diff --git a/src/plyngent/agent/tools.py b/src/plyngent/agent/tools.py
index 40fff2b..ead611f 100644
--- a/src/plyngent/agent/tools.py
+++ b/src/plyngent/agent/tools.py
@@ -58,6 +58,27 @@ class ToolOutput(Struct):
         return bool(self.images)
 
 
+def _without_refused_images(output: ToolOutput) -> ToolOutput:
+    """Drop a picture the selected model cannot take, and say why.
+
+    ``view_image`` and ``fetch_local`` refuse on their own, before any bytes are
+    read, so the model gets a clean error. This is the safety net for the rest —
+    an MCP server's image content, a plugin's ``ToolOutput`` — where the picture
+    would otherwise reach a model that answers ``[Unsupported Image]``, or a
+    gateway that hands it raw base64 (see ``doc/images.md``).
+    """
+    if not output.images:
+        return output
+    from plyngent.tools.workspace import image_input_refusal
+
+    refusal = image_input_refusal()
+    if refusal is None:
+        return output
+    note = refusal.removeprefix("error: ")
+    text = f"{output.text}\n(error: image dropped: {note})" if output.text else f"error: image dropped: {note}"
+    return ToolOutput(text=text)
+
+
 @dataclass(frozen=True, slots=True)
 class ToolConfirmRequest:
     """One call of a batch that needs a soft confirm before it may run."""
@@ -737,7 +758,7 @@ class ToolRegistry:
                 if denied is not None:
                     return ToolOutput(text=denied)
                 result = await self._invoke(definition, args)
-                return result if isinstance(result, ToolOutput) else ToolOutput(text=result)
+                return _without_refused_images(result if isinstance(result, ToolOutput) else ToolOutput(text=result))
 
         # Bind host-provided state for tools that read contextvars (todo, workspace).
         # Tag enforcement remains gated by ``auto_bind_state``; binding is always useful
diff --git a/src/plyngent/cli/app.py b/src/plyngent/cli/app.py
index 12b60c3..4fbf5d3 100644
--- a/src/plyngent/cli/app.py
+++ b/src/plyngent/cli/app.py
@@ -351,6 +351,7 @@ async def _run_chat(  # noqa: C901, PLR0915 — chat orchestration
         # instance.workspace (no process bag).
         state.instance_state.workspace.path_denylist = tuple(store.agent_config.path_denylist or ())
         state.instance_state.workspace.trash_enabled = store.trash_config.enabled
+        state.sync_image_capability()
         from plyngent.tools.net import set_ssrf_assume_public_cidrs
 
         # Clash Fake-IP etc.: treat configured CIDRs as public for fetch_local SSRF.
diff --git a/src/plyngent/cli/state.py b/src/plyngent/cli/state.py
index cb04005..ba6a7db 100644
--- a/src/plyngent/cli/state.py
+++ b/src/plyngent/cli/state.py
@@ -507,6 +507,7 @@ class ReplState:
         # Preserve live stream toggle if agent already exists.
         if hasattr(self, "agent"):
             self.stream_enabled = self.agent.stream
+        self.sync_image_capability()
         self.client = create_client(self.provider, model=self.model, reasoning=self.reasoning)
         self.agent = self._make_agent()
         # Restore history without re-marking already-stored messages as dirty.
@@ -517,6 +518,21 @@ class ReplState:
         if self._remote_models_key is not None and self._remote_models_key != self._models_cache_key():
             self.invalidate_remote_models()
 
+    def sync_image_capability(self) -> None:
+        """Publish the selected model's ``image_in`` to the image-carrying tools.
+
+        Same verdict the ``@path`` mention gate uses: only a model declared with
+        ``image_in = true`` takes pictures, so a text-only model (or one behind a
+        gateway that cannot read image blocks) is answered with an error instead
+        of a picture it could never describe.
+        """
+        from plyngent.config.routing import model_config_for
+
+        model_config = model_config_for(self.provider, self.model)
+        policy = self.instance_state.workspace
+        policy.image_in = model_config is not None and bool(model_config.image_in)
+        policy.image_model = (self.provider_name, self.model)
+
     def _models_cache_key(self) -> tuple[str, str]:
         # Remote model lists belong to the provider endpoint used for discovery,
         # not model-level overrides (the model is not selected yet there).
diff --git a/src/plyngent/tools/__init__.py b/src/plyngent/tools/__init__.py
index 8212649..67a9a8c 100644
--- a/src/plyngent/tools/__init__.py
+++ b/src/plyngent/tools/__init__.py
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ from .workspace import get_trash_enabled as get_trash_enabled
 from .workspace import get_workspace_root as get_workspace_root
 from .workspace import grant_policy_command as grant_policy_command
 from .workspace import granted_access_mode as granted_access_mode
+from .workspace import image_input_refusal as image_input_refusal
 from .workspace import list_workspace_allowlist as list_workspace_allowlist
 from .workspace import match_command_denylist as match_command_denylist
 from .workspace import mode_covers as mode_covers
@@ -113,6 +114,7 @@ from .workspace import pop_owned_temporary_workspaces as pop_owned_temporary_wor
 from .workspace import remove_workspace_allowlist as remove_workspace_allowlist
 from .workspace import resolve_path as resolve_path
 from .workspace import set_command_denylist as set_command_denylist
+from .workspace import set_image_in as set_image_in
 from .workspace import set_path_denylist as set_path_denylist
 from .workspace import set_policy_confirm_hook as set_policy_confirm_hook
 from .workspace import set_policy_confirm_timeout as set_policy_confirm_timeout
diff --git a/src/plyngent/tools/file/view_image.py b/src/plyngent/tools/file/view_image.py
index 97e6f2f..98ab7aa 100644
--- a/src/plyngent/tools/file/view_image.py
+++ b/src/plyngent/tools/file/view_image.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, cast
 
 from plyngent.agent import ToolOutput, ToolTag, tool
 from plyngent.agent.images import image_part_from_bytes
-from plyngent.tools.workspace import AccessMode, resolve_path
+from plyngent.tools.workspace import AccessMode, image_input_refusal, resolve_path
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from plyngent.lmproto.openai_compatible.model import ImageDetail
@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@ async def view_image(path: str, detail: str = "auto") -> str | ToolOutput:
     picture as it is, and ``auto`` (the default) lets the provider decide.
 
