diff --git a/py/utils/exif_utils.py b/py/utils/exif_utils.py
index ff96703c..5c853a7d 100644
--- a/py/utils/exif_utils.py
+++ b/py/utils/exif_utils.py
@@ -140,6 +140,28 @@ class ExifUtils:
             if metadata:
                 # Remove any existing recipe metadata
                 metadata = ExifUtils.remove_recipe_metadata(metadata)
+
+            # Prepare checkpoint data
+            checkpoint_data = recipe_data.get("checkpoint") or {}
+            simplified_checkpoint = None
+            if isinstance(checkpoint_data, dict) and checkpoint_data:
+                simplified_checkpoint = {
+                    "type": checkpoint_data.get("type", "checkpoint"),
+                    "modelId": checkpoint_data.get("modelId", 0),
+                    "modelVersionId": checkpoint_data.get("modelVersionId")
+                    or checkpoint_data.get("id", 0),
+                    "modelName": checkpoint_data.get(
+                        "modelName", checkpoint_data.get("name", "")
+                    ),
+                    "modelVersionName": checkpoint_data.get(
+                        "modelVersionName", checkpoint_data.get("version", "")
+                    ),
+                    "hash": checkpoint_data.get("hash", "").lower()
+                    if checkpoint_data.get("hash")
+                    else "",
+                    "file_name": checkpoint_data.get("file_name", ""),
+                    "baseModel": checkpoint_data.get("baseModel", ""),
+                }
             
             # Prepare simplified loras data
             simplified_loras = []
@@ -160,7 +182,8 @@ class ExifUtils:
                 'base_model': recipe_data.get('base_model', ''),
                 'loras': simplified_loras,
                 'gen_params': recipe_data.get('gen_params', {}),
-                'tags': recipe_data.get('tags', [])
+                'tags': recipe_data.get('tags', []),
+                **({'checkpoint': simplified_checkpoint} if simplified_checkpoint else {})
             }
             
             # Convert to JSON string
@@ -359,4 +382,4 @@ class ExifUtils:
                         return f.read(), os.path.splitext(image_data)[1]
                 except Exception:
                     return image_data, '.jpg'  # Last resort fallback
-            return image_data, '.jpg'
\ No newline at end of file
+            return image_data, '.jpg'
diff --git a/tests/utils/test_exif_utils.py b/tests/utils/test_exif_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9e84d7a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/utils/test_exif_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+import json
+
+from py.utils.exif_utils import ExifUtils
+
+
+def test_append_recipe_metadata_includes_checkpoint(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    captured = {}
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        ExifUtils, "extract_image_metadata", staticmethod(lambda _path: None)
+    )
+
+    def fake_update_image_metadata(image_path, metadata):
+        captured["path"] = image_path
+        captured["metadata"] = metadata
+        return image_path
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        ExifUtils, "update_image_metadata", staticmethod(fake_update_image_metadata)
+    )
+
+    checkpoint = {
+        "type": "checkpoint",
+        "modelId": 827184,
+        "modelVersionId": 2167369,
+        "modelName": "WAI-illustrious-SDXL",
+        "modelVersionName": "v15.0",
+        "hash": "ABC123",
+        "file_name": "WAI-illustrious-SDXL",
+        "baseModel": "Illustrious",
+    }
+
+    recipe_data = {
+        "title": "Semi-realism",
+        "base_model": "Illustrious",
+        "loras": [],
+        "tags": [],
+        "checkpoint": checkpoint,
+    }
+
+    image_path = tmp_path / "image.webp"
+    image_path.write_bytes(b"")
+
+    ExifUtils.append_recipe_metadata(str(image_path), recipe_data)
+
+    assert captured["path"] == str(image_path)
+    assert captured["metadata"].startswith("Recipe metadata: ")
+
+    payload = json.loads(captured["metadata"].split("Recipe metadata: ", 1)[1])
+
+    assert payload["checkpoint"] == {
+        "type": "checkpoint",
+        "modelId": 827184,
+        "modelVersionId": 2167369,
+        "modelName": "WAI-illustrious-SDXL",
+        "modelVersionName": "v15.0",
+        "hash": "abc123",
+        "file_name": "WAI-illustrious-SDXL",
+        "baseModel": "Illustrious",
+    }
+    assert payload["base_model"] == "Illustrious"