diff --git a/extras/chat_template_examples/chat_template_gemma.jinja b/extras/chat_template_examples/chat_template_gemma.jinja
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9ac79afea3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/extras/chat_template_examples/chat_template_gemma.jinja
@@ -0,0 +1,345 @@
+{%- macro format_parameters(properties, required, filter_keys=false) -%}
+    {%- set standard_keys = ['description', 'type', 'properties', 'required', 'nullable'] -%}
+    {%- set ns = namespace(found_first=false) -%}
+    {%- for key, value in properties | dictsort -%}
+        {%- set add_comma = false -%}
+        {%- if not filter_keys or key not in standard_keys -%}
+            {%- if ns.found_first %},{% endif -%}
+            {%- set ns.found_first = true -%}
+            {{ key }}:{
+            {%- if value['description'] -%}
+                description:<|"|>{{ value['description'] }}<|"|>
+                {%- set add_comma = true -%}
+            {%- endif -%}
+            {%- if value['type'] | upper == 'STRING' -%}
+                {%- if value['enum'] -%}
+                    {%- if add_comma %},{%- else -%} {%- set add_comma = true -%} {% endif -%}
+                    enum:{{ format_argument(value['enum']) }}
+                {%- endif -%}
+            {%- elif value['type'] | upper == 'ARRAY' -%}
+                {%- if value['items'] is mapping and value['items'] -%}
+                    {%- if add_comma %},{%- else -%} {%- set add_comma = true -%} {% endif -%}
+                    items:{
+                    {%- set ns_items = namespace(found_first=false) -%}
+                    {%- for item_key, item_value in value['items'] | dictsort -%}
+                        {%- if item_value is not none -%}
+                            {%- if ns_items.found_first %},{% endif -%}
+                            {%- set ns_items.found_first = true -%}
+                            {%- if item_key == 'properties' -%}
+                                properties:{
+                                {%- if item_value is mapping -%}
+                                    {{- format_parameters(item_value, value['items']['required'] | default([])) -}}
+                                {%- endif -%}
+                                }
+                            {%- elif item_key == 'required' -%}
+                                required:[
+                                {%- for req_item in item_value -%}
+                                    <|"|>{{- req_item -}}<|"|>
+                                    {%- if not loop.last %},{% endif -%}
+                                {%- endfor -%}
+                                ]
+                            {%- elif item_key == 'type' -%}
+                                {%- if item_value is string -%}
+                                    type:{{ format_argument(item_value | upper) }}
+                                {%- else -%}
+                                    type:{{ format_argument(item_value | map('upper') | list) }}
+                                {%- endif -%}
+                            {%- else -%}
+                                {{ item_key }}:{{ format_argument(item_value) }}
+                            {%- endif -%}
+                        {%- endif -%}
+                    {%- endfor -%}
+                    }
+                {%- endif -%}
+            {%- endif -%}
+            {%- if value['nullable'] %}
+                {%- if add_comma %},{%- else -%} {%- set add_comma = true -%} {% endif -%}
+                nullable:true
+            {%- endif -%}
+            {%- if value['type'] | upper == 'OBJECT' -%}
+                {%- if value['properties'] is defined and value['properties'] is mapping -%}
+                    {%- if add_comma %},{%- else -%} {%- set add_comma = true -%} {% endif -%}
+                    properties:{
+                    {{- format_parameters(value['properties'], value['required'] | default([])) -}}
+                    }
+                {%- elif value is mapping -%}
+                    {%- if add_comma %},{%- else -%} {%- set add_comma = true -%} {% endif -%}
+                    properties:{
+                    {{- format_parameters(value, value['required'] | default([]), filter_keys=true) -}}
+                    }
+                {%- endif -%}
+                {%- if value['required'] -%}
+                    {%- if add_comma %},{%- else -%} {%- set add_comma = true -%} {% endif -%}
+                    required:[
