diff --git a/app/download.cpp b/app/download.cpp
index f7ac55dedc..7227baadcb 100644
--- a/app/download.cpp
+++ b/app/download.cpp
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ int llama_download(int argc, char ** argv) {
     }
 
     try {
-        common_params_handle_models(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_DOWNLOAD, {});
+        common_models_handler handler = common_models_handler_init(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_DOWNLOAD);
+        common_models_handler_apply(handler, params);
     } catch (const std::exception & e) {
         fprintf(stderr, "error: %s\n", e.what());
         return 1;
diff --git a/common/arg.cpp b/common/arg.cpp
index 494df2073c..841a38e961 100644
--- a/common/arg.cpp
+++ b/common/arg.cpp
@@ -297,60 +297,6 @@ struct handle_model_result {
     std::string preset_path;
 };
 
-static handle_model_result common_params_handle_model(struct common_params_model & model,
-                                                      const common_download_opts & opts) {
-    handle_model_result result;
-
-    // TODO @ngxson : refactor this into a new common_model_download_context
-
-    if (!model.docker_repo.empty()) {
-        model.path = common_docker_resolve_model(model.docker_repo);
-    } else if (!model.hf_repo.empty()) {
-        // If -m was used with -hf, treat the model "path" as the hf_file to download
-        if (model.hf_file.empty() && !model.path.empty()) {
-            model.hf_file = model.path;
-            model.path = "";
-        }
-        common_download_opts hf_opts = opts;
-        auto download_result = common_download_model(model, hf_opts);
-
-        if (!download_result.preset_path.empty()) {
-            result.found_preset = true;
-            result.preset_path = download_result.preset_path;
-            return result; // skip everything else if preset.ini is used
-        }
-
-        if (download_result.model_path.empty()) {
-            throw std::runtime_error("failed to download model from Hugging Face");
-        }
-
-        model.path = download_result.model_path;
-
-        if (!download_result.mmproj_path.empty()) {
-            result.found_mmproj = true;
-            result.mmproj.path  = download_result.mmproj_path;
-        }
-
-        if (!download_result.mtp_path.empty()) {
-            result.found_mtp = true;
-            result.mtp.path  = download_result.mtp_path;
-        }
-    } else if (!model.url.empty()) {
-        if (model.path.empty()) {
-            auto f = string_split<std::string>(model.url, '#').front();
-            f = string_split<std::string>(f, '?').front();
-            model.path = fs_get_cache_file(string_split<std::string>(f, '/').back());
-        }
-
-        auto download_result = common_download_model(model, opts);
-        if (download_result.model_path.empty()) {
-            throw std::runtime_error("failed to download model from " + model.url);
-        }
-    }
-
-    return result;
-}
-
 const std::vector<ggml_type> kv_cache_types = {
     GGML_TYPE_F32,
     GGML_TYPE_F16,
@@ -395,77 +341,204 @@ static bool parse_bool_value(const std::string & value) {
 }
 
 //
-// CLI argument parsing functions
+// common_models_handler
 //
 
-bool common_params_handle_models(common_params & params, llama_example curr_ex, const common_params_handle_models_params & handle_params) {
-    const bool spec_type_draft_mtp = std::find(params.speculative.types.begin(),
-                                         params.speculative.types.end(),
-                                         COMMON_SPECULATIVE_TYPE_DRAFT_MTP) != params.speculative.types.end();
+static std::string get_default_local_path(const std::string & url) {
+    auto f = string_split<std::string>(url, '#').front();
+    f = string_split<std::string>(f, '?').front();
+    return fs_get_cache_file(string_split<std::string>(f, '/').back());
+}
 
+common_models_handler common_models_handler_init(const common_params & params, llama_example curr_ex) {
+    common_download_hf_plan plan;
     common_download_opts opts;
+
+    const bool spec_type_draft_mtp = std::find(params.speculative.types.begin(),
+                                        params.speculative.types.end(),
+                                        COMMON_SPECULATIVE_TYPE_DRAFT_MTP) != params.speculative.types.end();
+
+    // only download mmproj if the current example is using it
+    bool use_mmproj = false;
+    for (const auto & ex : mmproj_examples) {
+        if (curr_ex == ex) {
+            use_mmproj = true;
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+
     opts.bearer_token    = params.hf_token;
     opts.offline         = params.offline;
-    opts.skip_download   = params.skip_download;
     opts.download_mtp    = spec_type_draft_mtp;
-    opts.download_mmproj = !params.no_mmproj && params.mmproj.path.empty() && params.mmproj.url.empty();
-    opts.preset_only     = handle_params.preset_only;
+    opts.download_mmproj = use_mmproj && !params.no_mmproj
+                        && params.mmproj.path.empty() && params.mmproj.url.empty();
 
