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Not according to the documented guarantee. llama.cpp says a new incoming task triggers a sleeping model to reload, but its documentation does not promise that a request which timed out or failed will be automatically retried or replayed. If a caller gets an error, any retry should be handled by the client or an intervening proxy unless the deployed setup is known to do otherwise.

What happens when llama-server is asleep?

When idle sleep is enabled, llama-server unloads the model and associated memory, including the KV cache. The upstream llama.cpp server README says: “Any new incoming task will automatically trigger the model to reload.” That describes waking and reloading for a new task; it does not say that a request already in progress, timed out, or rejected will be buffered and replayed.

As a result, a first request after sleep may involve model reload and take longer than a request served by a loaded model. The documentation does not establish a wake-time measurement or guarantee that every request will wait successfully through loading across versions and configurations.

How to check whether idle sleep is enabled

Sleep is configured with --sleep-idle-seconds SECONDS. The Debian unstable llama-server manual, last updated 2026-09-24, lists -1 as the default, meaning idle sleep is disabled. This default is specific to that manual and may not match another build or deployment.

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To inspect sleep status, the README documents GET /props; in router mode, a model parameter can be supplied. The documented GET /health, GET /props, GET /models, and GET /metrics endpoints are exempt from model reload and idle-timer reset, so they are not wake triggers.

What to do if the first request times out

  1. Check the server’s sleep configuration. Confirm whether --sleep-idle-seconds is set and inspect sleep status through GET /props.
  2. Separate wake-up from retry. Submit a new task to wake and load the model. If a previous call has already timed out or returned a connection error, do not assume llama-server will replay it.
  3. Check retry and timeout behavior outside the server. Review the calling client and any proxy between it and llama-server. Their settings determine whether a failed call is retried, and a retry can submit work again if the original request’s outcome is uncertain.
  4. Verify behavior on the deployed build. Check the exact llama.cpp revision and server logs, or reproduce the scenario against that deployment. The documented reload behavior alone does not specify what happens to a particular request during model loading.

Why health checks may not wake the model

A health check can return without loading the model: the README explicitly exempts GET /health along with the listed metadata and metrics endpoints from triggering reload. A successful health response therefore does not prove the model is loaded or that a chat request will avoid cold-load latency.

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For a chat request, llama.cpp documents both synchronous and streaming /v1/chat/completions usage, but the sleep documentation does not define retry semantics for timeouts, connection failures, or already-running requests. Treat retry policy as a client or proxy responsibility unless you have verified different behavior in the specific deployment.

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