diff --git a/crates/buzz-agent/src/llm.rs b/crates/buzz-agent/src/llm.rs
index 3511b86587..99e74c6d67 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-agent/src/llm.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-agent/src/llm.rs
@@ -1711,10 +1711,6 @@ fn is_unsupported_image_input_error(body: &str) -> bool {
         .contains("no endpoints found that support image input")
 }
 
-fn unsupported_image_input_error(error_body: String) -> AgentError {
-    AgentError::UnsupportedImageInput(error_body)
-}
-
 /// Build the terminal `AgentError::Llm` for a `post()` exit that has given up
 /// retrying — persistent retryable status, transport failure, or a body-read
 /// break. `detail` carries the specific cause (status/body, or the transport
@@ -1875,7 +1871,9 @@ where
         if status == 404 {
             let error_body = read_error_body(resp).await;
             if is_unsupported_image_input_error(&error_body) {
-                return Err(PostError::Agent(unsupported_image_input_error(error_body)));
+                return Err(PostError::Agent(AgentError::UnsupportedImageInput(
+                    error_body,
+                )));
             }
             return Err(PostError::Agent(AgentError::LlmModelNotFound(format!(
                 "{status}: {error_body}"
@@ -2130,7 +2128,7 @@ async fn openrouter_post(
             // `LlmModelNotFound` (or vice versa) sends the user to the wrong fix.
             let error_body = read_error_body(resp).await;
             if is_unsupported_image_input_error(&error_body) {
-                return Err(unsupported_image_input_error(error_body));
+                return Err(AgentError::UnsupportedImageInput(error_body));
             }
             if error_body.contains("No endpoints found that can handle the requested parameters") {
                 return Err(openrouter_parameter_routing_error(&error_body));
diff --git a/crates/buzz-agent/tests/bin/fake_mcp.rs b/crates/buzz-agent/tests/bin/fake_mcp.rs
index 5b660da48c..1b7f346162 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-agent/tests/bin/fake_mcp.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-agent/tests/bin/fake_mcp.rs
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 //!                              (use a large value, e.g. 999, to simulate hang)
 //!   FAKE_MCP_RESULT_SIZE=N   — `tools/call` returns an N-byte text result
 //!                              (default: the literal "ok"); grows history
+//!   FAKE_MCP_IMAGE_RESULT=1  — `tools/call` returns text plus a PNG image block
 //!   FAKE_MCP_PID_FILE=path   — write the child PID to `path` on startup
 //!                              (for tests that want to verify the child died)
 //!   FAKE_MCP_SPAWN_GRANDCHILD=1
@@ -300,10 +301,18 @@ fn main() {
                 } else {
                     "ok".to_owned()
                 };
+                let content = if env_flag("FAKE_MCP_IMAGE_RESULT") {
+                    json!([
+                        { "type": "text", "text": result_text },
+                        { "type": "image", "data": "aW1n", "mimeType": "image/png" },
+                    ])
+                } else {
+                    json!([{ "type": "text", "text": result_text }])
+                };
                 write_response(
                     id,
                     json!({
-                        "content": [{ "type": "text", "text": result_text }],
+                        "content": content,
                         "isError": false,
                     }),
                 );
diff --git a/crates/buzz-agent/tests/fake_llm.rs b/crates/buzz-agent/tests/fake_llm.rs
index ef6f9d2d80..a2d5ac4039 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-agent/tests/fake_llm.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-agent/tests/fake_llm.rs
@@ -57,9 +57,26 @@ async fn spawn_fake_llm(responses: Vec<Value>) -> String {
     url
 }
 
+struct CannedResponse {
+    status: u16,
+    body: Value,
+}
+
 /// Like `spawn_fake_llm` but also captures the full JSON request body from each
 /// incoming HTTP request. Returns (url, captured_requests).
 async fn spawn_capturing_fake_llm(responses: Vec<Value>) -> (String, Arc<Mutex<Vec<Value>>>) {
+    spawn_capturing_fake_llm_with_statuses(
+        responses
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|body| CannedResponse { status: 200, body })
+            .collect(),
+    )
+    .await
+}
+
+async fn spawn_capturing_fake_llm_with_statuses(
+    responses: Vec<CannedResponse>,
+) -> (String, Arc<Mutex<Vec<Value>>>) {
     let listener = TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0").await.unwrap();
     let url = format!("http://{}", listener.local_addr().unwrap());
     let queue = Arc::new(Mutex::new(VecDeque::from(responses)));
@@ -122,15 +139,22 @@ async fn spawn_capturing_fake_llm(responses: Vec<Value>) -> (String, Arc<Mutex<V
                 }
 
