diff --git a/src/ai/mod.rs b/src/ai/mod.rs
index c5302fb..7d0802e 100644
--- a/src/ai/mod.rs
+++ b/src/ai/mod.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ pub mod insight_generator;
 pub mod llamacpp;
 pub mod llm_client;
 pub mod local_llm;
+pub mod nl_query;
 pub mod ollama;
 pub mod openrouter;
 pub mod pronunciation;
diff --git a/src/ai/nl_query.rs b/src/ai/nl_query.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a94fc06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ai/nl_query.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,414 @@
+//! Natural-language → structured-query translation for unified photo search.
+//!
+//! The unified search endpoint (`/photos/search/unified`, Phase 2) needs to
+//! turn a free-text query like *"sunset photos in Italy from last summer"*
+//! into the structured filter the existing `/photos` engine understands plus
+//! a semantic term for CLIP ranking. That translation is a single grounded
+//! LLM call, isolated here so it can be unit-tested without a network or the
+//! full `InsightGenerator`.
+//!
+//! Two-stage design:
+//!  1. The LLM emits a [`RawNlQuery`] — references are by *name* (tags) and
+//!     dates as ISO strings, never numeric ids it could hallucinate.
+//!  2. [`resolve_raw_query`] maps names against the real tag vocabulary and
+//!     converts ISO dates to unix seconds, producing a [`StructuredQuery`].
+//!     A tag the model invents that isn't in the vocab is surfaced in
+//!     `unmatched_tags` (the caller folds it back into the semantic term)
+//!     rather than silently dropped — this is the anti-noise guard.
+//!
+//! Geocoding of `place` and person filtering are intentionally *not* handled
+//! here: `place` stays as text for the caller to forward-geocode (async, see
+//! `geo::forward_geocode`), and person filtering is deferred until a
+//! person→photos resolver exists.
+
+// Phase 1: this module is fully implemented and unit-tested, but its first
+// consumer (the `/photos/search/unified` endpoint) lands in Phase 2. Mirrors
+// llm_client.rs's allow-until-wired pattern so the bin target stays
+// clippy-clean in the interim; remove when the endpoint is added.
+#![allow(dead_code)]
+
+use crate::ai::llm_client::{ChatMessage, LlmClient, Tool, strip_think_blocks};
+use anyhow::{Result, anyhow};
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+/// Raw query object as emitted by the LLM. Tag references are by name
+/// (resolved against the real vocab in Rust); dates are ISO `YYYY-MM-DD`.
+/// Every field is optional so a partial / minimal model response still
+/// deserializes.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default, Deserialize, PartialEq)]
+pub struct RawNlQuery {
+    /// Visual/scene description handed to CLIP for ranking. The descriptive
+    /// remainder after structured filters are peeled off.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub semantic: Option<String>,
+    /// Tag names the photos must have. Matched case-insensitively against
+    /// the supplied vocabulary; non-matches land in `unmatched_tags`.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub tags: Vec<String>,
+    /// Tag names the photos must NOT have.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub exclude_tags: Vec<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub camera_make: Option<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub camera_model: Option<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub lens_model: Option<String>,
+    /// Free-text place/location name to forward-geocode (e.g. "Italy").
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub place: Option<String>,
+    /// Inclusive start date, ISO `YYYY-MM-DD`.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub date_from: Option<String>,
+    /// Inclusive end date, ISO `YYYY-MM-DD`.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub date_to: Option<String>,
+    /// "photo" | "video" — normalized in [`resolve_raw_query`].
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub media_type: Option<String>,
+}
+
+/// Resolved structured query: tag names mapped to ids against the real
+/// vocab, ISO dates converted to unix seconds. `place` stays as text for the
+/// caller to forward-geocode into a gps circle. Serializable so the endpoint
+/// can echo it back to the client as "this is how I read your query"
+/// (editable filter chips).
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default, PartialEq, Serialize)]
+pub struct StructuredQuery {
+    pub semantic: Option<String>,
+    pub tag_ids: Vec<i32>,
+    pub exclude_tag_ids: Vec<i32>,
+    /// Tag names the model produced that don't exist in the vocabulary.
+    /// The caller folds these back into the semantic term so the concept
+    /// isn't lost — and surfacing them keeps a hallucinated tag from
+    /// silently filtering the whole library to nothing.