-    if (handle_params.callback) {
-        opts.callback = handle_params.callback;
+    if (!params.model.hf_repo.empty()) {
+        plan = common_download_get_hf_plan(params.model, opts);
     }
 
-    // sub-models (draft, mmproj, vocoder) are explicitly specified by the user,
-    // so we should not auto-discover mtp/mmproj siblings for them
-    common_download_opts sub_opts = opts;
-    sub_opts.download_mtp    = false;
-    sub_opts.download_mmproj = false;
+    return common_models_handler{plan, opts};
+}
 
-    try {
-        auto res = common_params_handle_model(params.model, opts);
-        if (res.found_preset) {
-            if (!params.models_preset.empty()) {
-                throw std::invalid_argument("cannot use both --models-preset and -hf with a preset.ini file");
+bool common_models_handler_is_preset_repo(const common_models_handler & handler) {
+    return !handler.plan.preset.url.empty();
+}
+
+static std::vector<common_download_task> build_url_tasks(const common_params_model & model, common_download_opts opts) {
+    auto parts = common_download_get_all_parts(model.url);
+    std::vector<common_download_task> tasks;
+
+    // single-part: download straight to model.path if the user gave one (-m), else the cache default
+    if (parts.size() == 1) {
+        common_download_task task;
+        task.url        = parts[0];
+        task.local_path = model.path.empty() ? get_default_local_path(parts[0]) : model.path;
+        task.opts       = opts;
+        tasks.push_back(std::move(task));
+        return tasks;
+    }
+
+    // multi-part: place each part under the user's -m directory (if given), else the cache default
+    std::string base_dir;
+    if (!model.path.empty()) {
+        auto pos = model.path.rfind('/');
+        base_dir = pos == std::string::npos ? std::string(".") : model.path.substr(0, pos);
+    }
+
+    for (const auto & part : parts) {
+        common_download_task task;
+        task.url  = part;
+        task.opts = opts;
+
+        std::string local = get_default_local_path(part);
+        if (!base_dir.empty()) {
+            auto pos = local.rfind('/');
+            std::string name = pos == std::string::npos ? local : local.substr(pos + 1);
+            local = base_dir + "/" + name;
+        }
+        task.local_path = local;
+        tasks.push_back(std::move(task));
+    }
+    return tasks;
+}
+
+void common_models_handler_apply(common_models_handler & handler, common_params & params, common_download_callback * callback) {
+    std::vector<common_download_task> tasks;
+
+    auto & plan = handler.plan;
+
+    auto opts = handler.opts; // copy
+    opts.callback = callback;
+
+    // handle plain "url" if needed
+    auto handle_url = [&](common_params_model & model) {
+        if (!model.url.empty()) {
+            if (model.path.empty()) {
+                model.path = get_default_local_path(model.url);
             }
+        }
+    };
+    handle_url(params.model);
+    handle_url(params.mmproj);
+    handle_url(params.vocoder.model);
+    handle_url(params.speculative.draft.mparams);
+
+    // optionally, if docker repo is set, resolve it
+    if (!params.model.docker_repo.empty()) {
+        params.model.url  = common_docker_resolve_model(params.model.docker_repo);
+        params.model.path = get_default_local_path(params.model.url);
+    }
+
+    // handle plain "url" tasks (non-hf)
+    if (!params.model.url.empty()) {
+        auto url_tasks = build_url_tasks(params.model, opts);
+        // the first part is what gets loaded, so point params.model.path at it
+        if (!url_tasks.empty()) {
+            std::string first_path = url_tasks.front().local_path;
+            url_tasks.front().on_done = [&]() { params.model.path = first_path; };
+        }
+        for (auto & task : url_tasks) {
+            tasks.push_back(std::move(task));
+        }
+    }
+    if (!params.mmproj.url.empty()) {
+        common_download_task task;
+        task.url        = params.mmproj.url;
+        task.local_path = params.mmproj.path;
+        task.opts       = opts;
+        tasks.push_back(task);
+    }
+    if (!params.vocoder.model.url.empty()) {
+        common_download_task task;
+        task.url        = params.vocoder.model.url;
+        task.local_path = params.vocoder.model.path;
+        task.opts       = opts;
+        tasks.push_back(task);
+    }
+    if (!params.speculative.draft.mparams.url.empty()) {
+        common_download_task task;
+        task.url        = params.speculative.draft.mparams.url;
+        task.local_path = params.speculative.draft.mparams.path;
+        task.opts       = opts;
+        tasks.push_back(task);
+    }
+
+    // handle hf_plan tasks
+    if (!plan.model_files.empty()) {
+        for (size_t i = 0; i < plan.model_files.size(); ++i) {
+            auto & model_file = plan.model_files[i];
+            bool is_first = (i == 0);
+            tasks.emplace_back(model_file, opts, [&, is_first]() {
+                if (is_first) {
+                    // only use first part as model path
+                    params.model.path = hf_cache::finalize_file(model_file);
+                } else {
+                    hf_cache::finalize_file(model_file);
+                }
+            });
+        }
+    }
+    if (!plan.mmproj.local_path.empty()) {
+        tasks.emplace_back(plan.mmproj, opts, [&]() {
+            params.mmproj.path = hf_cache::finalize_file(plan.mmproj);
+        });
+    }
+    if (!plan.mtp.local_path.empty()) {
+        tasks.emplace_back(plan.mtp, opts, [&]() {
+            // only fall back to the discovered MTP head when no draft was explicitly provided
+            if (params.speculative.draft.mparams.empty()) {
+                params.speculative.draft.mparams.path = hf_cache::finalize_file(plan.mtp);
+            } else {
+                hf_cache::finalize_file(plan.mtp);
+            }
+        });
+    }
+    if (!plan.preset.local_path.empty()) {
+        tasks.emplace_back(plan.preset, opts, [&]() {
             // if HF repo is a preset repo, we simply run server in router mode with the preset.ini file
             params.models_preset_hf = params.model.hf_repo; // only for showing a warning
-            params.models_preset    = res.preset_path;
+            params.models_preset    = hf_cache::finalize_file(plan.preset);
             params.model = common_params_model{}; // make sure to clear model, so server starts in router mode
-            return true;
-        }
+        });
+    }
 
