feat: auto-fallback Gemini→Ollama + model warmup on chat open

Dual-provider architecture:
- Both Gemini and Ollama initialize at startup (if configured)
- Primary (Gemini) tried first for every request
- On any error (429, 503, timeout), automatically falls back to Ollama
- No manual switching needed — completely transparent to the user
- Log shows: "Primary failed (gemini: ...), falling back to ollama: ..."

Warmup:
- POST /api/chat/warmup called silently when chat panel opens
- Pre-loads Ollama model in background (10-15s) while user reads welcome
- By the time user types, model is ready for instant response
- Warms up fallback provider specifically (Gemini doesn't need it)

Timeout:
- Agent context increased to 60s (Ollama first response can be slow)
- Each request creates a fresh session (stateless for fallback compat)

internal/chat/handler.go

@@ -20,86 +20,106 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/genai"
 )
 
-// Handler serves the chat API endpoint.
+// chatRunner bundles a runner with its session service and label.
-type Handler struct {
+type chatRunner struct {
 	runner  *runner.Runner
-	sessionService session.Service
+	session session.Service
+	label   string
+}
+
+// Handler serves the chat API endpoint with automatic fallback.
+// Primary runner (Gemini) is tried first; if it fails, fallback (Ollama) is used.
+type Handler struct {
+	primary  *chatRunner
+	fallback *chatRunner
 	enabled  bool
 }
 
-// NewHandler creates a chat handler. Returns a disabled handler if no model provider is configured.
+// NewHandler creates a chat handler with primary + optional fallback provider.
+// - If GOOGLE_API_KEY is set → Gemini is primary
+// - If OLLAMA_HOST or Ollama is available → Ollama is fallback
+// - If only one is available, it becomes the sole provider
+// - If neither is available, chat is disabled
 func NewHandler(dataCache *cache.DataCache) *Handler {
-	provider := os.Getenv("MODEL_PROVIDER")
+	h := &Handler{}
-	if provider == "" {
-		provider = "gemini"
-	}
 
-	var llm model.LLM
+	// Try Gemini as primary
-	var providerLabel string
+	geminiLLM, geminiLabel, geminiErr := initGeminiProvider()
-
+	if geminiErr == nil && geminiLLM != nil {
-	switch provider {
+		r, err := buildRunner(geminiLLM, dataCache, "cv-chat-gemini")
-	case "ollama":
+		if err == nil {
-		llm, providerLabel = initOllamaProvider()
+			h.primary = &chatRunner{runner: r.runner, session: r.session, label: geminiLabel}
-	default:
-		var err error
-		llm, providerLabel, err = initGeminiProvider()
-		if err != nil {
-			return &Handler{enabled: false}
 		}
 	}
 
-	if llm == nil {
+	// Try Ollama as fallback (or primary if Gemini unavailable)
+	ollamaLLM, ollamaLabel := initOllamaProvider()
+	if ollamaLLM != nil {
+		r, err := buildRunner(ollamaLLM, dataCache, "cv-chat-ollama")
+		if err == nil {
+			if h.primary != nil {
+				h.fallback = &chatRunner{runner: r.runner, session: r.session, label: ollamaLabel}
+			} else {
+				h.primary = &chatRunner{runner: r.runner, session: r.session, label: ollamaLabel}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	if h.primary == nil {
+		log.Println("⚠️  No chat provider available — chat disabled")
 		return &Handler{enabled: false}
 	}
 
+	h.enabled = true
+
+	if h.fallback != nil {
+		log.Printf("💬 Chat enabled (primary: %s, fallback: %s)", h.primary.label, h.fallback.label)
+	} else {
+		log.Printf("💬 Chat enabled (%s)", h.primary.label)
+	}
+
+	return h
+}
+
+// buildRunner creates an ADK runner for a given LLM provider.
+func buildRunner(llm model.LLM, dataCache *cache.DataCache, appName string) (*chatRunner, error) {
 	cvAgent, err := NewAgent(llm, dataCache)
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Printf("⚠️  Failed to create CV agent: %v — chat disabled", err)
+		return nil, err
-		return &Handler{enabled: false}
 	}
 
 	sessionSvc := session.InMemoryService()
 
 	r, err := runner.New(runner.Config{
-		AppName:           "cv-chat",
+		AppName:           appName,
 		Agent:             cvAgent,
 		SessionService:    sessionSvc,
 		AutoCreateSession: true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Printf("⚠️  Failed to create runner: %v — chat disabled", err)
+		return nil, err
-		return &Handler{enabled: false}
 	}
 
