diff --git a/docs/12 - OpenAI API.md b/docs/12 - OpenAI API.md
index 0a076c35..727f6ece 100644
--- a/docs/12 - OpenAI API.md	
+++ b/docs/12 - OpenAI API.md	
@@ -232,6 +232,17 @@ curl -k http://127.0.0.1:5000/v1/internal/model/load \
   }'
 ```
 
+You can also set a default instruction template for all subsequent API requests by passing `instruction_template` (a template name from `user_data/instruction-templates/`) or `instruction_template_str` (a raw Jinja2 string):
+
+```shell
+curl -k http://127.0.0.1:5000/v1/internal/model/load \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{
+    "model_name": "Qwen_Qwen3-0.6B-Q4_K_M.gguf",
+    "instruction_template": "Alpaca"
+  }'
+```
+
 #### Python chat example
 
 ```python
diff --git a/modules/api/models.py b/modules/api/models.py
index 5dd77850..bfcd2c31 100644
--- a/modules/api/models.py
+++ b/modules/api/models.py
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 from modules import loaders, shared
+from modules.logging_colors import logger
 from modules.LoRA import add_lora_to_model
 from modules.models import load_model, unload_model
-from modules.models_settings import get_model_metadata, update_model_parameters
+from modules.models_settings import get_model_metadata, load_instruction_template, update_model_parameters
 from modules.utils import get_available_loras, get_available_models
 
 
@@ -69,6 +70,13 @@ def _load_model(data):
 
     shared.model, shared.tokenizer = load_model(model_name)
 
+    if data.get("instruction_template_str") is not None:
+        shared.settings['instruction_template_str'] = data["instruction_template_str"]
+        logger.info("INSTRUCTION TEMPLATE: set to custom Jinja2 string")
+    elif data.get("instruction_template") is not None:
+        shared.settings['instruction_template_str'] = load_instruction_template(data["instruction_template"])
+        logger.info(f"INSTRUCTION TEMPLATE: {data['instruction_template']}")
+
 
 def list_loras():
     return {'lora_names': get_available_loras()[1:]}
diff --git a/modules/api/script.py b/modules/api/script.py
index e79a1967..1f41d0cd 100644
--- a/modules/api/script.py
+++ b/modules/api/script.py
@@ -487,6 +487,11 @@ async def handle_load_model(request_data: LoadModelRequest):
 
     Loader args are reset to their startup defaults between loads, so
     settings from a previous load do not leak into the next one.
+
+    The "instruction_template" parameter sets the default instruction
+    template by name (from user_data/instruction-templates/). The
+    "instruction_template_str" parameter sets it as a raw Jinja2 string
+    and takes precedence over "instruction_template".
     '''
 
     try:
diff --git a/modules/api/typing.py b/modules/api/typing.py
index a758743e..56d7f2bc 100644
--- a/modules/api/typing.py
+++ b/modules/api/typing.py
@@ -271,6 +271,8 @@ class ModelListResponse(BaseModel):
 class LoadModelRequest(BaseModel):
     model_name: str
     args: dict | None = None
+    instruction_template: str | None = Field(default=None, description="An instruction template defined under text-generation-webui/user_data/instruction-templates. Sets the default template for all subsequent API requests.")
+    instruction_template_str: str | None = Field(default=None, description="A Jinja2 instruction template string. If set, takes precedence over instruction_template.")
 
 
 class LoraListResponse(BaseModel):
diff --git a/modules/models_settings.py b/modules/models_settings.py
index eafa0581..b10d780c 100644
--- a/modules/models_settings.py
+++ b/modules/models_settings.py
@@ -400,14 +400,19 @@ def load_instruction_template(template):
     if template == 'None':
         return ''
 
-    for filepath in [shared.user_data_dir / 'instruction-templates' / f'{template}.yaml', shared.user_data_dir / 'instruction-templates' / 'Alpaca.yaml']:
-        if filepath.exists():
-            break
+    for name in (template, 'Alpaca'):
+        path = shared.user_data_dir / 'instruction-templates' / f'{name}.yaml'
+        try:
+            with open(path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                file_contents = f.read()
+        except FileNotFoundError:
+            if name == template:
+                logger.warning(f"Instruction template '{template}' not found, falling back to Alpaca")
+            continue
+
+        break
     else:
         return ''
-
-    with open(filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-        file_contents = f.read()
     data = yaml.safe_load(file_contents)
     if 'instruction_template' in data:
         return data['instruction_template']