-        if (params.no_mmproj) {
-            params.mmproj = {};
-        } else if (res.found_mmproj && params.mmproj.path.empty() && params.mmproj.url.empty()) {
-            // optionally, handle mmproj model when -hf is specified
-            params.mmproj = res.mmproj;
-        }
-        // only download mmproj if the current example is using it
-        for (const auto & ex : mmproj_examples) {
-            if (curr_ex == ex) {
-                common_params_handle_model(params.mmproj, sub_opts);
-                break;
-            }
-        }
+    // run all tasks in parallel
+    if (!params.offline) {
+        common_download_run_tasks(tasks);
+    }
 
-        // when --spec-type mtp is set and no draft model was provided explicitly,
-        // fall back to the MTP head discovered alongside the -hf model
-        if (spec_type_draft_mtp && res.found_mtp &&
-            params.speculative.draft.mparams.path.empty() &&
-            params.speculative.draft.mparams.hf_repo.empty() &&
-            params.speculative.draft.mparams.url.empty()) {
-            params.speculative.draft.mparams.path = res.mtp.path;
+    // download successful, update params with the downloaded paths
+    for (const auto & task : tasks) {
+        if (task.on_done) {
+            task.on_done();
         }
-        common_params_handle_model(params.speculative.draft.mparams, sub_opts);
-        common_params_handle_model(params.vocoder.model,             sub_opts);
-        return true;
-    } catch (const common_skip_download_exception &) {
-        return false;
-    } catch (const std::exception &) {
-        throw;
     }
 }
 
+//
+// CLI argument parsing functions
+//
+
 static bool common_params_parse_ex(int argc, char ** argv, common_params_context & ctx_arg) {
     common_params & params = ctx_arg.params;
 