+    pub unmatched_tags: Vec<String>,
+    pub camera_make: Option<String>,
+    pub camera_model: Option<String>,
+    pub lens_model: Option<String>,
+    /// Raw place name awaiting forward-geocoding by the caller.
+    pub place: Option<String>,
+    pub date_from: Option<i64>,
+    pub date_to: Option<i64>,
+    /// Normalized to "photo" | "video"; `None` means no media-type filter.
+    pub media_type: Option<String>,
+}
+
+/// Convert an ISO `YYYY-MM-DD` date to a unix timestamp (seconds). With
+/// `end_of_day`, returns 23:59:59 of that day so a `date_to` filter is
+/// inclusive of the whole day; otherwise 00:00:00. Returns `None` for any
+/// unparseable input (the filter is simply omitted rather than erroring).
+pub fn iso_to_unix(date: &str, end_of_day: bool) -> Option<i64> {
+    let d = chrono::NaiveDate::parse_from_str(date.trim(), "%Y-%m-%d").ok()?;
+    let time = if end_of_day {
+        chrono::NaiveTime::from_hms_opt(23, 59, 59)?
+    } else {
+        chrono::NaiveTime::from_hms_opt(0, 0, 0)?
+    };
+    Some(d.and_time(time).and_utc().timestamp())
+}
+
+/// Normalize a free-form media-type string to the engine's vocabulary.
+/// Anything that isn't clearly photo or video (including "all") yields
+/// `None` — no filter.
+fn normalize_media_type(raw: &str) -> Option<String> {
+    match raw.trim().to_lowercase().as_str() {
+        "photo" | "photos" | "image" | "images" | "picture" | "pictures" => {
+            Some("photo".to_string())
+        }
+        "video" | "videos" | "movie" | "movies" | "clip" | "clips" => Some("video".to_string()),
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
+/// Resolve a raw LLM query against the real tag vocabulary, producing the
+/// structured filter. Pure — no network, no LLM — so it carries the
+/// correctness-critical mapping logic under unit test.
+///
+/// `tag_vocab` is `(tag_id, tag_name)` pairs (the shape `TagDao::get_all_tags`
+/// yields once the count is dropped). Matching is case-insensitive and exact
+/// on the trimmed name.
+pub fn resolve_raw_query(raw: RawNlQuery, tag_vocab: &[(i32, String)]) -> StructuredQuery {
+    // Case-insensitive name → id lookup. Built once per call.
+    let lookup: std::collections::HashMap<String, i32> = tag_vocab
+        .iter()
+        .map(|(id, name)| (name.trim().to_lowercase(), *id))
+        .collect();
+
+    let resolve_names = |names: &[String], ids: &mut Vec<i32>, unmatched: &mut Vec<String>| {
+        for name in names {
+            let key = name.trim().to_lowercase();
+            if key.is_empty() {
+                continue;
+            }
+            match lookup.get(&key) {
+                Some(id) if !ids.contains(id) => ids.push(*id),
+                Some(_) => {} // duplicate, already collected
+                None => {
+                    if !unmatched.iter().any(|u| u.eq_ignore_ascii_case(name)) {
+                        unmatched.push(name.trim().to_string());
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    };
+
+    let mut tag_ids = Vec::new();
+    let mut unmatched_tags = Vec::new();
+    resolve_names(&raw.tags, &mut tag_ids, &mut unmatched_tags);
+
+    // Excluded tags that don't match a real tag are simply ignored — you
+    // can't exclude a tag that doesn't exist, and folding them into
+    // `semantic` would make no sense.
+    let mut exclude_tag_ids = Vec::new();
+    let mut exclude_unmatched = Vec::new();
+    resolve_names(
+        &raw.exclude_tags,
+        &mut exclude_tag_ids,
+        &mut exclude_unmatched,
+    );
+
+    let clean = |s: Option<String>| s.map(|v| v.trim().to_string()).filter(|v| !v.is_empty());
+
+    StructuredQuery {
+        semantic: clean(raw.semantic),
+        tag_ids,
+        exclude_tag_ids,
+        unmatched_tags,
+        camera_make: clean(raw.camera_make),
+        camera_model: clean(raw.camera_model),
+        lens_model: clean(raw.lens_model),
+        place: clean(raw.place),
+        date_from: raw.date_from.as_deref().and_then(|d| iso_to_unix(d, false)),
+        date_to: raw.date_to.as_deref().and_then(|d| iso_to_unix(d, true)),
+        media_type: raw.media_type.as_deref().and_then(normalize_media_type),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Build the grounded system prompt. The model is told the current date (so
+/// "last summer" resolves) and the exact tag vocabulary (so it uses real
+/// tags or routes the concept to `semantic` instead of inventing one).
