diff --git a/src/unitxt/formats.py b/src/unitxt/formats.py
index 0c0215ec08..9c4086e74c 100644
--- a/src/unitxt/formats.py
+++ b/src/unitxt/formats.py
@@ -528,6 +528,9 @@ class HFSystemFormat(ChatAPIFormat):
 
         See more details in https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers/main/en/chat_templating
 
+        If the tokenizer of the model does not define a chat template, a Jinja chat template can be passed explicitly:
+        ``HFSystemFormat(model_name=..., chat_kwargs_dict={"chat_template": "<template>"})``
+
     """
 
     model_name: str
@@ -540,6 +543,17 @@ def prepare(self):
         from transformers import AutoTokenizer
 
         self.tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained(self.model_name)
+        if (
+            getattr(self.tokenizer, "chat_template", None) is None
+            and "chat_template" not in self.chat_kwargs_dict
+        ):
+            raise UnitxtError(
+                f"HFSystemFormat cannot be used with model '{self.model_name}' because its tokenizer "
+                "does not define a chat template (no 'chat_template' in its tokenizer_config.json). "
+                "Either use a model whose tokenizer has a chat template, pass a Jinja chat template "
+                "explicitly with chat_kwargs_dict={'chat_template': '<template>'}, "
+                "or use a format that does not depend on the tokenizer, such as SystemFormat."
+            )
 
     def _format_instance_to_source(
         self,
diff --git a/tests/library/test_formats.py b/tests/library/test_formats.py
index 8b22dc071c..0e4269f42a 100644
--- a/tests/library/test_formats.py
+++ b/tests/library/test_formats.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 from unitxt.api import load_dataset
 from unitxt.card import TaskCard
 from unitxt.collections_operators import Wrap
+from unitxt.error_utils import UnitxtError
 from unitxt.formats import (
     ChatAPIFormat,
     GraniteDocumentsFormat,
@@ -338,6 +339,49 @@ def test_hf_system_format(self):
             tester=self,
         )
 
+    def test_hf_system_format_without_chat_template(self):
+        # The gpt2 tokenizer does not define a chat template
+        with self.assertRaises(UnitxtError) as cm:
+            HFSystemFormat(model_name="openai-community/gpt2")
+        self.assertIn("does not define a chat template", str(cm.exception))
+        self.assertIn("chat_kwargs_dict", str(cm.exception))
+
+        # A chat template can be passed explicitly instead
+        system_format = HFSystemFormat(
+            model_name="openai-community/gpt2",
+            chat_kwargs_dict={
+                "chat_template": "{% for message in messages %}<|{{ message['role'] }}|>\n{{ message['content'] }}\n{% endfor %}"
+                "{% if add_generation_prompt %}<|assistant|>\n{% endif %}"
+            },
+        )
+
+        inputs = [
+            {
+                "source": "1+1",
+                "target": "2",
+                "instruction": "solve the math exercises",
+                "demos": [],
+                "input_fields": {},
+                "target_prefix": "The answer is ",
+                "system_prompt": "You are a smart assistant.",
+            },
+        ]
+        targets = [
+            {
+                "target": "2",
+                "input_fields": {},
+                "source": "<|system|>\nYou are a smart assistant.\nsolve the math exercises\n<|user|>\n1+1\n<|assistant|>\nThe answer is ",
+                "demos": [],
+            },
+        ]
+
+        check_operator(
+            operator=system_format,
+            inputs=inputs,
+            targets=targets,
+            tester=self,
+        )
+
     def test_granite_documents_format(self):
         inputs = [
             {
diff --git a/tests/library/test_metrics.py b/tests/library/test_metrics.py
index 097856d267..4ea49a3233 100644
--- a/tests/library/test_metrics.py
+++ b/tests/library/test_metrics.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import random
+import unittest
+from importlib.util import find_spec
 from math import isnan
 from typing import Dict, List
 
@@ -89,6 +91,13 @@
 
 logger = get_logger()
 
