diff --git a/tests/tools/test_cogvideo_i2v_variant.py b/tests/tools/test_cogvideo_i2v_variant.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8efa7fca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/test_cogvideo_i2v_variant.py
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+"""Regression for cogvideo-2b i2v mismatch (REVIEW §8 #4).
+
+COGVIDEO_VARIANTS declares the 2B variant i2v=False (t2v-only), but
+cogvideo_video advertised image_to_video + reference_image unconditionally
+and never consulted the variant flag — so an image_to_video brief against
+cogvideo-2b reached the diffusion pipeline and failed opaquely.
+
+This pins:
+- is_operation_available() derives capability from the variant table
+  (default 5b: t2v + i2v both True), not an unconditional True.
+- execute() fails fast with a clear error when the caller's chosen variant
+  lacks the requested mode (2b + image_to_video).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import pytest
+
+from tools.base_tool import ToolStatus
+from tools.video._shared import COGVIDEO_VARIANTS
+from tools.video.cogvideo_video import CogVideoVideo
+
+
+def test_2b_variant_is_t2v_only():
+    """The premise: the 2B variant really does declare i2v=False."""
+    assert COGVIDEO_VARIANTS["cogvideo-2b"]["i2v"] is False
+    assert COGVIDEO_VARIANTS["cogvideo-2b"]["t2v"] is True
+
+
+def test_5b_variant_supports_i2v():
+    assert COGVIDEO_VARIANTS["cogvideo-5b"]["i2v"] is True
+
+
+def test_is_operation_available_reflects_default_variant():
+    tool = CogVideoVideo()
+    # Default variant (5b) supports both modes.
+    assert tool.is_operation_available("text_to_video") is True
+    assert tool.is_operation_available("image_to_video") is True
+
+
+def test_execute_rejects_i2v_for_2b_variant(monkeypatch):
+    """Selecting the 2B variant for image_to_video fails fast, not at the pipeline."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        CogVideoVideo, "get_status", lambda self: ToolStatus.AVAILABLE
+    )
+    # Guard against the local-generation path actually running.
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        "tools.video.cogvideo_video.generate_local_video",
+        lambda **kw: pytest.fail("generate_local_video must not run for an unsupported variant"),
+    )
+
+    result = CogVideoVideo().execute(
+        {"prompt": "x", "operation": "image_to_video", "model_variant": "cogvideo-2b"}
+    )
+    assert result.success is False
+    assert "cogvideo-2b" in result.error
+    assert "image_to_video" in result.error
+
+
+def test_execute_allows_i2v_for_5b_variant(monkeypatch):
+    """The default 5B variant still routes to generation for image_to_video."""
+    from tools.base_tool import ToolResult
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        CogVideoVideo, "get_status", lambda self: ToolStatus.AVAILABLE
+    )
+
+    sentinel = ToolResult(success=True, data={"output": "out.mp4"})
+
+    def fake_generate(**kw):
+        return sentinel
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("tools.video.cogvideo_video.generate_local_video", fake_generate)
+
+    result = CogVideoVideo().execute(
+        {"prompt": "x", "operation": "image_to_video", "model_variant": "cogvideo-5b"}
+    )
+    assert result.success is True
diff --git a/tools/video/cogvideo_video.py b/tools/video/cogvideo_video.py
index 9076fbd8..879cff10 100644
--- a/tools/video/cogvideo_video.py
+++ b/tools/video/cogvideo_video.py
@@ -77,6 +77,31 @@ class CogVideoVideo(BaseTool):
     def get_status(self) -> ToolStatus:
         return local_generation_status()
 
+    DEFAULT_VARIANT = "cogvideo-5b"
+
+    def _variant_for(self, inputs: dict[str, object]) -> dict[str, object]:
+        """Resolve the active variant dict, falling back to the default."""
+        return COGVIDEO_VARIANTS.get(
+            inputs.get("model_variant", self.DEFAULT_VARIANT),
+            COGVIDEO_VARIANTS[self.DEFAULT_VARIANT],
+        )
+
+    def is_operation_available(self, operation: str) -> bool:
+        """Capability is variant-driven, not unconditional.
+
+        cogvideo_video advertised image_to_video unconditionally, but the 2B
+        variant declares i2v=False (it is t2v-only). The selector calls this
+        without inputs, so we report capability for the DEFAULT variant
+        (cogvideo-5b: t2v=True, i2v=True) — execute() re-checks against the
+        caller's chosen variant and fails fast if it lacks the requested mode.
+        """
+        variant = COGVIDEO_VARIANTS[self.DEFAULT_VARIANT]
+        if operation == "image_to_video":
+            return bool(variant.get("i2v"))
+        if operation == "text_to_video":
+            return bool(variant.get("t2v"))
+        return True
+
     def estimate_cost(self, inputs: dict[str, object]) -> float:
         return 0.0
 
@@ -87,6 +112,22 @@ class CogVideoVideo(BaseTool):
     def execute(self, inputs: dict[str, object]) -> ToolResult:
         if self.get_status() != ToolStatus.AVAILABLE:
             return ToolResult(success=False, error="CogVideo local generation is unavailable. " + self.install_instructions)
+
+        # Consult the variant flag the selector cannot see: the 2B variant is
+        # t2v-only (i2v=False), so an image_to_video brief against it would
+        # otherwise reach the diffusion pipeline and fail opaquely.
+        operation = inputs.get("operation", "text_to_video")
+        variant = self._variant_for(inputs)
+        if operation == "image_to_video" and not variant.get("i2v"):
+            chosen = inputs.get("model_variant", self.DEFAULT_VARIANT)
+            return ToolResult(
+                success=False,
+                error=(
+                    f"CogVideo variant '{chosen}' does not support image_to_video "
+                    f"(i2v=False). Use the cogvideo-5b variant or a text_to_video operation."
+                ),
+            )
+
         start = time.time()
         try:
             result = generate_local_video(tool_name=self.name, variants=COGVIDEO_VARIANTS, default_variant="cogvideo-5b", inputs=inputs)