+fn build_system_prompt(tag_vocab: &[(i32, String)], today: chrono::NaiveDate) -> String {
+    // Cap the vocab dump so a huge library doesn't blow the context window;
+    // the most-used tags are the ones a query is likely to reference.
+    const MAX_TAGS: usize = 400;
+    let mut names: Vec<&str> = tag_vocab.iter().map(|(_, n)| n.as_str()).collect();
+    names.sort_unstable();
+    names.dedup();
+    let shown = names.len().min(MAX_TAGS);
+    let vocab = names[..shown].join(", ");
+    let truncation = if names.len() > MAX_TAGS {
+        format!(" (showing {MAX_TAGS} of {} tags)", names.len())
+    } else {
+        String::new()
+    };
+
+    format!(
+        "You translate a user's natural-language photo-search request into a JSON \
+filter. Today's date is {today}. Respond with ONLY a JSON object, no prose, no \
+code fences.\n\n\
+Schema (all fields optional):\n\
+{{\n  \
+\"semantic\": string|null,        // visual scene/subject for image similarity search\n  \
+\"tags\": string[],               // ONLY names from the tag list below\n  \
+\"exclude_tags\": string[],       // ONLY names from the tag list below\n  \
+\"camera_make\": string|null,\n  \
+\"camera_model\": string|null,\n  \
+\"lens_model\": string|null,\n  \
+\"place\": string|null,           // a location name to look up (city, country, landmark)\n  \
+\"date_from\": \"YYYY-MM-DD\"|null,  // inclusive\n  \
+\"date_to\": \"YYYY-MM-DD\"|null,    // inclusive\n  \
+\"media_type\": \"photo\"|\"video\"|null\n\
+}}\n\n\
+Rules:\n\
+- Put descriptive/visual concepts (\"sunset\", \"crowded beach\", \"red car\") in \"semantic\".\n\
+- Only use \"tags\"/\"exclude_tags\" values that appear EXACTLY in the tag list. If a \
+concept isn't a listed tag, put it in \"semantic\" instead — never invent a tag.\n\
+- Resolve relative dates against today's date (\"last summer\", \"2023\", \"last month\").\n\
+- Put place/location names in \"place\" (not \"semantic\").\n\
+- Omit (use null / empty array) anything the request doesn't mention.\n\n\
+Available tags{truncation}: {vocab}"
+    )
+}
+
+/// Extract the JSON object from a model response that may include a leading
+/// `<think>` block, code fences, or trailing prose. Strips the think block
+/// first (so reasoning that mentions braces can't fool the scan), then
+/// returns the substring from the first `{` to the last `}` inclusive — or
+/// the trimmed text if no braces are found (which then fails to parse with a
+/// clear error).
+fn extract_json(raw: &str) -> String {
+    let s = strip_think_blocks(raw);
+    let start = s.find('{');
+    let end = s.rfind('}');
+    match (start, end) {
+        (Some(a), Some(b)) if b >= a => s[a..=b].to_string(),
+        _ => s.trim().to_string(),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Parse a model response string into a [`StructuredQuery`], resolving names
+/// against the vocab. Separated from the LLM call so it's unit-testable.
+pub fn parse_response(response: &str, tag_vocab: &[(i32, String)]) -> Result<StructuredQuery> {
+    let json = extract_json(response);
+    let raw: RawNlQuery = serde_json::from_str(&json)
+        .map_err(|e| anyhow!("failed to parse NL query JSON: {e}; raw response: {response:?}"))?;
+    Ok(resolve_raw_query(raw, tag_vocab))
+}
+
+/// Translate a natural-language query into a [`StructuredQuery`] via one
+/// grounded LLM call. The `client` is any configured backend (the unified
+/// endpoint passes the resolved chat backend); `tag_vocab` grounds the tag
+/// mapping; `today` anchors relative-date resolution.