+                    {%- for item in value['required'] | default([]) -%}
+                        <|"|>{{- item -}}<|"|>
+                        {%- if not loop.last %},{% endif -%}
+                    {%- endfor -%}
+                    ]
+                {%- endif -%}
+            {%- endif -%}
+            {%- if add_comma %},{%- else -%} {%- set add_comma = true -%} {% endif -%}
+            type:<|"|>{{ value['type'] | upper }}<|"|>}
+        {%- endif -%}
+    {%- endfor -%}
+{%- endmacro -%}
+{%- macro format_function_declaration(tool_data) -%}
+    declaration:{{- tool_data['function']['name'] -}}{description:<|"|>{{- tool_data['function']['description'] -}}<|"|>
+    {%- set params = tool_data['function']['parameters'] -%}
+    {%- if params -%}
+        ,parameters:{
+        {%- if params['properties'] -%}
+            properties:{ {{- format_parameters(params['properties'], params['required']) -}} },
+        {%- endif -%}
+        {%- if params['required'] -%}
+            required:[
+            {%- for item in params['required'] -%}
+                <|"|>{{- item -}}<|"|>
+                {{- ',' if not loop.last -}}
+            {%- endfor -%}
+            ],
+        {%- endif -%}
+        {%- if params['type'] -%}
+            type:<|"|>{{- params['type'] | upper -}}<|"|>}
+        {%- endif -%}
+    {%- endif -%}
+    }
+{%- endmacro -%}
+{%- macro format_argument(argument, escape_keys=True) -%}
+    {%- if argument is string -%}
+        {{- '<|"|>' + argument + '<|"|>' -}}
+    {%- elif argument is boolean -%}
+        {{- 'true' if argument else 'false' -}}
+    {%- elif argument is mapping -%}
+        {{- '{' -}}
+        {%- set ns = namespace(found_first=false) -%}
+        {%- for key, value in argument | dictsort -%}
+            {%- if ns.found_first %},{% endif -%}
+            {%- set ns.found_first = true -%}
+            {%- if escape_keys -%}
+                {{- '<|"|>' + key + '<|"|>' -}}
+            {%- else -%}
+                {{- key -}}
+            {%- endif -%}
+            :{{- format_argument(value, escape_keys=escape_keys) -}}
+        {%- endfor -%}
+        {{- '}' -}}
+    {%- elif argument is sequence -%}
+        {{- '[' -}}
+        {%- for item in argument -%}
+            {{- format_argument(item, escape_keys=escape_keys) -}}
+            {%- if not loop.last %},{% endif -%}
+        {%- endfor -%}
+        {{- ']' -}}
+    {%- else -%}
+        {{- argument -}}
+    {%- endif -%}
+{%- endmacro -%}
+{%- macro strip_thinking(text) -%}
+    {%- set ns = namespace(result='') -%}
+    {%- for part in text.split('<channel|>') -%}
+        {%- if '<|channel>' in part -%}
+            {%- set ns.result = ns.result + part.split('<|channel>')[0] -%}
+        {%- else -%}
+            {%- set ns.result = ns.result + part -%}
+        {%- endif -%}
+    {%- endfor -%}
+    {{- ns.result | trim -}}
+{%- endmacro -%}
+
+{%- macro format_tool_response_block(tool_name, response) -%}
+    {{- '<|tool_response>' -}}
+    {%- if response is mapping -%}
+        {{- 'response:' + tool_name + '{' -}}
+        {%- for key, value in response | dictsort -%}
+            {{- key -}}:{{- format_argument(value, escape_keys=False) -}}
+            {%- if not loop.last %},{% endif -%}
+        {%- endfor -%}
+        {{- '}' -}}
+    {%- else -%}
+        {{- 'response:' + tool_name + '{value:' + format_argument(response, escape_keys=False) + '}' -}}
+    {%- endif -%}
+    {{- '<tool_response|>' -}}
+{%- endmacro -%}
+
+{%- set ns = namespace(prev_message_type=None) -%}
+{%- set loop_messages = messages -%}
+{{- bos_token -}}
+{#- Handle System/Tool Definitions Block -#}
+{%- if (enable_thinking is defined and enable_thinking) or tools or messages[0]['role'] in ['system', 'developer'] -%}
+    {{- '<|turn>system\n' -}}
+    {#- Inject Thinking token at the very top of the FIRST system turn -#}
+    {%- if enable_thinking is defined and enable_thinking -%}
+        {{- '<|think|>\n' -}}
+        {%- set ns.prev_message_type = 'think' -%}
+    {%- endif -%}
+    {%- if messages[0]['role'] in ['system', 'developer'] -%}
+        {%- if messages[0]['content'] is string -%}
+            {{- messages[0]['content'] | trim -}}
+        {%- elif messages[0]['content'] is sequence -%}
+            {%- for item in messages[0]['content'] -%}
+                {{- item['text'] | trim + ' '-}}
+            {%- endfor -%}
+        {%- endif -%}
+        {%- set loop_messages = messages[1:] -%}
+    {%- endif -%}
+    {%- if tools -%}
+        {%- for tool in tools %}
+            {{- '<|tool>' -}}
+            {{- format_function_declaration(tool) | trim -}}
+            {{- '<tool|>' -}}
+        {%- endfor %}
+        {%- set ns.prev_message_type = 'tool' -%}
+    {%- endif -%}
+    {{- '<turn|>\n' -}}
+{%- endif %}
+
+{#- Pre-scan: find last user message index for reasoning guard -#}
+{%- set ns_turn = namespace(last_user_idx=-1) -%}
+{%- for i in range(loop_messages | length) -%}
+    {%- if loop_messages[i]['role'] == 'user' -%}
+        {%- set ns_turn.last_user_idx = i -%}
+    {%- endif -%}
+{%- endfor -%}
+
+{#- Loop through messages -#}
+{%- for message in loop_messages -%}
+    {%- if message['role'] != 'tool' -%}
+    {%- set ns.prev_message_type = None -%}
+    {%- set role = 'model' if message['role'] == 'assistant' else message['role'] -%}
+    {#- Detect continuation: suppress duplicate <|turn>model when previous non-tool message was also assistant -#}
+    {%- set prev_nt = namespace(role=None, found=false) -%}
+    {%- if loop.index0 > 0 -%}
+        {%- for j in range(loop.index0 - 1, -1, -1) -%}
+            {%- if not prev_nt.found -%}
+                {%- if loop_messages[j]['role'] != 'tool' -%}
+                    {%- set prev_nt.role = loop_messages[j]['role'] -%}
+                    {%- set prev_nt.found = true -%}
+                {%- endif -%}
+            {%- endif -%}
+        {%- endfor -%}
+    {%- endif -%}
+    {%- set continue_same_model_turn = (role == 'model' and prev_nt.role == 'assistant') -%}
+    {%- if not continue_same_model_turn -%}
+        {{- '<|turn>' + role + '\n' }}
+    {%- endif -%}
+
+    {#- Render reasoning/reasoning_content as thinking channel -#}
+    {%- set thinking_text = message.get('reasoning') or message.get('reasoning_content') -%}
+    {%- if thinking_text and loop.index0 > ns_turn.last_user_idx and message.get('tool_calls') -%}
+        {{- '<|channel>thought\n' + thinking_text + '\n<channel|>' -}}
+    {%- endif -%}
+
+            {%- if message['tool_calls'] -%}
+                {%- for tool_call in message['tool_calls'] -%}
+                    {%- set function = tool_call['function'] -%}
+                    {%- set args = function['arguments'] | from_json -%}
+                    {{- '<|tool_call>call:' + function['name'] + '{' -}}
+                    {%- if args is mapping -%}
+                        {%- set ns_args = namespace(found_first=false) -%}
+                        {%- for key, value in args | dictsort -%}
+                            {%- if ns_args.found_first %},{% endif -%}
+                            {%- set ns_args.found_first = true -%}
+                            {{- key -}}:{{- format_argument(value, escape_keys=False) -}}
+                        {%- endfor -%}
+                    {%- elif function['arguments'] is string -%}
+                        {{- function['arguments'] -}}
+                    {%- endif -%}
+                    {{- '}<tool_call|>' -}}
+                {%- endfor -%}
+                {%- set ns.prev_message_type = 'tool_call' -%}
+            {%- endif -%}
+
+            {%- set ns_tr_out = namespace(flag=false) -%}
+            {%- if message.get('tool_responses') -%}
+                {#- Legacy: tool_responses embedded on the assistant message (Google/Gemma native) -#}
+                {%- for tool_response in message['tool_responses'] -%}
+                    {{- format_tool_response_block(tool_response['name'] | default('unknown'), tool_response['response']) -}}
+                    {%- set ns_tr_out.flag = true -%}
+                    {%- set ns.prev_message_type = 'tool_response' -%}
+                {%- endfor -%}
+            {%- elif message.get('tool_calls') -%}
+                {#- OpenAI Chat Completions: forward-scan consecutive role:tool messages -#}
+                {%- set ns_tool_scan = namespace(stopped=false) -%}
+                {%- for k in range(loop.index0 + 1, loop_messages | length) -%}
+                    {%- if ns_tool_scan.stopped -%}
+                    {%- elif loop_messages[k]['role'] != 'tool' -%}
+                        {%- set ns_tool_scan.stopped = true -%}
+                    {%- else -%}
+                        {%- set follow = loop_messages[k] -%}
+                        {#- Resolve tool_call_id to function name -#}
+                        {%- set ns_tname = namespace(name=follow.get('name') | default('unknown')) -%}
+                        {%- for tc in message['tool_calls'] -%}