@@ -601,7 +674,8 @@ static bool common_params_parse_ex(int argc, char ** argv, common_params_context
 
     if (!skip_model_download) {
         // handle model and download
-        common_params_handle_models(params, ctx_arg.ex, {});
+        common_models_handler handler = common_models_handler_init(params, ctx_arg.ex);
+        common_models_handler_apply(handler, params);
 
         // model is required (except for server)
         // TODO @ngxson : maybe show a list of available models in CLI in this case
diff --git a/common/arg.h b/common/arg.h
index fdfc04bc7a..508e33d29e 100644
--- a/common/arg.h
+++ b/common/arg.h
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 #include <cstring>
+#include <memory>
 
 // pseudo-env variable to identify preset-only arguments
 #define COMMON_ARG_PRESET_LOAD_ON_STARTUP "__PRESET_LOAD_ON_STARTUP"
@@ -130,19 +131,19 @@ bool common_params_to_map(int argc, char ** argv, llama_example ex, std::map<com
 // see: https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/issues/18163
 void common_params_add_preset_options(std::vector<common_arg> & args);
 
-struct common_params_handle_models_params {
-    common_download_callback * callback = nullptr;
-    bool preset_only = false; // if true, only check & download remote preset (for router mode)
+struct common_models_handler {
+    common_download_hf_plan plan;
+    common_download_opts opts;
 };
 
-// populate model paths (main model, mmproj, etc) from -hf if necessary
-// return true if the model is ready to use
-// throw an exception if there is an error that prevents the model from being used (e.g. network error, model not found, etc)
-// if params.skip_download is true, no downloads will be attempted. return false if the model is invalid or missing (e.g. ETag check failed)
-bool common_params_handle_models(
-    common_params & params,
-    llama_example curr_ex,
-    const common_params_handle_models_params & handle_params);
+// initialize downloading opts and hf_plan if needed, but does not download anything yet
+common_models_handler common_models_handler_init(const common_params & params, llama_example curr_ex);
+
+// check if the model is a preset repo (i.e. has a preset file)
+bool common_models_handler_is_preset_repo(const common_models_handler & handler);
+
+// download and update params with the downloaded model path
+void common_models_handler_apply(common_models_handler & handler, common_params & params, common_download_callback * callback = nullptr);
 
 // initialize argument parser context - used by test-arg-parser and preset
 common_params_context common_params_parser_init(common_params & params, llama_example ex, void(*print_usage)(int, char **) = nullptr);
diff --git a/common/common.h b/common/common.h
index 279af46c54..94147d5d8c 100644
--- a/common/common.h
+++ b/common/common.h
@@ -291,13 +291,13 @@ struct common_params_sampling {
 };
 
 struct common_params_model {
-    std::string path        = ""; // model local path                                       // NOLINT
-    std::string url         = ""; // model url to download                                  // NOLINT
-    std::string hf_repo     = ""; // HF repo                                                // NOLINT
-    std::string hf_file     = ""; // HF file                                                // NOLINT
-    std::string docker_repo = ""; // Docker repo                                            // NOLINT
+    std::string path        = ""; // model local path
+    std::string url         = ""; // model url to download
+    std::string hf_repo     = ""; // HF repo
+    std::string hf_file     = ""; // HF file
+    std::string docker_repo = ""; // Docker repo
 
-    std::string get_name() {
+    std::string get_name() const {
         if (!hf_repo.empty()) {
             return hf_repo;
         }
@@ -306,6 +306,10 @@ struct common_params_model {
         }
         return path;
     }
+
+    bool empty() const {
+        return get_name().empty();
+    }
 };
 
 // draft-model-based speculative decoding parameters
@@ -368,7 +372,7 @@ struct common_params_speculative {
     common_params_speculative_ngram_cache ngram_cache;
 
     bool has_dft() const {
-        return !draft.mparams.path.empty() || !draft.mparams.hf_repo.empty();
+        return !draft.mparams.empty();
     }
 
     uint32_t need_n_rs_seq() const {
@@ -520,7 +524,6 @@ struct common_params {
     int32_t control_vector_layer_start = -1; // layer range for control vector
     int32_t control_vector_layer_end   = -1; // layer range for control vector
     bool    offline                    = false;
-    bool    skip_download              = false; // skip model file downloading
 
     int32_t ppl_stride      = 0;     // stride for perplexity calculations. If left at 0, the pre-existing approach will be used.
     int32_t ppl_output_type = 0;     // = 0 -> ppl output is as usual, = 1 -> ppl output is num_tokens, ppl, one per line
diff --git a/common/download.cpp b/common/download.cpp
index 5b55c76a11..6b69a44188 100644
--- a/common/download.cpp
+++ b/common/download.cpp
@@ -292,10 +292,6 @@ static int common_download_file_single_online(const std::string & url,
 
     const bool file_exists = std::filesystem::exists(path);
 
-    if (!file_exists && opts.skip_download) {
-        return -2; // file is missing and download is disabled
-    }
-
     if (file_exists && skip_etag) {
         LOG_DBG("%s: using cached file: %s\n", __func__, path.c_str());
         return 304; // 304 Not Modified - fake cached response
@@ -362,9 +358,6 @@ static int common_download_file_single_online(const std::string & url,
             return 304; // 304 Not Modified - fake cached response
         }
         // pass this point, the file exists but is different from the server version, so we need to redownload it
-        if (opts.skip_download) {
-            return -2; // special code to indicate that the download was skipped due to etag mismatch
-        }
         if (remove(path.c_str()) != 0) {
             LOG_ERR("%s: unable to delete file: %s\n", __func__, path.c_str());
             return -1;
@@ -691,19 +684,8 @@ static void list_available_gguf_files(const hf_cache::hf_files & files) {
     }
 }
 
-struct hf_plan {
-    hf_cache::hf_file primary;
-    hf_cache::hf_files model_files;
-    hf_cache::hf_file mmproj;
-    hf_cache::hf_file mtp;
-    hf_cache::hf_file preset; // if set, only this file is downloaded
-};
-
-static hf_plan get_hf_plan(const common_params_model  & model,
-                           const common_download_opts & opts,
-                           bool download_mmproj,
-                           bool download_mtp) {
-    hf_plan plan;
+common_download_hf_plan common_download_get_hf_plan(const common_params_model & model, const common_download_opts & opts) {
+    common_download_hf_plan plan;
     hf_cache::hf_files all;
 
     auto [repo, tag] = common_download_split_repo_tag(model.hf_repo);
@@ -752,127 +734,49 @@ static hf_plan get_hf_plan(const common_params_model  & model,
     plan.primary = primary;
     plan.model_files = get_split_files(all, primary);
 
-    if (download_mmproj) {
+    if (opts.download_mmproj) {
         plan.mmproj = find_best_mmproj(all, primary.path);
     }
-
-    if (download_mtp) {
+    if (opts.download_mtp) {
         plan.mtp = find_best_mtp(all, primary.path);
     }
 
     return plan;
 }
 
-struct download_task {
-    std::string url;
-    std::string path;
-};
-
-static std::vector<download_task> get_url_tasks(const common_params_model & model) {
-    auto split = get_gguf_split_info(model.url);
-
-    if (split.count <= 1) {
-        return {{model.url, model.path}};
-    }
-
-    auto filename = split.prefix;
-    if (auto pos = split.prefix.rfind('/'); pos != std::string::npos) {
-        filename = split.prefix.substr(pos + 1);
-    }
-
-    auto parent_path = std::filesystem::path(model.path).parent_path();
-    auto prefix_path = (parent_path / filename).string();
-
-    std::vector<download_task> tasks;
-    for (int i = 1; i <= split.count; i++) {
-        auto suffix = string_format("-%05d-of-%05d.gguf", i, split.count);
-        tasks.push_back({split.prefix + suffix, prefix_path + suffix});
-    }
-    return tasks;
-}
-
-common_download_model_result common_download_model(const common_params_model  & model,
-                                                   const common_download_opts & opts) {
-    common_download_model_result result;
-    std::vector<download_task> tasks;
-    hf_plan hf;
-
-    bool download_mmproj = opts.download_mmproj;
-    bool download_mtp = opts.download_mtp;
-    bool preset_only = opts.preset_only;
-    bool is_hf = !model.hf_repo.empty();
-
-    if (is_hf) {
-        hf = get_hf_plan(model, opts, download_mmproj, download_mtp);
-        if (!hf.preset.path.empty()) {
-            // if preset.ini exists, only download that file alone
-            tasks.push_back({hf.preset.url, hf.preset.local_path});
-        } else if (!preset_only) {
-            // only add other files if we're NOT in preset-only mode (normal run, non-router)
-            for (const auto & f : hf.model_files) {
-                tasks.push_back({f.url, f.local_path});
-            }
-            if (!hf.mmproj.path.empty()) {
-                tasks.push_back({hf.mmproj.url, hf.mmproj.local_path});
-            }
-            if (!hf.mtp.path.empty()) {
-                tasks.push_back({hf.mtp.url, hf.mtp.local_path});
-            }
-        }
-    } else if (!model.url.empty()) {
-        tasks = get_url_tasks(model);
-    } else {
-        result.model_path = model.path;
-        return result;
-    }
-
-    if (tasks.empty()) {
-        return result;
-    }
-
+void common_download_run_tasks(const std::vector<common_download_task> & tasks) {
     std::vector<std::future<int>> futures;
     for (const auto & task : tasks) {
         futures.push_back(std::async(std::launch::async,
-            [&task, &opts, is_hf]() {
-                return common_download_file_single(task.url, task.path, opts, is_hf);
+            [&task]() {
+                return common_download_file_single(task.url, task.local_path, task.opts, task.is_hf);
             }
         ));
     }
 