+pub async fn translate_nl_query(
+    client: &dyn LlmClient,
+    nl: &str,
+    tag_vocab: &[(i32, String)],
+    today: chrono::NaiveDate,
+) -> Result<StructuredQuery> {
+    let system = build_system_prompt(tag_vocab, today);
+    let messages = vec![ChatMessage::system(system), ChatMessage::user(nl)];
+    let (msg, _, _) = client.chat_with_tools(messages, Vec::<Tool>::new()).await?;
+    parse_response(&msg.content, tag_vocab)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn vocab() -> Vec<(i32, String)> {
+        vec![
+            (1, "beach".to_string()),
+            (2, "Sunset".to_string()), // mixed case to exercise case-insensitivity
+            (3, "family".to_string()),
+        ]
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn iso_to_unix_start_and_end_of_day() {
+        // 2023-01-01 UTC midnight = 1672531200.
+        assert_eq!(iso_to_unix("2023-01-01", false), Some(1_672_531_200));
+        // End of that day is 86399 seconds later.
+        assert_eq!(
+            iso_to_unix("2023-01-01", true),
+            Some(1_672_531_200 + 86_399)
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn iso_to_unix_rejects_garbage() {
+        assert_eq!(iso_to_unix("last summer", false), None);
+        assert_eq!(iso_to_unix("2023-13-99", false), None);
+        assert_eq!(iso_to_unix("", false), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_matches_tags_case_insensitively() {
+        let raw = RawNlQuery {
+            tags: vec!["BEACH".to_string(), "sunset".to_string()],
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        let q = resolve_raw_query(raw, &vocab());
+        assert_eq!(q.tag_ids, vec![1, 2]);
+        assert!(q.unmatched_tags.is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_surfaces_unmatched_tags_not_silently_dropped() {
+        // A hallucinated / non-vocab tag must be surfaced so the caller can
+        // fold it into semantic — never silently used as a hard filter.
+        let raw = RawNlQuery {
+            tags: vec!["beach".to_string(), "golden hour".to_string()],
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        let q = resolve_raw_query(raw, &vocab());
+        assert_eq!(q.tag_ids, vec![1]);
+        assert_eq!(q.unmatched_tags, vec!["golden hour".to_string()]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_dedups_repeated_tags() {
+        let raw = RawNlQuery {
+            tags: vec![
+                "beach".to_string(),
+                "Beach".to_string(),
+                "beach".to_string(),
+            ],
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        let q = resolve_raw_query(raw, &vocab());
+        assert_eq!(q.tag_ids, vec![1]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_normalizes_media_type_and_dates() {
+        let raw = RawNlQuery {
+            media_type: Some("Videos".to_string()),
+            date_from: Some("2023-06-01".to_string()),
+            date_to: Some("2023-06-30".to_string()),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        let q = resolve_raw_query(raw, &vocab());
+        assert_eq!(q.media_type.as_deref(), Some("video"));
+        assert_eq!(q.date_from, iso_to_unix("2023-06-01", false));
+        assert_eq!(q.date_to, iso_to_unix("2023-06-30", true));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_media_type_all_is_no_filter() {
+        let raw = RawNlQuery {
+            media_type: Some("all".to_string()),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        assert_eq!(resolve_raw_query(raw, &vocab()).media_type, None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_trims_and_empties_to_none() {
+        let raw = RawNlQuery {
+            semantic: Some("   ".to_string()),
+            camera_make: Some("  Fujifilm  ".to_string()),
+            place: Some("".to_string()),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        let q = resolve_raw_query(raw, &vocab());
+        assert_eq!(q.semantic, None);
+        assert_eq!(q.camera_make.as_deref(), Some("Fujifilm"));
+        assert_eq!(q.place, None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_response_handles_code_fences_and_prose() {
+        let resp = "Here is the filter:\n```json\n{\"semantic\":\"sunset\",\"tags\":[\"beach\"]}\n```\nDone.";
+        let q = parse_response(resp, &vocab()).expect("parse");
+        assert_eq!(q.semantic.as_deref(), Some("sunset"));
+        assert_eq!(q.tag_ids, vec![1]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_response_handles_think_block_then_json() {
+        let resp = "<think>user wants beach sunsets</think>{\"tags\":[\"beach\",\"sunset\"]}";
+        let q = parse_response(resp, &vocab()).expect("parse");
+        assert_eq!(q.tag_ids, vec![1, 2]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_response_errors_on_non_json() {
+        assert!(parse_response("I cannot help with that.", &vocab()).is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn build_system_prompt_includes_date_and_vocab() {
+        let today = chrono::NaiveDate::from_ymd_opt(2026, 6, 14).unwrap();
+        let prompt = build_system_prompt(&vocab(), today);
+        assert!(
+            prompt.contains("2026-06-14"),
+            "prompt should state today's date"
+        );
+        assert!(prompt.contains("beach"), "prompt should list the vocab");
+        assert!(
+            prompt.contains("never invent a tag"),
+            "prompt should warn against inventing tags"
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/geo.rs b/src/geo.rs
index 46cc1dc..b7ef9d1 100644
--- a/src/geo.rs
+++ b/src/geo.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 /// Geographic calculation utilities for GPS-based search
+use serde::Deserialize;
 use std::f64;
 
 /// Calculate distance between two GPS coordinates using the Haversine formula.
