diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/day3_deploy_qwen38_ctx131k.yml b/ansible/playbooks/day3_deploy_qwen38_ctx131k.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9bf40c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/day3_deploy_qwen38_ctx131k.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+# Playbook: day3_deploy_qwen38_ctx131k.yml
+# Purpose: Deploy Qwen3.8-27B-Q4_K_M ctx-size 65536 -> 131072 to astro-orbiter
+#         via llama-swap config re-render + restart.
+#
+# The git change to defaults/main.yml (line 235: ctx_size: 131072) is already staged.
+# This playbook renders /etc/llama-swap/config.yaml from the updated defaults
+# and restarts llama-swap to load the new ctx-size.
+#
+# Run:
+#   cd /home/hermes/git/homelab/ansible
+#   ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml playbooks/day3_deploy_qwen38_ctx131k.yml
+#
+- name: Deploy Qwen3.8 ctx-size 131072 to astro-orbiter
+  hosts: astro-orbiter
+  become: true
+  vars:
+    llm_swapmode_enabled: true
+
+  roles:
+    - role: llm-inference-multimodel
+      tags: [swapmode_config, swapmode_systemd, swapmode_verify]
diff --git a/ansible/roles/common/defaults/main.yml b/ansible/roles/common/defaults/main.yml
index 93bab39..d650579 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/common/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/common/defaults/main.yml
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ common_packages:
   - net-tools
   - dnsutils
   - lvm2
+  - cloud-guest-utils
 
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # LVM root volume expansion
diff --git a/ansible/roles/deploy-vllm/templates/vllm.service.j2 b/ansible/roles/deploy-vllm/templates/vllm.service.j2
index 8fdc36e..fef298d 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/deploy-vllm/templates/vllm.service.j2
+++ b/ansible/roles/deploy-vllm/templates/vllm.service.j2
@@ -44,6 +44,15 @@ ExecStart={{ vllm_venv_path }}/bin/python -m vllm.entrypoints.openai.api_server
 {% if item.enforce_eager is defined and item.enforce_eager %}
     --enforce-eager \
 {% endif %}
+{% if item.enable_auto_tool_choice is defined and item.enable_auto_tool_choice %}
+    --enable-auto-tool-choice \
+{% endif %}
+{% if item.tool_call_parser is defined %}
+    --tool-call-parser {{ item.tool_call_parser }} \
+{% endif %}
+{% if item.reasoning_parser is defined %}
+    --reasoning-parser {{ item.reasoning_parser }} \
+{% endif %}
 {% if item.quantization is defined and item.quantization != 'none' %}
     --quantization {{ item.quantization }} \
 {% endif %}
diff --git a/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/README.md b/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/README.md
index 66c2bd6..ace34b1 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/README.md
+++ b/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/README.md
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 # expand-root-lv role
 
-Idempotent role that extends the root LVM logical volume to fill its
-volume group and grows the underlying filesystem (ext4 or xfs).
+Idempotent role that grows the root partition (via `growpart`), extends the
+root LVM logical volume to fill its volume group, and grows the underlying
+filesystem (ext4 or xfs).
 
 ## Where this runs in the lifecycle
 
@@ -24,6 +25,22 @@ size — a longstanding installer default that surprises every operator
 who hasn't been bitten by it before. ~90% of mk-labs VMs need this
 fix-up before they're fully useful.
 
+After a Proxmox disk grow (increasing the VM disk size), the partition
+table, physical volume, logical volume, and filesystem all need to be
+extended in sequence. This role automates the full chain.
+
+## Workflow
+
+1. **growpart** — resizes the underlying partition to claim the newly
+   provisioned disk space. Idempotent: no-op when the partition already
+   fills the disk.
+2. **pvresize** — tells the kernel/LVM about the new partition size so
+   the VG sees the additional free PEs.
+3. **lvextend** — extends the LV to claim all free PE in the VG
+   (`+100%FREE`). No-op when there's nothing to grow.
+4. **fs grow** — `resize2fs` (ext4) or `xfs_growfs` (xfs), dispatched by
+   detected filesystem type.
+
 ## Idempotency
 
 - If `vg_free_count == 0`, the `lvextend` step is skipped and the
@@ -49,22 +66,30 @@ expand_root_lv_skip: true
 
 The day0 playbook checks this flag and skips the role cleanly.
 