+                            {%- if tc.get('id') == follow.get('tool_call_id') -%}
+                                {%- set ns_tname.name = tc['function']['name'] -%}
+                            {%- endif -%}
+                        {%- endfor -%}
+                        {#- Handle content as string or content-parts array -#}
+                        {%- set tool_body = follow.get('content') -%}
+                        {%- if tool_body is string -%}
+                            {{- format_tool_response_block(ns_tname.name, tool_body) -}}
+                        {%- elif tool_body is sequence and tool_body is not string -%}
+                            {%- set ns_txt = namespace(s='') -%}
+                            {%- for part in tool_body -%}
+                                {%- if part.get('type') == 'text' -%}
+                                    {%- set ns_txt.s = ns_txt.s + (part.get('text') | default('')) -%}
+                                {%- endif -%}
+                            {%- endfor -%}
+                            {{- format_tool_response_block(ns_tname.name, ns_txt.s) -}}
+                        {%- else -%}
+                            {{- format_tool_response_block(ns_tname.name, tool_body) -}}
+                        {%- endif -%}
+                        {%- set ns_tr_out.flag = true -%}
+                        {%- set ns.prev_message_type = 'tool_response' -%}
+                    {%- endif -%}
+                {%- endfor -%}
+            {%- endif -%}
+
+            {%- set captured_content -%}
+            {%- if message['content'] is string -%}
+                {%- if role == 'model' -%}
+                    {{- strip_thinking(message['content']) -}}
+                {%- else -%}
+                    {{- message['content'] | trim -}}
+                {%- endif -%}
+            {%- elif message['content'] is sequence -%}
+                {%- for item in message['content'] -%}
+                    {%- if item['type'] == 'text' -%}
+                        {%- if role == 'model' -%}
+                            {{- strip_thinking(item['text']) -}}
+                        {%- else -%}
+                            {{- item['text'] | trim -}}
+                        {%- endif -%}
+                    {%- elif item['type'] == 'image' -%}
+                        {{- '<|image|>' -}}
+                        {%- set ns.prev_message_type = 'image' -%}
+                    {%- elif item['type'] == 'audio' -%}
+                        {{- '<|audio|>' -}}
+                        {%- set ns.prev_message_type = 'audio' -%}
+                    {%- elif item['type'] == 'video' -%}
+                        {{- '<|video|>' -}}
+                        {%- set ns.prev_message_type = 'video' -%}
+                    {%- endif -%}
+                {%- endfor -%}
+            {%- endif -%}
+            {%- endset -%}
+
+            {{- captured_content -}}
+            {%- set has_content = captured_content | trim | length > 0 -%}
+
+        {%- if ns.prev_message_type == 'tool_call' and not ns_tr_out.flag -%}
+            {{- '<|tool_response>' -}}
+        {%- elif not (ns_tr_out.flag and not has_content) -%}
+            {{- '<turn|>\n' -}}
+        {%- endif -%}
+    {%- endif -%}
+{%- endfor -%}
+
+{%- if add_generation_prompt -%}
+    {%- if ns.prev_message_type != 'tool_response' and ns.prev_message_type != 'tool_call' -%}
+        {{- '<|turn>model\n' -}}
+        {%- if not enable_thinking | default(false) -%}
+            {{- '<|channel>thought\n<channel|>' -}}
+        {%- endif -%}
+    {%- endif -%}
+{%- endif -%}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/llm/visual_language_model/continuous_batching/servable.cpp b/src/llm/visual_language_model/continuous_batching/servable.cpp
index 13b7e73a62..40b41c586a 100644
--- a/src/llm/visual_language_model/continuous_batching/servable.cpp
+++ b/src/llm/visual_language_model/continuous_batching/servable.cpp
@@ -22,6 +22,16 @@
 #include <unordered_map>
 #include <vector>
 
+#pragma warning(push)
+#pragma warning(disable : 4005 4309 6001 6385 6386 6326 6011 4005 4456 6246)
+#pragma GCC diagnostic push
+#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wdeprecated-declarations"
+#include <rapidjson/document.h>
+#include <rapidjson/stringbuffer.h>
+#include <rapidjson/writer.h>
+#pragma GCC diagnostic pop
+#pragma warning(pop)
+
 #include "../../../logging.hpp"
 #include "../../text_utils.hpp"
 #include "../../../tokenize/tokenize_parser.hpp"
