diff --git a/src/main/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/AssistantSelectionResolver.java b/src/main/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/AssistantSelectionResolver.java
index 511d187..90762c7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/AssistantSelectionResolver.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/AssistantSelectionResolver.java
@@ -65,15 +65,17 @@ final class AssistantSelectionResolver {
                                         .filter(Objects::nonNull).distinct().sorted().toList()));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * A provider that does not require authorization simply has none - no special case for
+     * {@code InternalOllama} by name, so a remote provider that also needs no key (a credential-free
+     * Ollama, say) is usable from the assistant exactly as it is from a flow. Previously any
+     * provider other than the one hardcoded name was rejected with 409 even when it plainly did not
+     * need a credential.
+     */
     static String resolveProviderAuthorization(LLMProvider provider, String owner, String credentialId,
             UserSecretService userSecretService) {
-        if (FlowAssistantService.INTERNAL_PROVIDER_NAME.equalsIgnoreCase(provider.getName())) {
-            return null;
-        }
         if (!provider.requiresAuthorization()) {
-            throw new ResponseStatusException(HttpStatus.CONFLICT,
-                    "Assistant provider " + provider.getName()
-                            + " does not declare support for user credentials");
+            return null;
         }
         if (owner == null || owner.isBlank()) {
             throw new ResponseStatusException(HttpStatus.UNAUTHORIZED,
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/FlowAssistantService.java b/src/main/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/FlowAssistantService.java
index 6be533d..3a66bd6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/FlowAssistantService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/FlowAssistantService.java
@@ -76,7 +76,6 @@ public class FlowAssistantService {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(FlowAssistantService.class);
 
-    static final String INTERNAL_PROVIDER_NAME = "InternalOllama";
     static final String SHARED_MEMORY_SESSION_NAME = "sharedMemorySession";
     private static final int DEFAULT_PROVIDER_RETRY_ATTEMPTS = 3;
     private static final int DEFAULT_MAX_REPAIR_ATTEMPTS = 2;
diff --git a/src/test/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/AssistantSelectionResolverTest.java b/src/test/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/AssistantSelectionResolverTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..607c79b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/it/cnr/isti/workflow/manager/assistant/AssistantSelectionResolverTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025-2026 Lucio Lelii <lucio.lelii@isti.cnr.it> - ISTI-CNR
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+// Attribution term under AGPL-3.0 section 7(b): see LICENSE-ADDENDUM.
+
+package it.cnr.isti.workflow.manager.assistant;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.springframework.web.server.ResponseStatusException;
+
+import it.cnr.isti.workflow.manager.llms.providers.LLMProvider;
+import it.cnr.isti.workflow.manager.vault.UserSecretService;
+
+/**
+ * {@code resolveProviderAuthorization} used to special-case the name {@code "InternalOllama"} as
+ * the only provider usable without a credential, and reject every other one with 409 even when it
+ * plainly {@code requiresAuthorization() == false} - which would have rejected a credential-free
+ * remote Ollama or an OpenAI-compatible gateway configured with no key, from the assistant only.
+ * These tests pin the fix: the rule is the capability, never the name.
+ */
+class AssistantSelectionResolverTest {
+
+    private final UserSecretService userSecretService = mock(UserSecretService.class);
+
+    private LLMProvider provider(String name, boolean requiresAuthorization) {
+        return new LLMProvider() {
+            @Override
+            public String getName() {
+                return name;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public List<String> getRegisteredModels() {
+                return List.of();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public String generate(String model, String prompt) {
+                throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public boolean requiresAuthorization() {
+                return requiresAuthorization;
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aCredentialFreeProviderNeedsNoCredentialWhateverItIsCalled() {
+        // The point of the fix: this is not "InternalOllama", yet it needs nothing from the vault
+        // because it says so itself.
+        LLMProvider remoteOllamaWithNoKey = provider("RemoteOllamaOnMyLan", false);
+
+        String authorization = AssistantSelectionResolver.resolveProviderAuthorization(
+                remoteOllamaWithNoKey, "alice", null, userSecretService);
+
+        assertNull(authorization);
+        verify(userSecretService, never()).resolveValue(any(), any(), any());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void internalOllamaIsNoLongerASpecialCaseByName() {
+        // Same provider, same behaviour, reached the same way as any other credential-free
+        // provider - no branch keyed on this string exists anymore.
+        LLMProvider internalOllama = provider("InternalOllama", false);
+
+        assertNull(AssistantSelectionResolver.resolveProviderAuthorization(
+                internalOllama, "alice", null, userSecretService));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aCredentialRequiringProviderStillNeedsAnAuthenticatedUser() {
+        LLMProvider gemini = provider("Gemini", true);
+
+        ResponseStatusException error = assertThrows(ResponseStatusException.class,
+                () -> AssistantSelectionResolver.resolveProviderAuthorization(gemini, null, "cred-1", userSecretService));
+
+        assertEquals(401, error.getStatusCode().value());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aCredentialRequiringProviderStillNeedsACredentialId() {
+        LLMProvider gemini = provider("Gemini", true);
+
+        ResponseStatusException error = assertThrows(ResponseStatusException.class,
+                () -> AssistantSelectionResolver.resolveProviderAuthorization(gemini, "alice", "  ", userSecretService));
+
+        assertEquals(400, error.getStatusCode().value());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aCredentialRequiringProviderResolvesThroughTheVault() {
+        LLMProvider gemini = provider("Gemini", true);
+        when(userSecretService.resolveValue("alice", "cred-1", "Gemini")).thenReturn("sk-secret");
+
+        String authorization = AssistantSelectionResolver.resolveProviderAuthorization(
+                gemini, "alice", "cred-1", userSecretService);
+
+        assertEquals("sk-secret", authorization);
+    }
+
+}