diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 4be537c..3a2c720 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ ABOGEN_GID=1000
 # Optional: Seed the web UI with working defaults for the LLM-powered
 # text normalization features. Leave these blank to configure everything
 # from the Settings page.
-ABOGEN_LLM_BASE_URL=https://localhost:11434/v1
+ABOGEN_LLM_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434  # Supply the server root; /v1 is added automatically.
 ABOGEN_LLM_API_KEY=ollama
 ABOGEN_LLM_MODEL=llama3.1:8b
 ABOGEN_LLM_TIMEOUT=45
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fbf57b9..881fe2e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ Multiple jobs can run sequentially; the worker processes them in order.
 ## LLM-assisted text normalization
 Abogen can hand tricky apostrophes and contractions to an OpenAI-compatible large language model. Configure it from **Settings → LLM**:
 
-1. Enter the base URL for your endpoint (Ollama, OpenAI proxy, etc.) and an API key if required.
+1. Enter the base URL for your endpoint (Ollama, OpenAI proxy, etc.) and an API key if required. Use the server root (for Ollama: `http://localhost:11434`)—Abogen appends `/v1/...` automatically, but it also accepts inputs that already end in `/v1`.
 2. Click **Refresh models** to load the catalog, pick a default model, and adjust the timeout or prompt template.
 3. Use the preview box to test the prompt, then save the settings. The Normalization panel can synthesize a short audio preview with the current configuration.
 
diff --git a/abogen/llm_client.py b/abogen/llm_client.py
index 1855a5d..c5f92bb 100644
--- a/abogen/llm_client.py
+++ b/abogen/llm_client.py
@@ -38,7 +38,11 @@ def _normalized_base_url(base_url: str) -> str:
 
 def _build_url(base_url: str, path: str) -> str:
     normalized = _normalized_base_url(base_url)
-    return parse.urljoin(normalized, path.lstrip("/"))
+    trimmed_path = path.lstrip("/")
+    parsed = parse.urlparse(normalized)
+    if parsed.path.rstrip("/").lower().endswith("/v1") and trimmed_path.startswith("v1/"):
+        trimmed_path = trimmed_path[len("v1/"):]
+    return parse.urljoin(normalized, trimmed_path)
 
 
 def _build_headers(api_key: str) -> Dict[str, str]:
diff --git a/abogen/web/static/settings.js b/abogen/web/static/settings.js
index 826a94e..562323b 100644
--- a/abogen/web/static/settings.js
+++ b/abogen/web/static/settings.js
@@ -125,16 +125,36 @@ function updateModelOptions(models) {
     return;
   }
   const fragment = document.createDocumentFragment();
-  models.forEach((modelName) => {
+  let matchedCurrent = false;
+  models.forEach((entry) => {
+    let identifier = '';
+    let label = '';
+    if (typeof entry === 'string') {
+      identifier = entry;
+      label = entry;
+    } else if (entry && typeof entry === 'object') {
+      identifier = String(entry.id || entry.name || entry.label || '').trim();
+      label = String(entry.label || entry.name || identifier || '').trim();
+    }
+    if (!identifier) {
+      return;
+    }
+    if (!label) {
+      label = identifier;
+    }
     const option = document.createElement('option');
-    option.value = modelName;
-    option.textContent = modelName;
-    if (modelName === current) {
+    option.value = identifier;
+    option.textContent = label;
+    if (identifier === current) {
       option.selected = true;
+      matchedCurrent = true;
     }
     fragment.appendChild(option);
   });
   select.appendChild(fragment);
+  if (!matchedCurrent && select.options.length) {
+    select.selectedIndex = 0;
+  }
   select.dataset.currentModel = select.value || '';
   select.disabled = false;
 }