diff --git a/studio/backend/routes/models.py b/studio/backend/routes/models.py
index 1e31a91e26..79c03c8fec 100644
--- a/studio/backend/routes/models.py
+++ b/studio/backend/routes/models.py
@@ -146,6 +146,39 @@ def _scan_models_dir(
     if not models_dir.exists() or not models_dir.is_dir():
         return []
 
+    # Check if the directory itself IS a model (has a model config AND
+    # weight files).  Both conditions are required: a bare directory with
+    # only loose .gguf files (no config) might be a mixed collection that
+    # should list files individually, and a config.json alone (no weights)
+    # does not make a model directory.
+    try:
+        _has_config = (models_dir / "config.json").exists() or (
+            models_dir / "adapter_config.json"
+        ).exists()
+        _has_weights = any(
+            f.suffix.lower() in (".gguf", ".safetensors", ".bin")
+            for f in models_dir.iterdir()
+            if f.is_file()
+        )
+        _is_self_model = _has_config and _has_weights
+    except OSError:
+        _is_self_model = False
+
+    if _is_self_model:
+        try:
+            updated_at = models_dir.stat().st_mtime
+        except OSError:
+            updated_at = None
+        return [
+            LocalModelInfo(
+                id = str(models_dir),
+                display_name = models_dir.name,
+                path = str(models_dir),
+                source = "models_dir",
+                updated_at = updated_at,
+            ),
+        ]
+
     found: List[LocalModelInfo] = []
     for child in models_dir.iterdir():
         if limit is not None and len(found) >= limit:
@@ -243,6 +276,17 @@ def _scan_lmstudio_dir(lm_dir: Path) -> List[LocalModelInfo]:
     if not lm_dir.exists() or not lm_dir.is_dir():
         return []
 
+    # If the directory itself is a model directory (has config files),
+    # it is not an LM Studio publisher structure -- _scan_models_dir
+    # already handles it.
+    try:
+        if (lm_dir / "config.json").exists() or (
+            lm_dir / "adapter_config.json"
+        ).exists():
+            return []
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+
     found: List[LocalModelInfo] = []
     for child in lm_dir.iterdir():
         try:
@@ -263,6 +307,19 @@ def _scan_lmstudio_dir(lm_dir: Path) -> List[LocalModelInfo]:
                     )
                 continue
 
+            # If the child directory itself looks like a model (has config
+            # or model weight files), skip it -- _scan_models_dir already
+            # handles it.  Only treat it as a publisher directory otherwise.
+            _child_is_model = (
+                (child / "config.json").exists()
+                or (child / "adapter_config.json").exists()
+                or any(child.glob("*.safetensors"))
+                or any(child.glob("*.bin"))
+                or any(child.glob("*.gguf"))
+            )
+            if _child_is_model:
+                continue
+
             # child is a publisher directory -- scan its sub-directories
             for model_dir in child.iterdir():
                 try:
diff --git a/studio/backend/utils/models/model_config.py b/studio/backend/utils/models/model_config.py
index f97ea993eb..4a6b565a1a 100644
--- a/studio/backend/utils/models/model_config.py
+++ b/studio/backend/utils/models/model_config.py
@@ -1047,8 +1047,13 @@ def list_local_gguf_variants(
         (variants, has_vision): list of non-mmproj GGUF variants + vision flag.
     """
     p = Path(directory)
+    # If a file path was passed (e.g. a standalone .gguf entry), scan its
+    # parent directory instead so we still find the correct variants.
     if not p.is_dir():
-        return [], False
+        if p.is_file() and p.suffix.lower() == ".gguf":
+            p = p.parent
+        else:
+            return [], False
 
     quant_totals: dict[str, int] = {}
     quant_first_file: dict[str, str] = {}
@@ -1088,8 +1093,13 @@ def _find_local_gguf_by_variant(directory: str, variant: str) -> Optional[str]:
     Returns the resolved absolute path, or ``None`` if no match.
     """
     p = Path(directory)
+    # If a file path was passed (e.g. a standalone .gguf entry), use its
+    # parent directory so variant lookup still works.
     if not p.is_dir():
-        return None
+        if p.is_file() and p.suffix.lower() == ".gguf":
+            p = p.parent
+        else:
+            return None
 
     matches = sorted(
         f