-	log.Printf("💬 Chat agent enabled (%s)", providerLabel)
+	return &chatRunner{runner: r, session: sessionSvc}, nil
-
-	return &Handler{
-		runner:         r,
-		sessionService: sessionSvc,
-		enabled:        true,
-	}
 }
 
 // initGeminiProvider initializes the Gemini LLM provider.
 func initGeminiProvider() (model.LLM, string, error) {
 	apiKey := os.Getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
 	if apiKey == "" {
-		log.Println("⚠️  GOOGLE_API_KEY not set — chat feature disabled")
 		return nil, "", fmt.Errorf("no API key")
 	}
 
-	ctx := context.Background()
-
 	modelName := os.Getenv("MODEL_NAME")
 	if modelName == "" {
 		modelName = "gemini-2.5-flash"
 	}
 
-	llm, err := gemini.NewModel(ctx, modelName, &genai.ClientConfig{
+	llm, err := gemini.NewModel(context.Background(), modelName, &genai.ClientConfig{
 		APIKey: apiKey,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Printf("⚠️  Failed to initialize Gemini model: %v — chat disabled", err)
+		log.Printf("⚠️  Gemini init failed: %v", err)
 		return nil, "", err
 	}
 
@@ -127,9 +147,42 @@ func (h *Handler) Enabled() bool {
 	return h.enabled
 }
 
+// HandleWarmup pre-loads the LLM model so the first real question is fast.
+func (h *Handler) HandleWarmup(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	if !h.enabled || r.Method != http.MethodPost {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNoContent)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Warm up fallback (Ollama) in background — Gemini doesn't need warmup
+	target := h.fallback
+	if target == nil {
+		target = h.primary
+	}
+
+	go func() {
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 60*time.Second)
+		defer cancel()
+
+		sess, err := target.session.Create(ctx, &session.CreateRequest{
+			AppName: "cv-chat-warmup",
+			UserID:  "warmup",
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			return
+		}
+
+		msg := genai.NewContentFromText("hi", genai.RoleUser)
+		for range target.runner.Run(ctx, "warmup", sess.Session.ID(), msg, agent.RunConfig{}) {
+		}
+		log.Printf("💬 Model warmed up (%s)", target.label)
+	}()
+
+	w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNoContent)
+}
+
 // HandleChat processes POST /api/chat requests.
-// Expects form field "message" and optional "session_id".
+// Tries the primary provider first; falls back to the secondary on error.
-// Returns an HTML fragment for HTMX to swap into the chat panel.
 func (h *Handler) HandleChat(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if !h.enabled {
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8")
@@ -150,45 +203,16 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleChat(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	sessionID := r.FormValue("session_id")
+	// Try primary, fall back if it fails
-	if sessionID == "" {
+	response, sessionID, err := h.runAgent(h.primary, message)
-		sessionID = "default"
+	if err != nil && h.fallback != nil {
+		log.Printf("💬 Primary failed (%s: %v), falling back to %s", h.primary.label, err, h.fallback.label)
+		response, sessionID, err = h.runAgent(h.fallback, message)
 	}
 
-	// Ensure session exists
-	ctx := r.Context()
-	_, err := h.sessionService.Get(ctx, &session.GetRequest{
-		AppName:   "cv-chat",
-		UserID:    "visitor",
-		SessionID: sessionID,
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		// Create new session
-		created, createErr := h.sessionService.Create(ctx, &session.CreateRequest{
-			AppName: "cv-chat",
-			UserID:  "visitor",
-		})
-		if createErr != nil {
-			log.Printf("Chat session create error: %v", createErr)
 	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8")
-			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
-			_, _ = fmt.Fprint(w, `<div class="chat-message chat-error">Failed to start chat session.</div>`)
-			return
-		}
-		sessionID = created.Session.ID()
-	}
 