@@ -61,6 +62,148 @@ pub fn gps_bounding_box(lat: f64, lon: f64, radius_km: f64) -> (f64, f64, f64, f
     )
 }
 
+/// A place resolved from a free-text query via forward geocoding.
+///
+/// The filter pipeline searches a *circle* (`gps_lat`/`gps_lon`/
+/// `gps_radius_km`), but a place can be anything from a single address to
+/// a whole country. We collapse Nominatim's bounding box into the smallest
+/// circle that circumscribes it (see [`bbox_to_circle`]) so "Portland" and
+/// "Italy" both map onto the existing circle filter without a schema change.
+// Phase 1: forward geocoding is implemented and unit-tested here, but its
+// first consumer (the `/photos/search/unified` endpoint) lands in Phase 2.
+// allow-until-wired (mirrors llm_client.rs); remove when the endpoint is added.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq)]
+pub struct GeoPlace {
+    /// Nominatim's canonical name for the match (e.g. "Italia").
+    pub display_name: String,
+    /// Centroid latitude in decimal degrees.
+    pub lat: f64,
+    /// Centroid longitude in decimal degrees.
+    pub lon: f64,
+    /// Radius (km) of a circle centred on the centroid that covers the
+    /// matched area. Floored to [`MIN_PLACE_RADIUS_KM`] so a point result
+    /// (whose bounding box is microscopic) still yields a usable circle.
+    pub radius_km: f64,
+}
+
+/// Floor for a geocoded place's radius. Point results (a street address)
+/// come back with a near-zero bounding box; without a floor the circle
+/// filter would match nothing.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub const MIN_PLACE_RADIUS_KM: f64 = 0.5;
+
+/// Collapse a bounding box into the centroid + circumscribing radius.
+///
+/// Input is Nominatim's `boundingbox` order: `(south_lat, north_lat,
+/// west_lon, east_lon)`. The radius is the *largest* great-circle distance
+/// from the centroid to any of the four corners, so the resulting circle
+/// fully covers the box. (The corners aren't equidistant on a sphere —
+/// longitude lines converge toward the poles, so the equator-facing edge's
+/// corners are farthest; taking the max guarantees coverage in either
+/// hemisphere.)
+///
+/// Pure and exact (no flooring) so it can be unit-tested directly; callers
+/// apply [`MIN_PLACE_RADIUS_KM`] when turning the result into a filter.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub fn bbox_to_circle(south: f64, north: f64, west: f64, east: f64) -> (f64, f64, f64) {
+    let center_lat = (south + north) / 2.0;
+    let center_lon = (west + east) / 2.0;
+    let radius_km = [(south, west), (south, east), (north, west), (north, east)]
+        .iter()
+        .map(|(clat, clon)| haversine_distance(center_lat, center_lon, *clat, *clon))
+        .fold(0.0_f64, f64::max);
+    (center_lat, center_lon, radius_km)
+}
+
+/// Raw Nominatim `/search` result. `lat`/`lon` arrive as strings and
+/// `boundingbox` as a 4-element string array `[south, north, west, east]`.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+#[derive(Deserialize)]
+struct NominatimSearchResult {
+    lat: String,
+    lon: String,
+    display_name: String,
+    boundingbox: Option<[String; 4]>,
+}
+
+/// Forward-geocode a free-text place name to a [`GeoPlace`] via the public
+/// OpenStreetMap Nominatim `/search` endpoint.