+# ReflectionToolCallingMetric and ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic require llmevalkit,
+# an internal package that CI installs only when repository secrets are available
+# (not for pull requests from forks or from Dependabot).
+requires_llmevalkit = unittest.skipUnless(
+    find_spec("llmevalkit") is not None, "requires llmevalkit, which is not installed"
+)
+
 # values of inputs that are common to grouped_mean type InstanceMetric
 GROUPED_INSTANCE_PREDICTIONS = [
     "A B",
@@ -1654,6 +1663,7 @@ def test_tool_calling_metric(self):
             outputs[0]["score"]["global"]["argument_schema_validation"], 0.0
         )
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_reflection_tool_calling_metric(self):
         unitxt.settings.mock_inference_mode = True
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetric()
@@ -1730,6 +1740,7 @@ def test_reflection_tool_calling_metric(self):
             ]
         )
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_partial_value_precision_enum_violations_real_static_only(self):
         """Test partial value precision when some parameters have invalid enum values."""
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
@@ -1790,6 +1801,7 @@ def test_partial_value_precision_enum_violations_real_static_only(self):
             result["metrics"]["missing_required_parameter"]["valid"], True
         )
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_reflection_tool_calling_metric_reduce(self):
         # Instance 1: valid call
         instance1 = {
@@ -1942,6 +1954,7 @@ def test_reflection_tool_calling_metric_reduce(self):
             reduced["semantic_agentic_constraints_satisfaction"], acs_expected
         )
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_reflection_tool_calling_metric_syntactic_reduce(self):
         from unitxt.metrics import ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic
 
@@ -2031,6 +2044,7 @@ def mean_valid(name: str) -> float:
         reduced_shuffled = metric.reduce(shuffled)
         self.assertEqual(reduced, reduced_shuffled)
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_tool_calling_metric_syntactic_reflector(self):
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
         tools_data = {
@@ -2201,6 +2215,7 @@ def test_tool_calling_metric_syntactic_reflector(self):
         # schema validation can still pass even if there are type errors
         self.assertTrue(outputs["metrics"]["json_schema_violation"]["valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_overall_valid_success_real_map(self):
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
         # Create sample inputs
@@ -2248,6 +2263,7 @@ def test_overall_valid_success_real_map(self):
         self.assertTrue(result["metrics"]["non_existent_function"]["valid"])
         self.assertTrue(result["metrics"]["missing_required_parameter"]["valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_non_existent_function_real_map(self):
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
         # Create sample inputs with wrong function name
@@ -2282,6 +2298,7 @@ def test_non_existent_function_real_map(self):
         self.assertFalse(result["metrics"]["non_existent_function"]["valid"])
         self.assertTrue(result["metrics"]["missing_required_parameter"]["valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_missing_required_parameter_real_map(self):
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
         # Create sample inputs with missing required parameter
@@ -2322,6 +2339,7 @@ def test_missing_required_parameter_real_map(self):
         self.assertFalse(result["metrics"]["missing_required_parameter"]["valid"])
         self.assertTrue(result["metrics"]["allowed_values_violation"]["valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_non_existent_parameter_real_map(self):
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
         # Create sample inputs with extra undefined parameter
@@ -2355,6 +2373,7 @@ def test_non_existent_parameter_real_map(self):
         self.assertFalse(result["overall_valid"], False)
         self.assertFalse(result["metrics"]["non_existent_parameter"]["valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_allowed_values_violation(self):
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
         # Create sample inputs with invalid enum value
@@ -2401,6 +2420,7 @@ def test_allowed_values_violation(self):
         self.assertFalse(result["metrics"]["allowed_values_violation"]["valid"])
         self.assertTrue(result["metrics"]["incorrect_parameter_type"]["valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_json_schema_violation_specific_real_map(self):
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
         # Create sample inputs
@@ -2441,6 +2461,7 @@ def test_json_schema_violation_specific_real_map(self):
         # json_schema_violation specifically should be 1.0 because it's marked valid
         self.assertTrue(result["metrics"]["json_schema_violation"]["valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_partial_recall_missing_parameters_real_map(self):
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
         """Test partial recall score when some but not all required parameters are missing."""
@@ -2479,6 +2500,7 @@ def test_partial_recall_missing_parameters_real_map(self):
         self.assertFalse(result["overall_valid"])
         self.assertFalse(result["metrics"]["missing_required_parameter"]["valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_partial_precision_non_existent_parameters_real_map(self):
         """Test partial precision score when some parameters don't exist in the schema."""
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
@@ -2524,6 +2546,7 @@ def test_partial_precision_non_existent_parameters_real_map(self):
         self.assertFalse(result["metrics"]["non_existent_parameter"]["valid"])
         self.assertFalse(result["overall_valid"])
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_partial_value_precision_type_errors_real_map(self):
         """Test partial value precision when some parameters have incorrect types."""
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()
@@ -2572,6 +2595,7 @@ def test_partial_value_precision_type_errors_real_map(self):
             result["metrics"]["incorrect_parameter_type"]["valid"], False
         )
 
+    @requires_llmevalkit
     def test_partial_value_precision_enum_violations_real_map(self):
         """Test partial value precision when some parameters have invalid enum values."""
         metric = ReflectionToolCallingMetricSyntactic()