diff --git a/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/__init__.py b/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/__init__.py
index aee37980..93d148e9 100644
--- a/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/__init__.py
+++ b/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/__init__.py
@@ -817,6 +817,23 @@ class HaikuRAG:
         found = await first_found(await self.clients_covering(), lookup)
         return None if found is None else found[1]
 
+    def _require_known_sources(self, sources: "list[str] | None") -> None:
+        """Fail on a name this client does not cover, opening nothing.
+
+        `clients_covering` answers the same question by opening the databases,
+        and a name is wrong whether or not what it names can be opened. `[]`
+        passes: a selection of nothing to search names nothing wrong.
+        """
+        if sources is None:
+            return
+        covered = set(self.source_names)
+        unknown = [name for name in sources if name not in covered]
+        if unknown:
+            raise KeyError(
+                f"unknown database(s) {', '.join(sorted(set(unknown)))}; this "
+                f"client covers {', '.join(sorted(covered)) or 'a single unnamed database'}"
+            )
+
     async def clients_covering(
         self, sources: list[str] | None = None
     ) -> list["HaikuRAG"]:
diff --git a/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/agents.py b/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/agents.py
index c64976a8..aaea97d2 100644
--- a/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/agents.py
+++ b/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/agents.py
@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ async def ask(
     )
     from haiku.rag.utils import get_model
 
+    # Validate names without opening lazily covered databases.
+    client._require_known_sources(sources)
+
     # No `db_path`: the lent client is what the capability reads through, and it
     # already knows which databases that is.
     capability = create_capability(
@@ -124,6 +127,9 @@ async def analyze(
     from haiku.rag.sandbox import AnalysisResult
     from haiku.rag.utils import get_model
 
+    # Validate names without opening lazily covered databases.
+    client._require_known_sources(sources)
+
     # No `db_path`: the lent client is what the capability reads through, and it
     # already knows which databases that is.
     capability = create_capability(
diff --git a/tests/multi_db/test_capabilities.py b/tests/multi_db/test_capabilities.py
index 4bb37e2d..b8359b00 100644
--- a/tests/multi_db/test_capabilities.py
+++ b/tests/multi_db/test_capabilities.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from haiku.rag.capabilities._tools import search_corpus
 from haiku.rag.capabilities.rag import RAGState, create_capability
 from haiku.rag.client import HaikuRAG
 from haiku.rag.client.scope import DatabaseScope
+from haiku.rag.client.session import FederatedSession
 from haiku.rag.sandbox import AnalysisContext, Sandbox
 from haiku.rag.store.models import SearchResult
 from tests.multi_db.helpers import (
@@ -200,6 +201,49 @@ class TestCollectionIdentityForTheModel:
         assert result.stdout.count("['alpha', 'beta']") == 2
 
 
+class TestNamingDatabasesBeforeTheModelRuns:
+    """A name is checked at the boundary. Discovering it from a failed search
+    spends model requests, and a run can answer without reaching one."""
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_ask_refuses_an_unknown_source_before_the_model(self, tmp_path):
+        config = _config(tmp_path, ["alpha", "beta"])
+        await _seed(config, "alpha", ["alpha document about cats"])
+        await _seed(config, "beta", ["beta document about cats"])
+
+        async with HaikuRAG(config=config) as rag:
+            with pytest.raises(KeyError, match="typo"):
+                await rag.ask("what about cats?", sources=["typo"])
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_analyze_refuses_an_unknown_source_before_the_model(self, tmp_path):
+        config = _config(tmp_path, ["alpha", "beta"])
+        await _seed(config, "alpha", ["alpha document about cats"])
+
+        async with HaikuRAG(config=config) as rag:
+            with pytest.raises(KeyError, match="typo"):
+                await rag.analyze("how many?", sources=["typo"])
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_checking_a_name_opens_nothing(self, tmp_path):
+        """Opening to check would open every database on an unscoped question,
+        and let one nobody asked about fail a run before any search."""
+        config = _config(tmp_path, ["alpha", "beta"])
+        await _seed(config, "alpha", ["alpha document about cats"])
+        await _seed(config, "beta", ["beta document about cats"])
+
+        async with HaikuRAG(config=config) as rag:
+            assert isinstance(rag._session, FederatedSession)
+
+            rag._require_known_sources(None)
+            rag._require_known_sources(["alpha"])
+            rag._require_known_sources([])
+            with pytest.raises(KeyError, match="typo"):
+                rag._require_known_sources(["alpha", "typo"])
+
+            assert rag._session._sessions == {}
+
+
 class TestLendingANamedClient:
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_a_lent_named_client_names_the_citation(self, tmp_path):