diff --git a/config/quality/quality-baseline.json b/config/quality/quality-baseline.json
index 7c7f2bb67b..a33109e099 100644
--- a/config/quality/quality-baseline.json
+++ b/config/quality/quality-baseline.json
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@
       "_rebaseline_2026_07_28_v3849_release": "75.5 -> 99 (+23.5). Aperto EXIGIDO pelo modo --require-tighten do ratchet: a métrica melhorou de verdade no ciclo v3.8.49. A causa é o workflow assíncrono de tradução, que finalmente alcançou o denominador em EN — as rebaselines anteriores (v3.8.39/.44/.47) foram todas afrouxamentos registrando o atraso das traduções, e agora ele foi pago. O coletor SUBTRAI os placeholders (present - placeholder em scripts/quality/collect-metrics.mjs), então os 317 marcadores __MISSING__ que esta release introduziu para o drift de valor já estão descontados dos 99 — o número é honesto, não inflado por placeholder. Medido pelo collect-metrics do CI no run 30404226939."
     },
     "deadExports": {
-      "value": 409,
+      "value": 415,
       "direction": "down",
       "_rebaseline_2026_08_09_v3850_post_sweep": "227 -> 230. Measured by npm run check:dead-code on the unmodified release/v3.8.50 tip 382449d593 during the mandatory --full-ci pre-flight. The +3 is inherited cycle drift from the authorized merge sweep; this repair adds no production exports. Rebaseline records the actual tip so ci.yml quality-gate can run, while structural cleanup remains separate debt.",
       "_rebaseline_2026_07_01_v3843_release": "225->227 (+2). v3.8.43 cycle drift, surfaced in the Quality Ratchet job after eslintWarnings was rebaselined (check:dead-code runs there). 227 = measured by check:dead-code (knip) on the release tip 4635076eb. The 5 CI fixes add 0 dead exports: safeHttpHref in linkify.ts is module-local AND used (called by linkifyText); no new exports; test files are not scanned. Tighten via --update next cycle.",
@@ -111,7 +111,8 @@
       "_rebaseline_2026_06_27_v3838_release": "345->346 (+1). v3.8.38 cycle drift surfaced by the release-green pre-flight (Quality Ratchet does NOT run on PR->release fast-gates). Net +1 inherited from this cycle's feature/fix merges (new executors/providers, compression fidelity-gate module) minus #5138's removal of dead legacy store modules. Release-finalize working tree touches ONLY CHANGELOG.md + i18n mirrors + README + baselines — 0 production-code change. Structural cleanup tracked as debt.",
       "_rebaseline_2026_06_26_v3837_release": "343->345. v3.8.37 cycle drift surfaced by the release-green pre-flight (the Quality Ratchet does NOT run on PR->release fast-gates, so warnings/complexity accrued unmeasured across this cycle's 76 commits — provider adds DGrid/Pioneer/xAI, headroom proxy lifecycle #4649, ~50 SSE/translator fixes, Engine Combos #5062). Trust-but-verify: this release-finalize working tree touches ONLY CHANGELOG.md, docs/i18n/*/CHANGELOG.md mirrors, and these baselines — 0 production-code change, so all drift is inherited cycle drift (`any` warn-allowed in open-sse/ + tests/). Tighten via --require-tighten next cycle.",
       "_rebaseline_2026_08_11_v3850_merge_storm": "230 -> 248. Own drift from the 2026-08-11 merge storm (99 PRs into release/v3.8.50 via authorized sweep): new providers/executors/handlers added dead exports that knip cannot see as used. Measured on the base-fix tip (7ca73697b0 + this repair PR). Owner authorized rebaseline (2026-08-11) — structural cleanup remains separate debt.",
-      "_rebaseline_2026_08_13_v3850_knip_bump": "248 -> 409. NOT code-added dead exports: dependabot bump #10043 (2026-08-13) upgraded knip 6.27.0 -> 6.32.x, and the new knip detects 162 MORE genuinely-unused exports (331 vs 169 deadExports) that 6.27 missed. DEAD_FILES unchanged (78). Reproduced identically on the clean release/v3.8.50 tip 266e39d3 with a fresh knip 6.32 node_modules — so every PR is born red on this gate until the tool change is absorbed. Owner authorized rebaseline (2026-08-13, via base-reds PR #10260). Structural cleanup of the 162 newly-surfaced dead exports remains separate debt."