-	// Run the agent with a dedicated context (not tied to HTTP request lifecycle)
-	agentCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Second)
-	defer cancel()
-
-	userMsg := genai.NewContentFromText(message, genai.RoleUser)
-
-	var response strings.Builder
-	for event, err := range h.runner.Run(agentCtx, "visitor", sessionID, userMsg, agent.RunConfig{}) {
 	if err != nil {
-			log.Printf("Chat agent error: %v", err)
-			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8")
 		errMsg := "Something went wrong. Please try again in a moment."
 		if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "429") || strings.Contains(err.Error(), "RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED") {
 			errMsg = "The AI service is temporarily busy. Please try again in a few seconds."
@@ -196,6 +220,42 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleChat(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, `<div class="chat-message chat-error">%s</div>`, errMsg)
 		return
 	}
+
+	// User message bubble
+	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, `<div class="chat-message chat-user">%s</div>`, html.EscapeString(message))
+
+	// Agent response bubble
+	if response == "" {
+		response = "I couldn't find an answer to that. Try asking about experience, projects, skills, or education."
+	}
+	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, `<div class="chat-message chat-agent">%s</div>`, formatResponse(response))
+
+	// Session ID via OOB swap
+	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, `<input type="hidden" id="chat-session-id" name="session_id" value="%s" form="chat-form" hx-swap-oob="true"/>`, sessionID)
+}
+
+// runAgent executes the agent on the given runner and returns the response text.
+func (h *Handler) runAgent(cr *chatRunner, message string) (string, string, error) {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 60*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	// Create a new session for each request (stateless for fallback compatibility)
+	sess, err := cr.session.Create(ctx, &session.CreateRequest{
+		AppName: "cv-chat",
+		UserID:  "visitor",
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("session create: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	sessionID := sess.Session.ID()
+	userMsg := genai.NewContentFromText(message, genai.RoleUser)
+
+	var response strings.Builder
+	for event, err := range cr.runner.Run(ctx, "visitor", sessionID, userMsg, agent.RunConfig{}) {
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", "", err
+		}
 		if event.IsFinalResponse() {
 			if event.Content != nil {
 				for _, part := range event.Content.Parts {
@@ -207,35 +267,18 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleChat(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Render the response as HTML
+	return response.String(), sessionID, nil
-	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=utf-8")
-
-	// User message bubble
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, `<div class="chat-message chat-user">%s</div>`, html.EscapeString(message))
-
-	// Agent response bubble
-	agentText := response.String()
-	if agentText == "" {
-		agentText = "I couldn't find an answer to that. Try asking about experience, projects, skills, or education."
-	}
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, `<div class="chat-message chat-agent">%s</div>`, formatResponse(agentText))
-
-	// Update session ID via OOB swap (replaces existing input, avoids duplicates)
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, `<input type="hidden" id="chat-session-id" name="session_id" value="%s" form="chat-form" hx-swap-oob="true"/>`, sessionID)
 }
 
 // formatResponse converts basic markdown to HTML for the chat bubble.
 func formatResponse(text string) string {
-	// Escape HTML first
 	text = html.EscapeString(text)
 
-	// Bold: **text** → <strong>text</strong>
 	for strings.Contains(text, "**") {
 		text = strings.Replace(text, "**", "<strong>", 1)
 		text = strings.Replace(text, "**", "</strong>", 1)
 	}
 
-	// Bullet points: lines starting with "- " → <li>
 	lines := strings.Split(text, "\n")
 	var result []string
 	inList := false

internal/routes/routes.go

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ func Setup(cvHandler *handlers.CVHandler, healthHandler *handlers.HealthHandler,
 	// Chat endpoint with rate limiting (30 requests/hour per IP)
 	chatRateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(c.RateLimitChatRequests, c.RateLimitChatWindow)
 	mux.Handle("/api/chat", chatRateLimiter.Middleware(http.HandlerFunc(chatHandler.HandleChat)))
+	mux.HandleFunc("/api/chat/warmup", chatHandler.HandleWarmup) // Pre-load model on chat open
 
 	// Public routes
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", cvHandler.Home)

templates/partials/widgets/chat-widget.html

@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@
 <!-- Chat JavaScript — all interactions in plain JS, no Hyperscript -->
 <script>
 // Toggle chat panel open/close
+var chatWarmedUp = false;
 function toggleChatPanel() {
     var panel = document.getElementById('chat-panel');
     var btn = document.getElementById('chat-toggle-btn');
@@ -83,6 +84,11 @@ function toggleChatPanel() {
     btn.classList.toggle('mascot-active');
     if (panel.classList.contains('chat-open')) {
         document.getElementById('chat-input').focus();
+        // Warm up the model on first open (silent background ping)
+        if (!chatWarmedUp) {
+            chatWarmedUp = true;
+            fetch('/api/chat/warmup', { method: 'POST' }).catch(function() {});
+        }
     }
 }