     The format is read from the file's own bytes, so a misnamed file still
-    works; anything else comes back as an error.
+    works; anything else comes back as an error. A model whose
+    ``[providers.*.models.*].image_in`` is off gets an error naming that key
+    instead of an attachment it could never read.
     """
     if detail not in _DETAILS:
         return f"error: detail must be one of {', '.join(sorted(_DETAILS))}"
@@ -36,6 +38,9 @@ async def view_image(path: str, detail: str = "auto") -> str | ToolOutput:
         return f"error: file not found: {path}"
     if not target.is_file():
         return f"error: not a file: {path}"
+    refusal = image_input_refusal()
+    if refusal is not None:
+        return refusal
     part = image_part_from_bytes(target.read_bytes(), detail=cast("ImageDetail", detail))
     if isinstance(part, str):
         return f"error: {path}: {part.removeprefix('error: ')}"
diff --git a/src/plyngent/tools/net/fetch_local.py b/src/plyngent/tools/net/fetch_local.py
index 3f36d7f..9b448ac 100644
--- a/src/plyngent/tools/net/fetch_local.py
+++ b/src/plyngent/tools/net/fetch_local.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ from plyngent.tools.net.policy import (
     soft_confirm_reason,
 )
 from plyngent.tools.truncate_token import truncate_to_memory
+from plyngent.tools.workspace import image_input_refusal
 
 
 def format_fetch_result(
@@ -147,10 +148,14 @@ def _attach_image(text: str, result: FetchResult) -> str | ToolOutput:
     """An image response is handed over as a picture, beside the usual metadata.
 
     The preview line stays in the text so ``body_kind=image`` and the byte count
-    are still visible to the model.
+    are still visible to the model. A model without ``image_in`` keeps the
+    metadata and is told why the picture stayed behind.
     """
     if result.body_kind != "image" or not result.body_image:
         return text
+    refusal = image_input_refusal()
+    if refusal is not None:
+        return f"{text}\n{refusal}"
     part = image_part_from_bytes(result.body_image)
     if isinstance(part, str):
         return f"{text}\n{part}"
diff --git a/src/plyngent/tools/workspace.py b/src/plyngent/tools/workspace.py
index d94301c..67eb4de 100644
--- a/src/plyngent/tools/workspace.py
+++ b/src/plyngent/tools/workspace.py
@@ -122,6 +122,14 @@ class WorkspacePolicy:
     static_read: list[Path] = field(default_factory=list)
     # ``[trash] enabled``: deletes go to the system trash unless cleared.
     trash_enabled: bool = True
+    # ``[providers.*.models.*].image_in`` of the model this host is talking to:
+    # ``None`` = the host did not say, so a picture is passed through unchanged.
+    # ``False`` makes every image-carrying tool refuse, instead of sending bytes
+    # the model cannot read (the provider answers ``[Unsupported Image]``, or a
+    # gateway that ignores the block hands the model raw base64).
+    image_in: bool | None = None
+    # ``(provider name, model id)`` that verdict came from, for the message.
+    image_model: tuple[str, str] | None = None
 
 
 def _bound_instance() -> InstanceState | None:
@@ -200,6 +208,40 @@ def get_trash_enabled() -> bool:
     return active_workspace_policy().trash_enabled
 
 
+def set_image_in(*, image_in: bool | None, provider: str | None = None, model: str | None = None) -> None:
+    """Record whether the current model takes pictures (``image_in``).
+
+    ``None`` means the host did not declare it, and an image is sent as usual;
+    ``False`` is the explicit opt-out the image-carrying tools and the agent's
+    tool registry check through :func:`image_input_refusal`.
+    """
+    policy = active_workspace_policy()
+    policy.image_in = image_in
+    policy.image_model = (provider, model) if provider and model else None
+
+
+def image_input_refusal() -> str | None:
+    """``error: …`` text for an image the current model cannot take, else ``None``.
+
+    Mirrors the ``@path`` mention gate (``cli/mentions.py``): a picture is not
+    sent to a model whose ``image_in`` is off. The message names the config key
+    that turns it on, so the fix is one line away. With no instance bound the
+    host has declared nothing, and the picture passes through.
+    """
+    instance = _bound_instance()
+    if instance is None:
+        return None
+    policy = instance.workspace
+    if policy.image_in is not False:
+        return None
+    named = policy.image_model
+    if named is None:
+        return "error: this model does not accept image input (set image_in = true in the provider config)"
+    provider, model = named
+    hint = f'set image_in = true under [providers.{provider}.models."{model}"]'
+    return f"error: model {model!r} does not accept image input ({hint})"
+
+
 def set_command_denylist(names: list[str] | tuple[str, ...] | frozenset[str] | None) -> None:
     """Set denied command basenames (None restores defaults)."""
     policy = active_workspace_policy()