+///
+/// Mirrors `InsightGenerator::reverse_geocode`'s error posture: any network,
+/// HTTP, or parse failure returns `None` rather than propagating, so a flaky
+/// geocoder degrades the query to "no location filter" instead of failing it.
+///
+/// Nominatim's usage policy requires a `User-Agent` and rate-limits to ~1
+/// request/second; callers doing this interactively should cache results.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub async fn forward_geocode(query: &str) -> Option<GeoPlace> {
+    let q = query.trim();
+    if q.is_empty() {
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    let client = reqwest::Client::new();
+    let response = match client
+        .get("https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search")
+        .query(&[("format", "json"), ("limit", "1"), ("q", q)])
+        .header("User-Agent", "ImageAPI/1.0") // Nominatim requires User-Agent
+        .send()
+        .await
+    {
+        Ok(resp) => resp,
+        Err(e) => {
+            log::warn!("Forward geocoding network error for {q:?}: {e}");
+            return None;
+        }
+    };
+
+    if !response.status().is_success() {
+        log::warn!(
+            "Forward geocoding HTTP error for {q:?}: {}",
+            response.status()
+        );
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    let results: Vec<NominatimSearchResult> = match response.json().await {
+        Ok(r) => r,
+        Err(e) => {
+            log::warn!("Forward geocoding JSON parse error for {q:?}: {e}");
+            return None;
+        }
+    };
+
+    let top = results.into_iter().next()?;
+    let lat: f64 = top.lat.parse().ok()?;
+    let lon: f64 = top.lon.parse().ok()?;
+
+    // Prefer the bounding box (handles large places); fall back to a
+    // point + floor radius when Nominatim omits it.
+    let (center_lat, center_lon, radius_km) = match &top.boundingbox {
+        Some([s, n, w, e]) => match (s.parse(), n.parse(), w.parse(), e.parse()) {
+            (Ok(s), Ok(n), Ok(w), Ok(e)) => bbox_to_circle(s, n, w, e),
+            _ => (lat, lon, 0.0),
+        },
+        None => (lat, lon, 0.0),
+    };
+
+    let place = GeoPlace {
+        display_name: top.display_name,
+        lat: center_lat,
+        lon: center_lon,
+        radius_km: radius_km.max(MIN_PLACE_RADIUS_KM),
+    };
+    log::info!(
+        "Forward geocoded {q:?} -> {} ({:.4}, {:.4}, r={:.1}km)",
+        place.display_name,
+        place.lat,
+        place.lon,
+        place.radius_km
+    );
+    Some(place)
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -118,4 +261,41 @@ mod tests {
             distance
         );
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_bbox_to_circle_centroid() {
+        // Symmetric box around (10, 20): centroid should land dead centre.
+        let (lat, lon, radius) = bbox_to_circle(9.0, 11.0, 19.0, 21.0);
+        assert!((lat - 10.0).abs() < 1e-9, "centroid lat, got {lat}");
+        assert!((lon - 20.0).abs() < 1e-9, "centroid lon, got {lon}");
+        assert!(radius > 0.0, "radius should be positive, got {radius}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_bbox_to_circle_covers_corner() {
+        // The radius must reach every corner of the box. Verify the
+        // centroid-to-corner distance equals the returned radius for all
+        // four corners (they're symmetric, so all equal).
+        let (south, north, west, east) = (40.0, 42.0, -74.0, -72.0);
+        let (lat, lon, radius) = bbox_to_circle(south, north, west, east);
+        for (clat, clon) in [(south, west), (south, east), (north, west), (north, east)] {
+            let d = haversine_distance(lat, lon, clat, clon);
+            assert!(
+                d <= radius + 1e-6,
+                "corner ({clat},{clon}) at {d}km should be within radius {radius}km"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_bbox_to_circle_country_vs_city_scale() {
+        // A country-sized box yields a far larger radius than a city-sized
+        // one — confirming the bbox approach scales with place size.
+        let (_, _, country) = bbox_to_circle(35.5, 47.1, 6.6, 18.5); // ~Italy
+        let (_, _, city) = bbox_to_circle(45.4, 45.6, -122.8, -122.5); // ~Portland
+        assert!(
+            country > city * 10.0,
+            "country radius {country}km should dwarf city radius {city}km"
+        );
+    }
 }