@@ -94,6 +104,40 @@ absl::Status VisualLanguageModelServable::prepareInputs(std::shared_ptr<GenAiSer
             chatHistory[chatTurnIndex]["content"] = imageTagString + messageContent;
         }
 
+#if (PYTHON_DISABLE == 0)
+        std::string jsonForTemplate;
+        if (vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->getProcessedJson().size() > 0) {
+            jsonForTemplate = vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->getProcessedJson();
+        } else {
+            jsonForTemplate = vlmExecutionContext->payload.body;
+        }
+        // Inject image tags into the JSON messages for Python Jinja template processing
+        if (!imageTags.empty()) {
+            rapidjson::Document jsonDoc;
+            jsonDoc.Parse(jsonForTemplate.c_str());
+            if (!jsonDoc.HasParseError() && jsonDoc.HasMember("messages") && jsonDoc["messages"].IsArray()) {
+                auto& messages = jsonDoc["messages"];
+                for (const auto& [chatTurnIndex, imageTagString] : imageTags) {
+                    if (chatTurnIndex < messages.Size()) {
+                        auto& msg = messages[chatTurnIndex];
+                        if (msg.HasMember("content") && msg["content"].IsString()) {
+                            std::string newContent = imageTagString + msg["content"].GetString();
+                            msg["content"].SetString(newContent.c_str(), newContent.length(), jsonDoc.GetAllocator());
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                rapidjson::StringBuffer buffer;
+                rapidjson::Writer<rapidjson::StringBuffer> writer(buffer);
+                jsonDoc.Accept(writer);
+                jsonForTemplate = buffer.GetString();
+            }
+        }
+        SPDLOG_LOGGER_DEBUG(llm_calculator_logger, "VLM CB: Applying chat template using Python Jinja processor");
+        bool success = PyJinjaTemplateProcessor::applyChatTemplate(getProperties()->templateProcessor, getProperties()->modelsPath, jsonForTemplate, vlmExecutionContext->inputText);
+        if (!success) {
+            return absl::Status(absl::StatusCode::kInvalidArgument, vlmExecutionContext->inputText);
+        }
+#else
         constexpr bool addGenerationPrompt = true;  // confirm it should be hardcoded
         auto toolsStatus = vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->parseToolsToJsonContainer();
         if (!toolsStatus.ok()) {
@@ -113,7 +157,16 @@ absl::Status VisualLanguageModelServable::prepareInputs(std::shared_ptr<GenAiSer
             SPDLOG_LOGGER_TRACE(llm_calculator_logger, "VLM chatTemplateKwargs: {}", chatTemplateKwargs.has_value() ? chatTemplateKwargs->to_json_string() : std::string("<none>"));
             SPDLOG_LOGGER_TRACE(llm_calculator_logger, "VLM addGenerationPrompt: {}", addGenerationPrompt);
         }
-        vlmExecutionContext->inputText = properties->tokenizer.apply_chat_template(chatHistory, addGenerationPrompt, {}, tools, chatTemplateKwargs);
+        try {
+            vlmExecutionContext->inputText = properties->tokenizer.apply_chat_template(chatHistory, addGenerationPrompt, {}, tools, chatTemplateKwargs);
+        } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+            SPDLOG_LOGGER_DEBUG(llm_calculator_logger, "Failed to apply chat template: {}", e.what());
+            return absl::Status(absl::StatusCode::kInvalidArgument, "Failed to apply chat template. The model either does not have chat template or has an invalid one.");
+        }
+#endif
+        if (vlmExecutionContext->inputText.empty()) {
+            return absl::Status(absl::StatusCode::kInvalidArgument, "Final prompt after applying chat template is empty");
+        }
         if (vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->getOutputParser() != nullptr) {
             vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->getOutputParser()->detectAndSetImplicitReasoningStart(vlmExecutionContext->inputText);
         }
diff --git a/src/llm/visual_language_model/legacy/servable.cpp b/src/llm/visual_language_model/legacy/servable.cpp
index 033cb8641d..efb3d574a6 100644
--- a/src/llm/visual_language_model/legacy/servable.cpp
+++ b/src/llm/visual_language_model/legacy/servable.cpp
@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@
 #pragma GCC diagnostic push
 #pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wdeprecated-declarations"
 #include "mediapipe/framework/calculator_graph.h"
+#include <rapidjson/document.h>
+#include <rapidjson/stringbuffer.h>
+#include <rapidjson/writer.h>
