++ b/x/mlxrunner/model/base/base.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ type Model interface {
 	Unembed(x *mlx.Array) *mlx.Array
 	NumLayers() int
 	Tokenizer() *tokenizer.Tokenizer
+	MaxContextLength() int
 
 	// LoadWeights receives all tensors loaded from the manifest and assigns
 	// them to model fields. Model-specific logic (MLA absorption, expert
diff --git a/x/mlxrunner/pipeline.go b/x/mlxrunner/pipeline.go
index 24aaccdc0..405225c45 100644
--- a/x/mlxrunner/pipeline.go
+++ b/x/mlxrunner/pipeline.go
@@ -6,9 +6,12 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
+	"net/http"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/ollama/ollama/api"
 	"github.com/ollama/ollama/logutil"
 	"github.com/ollama/ollama/x/mlxrunner/mlx"
 )
@@ -51,9 +54,23 @@ func (r *Runner) TextGenerationPipeline(request Request) error {
 		return errors.New("empty prompt")
 	}
 
+	if len(inputs) >= r.contextLength {
+		return api.StatusError{
+			StatusCode:   http.StatusBadRequest,
+			ErrorMessage: fmt.Sprintf("input length (%d tokens) exceeds the model's maximum context length (%d tokens)", len(inputs), r.contextLength),
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Cap generation to stay within the model's context length
+	maxGenerate := r.contextLength - len(inputs)
+	if request.Options.MaxTokens <= 0 {
+		request.Options.MaxTokens = maxGenerate
+	} else {
+		request.Options.MaxTokens = min(request.Options.MaxTokens, maxGenerate)
+	}
+
 	session := r.cache.begin(r.Model, inputs)
 	defer session.close()
-
 	caches := session.caches
 	tokens := session.remaining
 
diff --git a/x/mlxrunner/runner.go b/x/mlxrunner/runner.go
index fe1ec0f0b..5fe06bcd5 100644
--- a/x/mlxrunner/runner.go
+++ b/x/mlxrunner/runner.go
@@ -45,10 +45,11 @@ type TextCompletionsRequest struct {
 }
 
 type Runner struct {
-	Model     base.Model
-	Tokenizer *tokenizer.Tokenizer
-	Requests  chan Request
-	cache     kvCache
+	Model         base.Model
+	Tokenizer     *tokenizer.Tokenizer
+	Requests      chan Request
+	cache         kvCache
+	contextLength int
 }
 
 func (r *Runner) Load(modelName string) error {
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ func (r *Runner) Load(modelName string) error {
 
 	r.Model = m
 	r.Tokenizer = m.Tokenizer()
+	r.contextLength = m.MaxContextLength()
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/x/mlxrunner/server.go b/x/mlxrunner/server.go
index c44f795b6..436b47e59 100644
--- a/x/mlxrunner/server.go
+++ b/x/mlxrunner/server.go
@@ -51,9 +51,10 @@ func Execute(args []string) error {
 	mux := http.NewServeMux()
 	mux.HandleFunc("GET /v1/status", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(statusResponse{
-			Status:   0,
-			Progress: 100,
-			Memory:   uint64(mlx.ActiveMemory() + mlx.CacheMemory()),
+			Status:        0,
+			Progress:      100,
+			ContextLength: runner.contextLength,
+			Memory:        uint64(mlx.ActiveMemory() + mlx.CacheMemory()),
 		}); err != nil {
 			slog.Error("Failed to encode response", "error", err)
 			http.Error(w, "Internal Server Error", http.StatusInternalServerError)
@@ -88,9 +89,6 @@ func Execute(args []string) error {
 		}
 
 		request.Options.MaxTokens = cmp.Or(request.Options.MaxTokens, request.Options.NumPredict)
-		if request.Options.MaxTokens < 1 {
-			request.Options.MaxTokens = 16 << 10
-		}
 
 		request.Pipeline = runner.TextGenerationPipeline
 		request.Sampler = sample.New(
diff --git a/x/models/gemma3/gemma3.go b/x/models/gemma3/gemma3.go
index 3d2c398b7..edf66657c 100644
--- a/x/models/gemma3/gemma3.go
+++ b/x/models/gemma3/gemma3.go
@@ -430,6 +430,10 @@ func (m *Model) NumLayers() int {
 	return len(m.Layers)
 }
 
+func (m *Model) MaxContextLength() int {
+	return int(m.MaxPositionEmbeddings)
+}
+
 func (m *Model) Tokenizer() *tokenizer.Tokenizer {
 	return m.tok
 }
diff --git a/x/models/glm4_moe_lite/glm4_moe_lite.go b/x/models/glm4_moe_lite/glm4_moe_lite.go
index b79e245da..fb9c4af6f 100644
--- a/x/models/glm4_moe_lite/glm4_moe_lite.go
+++ b/x/models/glm4_moe_lite/glm4_moe_lite.go
@@ -733,7 +733,7 @@ func (m *Model) Unembed(x *mlx.Array) *mlx.Array {
 func (m *Model) NumLayers() int { return len(m.Layers) }
 
 // MaxContextLength returns the maximum context length
-func (m *Model) MaxContextLength() int32 { return m.MaxPositionEmbeddings }
+func (m *Model) MaxContextLength() int { return int(m.MaxPositionEmbeddings) }
 
 // VocabSize returns the vocabulary size
 func (m *Model) VocabSize() int32 { return m.Config.VocabSize }
diff --git a/x/models/llama/llama.go b/x/models/llama/llama.go
index bef98fbb4..fc7f34488 100644
--- a/x/models/llama/llama.go
+++ b/x/models/llama/llama.go
@@ -262,6 +262,10 @@ func (m *Model) NumLayers() int {
 	return len(m.Layers)
 }
 
+func (m *Model) MaxContextLength() int {
+	return int(m.MaxPositionEmbeddings)
+}
+
 func (m *Model) Tokenizer() *tokenizer.Tokenizer {
 	return m.tok
 }
diff --git a/x/models/qwen3/qwen3.go b/x/models/qwen3/qwen3.go
index 392f90755..85d427f58 100644
--- a/x/models/qwen3/qwen3.go
+++ b/x/models/qwen3/qwen3.go
@@ -279,6 +279,10 @@ func (m *Model) NumLayers() int {
 	return len(m.Layers)
 }
 
+func (m *Model) MaxContextLength() int {
+	return int(m.MaxPositionEmbeddings)
+}
+
 func (m *Model) Tokenizer() *tokenizer.Tokenizer {
 	return m.tok
 }