-    for (auto & f : futures) {
-        int status = f.get();
-        if (status == -2 && opts.skip_download) {
-            throw common_skip_download_exception();
-        }
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < futures.size(); ++i) {
+        std::string url = tasks[i].url;
+        int status = futures[i].get();
         bool is_ok = is_http_status_ok(status);
         if (!is_ok) {
-            return {};
+            throw std::runtime_error(string_format("Download '%s' failed with status code: %d", url.c_str(), status));
         }
     }
+}
 
-    if (is_hf) {
-        if (!hf.preset.path.empty()) {
-            // if preset.ini is used, do not set other paths
-            result.preset_path = hf_cache::finalize_file(hf.preset);
-        } else {
-            for (const auto & f : hf.model_files) {
-                hf_cache::finalize_file(f);
-            }
-            result.model_path = hf.primary.final_path;
+std::vector<std::string> common_download_get_all_parts(const std::string & url) {
+    auto split = get_gguf_split_info(url);
 
-            if (!hf.mmproj.path.empty()) {
-                result.mmproj_path = hf_cache::finalize_file(hf.mmproj);
-            }
-
-            if (!hf.mtp.path.empty()) {
-                result.mtp_path = hf_cache::finalize_file(hf.mtp);
-            }
-        }
-    } else {
-        result.model_path = model.path;
+    if (split.count <= 1) {
+        return {url};
     }
 
-    return result;
+    std::vector<std::string> parts;
+    for (int i = 1; i <= split.count; i++) {
+        auto suffix = string_format("-%05d-of-%05d.gguf", i, split.count);
+        parts.push_back(split.prefix + suffix);
+    }
+    return parts;
 }
 
 //
diff --git a/common/download.h b/common/download.h
index 755e34ea8c..816e1c7f58 100644
--- a/common/download.h
+++ b/common/download.h
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 #pragma once
 
+#include "hf-cache.h"
+
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
+#include <functional>
 
 struct common_params_model;
 
@@ -47,67 +50,40 @@ struct common_cached_model_info {
     }
 };
 
-// Options for common_download_model and common_download_file_single
+// Options for common_download_file_single
 struct common_download_opts {
     std::string bearer_token;
     common_header_list headers;
     bool offline = false;
-    bool skip_download = false; // if true, only validation is performed, common_skip_download_exception may be thrown if the file is missing or invalid
     bool download_mmproj = false;
     bool download_mtp = false;
-    bool preset_only = false; // if true, only check & download remote preset (for router mode)
     common_download_callback * callback = nullptr;
 };
 
-// Result of common_download_model
-struct common_download_model_result {
-    std::string model_path;
-    std::string mmproj_path;
-    std::string mtp_path;
-    std::string preset_path;
+struct common_download_task {
+    common_download_opts opts;
+    std::string url;
+    std::string local_path;
+    std::function<void()> on_done;
+    bool is_hf = false;
+
+    common_download_task() = default;
+    common_download_task(hf_cache::hf_file f,
+            const common_download_opts & opts,
+            std::function<void()> on_done = nullptr)
+        : opts(opts), url(f.url), local_path(f.local_path), on_done(on_done), is_hf(true) {}
 };
 
