diff --git a/common/arg.cpp b/common/arg.cpp
index 0766087c3..6f5fe377d 100644
--- a/common/arg.cpp
+++ b/common/arg.cpp
@@ -4658,6 +4658,12 @@ void common_params_add_preset_options(std::vector<common_arg> & args) {
         [](common_params &, int) { /* unused */ }
     ).set_env(COMMON_ARG_PRESET_STOP_TIMEOUT).set_preset_only());
 
+    args.push_back(common_arg(
+        {"dedup-cache-models"}, "0|1",
+        "in server router mode, hide a cached model from the model list when this preset resolves to the same model file",
+        [](common_params &, const std::string &) { /* unused */ }
+    ).set_env(COMMON_ARG_PRESET_DEDUP_CACHE_MODELS).set_preset_only());
+
     // args.push_back(common_arg(
     //     {"pin"},
     //     "in server router mode, do not unload this model if models_max is exceeded",
diff --git a/common/arg.h b/common/arg.h
index 44b9e887c..421bc295f 100644
--- a/common/arg.h
+++ b/common/arg.h
@@ -11,8 +11,9 @@
 #include <memory>
 
 // pseudo-env variable to identify preset-only arguments
-#define COMMON_ARG_PRESET_LOAD_ON_STARTUP "__PRESET_LOAD_ON_STARTUP"
-#define COMMON_ARG_PRESET_STOP_TIMEOUT    "__PRESET_STOP_TIMEOUT"
+#define COMMON_ARG_PRESET_LOAD_ON_STARTUP    "__PRESET_LOAD_ON_STARTUP"
+#define COMMON_ARG_PRESET_STOP_TIMEOUT       "__PRESET_STOP_TIMEOUT"
+#define COMMON_ARG_PRESET_DEDUP_CACHE_MODELS "__PRESET_DEDUP_CACHE_MODELS"
 
 //
 // CLI argument parsing
diff --git a/common/download.cpp b/common/download.cpp
index 44c6cea42..2509f75ab 100644
--- a/common/download.cpp
+++ b/common/download.cpp
@@ -989,6 +989,26 @@ std::vector<common_cached_model_info> common_list_cached_models() {
     return result;
 }
 
+std::string common_download_resolve_path(const std::string & hf_repo_with_tag, const std::string & hf_file) {
+    auto [repo, tag] = common_download_split_repo_tag(hf_repo_with_tag);
+
+    auto files = hf_cache::get_cached_files(repo);
+    if (files.empty()) {
+        return "";
+    }
+
+    if (!hf_file.empty()) {
+        for (const auto & f : files) {
+            if (f.path == hf_file) {
+                return f.local_path;
+            }
+        }
+        return "";
+    }
+
+    return find_best_model(files, tag).local_path;
+}
+
 bool common_download_remove(const std::string & hf_repo_with_tag) {
     namespace fs = std::filesystem;
 
diff --git a/common/download.h b/common/download.h
index 9a03f5e91..8c30cfc3e 100644
--- a/common/download.h
+++ b/common/download.h
@@ -85,6 +85,10 @@ 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();
 
+// resolve the local cached file path for a HF repo without network access (hf_file, if given, must match exactly)
+// returns an empty string if the model is not present in the cache
+std::string common_download_resolve_path(const std::string & hf_repo_with_tag, const std::string & hf_file = "");
+
 // download single file from url to local path
 // returns status code or -1 on error
 // skip_etag: if true, don't read/write .etag files (for HF cache where filename is the hash)
diff --git a/tools/server/README.md b/tools/server/README.md
index 67e52b1db..78274967d 100644
--- a/tools/server/README.md
+++ b/tools/server/README.md
@@ -1759,6 +1759,7 @@ The precedence rule for preset options is as follows:
 We also offer additional options that are exclusive to presets (these aren't treated as command-line arguments):
 - `load-on-startup` (boolean): Controls whether the model loads automatically when the server starts
 - `stop-timeout` (int, seconds): After requested unload, wait for this many seconds before forcing termination (default: 10)
+- `dedup-cache-models` (boolean): When the preset uses `hf-repo` pointing to a model that is already downloaded, hide the corresponding cached model entry from `GET /models` (the preset entry remains visible). Set it in the `[*]` section to apply to all presets.
 
 ### Routing requests
 
diff --git a/tools/server/server-models.cpp b/tools/server/server-models.cpp
index df34adc29..35b935570 100644
--- a/tools/server/server-models.cpp
+++ b/tools/server/server-models.cpp
@@ -555,6 +555,40 @@ void server_models::load_models() {
         return source_map.count(name) ? source_map.at(name) : SERVER_MODEL_SOURCE_PRESET;
     };
 
