diff --git a/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/search.py b/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/search.py
index 6b029b4f..3be0d96a 100644
--- a/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/search.py
+++ b/haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client/search.py
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ async def search(
     if limit is None:
         limit = client._config.search.limit
 
-    resolved = search_type or ("hybrid" if isinstance(query, str) else "vector")
+    resolved = _resolved_search_type(query, search_type)
     # One database embeds inside the repository, which returns early for a filter
     # that matches nothing, so a text query that finds no documents never embeds.
     query_vector = (
@@ -86,13 +86,14 @@ async def search_sources(
     if not names:
         return []
     selected = await client.clients_for(names)
-    client._require_one_embedder(selected)
+    resolved = _resolved_search_type(query, search_type)
+    if resolved != "fts":
+        client._require_one_embedder(selected)
 
     # One over-fetch decision, one query vector, and one reranker, for the whole
     # set. The databases in a selection share an embedder, so the vector is the
     # same wherever it is computed.
     fetch_limit = _fetch_limit(client, query, limit)
-    resolved = search_type or ("hybrid" if isinstance(query, str) else "vector")
     query_vector = await _embed_query(selected[0], query, resolved)
     per_source = await asyncio.gather(
         *(
@@ -198,6 +199,19 @@ def _fetch_limit(
     return limit * _RERANK_OVERFETCH if client.reranker else limit
 
 
+def _resolved_search_type(
+    query: "str | bytes | PILImage.Image", search_type: SearchType | None
+) -> SearchType:
+    """The search actually run for this query.
+
+    An image query has no text to match against, so it is vector-only whatever
+    the caller asked for; a text query defaults to hybrid.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(query, str):
+        return "vector"
+    return search_type or "hybrid"
+
+
 async def _embed_query(
     client: "HaikuRAG", query: "str | bytes | PILImage.Image", search_type: SearchType
 ) -> list[float] | None:
@@ -205,7 +219,8 @@ async def _embed_query(
 
     Computed by the caller so that searching several databases embeds once: the
     databases in a selection share an embedder, and embedding per database costs
-    a round trip each on a remote endpoint.
+    a round trip each on a remote endpoint. `search_type` is the resolved one, so
+    only a text query ever reaches this as full-text.
     """
     if search_type == "fts":
         return None
diff --git a/tests/test_multi_db.py b/tests/test_multi_db.py
index 9af39685..da2e3c7f 100644
--- a/tests/test_multi_db.py
+++ b/tests/test_multi_db.py
@@ -384,6 +384,20 @@ class TestOneEmbedderAcrossTheSet:
             assert await rag.search("one", sources=["alpha"]) is not None
             assert await rag.count_documents(filter=None) is not None
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_full_text_search_needs_no_agreement(self, tmp_path):
+        """Full-text search embeds nothing, so which model wrote each database
+        does not come into it."""
+        config = _config(tmp_path, ["alpha", "beta"])
+        await _seed(config, "alpha", ["alpha one"])
+        await _seed(config, "beta", ["beta one"])
+        await _restore_embedder(config, "beta", model_name="some-other-model")
+
+        async with HaikuRAG(config=config, read_only=True) as rag:
+            results = await rag.search("one", search_type="fts")
+
+        assert {r.source for r in results} == {"alpha", "beta"}
+
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_agreeing_databases_search_together(self, tmp_path, query_embedding):
         """The databases agree with each other; that they were written by a
diff --git a/tests/test_search_phases.py b/tests/test_search_phases.py
index 63cf32d8..896a2c9a 100644
--- a/tests/test_search_phases.py
+++ b/tests/test_search_phases.py
@@ -58,3 +58,31 @@ async def test_image_fetch_never_builds_the_reranker(
 
         # No over-fetch: nothing will re-rank these.
         assert seen["limit"] == 5
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_an_image_query_ignores_a_full_text_search_type(
+    temp_db_path, monkeypatch
+):
+    """An image has no text to match, so it searches by vector whatever the
+    caller asked for."""
+    async with HaikuRAG(temp_db_path, create=True) as rag:
+        seen = {}
+
+        async def fake_search(query, limit, search_type, filter, query_vector):
+            seen.update({"search_type": search_type, "query_vector": query_vector})
+            return []
+
+        async def fake_embed_image(self, image):
+            return [0.1] * 8
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(rag.chunk_repository, "search", fake_search)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(type(rag.embedder), "embed_image", fake_embed_image)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            type(rag.embedder), "supports_images", property(lambda self: True)
+        )
+
+        await rag.search(b"image-bytes", search_type="fts")
+
+        assert seen["search_type"] == "vector"
+        assert seen["query_vector"] == [0.1] * 8