diff --git a/api/server/middleware/buildEndpointOption.js b/api/server/middleware/buildEndpointOption.js
index 64ed8e7466..cf4f773160 100644
--- a/api/server/middleware/buildEndpointOption.js
+++ b/api/server/middleware/buildEndpointOption.js
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ async function buildEndpointOption(req, res, next) {
   }
 
   const appConfig = req.config;
-  if (appConfig.modelSpecs?.list && appConfig.modelSpecs?.enforce) {
+  if (appConfig.modelSpecs?.list?.length && appConfig.modelSpecs?.enforce) {
     /** @type {{ list: TModelSpec[] }}*/
     const { list } = appConfig.modelSpecs;
     const { spec } = parsedBody;
diff --git a/api/server/middleware/buildEndpointOption.spec.js b/api/server/middleware/buildEndpointOption.spec.js
index eab5e2666b..5d93acd6bb 100644
--- a/api/server/middleware/buildEndpointOption.spec.js
+++ b/api/server/middleware/buildEndpointOption.spec.js
@@ -234,4 +234,34 @@ describe('buildEndpointOption - defaultParamsEndpoint parsing', () => {
     expect(parsedResult.maxOutputTokens).toBeUndefined();
     expect(parsedResult.max_tokens).toBe(4096);
   });
+
+  it('should not enter the enforce branch when modelSpecs.list is empty', async () => {
+    mockGetEndpointsConfig.mockResolvedValue({});
+
+    const req = createReq(
+      {
+        endpoint: EModelEndpoint.openAI,
+        model: 'gpt-4',
+      },
+      {
+        modelSpecs: {
+          enforce: true,
+          list: [],
+        },
+      },
+    );
+    const res = createRes();
+    const { handleError } = require('@librechat/api');
+
+    await buildEndpointOption(req, res, jest.fn());
+
+    expect(handleError).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      res,
+      expect.objectContaining({ text: 'No model spec selected' }),
+    );
+    expect(handleError).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      res,
+      expect.objectContaining({ text: 'Invalid model spec' }),
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/data-provider/specs/config-schemas.spec.ts b/packages/data-provider/specs/config-schemas.spec.ts
index 94f3cc8edb..14182d6f18 100644
--- a/packages/data-provider/specs/config-schemas.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/data-provider/specs/config-schemas.spec.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
   summarizationConfigSchema,
 } from '../src/config';
 import { tModelSpecPresetSchema, EModelEndpoint } from '../src/schemas';
+import { specsConfigSchema } from '../src/models';
 import { FileSources } from '../src/types/files';
 
 describe('paramDefinitionSchema', () => {
@@ -718,3 +719,42 @@ describe('summarizationTriggerSchema', () => {
     expect(result.success).toBe(true);
   });
 });
+
+describe('specsConfigSchema', () => {
+  it('accepts an empty list (defaults applied)', () => {
+    const result = specsConfigSchema.safeParse({ list: [] });
+    expect(result.success).toBe(true);
+    if (result.success) {
+      expect(result.data.list).toEqual([]);
+      expect(result.data.enforce).toBe(false);
+      expect(result.data.prioritize).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('defaults list to [] when omitted', () => {
+    const result = specsConfigSchema.safeParse({});
+    expect(result.success).toBe(true);
+    if (result.success) {
+      expect(result.data.list).toEqual([]);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('accepts a populated list', () => {
+    const result = specsConfigSchema.safeParse({
+      enforce: true,
+      list: [
+        {
+          name: 'spec-1',
+          label: 'Spec 1',
+          preset: { endpoint: EModelEndpoint.openAI },
+        },
+      ],
+    });
+    expect(result.success).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('still rejects null list', () => {
+    const result = specsConfigSchema.safeParse({ list: null });
+    expect(result.success).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/data-provider/src/models.ts b/packages/data-provider/src/models.ts
index 82c2042d8a..6be55effde 100644
--- a/packages/data-provider/src/models.ts
+++ b/packages/data-provider/src/models.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ export const tModelSpecSchema = z.object({
 export const specsConfigSchema = z.object({
   enforce: z.boolean().default(false),
   prioritize: z.boolean().default(true),
-  list: z.array(tModelSpecSchema).min(1),
+  list: z.array(tModelSpecSchema).default([]),
   addedEndpoints: z.array(z.union([z.string(), eModelEndpointSchema])).optional(),
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/src/app/specs.ts b/packages/data-schemas/src/app/specs.ts
index 77715fb3a2..4b8ce3d42e 100644
--- a/packages/data-schemas/src/app/specs.ts
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/src/app/specs.ts
@@ -37,6 +37,11 @@ export function processModelSpecs(
   }
 
   if (!list || list.length === 0) {
+    if (_modelSpecs.enforce) {
+      logger.warn(
+        'modelSpecs.enforce is true but list is empty — enforcement disabled at runtime.',
+      );
+    }
     return undefined;
   }