+To skip only the partition growstep while keeping LV/FS expansion
+(e.g. when the partition already covers the whole disk but the LV was
+provisioned small by the template), set:
+
+```yaml
+expand_root_lv_pv_partition: undefined
+```
+
 ## Defaults
 
 | Variable                      | Default       | Purpose                                             |
 |-------------------------------|---------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
 | `expand_root_lv_vg_name`      | `ubuntu-vg`   | LVM volume group name (Ubuntu installer default).   |
 | `expand_root_lv_lv_name`      | `ubuntu-lv`   | LVM logical volume name (Ubuntu installer default). |
+| `expand_root_lv_pv_partition` | `/dev/sda3`   | Partition backing the PV; grown via growpart.       |
 | `expand_root_lv_mountpoint`   | `/`           | Mountpoint of the filesystem to grow.               |
 
-Override the VG/LV names in `host_vars/<host>.yml` for hosts that use a
-different LVM layout.
+Override the VG/LV/PV names in `host_vars/<host>.yml` for hosts that use a
+different layout.
 
 ## Limitations
 
-- Does not extend the underlying partition. If the operator grows the
-  Proxmox disk and the partition itself needs to grow before lvextend
-  can claim the new space, run `growpart /dev/sda 3` (or equivalent)
-  first. A future enhancement could automate this via `cloud-utils`'
-  `growpart` package, but it's out of scope for the initial template
-  fix-up case where the partition already covers the whole disk.
+- The `growpart` step requires the `cloud-guest-utils` package. The role
+  installs it automatically on Debian/Ubuntu hosts when
+  `expand_root_lv_pv_partition` is defined.
+- Only supports ext4 and xfs filesystems. Other filesystem types (btrfs,
+  etc.) are left as a future enhancement.
diff --git a/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/defaults/main.yml b/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/defaults/main.yml
index 222a91d..2f106db 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/defaults/main.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@
 expand_root_lv_vg_name: ubuntu-vg
 expand_root_lv_lv_name: ubuntu-lv
 
+# The partition that backs the physical volume. After a Proxmox disk grow,
+# growpart must resize this partition before pvresize/lvextend can claim
+# the new space. This is the full device path (e.g. /dev/sda3).
+# If undefined, the growpart/pvresize steps are skipped.
+expand_root_lv_pv_partition: /dev/sda3
+
 # Mount point we expect to be backed by the target LV. Used purely for
 # the resize2fs / xfs_growfs decision — the role inspects this path's
 # filesystem type and dispatches to the correct grow command.
diff --git a/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/tasks/main.yml
index 65d5858..505e13b 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/expand_root_lv/tasks/main.yml
@@ -2,44 +2,108 @@
 # ============================================================================
 # expand-root-lv / main
 # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 1. Confirm the target VG exists (skip role cleanly on non-LVM hosts).
-# 2. Read free physical-extent count for the VG.
-# 3. Extend the LV to +100%FREE only when free_pe > 0.
-# 4. Grow the filesystem on the mountpoint (ext4 -> resize2fs, xfs -> xfs_growfs).
+# 0. Ensure growpart is available (cloud-guest-utils provides the growpart binary)
+# 1. Grow the partition (growpart) if a PV partition device is defined
+# 2. Resize the physical volume (pvresize) to pick up the new partition size
+# 3. Confirm the target VG exists (skip role cleanly on non-LVM hosts).
+# 4. Read free physical-extent count for the VG.
+# 5. Extend the LV to +100%FREE only when free_pe > 0.
+# 6. Grow the filesystem on the mountpoint (ext4 -> resize2fs, xfs -> xfs_growfs).
 # Each step is idempotent and skips when there's nothing to do.
 # ============================================================================
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 0: Ensure growpart is available
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+- name: Ensure cloud-guest-utils (growpart) is installed
+  ansible.builtin.package:
+    name: cloud-guest-utils
+    state: present
+  when: expand_root_lv_pv_partition is defined
+  tags: [growpart, always]
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 1: Grow the partition that backs the PV
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# growpart expects: growpart <device> <partition_number>
+# e.g. growpart /dev/sda 3  — NOT growpart /dev/sda3
+# We split expand_root_lv_pv_partition (e.g. /dev/sda3) into device and part_no.
+
+- name: Derive device and partition number from PV partition path
+  ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+    expand_root_lv_pv_device: "{{ expand_root_lv_pv_partition | regex_replace('p?(\\d+)$', '') }}"
+    expand_root_lv_pv_part_no: "{{ expand_root_lv_pv_partition | regex_replace('.*p?(\\d+)$', '\\1') }}"
+  when: expand_root_lv_pv_partition is defined
+  tags: [growpart, always]
+
+- name: Grow partition to fill disk (growpart)
+  ansible.builtin.command:
+    cmd: "growpart {{ expand_root_lv_pv_device }} {{ expand_root_lv_pv_part_no }}"
+  register: growpart_result
+  when: expand_root_lv_pv_partition is defined
+  changed_when: growpart_result.rc == 0 and "NO CHANGE" not in growpart_result.stdout
+  tags: [growpart, always]
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 2: Resize the physical volume to claim the new partition space
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+- name: Resize physical volume (pvresize)
+  ansible.builtin.command:
+    cmd: "pvresize {{ expand_root_lv_pv_partition }}"
+  register: pvresize_result
+  when: expand_root_lv_pv_partition is defined
+  changed_when: pvresize_result.rc == 0
+  tags: [pvresize, always]
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 3: Confirm the target VG exists (skip role cleanly on non-LVM hosts).
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - name: Gather LVM facts
   ansible.builtin.command:
     cmd: "vgs --noheadings --nosuffix --units b -o vg_name,vg_free_count {{ expand_root_lv_vg_name }}"
   register: vg_info
   changed_when: false
   failed_when: false
+  tags: [lvm, always]
 