 #pragma GCC diagnostic pop
 #pragma warning(pop)
 
@@ -297,6 +300,50 @@ absl::Status VisualLanguageModelLegacyServable::prepareInputs(std::shared_ptr<Ge
             chatHistory[chatTurnIndex]["content"] = imageTagString + messageContent;
         }
 
+        SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX");
+
+#if (PYTHON_DISABLE == 0)
+        std::string jsonForTemplate;
+        if (vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->getProcessedJson().size() > 0) {
+            SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY");
+            jsonForTemplate = vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->getProcessedJson();
+        } else {
+            SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ");
+            jsonForTemplate = vlmExecutionContext->payload.body;
+        }
+        SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA");
+        // Inject image tags into the JSON messages for Python Jinja template processing
+        if (!imageTags.empty()) {
+            SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "BBBBBBBBBBBBB");
+            rapidjson::Document jsonDoc;
+            jsonDoc.Parse(jsonForTemplate.c_str());
+            if (!jsonDoc.HasParseError() && jsonDoc.HasMember("messages") && jsonDoc["messages"].IsArray()) {
+                auto& messages = jsonDoc["messages"];
+                for (const auto& [chatTurnIndex, imageTagString] : imageTags) {
+                    if (chatTurnIndex < messages.Size()) {
+                        auto& msg = messages[chatTurnIndex];
+                        if (msg.HasMember("content") && msg["content"].IsString()) {
+                            std::string newContent = imageTagString + msg["content"].GetString();
+                            msg["content"].SetString(newContent.c_str(), newContent.length(), jsonDoc.GetAllocator());
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                rapidjson::StringBuffer buffer;
+                rapidjson::Writer<rapidjson::StringBuffer> writer(buffer);
+                jsonDoc.Accept(writer);
+                jsonForTemplate = buffer.GetString();
+            }
+        }
+        SPDLOG_LOGGER_DEBUG(llm_calculator_logger, "VLM Legacy: Applying chat template using Python Jinja processor");
+        SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC");
+        bool success = PyJinjaTemplateProcessor::applyChatTemplate(getProperties()->templateProcessor, getProperties()->modelsPath, jsonForTemplate, vlmExecutionContext->inputText);
+        SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD");
+        if (!success) {
+            SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE");
+            return absl::Status(absl::StatusCode::kInvalidArgument, vlmExecutionContext->inputText);
+        }
+        SPDLOG_LOGGER_INFO(llm_calculator_logger, "FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF");
+#else
         constexpr bool addGenerationPrompt = true;  // confirm it should be hardcoded
         auto toolsStatus = vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->parseToolsToJsonContainer();
         if (!toolsStatus.ok()) {
@@ -308,7 +355,16 @@ absl::Status VisualLanguageModelLegacyServable::prepareInputs(std::shared_ptr<Ge
             return chatTemplateKwargsStatus.status();
         }
         const auto& chatTemplateKwargs = chatTemplateKwargsStatus.value();
-        vlmExecutionContext->inputText = properties->tokenizer.apply_chat_template(chatHistory, addGenerationPrompt, {}, tools, chatTemplateKwargs);
+        try {
+            vlmExecutionContext->inputText = properties->tokenizer.apply_chat_template(chatHistory, addGenerationPrompt, {}, tools, chatTemplateKwargs);
+        } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+            SPDLOG_LOGGER_DEBUG(llm_calculator_logger, "Failed to apply chat template: {}", e.what());
+            return absl::Status(absl::StatusCode::kInvalidArgument, "Failed to apply chat template. The model either does not have chat template or has an invalid one.");
+        }
+#endif
+        if (vlmExecutionContext->inputText.empty()) {
+            return absl::Status(absl::StatusCode::kInvalidArgument, "Final prompt after applying chat template is empty");
+        }
         if (vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->getOutputParser() != nullptr) {
             vlmExecutionContext->apiHandler->getOutputParser()->detectAndSetImplicitReasoningStart(vlmExecutionContext->inputText);
         }