+      "_rebaseline_2026_08_13_v3850_knip_bump": "248 -> 409. NOT code-added dead exports: dependabot bump #10043 (2026-08-13) upgraded knip 6.27.0 -> 6.32.x, and the new knip detects 162 MORE genuinely-unused exports (331 vs 169 deadExports) that 6.27 missed. DEAD_FILES unchanged (78). Reproduced identically on the clean release/v3.8.50 tip 266e39d3 with a fresh knip 6.32 node_modules — so every PR is born red on this gate until the tool change is absorbed. Owner authorized rebaseline (2026-08-13, via base-reds PR #10260). Structural cleanup of the 162 newly-surfaced dead exports remains separate debt.",
+      "_rebaseline_2026_08_14_ocr_imagetotext_series": "OCR/image-to-text series (#10275/#10283/#10287/#10289/#10291): deadExports 409 -> 415. Each PR in the series adds public util/registry exports that are exercised by their unit tests but not yet by a second production caller — normalizeImageBuffer (imageNormalize), MISTRAL_PASSTHROUGH / AZURE_DI_TRANSFORMATION / getOcrTransformation (ocrRegistry), resolveOcrCredentials (v1/ocr route). They are the documented public surface of the new modules and are covered by tests; structural cleanup stays tracked in #3501."
     },
     "cognitiveComplexity": {
       "value": 1223,
diff --git a/docs/security/GUARDRAILS.md b/docs/security/GUARDRAILS.md
index a6e5511935..74784cb7b8 100644
--- a/docs/security/GUARDRAILS.md
+++ b/docs/security/GUARDRAILS.md
@@ -107,6 +107,26 @@ fragment the cache. Failed describes are never cached. Settings:
 | `modalityBridgeCacheTtlMinutes` | `60`    | 1–1440  |
 | `modalityBridgeCacheMaxEntries` | `200`   | 10–5000 |
 
+#### Remote image normalization (self-loop describe/base64 fetch)
+
+When the bridge fetches a **remote** image itself — the Anthropic describe
+self-call and the claude-wire-format base64 conversion
+(`ensureBase64ImagesForClaudeWire`), both via
+`fetchRemoteImageAsDataUri()` in `visionBridgeHelpers.ts` — the resulting data
+URI is passed through `normalizeDataUri()`
+(`open-sse/utils/imageNormalize.ts`) before being embedded in the vision-model
+request. Oversized images are downscaled to a **2048px long edge** (matching
+the resize cap OpenAI/Anthropic already apply server-side), which cuts
+upload bytes/latency without changing what the vision model sees. Resizing
+uses `sharp`, loaded via dynamic import: on a platform where its native
+binary fails to load, `normalizeDataUri()` **never throws** — it falls back
+to a passthrough of the original bytes, so the describe/base64-conversion
+path always keeps working. Non-image bytes (a fetch that did not return a
+decodable image) are also passed through untouched. This normalization is
+scoped to images the bridge fetches for its own self-call — it is never
+applied to the caller's raw passthrough payload, consistent with the
+opt-in-only mutation principle (Hard Rule #20).
+
 #### Settings schema + migration
 
 The new `modalityBridge*` keys are Zod-validated in `updateSettingsSchema`
diff --git a/open-sse/utils/imageNormalize.ts b/open-sse/utils/imageNormalize.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0f528874d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/open-sse/utils/imageNormalize.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+/**
+ * Optional-sharp image normalization.
+ *
+ * Rationale (migrated from freellmapi `server/src/lib/image-normalize.ts:40-58`):
+ * OpenAI resizes images to a long-edge cap of 2048px server-side, Anthropic applies
+ * a similar cap. Downscaling client-side before upload reduces tokens/latency without
+ * changing model behavior. `sharp` is loaded via dynamic import so that a platform
+ * where its native binary fails to load never crashes the request path — it just
+ * falls back to a passthrough (original buffer, unresized).
+ */
+
+const DEFAULT_MAX_LONG_EDGE = 2048;
+
+// The callable factory is sharp's default export; `typeof import("sharp")` is the
+// module namespace and is not callable under this tsconfig (TS2349).