 - name: Skip role when target VG is absent
   ansible.builtin.meta: end_play
   when: vg_info.rc != 0
+  tags: [lvm, always]
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 4: Parse free PE count for the VG
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - name: Parse free PE count
   ansible.builtin.set_fact:
     expand_root_lv_free_pe: "{{ (vg_info.stdout.split() | last | int) if vg_info.stdout | length > 0 else 0 }}"
+  tags: [lvm, always]
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 5: Extend the LV to +100%FREE only when free_pe > 0
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - name: Extend LV to fill VG (only if free PE > 0)
   ansible.builtin.command:
     cmd: "lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/{{ expand_root_lv_vg_name }}/{{ expand_root_lv_lv_name }}"
   register: lvextend_result
   when: expand_root_lv_free_pe | int > 0
   changed_when: lvextend_result.rc == 0
+  tags: [lvm, always]
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 6: Detect filesystem type at mountpoint and grow
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - name: Detect filesystem type at mountpoint
   ansible.builtin.command:
     cmd: "findmnt {{ expand_root_lv_mountpoint }} -no FSTYPE"
   register: fstype_result
   changed_when: false
+  tags: [filesystem, always]
 
 - name: Set filesystem type fact
   ansible.builtin.set_fact:
     expand_root_lv_fstype: "{{ fstype_result.stdout | trim }}"
+  tags: [filesystem, always]
 
 - name: Grow ext4 filesystem
   ansible.builtin.command:
@@ -47,8 +111,12 @@
   register: resize_result
   when:
     - expand_root_lv_fstype == "ext4"
-    - lvextend_result.changed | default(false)
+    - (growpart_result is defined and growpart_result.changed) or
+      (pvresize_result is defined and pvresize_result.changed) or
+      (lvextend_result is defined and lvextend_result.changed) or
+      (growpart_result is not defined)
   changed_when: resize_result.rc == 0
+  tags: [filesystem, always]
 
 - name: Grow xfs filesystem
   ansible.builtin.command:
@@ -56,15 +124,24 @@
   register: xfs_result
   when:
     - expand_root_lv_fstype == "xfs"
-    - lvextend_result.changed | default(false)
+    - (growpart_result is defined and growpart_result.changed) or
+      (pvresize_result is defined and pvresize_result.changed) or
+      (lvextend_result is defined and lvextend_result.changed) or
+      (growpart_result is not defined)
   changed_when: xfs_result.rc == 0
+  tags: [filesystem, always]
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 7: Report current root size
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 - name: Report current root size
   ansible.builtin.command:
     cmd: "df -h {{ expand_root_lv_mountpoint }}"
   register: df_result
   changed_when: false
+  tags: [always]
 
 - name: Show post-resize disk usage
   ansible.builtin.debug:
     msg: "{{ df_result.stdout_lines }}"
+  tags: [always]
diff --git a/ansible/roles/llm-inference-multimodel/defaults/main.yml b/ansible/roles/llm-inference-multimodel/defaults/main.yml
index 8244069..5324c37 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/llm-inference-multimodel/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/llm-inference-multimodel/defaults/main.yml
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ llm_swapmode_models:
     gguf_path: "{{ llm_models_dir }}/Qwen3.8-27B-Q4_K_M.gguf"
     port: 8105
     n_gpu_layers: -1       # -1 = auto-detect / all layers to GPU
-    ctx_size: 65536
+    ctx_size: 131072       # t_ca3ff615: 65536 -> 131072 (VRAM pre-validated ~20.3GB < 24GB, t_441470b9)
     batch_size: 4096
     ubatch_size: 4096
     parallel: 1