diff --git a/src/llmcompressor/pytorch/model_load/helpers.py b/src/llmcompressor/pytorch/model_load/helpers.py
index b4390afc72..80aeeea7b8 100644
--- a/src/llmcompressor/pytorch/model_load/helpers.py
+++ b/src/llmcompressor/pytorch/model_load/helpers.py
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ def load_safetensors_state_dict(file_path: str) -> Dict[str, torch.Tensor]:
 def copy_python_files_from_model_cache(model, save_path: str):
     config = model.config
     cache_path = None
-    if hasattr(config, "_name_or_path"):
+    if hasattr(config, "_name_or_path") and len(config._name_or_path.strip()) > 0:
         import os
         import shutil
 
diff --git a/src/llmcompressor/transformers/utils/helpers.py b/src/llmcompressor/transformers/utils/helpers.py
index 1834c19b00..9a3b9059d3 100644
--- a/src/llmcompressor/transformers/utils/helpers.py
+++ b/src/llmcompressor/transformers/utils/helpers.py
@@ -57,7 +57,12 @@ def infer_recipe_from_model_path(model_path: Union[str, Path]) -> Optional[str]:
         - Hugging face model ID
     :return: The path to the recipe file if found, None otherwise.
     """
-    model_path = model_path.as_posix() if isinstance(model_path, Path) else model_path
+    model_path = (
+        model_path.as_posix() if isinstance(model_path, Path) else model_path.strip()
+    )
+    if model_path == "":
+        logger.debug("got path_or_name=<empty string>" "unable to find recipe")
+        return None
 
     if os.path.isdir(model_path) or os.path.isfile(model_path):
         # Model path is a local path to the model directory or file