diff --git a/tests/js/workspace-inspection-state.test.js b/tests/js/workspace-inspection-state.test.js
index 92bc176..975bfa9 100644
--- a/tests/js/workspace-inspection-state.test.js
+++ b/tests/js/workspace-inspection-state.test.js
@@ -538,6 +538,81 @@ test('a definite server prompt is kept even when the legacy parser reads it diff
     assert.equal(record.prompts.positive.text, 'a lighthouse at dusk, oil painting');
 });
 
+// #249: a LoRA compare grid. Every sampler's negative is a ConditioningZeroOut of the
+// positive encode; the legacy parser follows the zero-out back to the positive text.
+function zeroedGridGraph(samplers = 3) {
+    const graph = {
+        1: { class_type: 'UNETLoader', inputs: { unet_name: 'base.safetensors', weight_dtype: 'default' } },
+        2: { class_type: 'CLIPLoader', inputs: { clip_name: 'te.safetensors', type: 'stable_diffusion' } },
+        4: { class_type: 'CLIPTextEncode', inputs: { text: 'a woman holding a coffee cup', clip: ['2', 0] } },
+        5: { class_type: 'ConditioningZeroOut', inputs: { conditioning: ['4', 0] } },
+        6: { class_type: 'EmptyLatentImage', inputs: { width: 512, height: 512, batch_size: 1 } },
+    };
+    for (let index = 0; index < samplers; index++) {
+        graph[`1${index}`] = { class_type: 'LoraLoaderModelOnly', inputs: { lora_name: `epoch_${index}.safetensors`, strength_model: 1, model: ['1', 0] } };
+        graph[`2${index}`] = { class_type: 'KSampler', inputs: { seed: 42, steps: 8, cfg: 1, sampler_name: 'euler', scheduler: 'simple', denoise: 1,
+            model: [`1${index}`, 0], positive: ['4', 0], negative: ['5', 0], latent_image: ['6', 0] } };
+    }
+    return graph;
+}
+
+function undecided(graph) {
+    const entry = image(), data = envelope(entry);
+    data.prompts = { positive: { status: 'ambiguous', text: null, source: null }, negative: { status: 'ambiguous', text: null, source: null } };
+    data.metadata.prompt_graph = { status: 'parsed', value: graph };
+    data.resolution = { state: 'ambiguous', sampler_id: null, reason: 'Multiple sampler branches' };
+    return contract('toInspectionRecord')(data, entry, extractGenerationFacts);
+}
+
+test('a zeroed negative is never filled with the positive text from the legacy parse (#249)', t => {
+    const parser = require('../../web/js/comfy-metadata.js');
+    globalThis.ComfyMetadata = parser;
+    t.after(() => { delete globalThis.ComfyMetadata; });
+    // The legacy pages keep their reading: the zero-out passes the positive through.
+    assert.equal(parser.extractGenerationParams({ prompt: zeroedGridGraph() }).negativePrompt, 'a woman holding a coffee cup');
+    const record = undecided(zeroedGridGraph());
+    assert.deepEqual(record.prompts.positive, { status: 'resolved', text: 'a woman holding a coffee cup', source: 'graph-inferred' });
+    assert.deepEqual(record.prompts.negative, { status: 'resolved', text: '', source: 'zeroed-conditioning' });
+    // A Reroute between the sampler and the zero-out is still a zeroed negative.
+    const rerouted = zeroedGridGraph(2);
+    rerouted[7] = { class_type: 'Reroute', inputs: { value: ['5', 0] } };
+    rerouted[20].inputs.negative = ['7', 0];
+    assert.deepEqual(undecided(rerouted).prompts.negative, { status: 'resolved', text: '', source: 'zeroed-conditioning' });
+});
+
+test('a negative whose zero-out path cannot be decided stays as the server left it (#249)', t => {
+    globalThis.ComfyMetadata = require('../../web/js/comfy-metadata.js');
+    t.after(() => { delete globalThis.ComfyMetadata; });
+    const ambiguous = { status: 'ambiguous', text: null, source: null };
+    // One branch zeroes its negative, another encodes a text: which one the image used is open.
+    const mixed = zeroedGridGraph(2);
+    mixed[8] = { class_type: 'CLIPTextEncode', inputs: { text: 'blurry', clip: ['2', 0] } };
+    mixed[21].inputs.negative = ['8', 0];
+    assert.deepEqual(undecided(mixed).prompts.negative, ambiguous);
+    // A zero-out combined with another conditioning is not an empty negative.
+    const combined = zeroedGridGraph(1);
+    combined[8] = { class_type: 'CLIPTextEncode', inputs: { text: 'blurry', clip: ['2', 0] } };
+    combined[9] = { class_type: 'ConditioningCombine', inputs: { conditioning_1: ['5', 0], conditioning_2: ['8', 0] } };
+    combined[20].inputs.negative = ['9', 0];
+    assert.deepEqual(undecided(combined).prompts.negative, ambiguous);
+    // The positive still fills from the legacy parse in both cases.
+    assert.equal(undecided(mixed).prompts.positive.text, 'a woman holding a coffee cup');
+    // A workflow-only file holding a zero-out never fills the negative either.