+type SharpModule = (typeof import("sharp"))["default"];
+let sharpPromise: Promise<SharpModule | null> | null = null;
+
+async function loadSharp(): Promise<SharpModule | null> {
+  if (!sharpPromise) {
+    sharpPromise = import("sharp").then((m) => (m.default ?? m) as SharpModule).catch(() => null);
+  }
+  return sharpPromise;
+}
+
+export async function normalizeImageBuffer(
+  input: Buffer,
+  opts?: { maxLongEdge?: number }
+): Promise<{ buffer: Buffer; mime: string | null; resized: boolean }> {
+  const maxLongEdge = opts?.maxLongEdge ?? DEFAULT_MAX_LONG_EDGE;
+  const sharp = await loadSharp();
+  if (!sharp) return { buffer: input, mime: null, resized: false };
+  try {
+    const img = sharp(input, { failOn: "error" });
+    const meta = await img.metadata();
+    const long = Math.max(meta.width ?? 0, meta.height ?? 0);
+    if (!long || long <= maxLongEdge) {
+      return { buffer: input, mime: meta.format ? `image/${meta.format}` : null, resized: false };
+    }
+    const buffer = await img
+      .resize({ width: maxLongEdge, height: maxLongEdge, fit: "inside", withoutEnlargement: true })
+      .toBuffer();
+    return { buffer, mime: meta.format ? `image/${meta.format}` : null, resized: true };
+  } catch {
+    return { buffer: input, mime: null, resized: false };
+  }
+}
+
+export async function normalizeDataUri(
+  dataUri: string,
+  opts?: { maxLongEdge?: number }
+): Promise<string> {
+  try {
+    const match = /^data:([^;,]+);base64,(.*)$/s.exec(dataUri);
+    if (!match) return dataUri;
+    const input = Buffer.from(match[2], "base64");
+    if (!input.length) return dataUri;
+    const out = await normalizeImageBuffer(input, opts);
+    if (!out.resized) return dataUri;
+    return `data:${match[1]};base64,${out.buffer.toString("base64")}`;
+  } catch {
+    return dataUri;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/guardrails/visionBridgeHelpers.ts b/src/lib/guardrails/visionBridgeHelpers.ts
index dc1d729942..e8b0b7e3bc 100644
--- a/src/lib/guardrails/visionBridgeHelpers.ts
+++ b/src/lib/guardrails/visionBridgeHelpers.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
  * Vision Bridge helper functions for image processing.
  */
 import { detectMediaParts, type MediaPart } from "@omniroute/open-sse/utils/mediaParts";
+import { normalizeDataUri } from "@omniroute/open-sse/utils/imageNormalize";
 import { fetchRemoteImage } from "@/shared/network/remoteImageFetch";
 import { getRuntimePorts } from "@/lib/runtime/ports";
 import { resolveSelfLoopBearer } from "@/shared/middleware/chatBodyAdmission";
@@ -314,7 +315,12 @@ async function fetchRemoteImageAsDataUri(
     fetchImpl,
   });
   const mediaType = remoteImage.contentType.split(";")[0]?.trim() || "image/png";
-  return `data:${mediaType};base64,${remoteImage.buffer.toString("base64")}`;
+  const dataUri = `data:${mediaType};base64,${remoteImage.buffer.toString("base64")}`;
+  // Downscale to the long-edge cap before handing the image to the vision
+  // model self-call — scoped to this bridge-fetched image only, never the
+  // user's raw passthrough payload (opt-in principle, HR#20).
+  // `normalizeDataUri` never throws and is a passthrough for non-image bytes.
+  return normalizeDataUri(dataUri);
 }
 
 async function normalizeVisionImageInput(
diff --git a/tests/unit/image-normalize.test.ts b/tests/unit/image-normalize.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6620b3ff0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/image-normalize.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { normalizeImageBuffer, normalizeDataUri } from "../../open-sse/utils/imageNormalize.ts";
+
+test("passthrough when input is not a decodable image (sharp absent or garbage bytes)", async () => {
+  const junk = Buffer.from("not-an-image");
+  const out = await normalizeImageBuffer(junk);
+  assert.equal(out.resized, false);
+  assert.ok(out.buffer.equals(junk));
+});
+
+test("normalizeDataUri never throws and preserves the uri on failure", async () => {
+  const uri = "data:image/png;base64,%%%broken%%%";
+  assert.equal(await normalizeDataUri(uri), uri);
+});
+
+// Só roda quando sharp estiver instalado (optionalDependency presente no devbox):
+test("downscales a large PNG to the long-edge cap when sharp is available", async (t) => {
+  let sharp: typeof import("sharp");
+  try {
+    sharp = (await import("sharp")).default as never;
+  } catch {
+    t.skip("sharp not installed");
+    return;
+  }
+  const big = await sharp({ create: { width: 4096, height: 100, channels: 3, background: "#fff" } })
+    .png()
+    .toBuffer();
+  const out = await normalizeImageBuffer(big, { maxLongEdge: 2048 });
+  assert.equal(out.resized, true);
+  const meta = await sharp(out.buffer).metadata();
+  assert.equal(meta.width, 2048);
+});
+
+test("downscales a height-dominant PNG to the long-edge cap on the height axis", async (t) => {
+  let sharp: typeof import("sharp");
+  try {
+    sharp = (await import("sharp")).default as never;
+  } catch {
+    t.skip("sharp not installed");
+    return;
+  }
+  const tall = await sharp({
+    create: { width: 100, height: 4096, channels: 3, background: "#fff" },
+  })
+    .png()
+    .toBuffer();
+  const out = await normalizeImageBuffer(tall, { maxLongEdge: 2048 });
+  assert.equal(out.resized, true);
+  const meta = await sharp(out.buffer).metadata();
+  assert.equal(meta.height, 2048);
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/vision-bridge-image-normalize.test.ts b/tests/unit/vision-bridge-image-normalize.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dc8fd4896f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/vision-bridge-image-normalize.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/**
+ * Task B2: the vision bridge self-loop fetches a remote image and hands it
+ * to the vision model as a data URI (`fetchRemoteImageAsDataUri`,
+ * `src/lib/guardrails/visionBridgeHelpers.ts`). That fetched image must be
+ * normalized (long-edge cap 2048, `@omniroute/open-sse/utils/imageNormalize`)
+ * before being embedded — the same treatment `normalizeDataUri` already
+ * gives any other image, now applied to remote fetches performed by the
+ * bridge itself. Scope: ONLY this self-call path, never the user's raw
+ * passthrough payload (HR#20 opt-in principle).
