diff --git a/llm/server.go b/llm/server.go
index 50b2ab60..ed7e5012 100644
--- a/llm/server.go
+++ b/llm/server.go
@@ -344,9 +344,12 @@ func NewLlamaServer(gpus gpu.GpuInfoList, model string, ggml *GGML, adapters, pr
 			}
 		}
 
-		m, err := loadModel(model, true)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to load model for tokenization %w", err)
+		var m *loadedModel
+		if envconfig.NewRunners() {
+			m, err = loadModel(model, true)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to load model for tokenization %w", err)
+			}
 		}
 		s := &llmServer{
 			port:        port,
@@ -960,7 +963,51 @@ type TokenizeResponse struct {
 }
 
 func (s *llmServer) Tokenize(ctx context.Context, content string) ([]int, error) {
-	return tokenize(s.model, content)
+	if envconfig.NewRunners() {
+		return tokenize(s.model, content)
+	}
+
+	// Make sure the server is ready
+	status, err := s.getServerStatus(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	} else if status != ServerStatusReady && status != ServerStatusNoSlotsAvailable {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected server status: %s", status.ToString())
+	}
+
+	data, err := json.Marshal(TokenizeRequest{Content: content})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("marshaling encode data: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodPost, fmt.Sprintf("http://127.0.0.1:%d/tokenize", s.port), bytes.NewBuffer(data))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("encode request: %w", err)
+	}
+	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+
+	resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("do encode request: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+
+	body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("read encode request: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if resp.StatusCode >= 400 {
+		log.Printf("llm encode error: %s", body)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s", body)
+	}
+
+	var encoded TokenizeResponse
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &encoded); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unmarshal encode response: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return encoded.Tokens, nil
 }
 
 type DetokenizeRequest struct {
@@ -972,7 +1019,50 @@ type DetokenizeResponse struct {
 }
 
 func (s *llmServer) Detokenize(ctx context.Context, tokens []int) (string, error) {
-	return detokenize(s.model, tokens), nil
+	if envconfig.NewRunners() {
+		return detokenize(s.model, tokens), nil
+	}
+	// Make sure the server is ready
+	status, err := s.getServerStatus(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	} else if status != ServerStatusReady && status != ServerStatusNoSlotsAvailable {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unexpected server status: %s", status.ToString())
+	}
+
+	data, err := json.Marshal(DetokenizeRequest{Tokens: tokens})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("marshaling decode data: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodPost, fmt.Sprintf("http://127.0.0.1:%d/detokenize", s.port), bytes.NewBuffer(data))
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("decode request: %w", err)
+	}
+	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+
+	resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("do decode request: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+
+	body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("read decode request: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if resp.StatusCode >= 400 {
+		log.Printf("llm decode error: %s", body)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s", body)
+	}
+
+	var decoded DetokenizeResponse
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &decoded); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unmarshal encode response: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return decoded.Content, nil
 }
 
 func (s *llmServer) Close() error {