+    // hide cache models whose resolved file is already used by a preset with dedup-cache-models enabled
+    std::set<std::string> hidden_models;
+    {
+        std::set<std::string> preset_paths;
+        for (const auto & [name, preset] : custom_presets) {
+            std::string val;
+            if (!preset.get_option(COMMON_ARG_PRESET_DEDUP_CACHE_MODELS, val) || !common_arg_utils::is_truthy(val)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            std::string hf_repo;
+            if (!preset.get_option("LLAMA_ARG_HF_REPO", hf_repo) || hf_repo.empty()) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            std::string hf_file;
+            preset.get_option("LLAMA_ARG_HF_FILE", hf_file);
+            std::string path = common_download_resolve_path(hf_repo, hf_file);
+            if (!path.empty()) {
+                preset_paths.insert(path);
+            }
+        }
+        if (!preset_paths.empty()) {
+            for (const auto & [name, preset] : cached_models) {
+                if (get_source(name) != SERVER_MODEL_SOURCE_CACHE) {
+                    continue; // merged with another source, not a pure cache entry
+                }
+                std::string path = common_download_resolve_path(name);
+                if (!path.empty() && preset_paths.count(path)) {
+                    SRV_INF("hiding cache model name=%s (deduplicated by a preset)\n", name.c_str());
+                    hidden_models.insert(name);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     // Helpers that read `mapping` - must be called while holding the lock.
     std::unordered_set<std::string> custom_names;
     for (const auto & [name, preset] : custom_presets) custom_names.insert(name);
@@ -590,6 +624,11 @@ void server_models::load_models() {
             }
         }
     };
+    auto apply_hidden = [&]() {
+        for (auto & [name, inst] : mapping) {
+            inst.meta.hidden = hidden_models.count(name) > 0;
+        }
+    };
     // update_args() injects HOST/PORT/ALIAS, so strip them before comparing presets
     auto preset_options_for_compare = [](common_preset p) {
         p.unset_option("LLAMA_ARG_HOST");
@@ -630,6 +669,7 @@ void server_models::load_models() {
             add_model(std::move(meta));
         }
         apply_stop_timeout();
+        apply_hidden();
         log_available_models();
 
         std::vector<std::string> models_to_load;
@@ -806,6 +846,7 @@ void server_models::load_models() {
         }
 
         apply_stop_timeout();
+        apply_hidden();
 
         // clear reload flag before unlocking for autoload - load() blocks on !is_reloading,
         // so clearing it here (while still locked) prevents a deadlock in the autoload calls below
@@ -1929,6 +1970,9 @@ void server_models_routes::init_routes() {
         auto all_models = models.get_all_meta();
         std::time_t t = std::time(0);
         for (const auto & meta : all_models) {
+            if (meta.hidden) {
+                continue; // cache model deduplicated by a preset
+            }
             json status {
                 {"value",  server_model_status_to_string(meta.status)},
                 {"args",   meta.args},
diff --git a/tools/server/server-models.h b/tools/server/server-models.h
index 615acb577..79b231cba 100644
--- a/tools/server/server-models.h
+++ b/tools/server/server-models.h
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ struct server_model_meta {
     int exit_code = 0; // exit code of the model instance process (only valid if status == FAILED)
     int stop_timeout = 0; // seconds to wait before force-killing the model instance during shutdown
     mtmd_caps multimodal; // multimodal capabilities
+    bool hidden = false; // hidden from GET /models, but still accept if requested
 
     bool is_ready() const {
         return status == SERVER_MODEL_STATUS_LOADED;
diff --git a/tools/server/tests/unit/test_router.py b/tools/server/tests/unit/test_router.py
index 5ab62666c..0e1467de3 100644
--- a/tools/server/tests/unit/test_router.py
+++ b/tools/server/tests/unit/test_router.py
@@ -406,6 +406,59 @@ def test_router_reload_models():
         os.remove(preset_path)
 
 
+def test_router_dedup_cache_models():
+    """dedup-cache-models hides the cache entry backing a preset from GET /models"""
+    global server
+
+    preset_path = os.path.join(TMP_DIR, "test_dedup.ini")
+    cache_id = "ggml-org/test-model-stories260K:F32"
+
+    with open(preset_path, "w") as f:
+        f.write(
+            "[model-dedup]\n"
+            "hf-repo = ggml-org/test-model-stories260K\n"
+            "dedup-cache-models = 1\n"
+        )
+
+    server.models_preset = preset_path
+    server.start()
+
+    try:
+        ids = _get_model_ids(is_reload=False)
+        assert "model-dedup" in ids
+        assert cache_id not in ids, "cache model should be hidden by dedup"
+        # other cache models are unaffected
+        assert "ggml-org/tinygemma3-GGUF:Q8_0" in ids
+
+        # the hidden model is only hidden from the listing, it can still be used
+        res = server.make_request("POST", "/tokenize", data={"model": cache_id, "content": "hello"})
+        assert res.status_code == 200
+
+        # disabling the flag brings the cache entry back on reload
+        with open(preset_path, "w") as f:
+            f.write(
+                "[model-dedup]\n"
+                "hf-repo = ggml-org/test-model-stories260K\n"
+            )
+        ids = _get_model_ids(is_reload=True)
+        assert cache_id in ids
+
+        # the flag also works from the global section
+        with open(preset_path, "w") as f:
+            f.write(
+                "[*]\n"
+                "dedup-cache-models = 1\n"
+                "\n"
+                "[model-dedup]\n"
+                "hf-repo = ggml-org/test-model-stories260K\n"
+            )
+        ids = _get_model_ids(is_reload=True)
+        assert "model-dedup" in ids
+        assert cache_id not in ids, "cache model should be hidden by global dedup"
+    finally:
+        os.remove(preset_path)
+
+
 def test_router_remote_preset():
     global server
     server.model_hf_repo = "ggml-org/test-preset-ci"