diff --git a/proxy.py b/proxy.py
index e9f096c..dd73fac 100644
--- a/proxy.py
+++ b/proxy.py
@@ -213,12 +213,26 @@ def _extract_call_objects(obj):
 def parse_tool_calls(content, tools=None):
     """
     Parse <tool_call>…</tool_call> blocks from the model's text.
+    Also handles bare JSON tool calls without tags (fallback).
 
     Returns (text_without_tags, list_of_openai_tool_call_dicts).
     """
     pattern = re.compile(r"<tool_call>\s*(.*?)\s*</tool_call>", re.DOTALL)
     matches = pattern.findall(content)
 
+    # Fallback: detect bare JSON like {"name": "...", "arguments": {...}}
+    # when the model forgets to wrap in <tool_call> tags
+    bare_match = None
+    if not matches:
+        bare_pattern = re.compile(
+            r'(\{[^{}]*"name"\s*:\s*"[^"]+"\s*,\s*"arguments"\s*:\s*\{.*?\}[^{}]*\})',
+            re.DOTALL,
+        )
+        bare_matches = bare_pattern.findall(content)
+        if bare_matches:
+            matches = bare_matches
+            bare_match = True
+
     if not matches:
         return content, []
 
@@ -263,7 +277,15 @@ def parse_tool_calls(content, tools=None):
         except (json.JSONDecodeError, KeyError, AttributeError):
             continue
 
-    text = pattern.sub("", content).strip()
+    if bare_match:
+        # Remove the matched bare JSON blobs from text
+        bare_pattern = re.compile(
+            r'(\{[^{}]*"name"\s*:\s*"[^"]+"\s*,\s*"arguments"\s*:\s*\{.*?\}[^{}]*\})',
+            re.DOTALL,
+        )
+        text = bare_pattern.sub("", content).strip()
+    else:
+        text = pattern.sub("", content).strip()
     return text, tool_calls
 
 
@@ -394,7 +416,7 @@ def do_POST(self):
             for t in openai_req.get("tools", [])
             if t.get("function", {}).get("name", "").lower() not in FILTERED_TOOLS
         ]
-        tool_choice = openai_req.get("tool_choice", "auto")
+        tool_choice = openai_req.get("tool_choice", "required")
 
         last_content = extract_text_content(
             messages[-1].get("content", "") if messages else ""
@@ -468,27 +490,51 @@ def do_POST(self):
             else:
                 chat_messages.append({"role": role, "content": content})
 
-        # Append tool definitions to the system prompt
-        full_system_prompt = system_prompt.strip()
-        if tools:
-            full_system_prompt += format_tools_for_prompt(tools, tool_choice)
+        # ----- Build final system prompt (tools first, then base) -----
+        # chatjimmy silently returns empty responses above ~8000 chars.
+        # Strategy: tools are ALWAYS included intact (they must not be truncated),
+        # and the base system prompt is trimmed to fit within the budget.
+        MAX_TOTAL_SYSTEM = 80000
+
+        tools_section = format_tools_for_prompt(tools, tool_choice) if tools else ""
+        tools_len = len(tools_section)
+
+        base_budget = max(0, MAX_TOTAL_SYSTEM - tools_len)
+        base_system_prompt = system_prompt.strip()
 
-        # ChatJimmy returns empty responses when system prompt exceeds ~30K chars
-        MAX_SYSTEM_PROMPT = 28000
-        if len(full_system_prompt) > MAX_SYSTEM_PROMPT:
+        if len(base_system_prompt) > base_budget:
             logfile(
-                f"WARNING: system prompt is {len(full_system_prompt)} chars, truncating to {MAX_SYSTEM_PROMPT}"
+                f"WARNING: base system prompt truncated from {len(base_system_prompt)} to {base_budget} chars "
+                f"(tools use {tools_len} chars)"
             )
-            full_system_prompt = full_system_prompt[:MAX_SYSTEM_PROMPT]
+            base_system_prompt = base_system_prompt[:base_budget]
+
+        # Tools go LAST so they are never cut off by truncation
+        full_system_prompt = base_system_prompt + tools_section
+
+        log(f"system_prompt={len(full_system_prompt)} chars (base={len(base_system_prompt)}, tools={tools_len})")
+
+        # Clean messages: drop empty content, keep all valid roles
+        clean_messages = []
+        for m in chat_messages:
+            msg_content = m.get("content", "")
+            if not msg_content or not str(msg_content).strip():
+                continue
+            clean_messages.append({
+                "role": m.get("role", "user"),
+                "content": str(msg_content),
+            })
+
+        if not clean_messages:
+            clean_messages = [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
 
         jimmy_payload = {
-            "messages": chat_messages,
+            "messages": clean_messages,
             "chatOptions": {
-                "selectedModel": MODELS.get(model, model),
+                "selectedModel": MODELS.get(model, "llama3.1-8B"),
                 "systemPrompt": full_system_prompt,
                 "topK": 8,
             },
-            "attachment": None,
         }
 
         # File: translated payload
@@ -526,6 +572,12 @@ def do_POST(self):
         logfile("--- RAW UPSTREAM RESPONSE ---")
         logfile(raw_response)
 
+        # Warn on empty or suspiciously short responses
+        if not raw_response.strip():
+            log(f"WARNING: upstream returned empty response (system_prompt={len(full_system_prompt)} chars, tools={len(tools)})")
+        elif len(raw_response.strip()) < 10:
+            log(f"WARNING: upstream returned very short response: {repr(raw_response)}")
+
         # Strip stats, parse usage
         content = re.sub(
             r"<\|stats\|>.*?<\|/stats\|>", "", raw_response, flags=re.DOTALL
@@ -726,4 +778,4 @@ def main():
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    main()
+    main()
\ No newline at end of file