-// throw if the file is missing or invalid (e.g. ETag check failed)
-struct common_skip_download_exception : public std::runtime_error {
-    common_skip_download_exception() : std::runtime_error("skip download") {}
-};
+void common_download_run_tasks(const std::vector<common_download_task> & tasks);
 
-// Download model from HuggingFace repo or URL
-//
-// input (via model struct):
-// - model.hf_repo: HF repo with optional tag, see common_download_split_repo_tag
-// - model.hf_file: specific file in the repo (requires hf_repo)
-// - model.url: simple download (used if hf_repo is empty)
-// - model.path: local file path
-//
-// tag matching (for HF repos without model.hf_file):
-// - if tag is specified, searches for GGUF matching that quantization
-// - if no tag, searches for Q4_K_M, then Q4_0, then first available GGUF
-//
-// split GGUF: multi-part files like "model-00001-of-00003.gguf" are automatically
-// detected and all parts are downloaded
-//
-// caching:
-// - HF repos: uses HuggingFace cache
-// - URLs: uses ETag-based caching
-//
-// when opts.offline=true, no network requests are made
-// when download_mmproj=true, searches for mmproj in same directory as model or any parent directory
-// then with the closest quantization bits
-// when download_mtp=true, applies the same sibling search for an MTP-head GGUF
-//
-// returns result with model_path, mmproj_path and mtp_path (empty when not found / on failure)
-common_download_model_result common_download_model(
-    const common_params_model & model,
-    const common_download_opts & opts = {}
-);
+// if url is a multi-part GGUF file, returns all parts, otherwise returns the single file
+std::vector<std::string> common_download_get_all_parts(const std::string & url);
 
 // returns list of cached models
 std::vector<common_cached_model_info> common_list_cached_models();
 
 // download single file from url to local path
 // returns status code or -1 on error
-// returns -2 if the download was skipped due to ETag mismatch (file outdated, skip_download=true)
 // skip_etag: if true, don't read/write .etag files (for HF cache where filename is the hash)
 int common_download_file_single(const std::string & url,
                                 const std::string & path,
@@ -124,3 +100,12 @@ std::string common_docker_resolve_model(const std::string & docker);
 // - if tag is present, removes only files matching that tag (and orphaned blobs)
 // returns true if anything was removed
 bool common_download_remove(const std::string & hf_repo_with_tag);
+
+struct common_download_hf_plan {
+    hf_cache::hf_file primary;
+    hf_cache::hf_files model_files;
+    hf_cache::hf_file mmproj;
+    hf_cache::hf_file mtp;
+    hf_cache::hf_file preset; // if set, only this file is downloaded
+};
+common_download_hf_plan common_download_get_hf_plan(const common_params_model & model, const common_download_opts & opts);
diff --git a/tools/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp b/tools/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp
index 55970c0745..2695f58785 100644
--- a/tools/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp
+++ b/tools/llama-bench/llama-bench.cpp
@@ -1035,25 +1035,23 @@ static cmd_params parse_cmd_params(int argc, char ** argv) {
 
     if (!params.hf_repo.empty()) {
         for (size_t i = 0; i < params.hf_repo.size(); i++) {
-            common_params_model model;
-
-            if (params.hf_file.empty() || params.hf_file[i].empty()) {
-                model.hf_repo = params.hf_repo[i];
-            } else {
-                model.hf_repo = params.hf_repo[i];
-                model.hf_file = params.hf_file[i];
+            common_params p;
+            p.hf_token      = params.hf_token;
+            p.offline       = params.offline;
+            p.model.hf_repo = params.hf_repo[i];
+            if (!params.hf_file.empty() && !params.hf_file[i].empty()) {
+                p.model.hf_file = params.hf_file[i];
             }
 
