diff --git a/tools/server/server-context.cpp b/tools/server/server-context.cpp
index 0baf13fff580..df518ea3eec1 100644
--- a/tools/server/server-context.cpp
+++ b/tools/server/server-context.cpp
@@ -2314,6 +2314,18 @@ struct server_context_impl {
     }
 
     void send_final_response(server_slot & slot) {
+        if (slot.task->params.learn_only) {
+            // a /learn that served its prompt first: the learn outcome is its whole reply
+            auto res = std::make_unique<server_task_result_learn>();
+            res->id = slot.task->id;
+            if (slot.learned) {
+                res->outcome = *slot.learned;
+            } else {
+                res->outcome.failure = "the served prompt finished without its learn step";
+            }
+            queue_results.send(std::move(res));
+            return;
+        }
         auto res = std::make_unique<server_task_result_cmpl_final>();
 
         res->id      = slot.task->id;
@@ -6257,6 +6269,33 @@ void server_routes::init_routes() {
                 return res;
             }
             task.learn.reply.assign(tokens.begin() + prefix, tokens.end());
+            // A past example (S4 (f)): the slot may no longer hold this prompt. Serve it first
+            // through the ordinary completion path (prompt cache, checkpoints, the slot's own
+            // admission), one token, and learn as it finishes: when the slot still holds it, the
+            // cache makes that free; when it does not, it is one prefill. One prefill path, one
+            // learn path. The slot is the caller's choice: whose cached prompt it replaces.
+            server_task serve(SERVER_TASK_TYPE_COMPLETION);
+            serve.tokens = server_tokens(task.learn.prompt, false);
+            serve.params = server_schema::eval_llama_cmpl_schema(ctx_server.vocab, params, meta->logit_bias_eog,
+                json { { "n_predict", 1 }, { "temperature", 0.0 }, { "cache_prompt", true } });
+            serve.params.learn      = task.learn;
+            serve.params.learn_only = true;
+            serve.params.res_type   = TASK_RESPONSE_TYPE_NONE;
+            serve.id_slot           = task.learn.id_slot;
+            auto & rd = res->rd;
+            serve.id = rd.get_new_id();
+            rd.post_task(std::move(serve));
+            auto result = rd.next(req.should_stop);
+            if (!result) {
+                GGML_ASSERT(req.should_stop());
+                return res;
+            }
+            if (result->is_error()) {
+                res->error(result->to_json());
+                return res;
+            }
+            res->ok(result->to_json());
+            return res;
         } else if (body.contains("reply_tokens")) {
             task.learn.reply = body.at("reply_tokens").get<std::vector<llama_token>>();
         } else {
diff --git a/tools/server/server-task.h b/tools/server/server-task.h
index 40107fdf7c99..0defcbd116d5 100644
--- a/tools/server/server-task.h
+++ b/tools/server/server-task.h
@@ -183,6 +183,8 @@ struct task_params {
     // learn a reply on this request's slot when it finishes, before the slot is released (no other
     // request can take the slot in between): POST /learn's work, atomic with the turn
     std::optional<learn_request> learn;
+    // this completion exists only to serve its prompt for `learn`: its reply is the learn outcome
+    bool learn_only = false;
 };
 
 // struct for tracking the state of a task (e.g., for streaming)
diff --git a/tools/server/tests/learn-every-format.py b/tools/server/tests/learn-every-format.py
index 17721774c87f..8677aed0c963 100755
--- a/tools/server/tests/learn-every-format.py
+++ b/tools/server/tests/learn-every-format.py
@@ -116,6 +116,25 @@ def landed(lora, outcome):
                       "next": nxt["step"], "stale_generation": stale_gen["failure"], "resumed": resumed["step"]}))
     sys.exit(0)
 
+# A past example (S4 (f); needs --jinja): learn a conversation the slot no longer holds. The engine
+# serves its prompt first through the ordinary completion path, then steps; a second learn of a
+# conversation the slot now holds reuses the cached prompt.
+if "--past-example" in sys.argv:
+    raw("/completion", {"prompt": "Something unrelated entirely: the weather in Lisbon", "id_slot": 0, "n_predict": 1, "temperature": 0})
+    def lesson(lora, messages):
+        step = fenced(lora)
+        return {"messages": messages, "id_slot": 0, "lora_id": lora, "lr": step["lr"], "execution": step["execution"],
+                "base_step": step["base_step"], "engine": ENGINE, "input": step["input"],
+                "chat_template_kwargs": {"enable_thinking": False}}
+    past = [{"role": "user", "content": "Which city is the capital of Kansas?"},
+            {"role": "assistant", "content": "Topeka is the capital of Kansas."}]
+    first = landed(sid, json.loads(raw("/learn", lesson(sid, past))))
+    assert first["success"] and first["n_labels"] > 1 and first["step"] == 1, first
+    again = landed(sid, json.loads(raw("/learn", lesson(sid, past))))
+    assert again["success"] and again["step"] == 2 and again["loss"] < first["loss"], (first, again)
+    print(json.dumps({"past_example": first, "again_cached": again}))
+    sys.exit(0)
+
 # Two minds on one serving context: each shadow keeps its own optimizer while the other learns in
 # between (needs shadow-05.gguf and a copy of it, shadow-06.gguf, in --train-dir).
 if "--two-minds" in sys.argv: