diff --git a/plugins/lookup/node_hosts.py b/plugins/lookup/node_hosts.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..154aad1c24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/lookup/node_hosts.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+"""Every host a node-local path must exist on before a container binds it.
+
+Swarm rejects a task whose bind source is missing on the node it lands on, and
+a role that declares no ``placement`` may be scheduled onto any node, so the
+path has to exist on all of them. Without a swarm group there is one host, the
+one the task already runs on.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Any
+
+from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
+
+SWARM_GROUP = "svc-swarm-node"
+
+
+def node_hosts(vars_: dict[str, Any]) -> list[str]:
+    """Return every host a node-local path must exist on.
+
+    Args:
+        vars_: the task variables the lookup was called with.
+    """
+    hosts = [str(host) for host in (vars_.get("groups") or {}).get(SWARM_GROUP) or []]
+    return hosts or [str(vars_["inventory_hostname"])]
+
+
+class LookupModule(LookupBase):
+    def run(
+        self,
+        terms: list[Any],
+        variables: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+        **kwargs: Any,
+    ) -> list[str]:
+        vars_ = variables or getattr(self._templar, "available_variables", {}) or {}
+        return node_hosts(vars_)
diff --git a/roles/svc-ai-libretranslate-engine/tasks/00_core.yml b/roles/svc-ai-libretranslate-engine/tasks/00_core.yml
index 81782f639e..5ea3a13763 100644
--- a/roles/svc-ai-libretranslate-engine/tasks/00_core.yml
+++ b/roles/svc-ai-libretranslate-engine/tasks/00_core.yml
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
     state: directory
     owner: "{{ LIBRETRANSLATE_ENGINE_UID }}"
     mode: "0755"
+  delegate_to: "{{ item }}"
+  run_once: true
+  loop: "{{ query('node_hosts') }}"
 
 - name: "🧩 load the container manager for {{ application_id }}"
   include_role:
diff --git a/roles/svc-ai-s1/tasks/00_core.yml b/roles/svc-ai-s1/tasks/00_core.yml
index 1e320e23b0..1f28d2c943 100644
--- a/roles/svc-ai-s1/tasks/00_core.yml
+++ b/roles/svc-ai-s1/tasks/00_core.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@
     path: "{{ S1_MODELS_DIR }}"
     state: directory
     mode: "0755"
+  delegate_to: "{{ item }}"
+  run_once: true
+  loop: "{{ query('node_hosts') }}"
 
 - name: "🎮 Look for the GPU and the runtime that hands it to a container"
   ansible.builtin.stat:
diff --git a/tests/unit/python/plugins/lookup/test_node_hosts.py b/tests/unit/python/plugins/lookup/test_node_hosts.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..01ed1354be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/python/plugins/lookup/test_node_hosts.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import unittest
+
+from plugins.lookup.node_hosts import SWARM_GROUP, LookupModule, node_hosts
+
+LOCAL = "localhost"
+NODES = ["swarm-mgr-01", "swarm-wrk-01", "swarm-wrk-02"]
+
+
+class TestNodeHosts(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_every_swarm_node_is_returned(self) -> None:
+        self.assertEqual(
+            node_hosts({"groups": {SWARM_GROUP: NODES}, "inventory_hostname": LOCAL}),
+            NODES,
+        )
+
+    def test_without_the_group_the_local_host_stands_alone(self) -> None:
+        self.assertEqual(
+            node_hosts({"groups": {}, "inventory_hostname": LOCAL}), [LOCAL]
+        )
+
+    def test_an_empty_group_falls_back_to_the_local_host(self) -> None:
+        """An empty group would otherwise create the path on no host at all."""
+        self.assertEqual(
+            node_hosts({"groups": {SWARM_GROUP: []}, "inventory_hostname": LOCAL}),
+            [LOCAL],
+        )
+
+    def test_absent_groups_are_not_an_error(self) -> None:
+        self.assertEqual(node_hosts({"inventory_hostname": LOCAL}), [LOCAL])
+
+    def test_the_lookup_reads_the_variables_it_is_handed(self) -> None:
+        lookup = LookupModule()
+        lookup._templar = None
+        self.assertEqual(
+            lookup.run(
+                [], {"groups": {SWARM_GROUP: NODES}, "inventory_hostname": LOCAL}
+            ),
+            NODES,
+        )
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()