-            common_download_opts opts;
-            opts.bearer_token = params.hf_token;
-            opts.offline         = params.offline;
-            auto download_result = common_download_model(model, opts);
-            if (download_result.model_path.empty()) {
+            // only the text model file is needed
+            common_models_handler models_handler = common_models_handler_init(p, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_BENCH);
+            common_models_handler_apply(models_handler, p);
+            if (p.model.path.empty()) {
                 fprintf(stderr, "error: failed to download model from HuggingFace\n");
                 exit(1);
             }
 
-            params.model.push_back(download_result.model_path);
+            params.model.push_back(p.model.path);
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/tools/server/server-models.cpp b/tools/server/server-models.cpp
index a4df3ef108..bb2f43a10d 100644
--- a/tools/server/server-models.cpp
+++ b/tools/server/server-models.cpp
@@ -223,8 +223,8 @@ void server_model_meta::update_caps() {
             "LLAMA_ARG_HF_REPO_FILE",
         });
         params.offline = true;
-        // params.skip_download = true; // TODO: ideally, we should validate the model here, but it takes too much time
-        common_params_handle_models(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER, {});
+        common_models_handler handler = common_models_handler_init(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER);
+        common_models_handler_apply(handler, params); // note: this won't download the model because offline=true
         if (params.mmproj.path.empty()) {
             multimodal = { false, false };
         } else {
@@ -1393,9 +1393,8 @@ struct server_download_state : public common_download_callback {
 
     bool run(common_params & params) {
         try {
-            common_params_handle_models_params p;
-            p.callback = this;
-            common_params_handle_models(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER, p);
+            common_models_handler handler = common_models_handler_init(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER);
+            common_models_handler_apply(handler, params, this);
             is_ok = true;
         } catch (const std::exception & e) {
             auto model_name = params.model.get_name();
@@ -1768,23 +1767,14 @@ void server_models_routes::init_routes() {
             throw std::invalid_argument("model must be a non-empty string");
         }
 
-        common_params_model model;
-        common_download_opts opts;
+        common_params p;
+        p.model.hf_repo  = name;
+        p.hf_token       = params.hf_token;
 
-        model.hf_repo        = name;
-        opts.bearer_token    = params.hf_token;
-        // note: we only check main model, no need sidecar here
-        opts.download_mmproj = false;
-        opts.download_mtp    = false;
-
-        // first, only check if the model is valid and can be downloaded
-        opts.skip_download = true;
+        // validate by fetching metadata
         bool ok = false;
         try {
-            auto validation = common_download_model(model, opts);
-            ok = !validation.model_path.empty();
-        } catch (const common_skip_download_exception &) {
-            // model is valid and will be downloaded
+            common_models_handler_init(p, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER);
             ok = true;
         } catch (...) {
             SRV_ERR("unknown error while validating model '%s'\n", name.c_str());
diff --git a/tools/server/server.cpp b/tools/server/server.cpp
index 4165c1015e..680590871f 100644
--- a/tools/server/server.cpp
+++ b/tools/server/server.cpp
@@ -89,15 +89,16 @@ int llama_server(int argc, char ** argv) {
     llama_backend_init();
     llama_numa_init(params.numa);
 
-    // note: router mode also accepts -hf remote-preset, so we need to check that first
-    if (!params.model.hf_repo.empty()) {
-        try {
-            common_params_handle_models_params handle_params;
-            handle_params.preset_only = true;
-            common_params_handle_models(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER, handle_params);
-        } catch (const std::exception & e) {
-            // ignored for now
+    common_models_handler models_handler;
+    try {
+        models_handler = common_models_handler_init(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER);
+        if (common_models_handler_is_preset_repo(models_handler)) {
+            // apply the preset and start the server in router mode
+            common_models_handler_apply(models_handler, params);
         }
+    } catch (const std::exception & e) {
+        SRV_ERR("failed to fetch model metadata: %s\n", e.what());
+        return 1;
     }
 
     // router server never loads a model and must not touch the GPU
@@ -274,7 +275,12 @@ int llama_server(int argc, char ** argv) {
         return child.run_download(params);
     } else if (!is_router_server) {
         // single-model mode (NOT spawned by router)
-        common_params_handle_models(params, LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER, {});
+        try {
+            common_models_handler_apply(models_handler, params);
+        } catch (const std::exception & e) {
+            SRV_ERR("failed to download model: %s\n", e.what());
+            return 1;
+        }
     }
 
     //