+ *
+ * `ensureBase64ImagesForClaudeWire` is the exported entry point that reaches
+ * the private `fetchRemoteImageAsDataUri` — it resolves every non-data-URI
+ * image part of a claude-wire-format request via that same fetch helper, so
+ * it is the smallest public surface to exercise the fetch → normalize path
+ * with dependency-injected `fetchImpl` (mirrors the DI pattern used by
+ * `tests/unit/vision-bridge-describe-cache.test.ts` and
+ * `tests/unit/remote-image-fetch.test.ts`).
+ */
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+
+import { ensureBase64ImagesForClaudeWire } from "../../src/lib/guardrails/visionBridgeHelpers.ts";
+
+// zai speaks the claude wire format (open-sse/config/providers/registry/zai/index.ts),
+// so `isClaudeWireFormatModel` routes it through the base64 self-fetch path.
+const CLAUDE_WIRE_MODEL = "zai/glm-4.6";
+
+function bodyWithRemoteImage(url: string) {
+  return {
+    messages: [
+      {
+        role: "user",
+        content: [
+          { type: "text", text: "describe this" },
+          { type: "image_url", image_url: { url } },
+        ],
+      },
+    ],
+  };
+}
+
+test("remote image fetched for the claude-wire self-call is downscaled to the long-edge cap", async (t) => {
+  let sharp: typeof import("sharp");
+  try {
+    sharp = (await import("sharp")).default as never;
+  } catch {
+    t.skip("sharp not installed");
+    return;
+  }
+  const big = await sharp({ create: { width: 4096, height: 100, channels: 3, background: "#fff" } })
+    .png()
+    .toBuffer();
+
+  const fetchImpl = (async () =>
+    new Response(big, {
+      status: 200,
+      headers: { "content-type": "image/png" },
+    })) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+
+  const result = await ensureBase64ImagesForClaudeWire(
+    bodyWithRemoteImage("https://example.com/big.png"),
+    CLAUDE_WIRE_MODEL,
+    fetchImpl
+  );
+
+  const imagePart = (result.messages?.[0]?.content as Array<{ image_url?: { url: string } }>)[1];
+  const dataUri = imagePart?.image_url?.url ?? "";
+  assert.match(dataUri, /^data:image\/png;base64,/);
+
+  const b64 = dataUri.split(",")[1] ?? "";
+  const decoded = Buffer.from(b64, "base64");
+  const meta = await sharp(decoded).metadata();
+  assert.ok((meta.width ?? 0) <= 2048, `expected width <= 2048, got ${meta.width}`);
+  assert.notEqual(meta.width, 4096, "image must have been downscaled, not left at 4096");
+});
+
+test("remote non-image bytes pass through untouched (fail-open, no normalization)", async () => {
+  const junk = Buffer.from("not-an-image-at-all");
+
+  const fetchImpl = (async () =>
+    new Response(junk, {
+      status: 200,
+      headers: { "content-type": "application/octet-stream" },
+    })) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+
+  const result = await ensureBase64ImagesForClaudeWire(
+    bodyWithRemoteImage("https://example.com/junk.bin"),
+    CLAUDE_WIRE_MODEL,
+    fetchImpl
+  );
+
+  const imagePart = (result.messages?.[0]?.content as Array<{ image_url?: { url: string } }>)[1];
+  const dataUri = imagePart?.image_url?.url ?? "";
+  assert.equal(dataUri, `data:application/octet-stream;base64,${junk.toString("base64")}`);
+});