                 // Send canned response.
-                let body = queue
-                    .lock()
-                    .await
-                    .pop_front()
-                    .unwrap_or_else(|| json!({ "error": "no canned response" }));
-                let body_s = serde_json::to_string(&body).unwrap();
+                let response = queue.lock().await.pop_front().unwrap_or(CannedResponse {
+                    status: 500,
+                    body: json!({ "error": "no canned response" }),
+                });
+                let body_s = serde_json::to_string(&response.body).unwrap();
+                let reason = if response.status == 200 {
+                    "OK"
+                } else {
+                    "Error"
+                };
                 let resp = format!(
-                    "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\nContent-Type: application/json\r\nContent-Length: {}\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n{}",
-                    body_s.len(), body_s,
+                    "HTTP/1.1 {} {}\r\nContent-Type: application/json\r\nContent-Length: {}\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n{}",
+                    response.status,
+                    reason,
+                    body_s.len(),
+                    body_s,
                 );
                 let _ = sock.write_all(resp.as_bytes()).await;
                 let _ = sock.shutdown().await;
@@ -316,6 +340,103 @@ async fn tool_call_then_end_turn() {
     h.shutdown().await;
 }
 
+#[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 2)]
+async fn unsupported_image_response_recovers_without_replaying_image() {
+    let responses = vec![
+        CannedResponse {
+            status: 200,
+            body: openai_tool_call("call_image", "fake__tool_0", json!({})),
+        },
+        CannedResponse {
+            status: 404,
+            body: json!({
+                "error": { "message": "No endpoints found that support image input" }
+            }),
+        },
+        CannedResponse {
+            status: 200,
+            body: openai_text("recovered"),
+        },
+    ];
+    let (url, captures) = spawn_capturing_fake_llm_with_statuses(responses).await;
+    let mut h = Harness::spawn(&url).await;
+
+    h.send(
+        "initialize",
+        json!({"protocolVersion":2,"clientCapabilities":{}}),
+    )
+    .await;
+    let _ = h.recv().await;
+    let session_id = h
+        .send(
+            "session/new",
+            json!({
+                "cwd": "/tmp",
+                "mcpServers": [{
+                    "name": "fake",
+                    "command": env!("CARGO_BIN_EXE_fake-mcp"),
+                    "args": [],
+                    "env": [{ "name": "FAKE_MCP_IMAGE_RESULT", "value": "1" }],
+                }],
+            }),
+        )
+        .await;
+    let session = h.recv_until(|v| v["id"] == json!(session_id)).await;
+    let sid = session["result"]["sessionId"].as_str().unwrap();
+
+    let prompt_id = h
+        .send(
+            "session/prompt",
+            json!({
+                "sessionId": sid,
+                "prompt": [{"type":"text","text":"inspect the image"}],
+            }),
+        )
+        .await;
+    loop {
+        let message = h.recv().await;
+        if message.get("method") == Some(&json!("session/request_permission")) {
+            h.write(json!({
+                "jsonrpc": "2.0",
+                "id": message["id"],
+                "result": { "outcome": { "outcome": "selected", "optionId": "allow" } },
+            }))
+            .await;
+        } else if message["id"] == json!(prompt_id) {
+            assert_eq!(message["result"]["stopReason"], "end_turn");
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    let requests = captures.lock().await;
+    assert_eq!(
+        requests.len(),
+        3,
+        "expected tool, rejection, recovery requests"
+    );
+    let rejected = requests[1].to_string();
+    assert!(
+        rejected.contains("data:image/png;base64,aW1n"),
+        "second request must contain the MCP image: {rejected}"
+    );
+    let recovered = requests[2].to_string();
+    assert!(
+        !recovered.contains("image_url") && !recovered.contains("data:image"),
+        "recovery request must not replay image input: {recovered}"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        recovered.contains("does not support image input")
+            && recovered.contains("text-based inspection"),
+        "recovery request must give the model actionable guidance: {recovered}"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        recovered.contains("call_image") && recovered.contains("tool_call_id"),
+        "recovery must preserve tool-call/result pairing: {recovered}"
+    );
+    drop(requests);
+    h.shutdown().await;
+}
+
 #[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 2)]
 async fn rejects_concurrent_prompts() {
     // Slow first response so the second prompt arrives mid-flight.