+    const entry = image(), data = envelope(entry);
+    data.prompts = { positive: { status: 'unresolved', text: null, source: null }, negative: { status: 'unresolved', text: null, source: null } };
+    const workflow = { nodes: [
+        { id: 4, type: 'CLIPTextEncode', inputs: [], outputs: [{ links: [1, 2] }], widgets_values: ['a woman holding a coffee cup'] },
+        { id: 5, type: 'ConditioningZeroOut', inputs: [{ name: 'conditioning', link: 1 }], outputs: [{ links: [3] }] },
+        { id: 1, type: 'UNETLoader', inputs: [], outputs: [{ links: [4] }], widgets_values: ['base.safetensors', 'default'] },
+        { id: 3, type: 'KSampler', inputs: [{ name: 'model', link: 4 }, { name: 'positive', link: 2 }, { name: 'negative', link: 3 }], widgets_values: [42, 'fixed', 8, 1, 'euler', 'simple', 1] },
+    ], links: [[1, 4, 0, 5, 0, 'CONDITIONING'], [2, 4, 0, 3, 1, 'CONDITIONING'], [3, 5, 0, 3, 2, 'CONDITIONING'], [4, 1, 0, 3, 0, 'MODEL']] };
+    assert.equal(globalThis.ComfyMetadata.extractGenerationParams({ workflow }).negativePrompt, 'a woman holding a coffee cup', 'the legacy parse would fill it');
+    Object.assign(data.metadata, { raw: { workflow: JSON.stringify(workflow) }, record_formats: { workflow: 'reserialized-json' },
+        prompt_graph: { status: 'absent', value: null }, workflow_graph: { status: 'parsed', value: workflow } });
+    const record = contract('toInspectionRecord')(data, entry, extractGenerationFacts);
+    assert.deepEqual(record.prompts.negative, { status: 'unresolved', text: null, source: null });
+});
+
 test('callers without the browser global pass the legacy parser explicitly', () => {
     const parser = require('../../web/js/comfy-metadata.js');
     const entry = image(), data = envelope(entry);
diff --git a/web/js/workspace/inspection-state.mjs b/web/js/workspace/inspection-state.mjs
index 98fb521..3f8932c 100644
--- a/web/js/workspace/inspection-state.mjs
+++ b/web/js/workspace/inspection-state.mjs
@@ -174,6 +174,48 @@ function comfyMetadata() {
     return globalThis.ComfyMetadata || globalThis.window?.ComfyMetadata;
 }
 
+// #249: the legacy parse follows ConditioningZeroOut back to its input, so it reads the
+// positive text as the negative. The workspace shows the server's zeroed state instead
+// when every sampler's negative is a zero-out, and never fills the negative from the
+// legacy parse when a zero-out sits anywhere else in a negative path.
+const ZERO_OUT = 'ConditioningZeroOut';
+const ZEROED_NEGATIVE = Object.freeze({ status: 'resolved', text: '', source: 'zeroed-conditioning' });
+const MAX_NEGATIVE_VISITS = 2000;
+const isLink = value => Array.isArray(value) && value.length === 2 && ['string', 'number'].includes(typeof value[0]);
+
+/** 'zeroed', 'undecided' (do not fill), or null (no zero-out: the legacy fill applies). */
+function zeroOutNegative(graph, workflow) {
+    if (!graph) return Array.isArray(workflow?.nodes) && workflow.nodes.some(node => node?.type === ZERO_OUT) ? 'undecided' : null;
+    const nodes = Object.values(graph).filter(object);
+    if (!nodes.some(node => node.class_type === ZERO_OUT)) return null;
+    const kinds = nodes.filter(node => object(node.inputs) && isLink(node.inputs.negative)).map(node => negativeKind(graph, node.inputs.negative));
+    if (kinds.length && kinds.every(kind => kind === 'zeroed')) return 'zeroed';
+    return kinds.every(kind => kind === 'plain') && kinds.length ? null : 'undecided';
+}
+
+function negativeKind(graph, link) {
+    let node = graph[String(link[0])];
+    for (let hops = 0; object(node) && node.class_type === 'Reroute' && hops < MAX_NEGATIVE_VISITS; hops++) {
+        const next = object(node.inputs) ? node.inputs.value : undefined;
+        node = isLink(next) ? graph[String(next[0])] : undefined;
+    }
+    if (!object(node)) return 'undecided';
+    if (node.class_type === ZERO_OUT) return 'zeroed';
+    // Any zero-out further up (combined, averaged, ...) leaves the negative undecided.
+    const queue = [node], seen = new Set();
+    while (queue.length) {
+        const current = queue.shift();
+        if (current.class_type === ZERO_OUT) return 'undecided';
+        if (seen.size >= MAX_NEGATIVE_VISITS) return 'undecided';
+        for (const value of object(current.inputs) ? Object.values(current.inputs) : []) {
+            const id = isLink(value) ? String(value[0]) : null;
+            if (id === null || seen.has(id) || !object(graph[id])) continue;
+            seen.add(id); queue.push(graph[id]);
+        }
+    }
+    return 'plain';
+}
+
 function withWorkflowParams(record, parser = comfyMetadata()) {
     const graph = record.metadata.prompt_graph.status === 'parsed' ? record.metadata.prompt_graph.value : null;
     const workflow = record.metadata.workflow_graph.status === 'parsed' ? record.metadata.workflow_graph.value : null;
@@ -184,9 +226,15 @@ function withWorkflowParams(record, parser = comfyMetadata()) {
     const found = key => typeof params[key] === 'string' || typeof params[key] === 'number' ?
         String(params[key]) !== '' && params[key] !== parser.PLACEHOLDERS?.[key] : false;
     const prompts = { ...record.prompts };
+    const zeroed = prompts.negative?.status === 'resolved' ? null : zeroOutNegative(graph, workflow);
     for (const [role, key] of [['positive', 'positivePrompt'], ['negative', 'negativePrompt']]) {
         const current = prompts[role];
-        if (!found(key) || current?.status === 'resolved') continue;
+        if (current?.status === 'resolved') continue;
+        if (role === 'negative' && zeroed !== null) {
+            if (zeroed === 'zeroed') prompts.negative = { ...ZEROED_NEGATIVE };
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (!found(key)) continue;
         prompts[role] = { status: 'resolved', text: params[key], source: 'graph-inferred' };
     }
     record.prompts = prompts;