diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..42051dbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# AI Generated Images - Do not commit generated images
+frontend/public/images/ai-images/
+**/ai-images/
+
+# Also ignore in dist/build output
+frontend/dist/images/ai-images/
+
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/common/ContentImageCell.tsx b/frontend/src/components/common/ContentImageCell.tsx
index 68a8655d..07e55967 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/common/ContentImageCell.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/common/ContentImageCell.tsx
@@ -25,6 +25,16 @@ interface ContentImageCellProps {
 export default function ContentImageCell({ image, maxPromptLength = 100 }: ContentImageCellProps) {
   const [showFullPrompt, setShowFullPrompt] = useState(false);
 
+  // Check if image_path is a valid local file path (not a URL)
+  const isValidLocalPath = (imagePath: string): boolean => {
+    // Reject URLs (http:// or https://)
+    if (imagePath.startsWith('http://') || imagePath.startsWith('https://')) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    // Must contain 'ai-images' to be a valid local path
+    return imagePath.includes('ai-images');
+  };
+
   // Convert local file path to web-accessible URL
   const getLocalImageUrl = (imagePath: string): string => {
     // If path contains 'ai-images', convert to web URL
@@ -97,15 +107,15 @@ export default function ContentImageCell({ image, maxPromptLength = 100 }: Conte
 
         {image.status === 'generated' && (
           <div className="space-y-1">
-            {/* Always load from image_path - no fallback */}
-            {image.image_path && image.image_path.trim() ? (
+            {/* Only use image_path if it's a valid local file path (not a URL) */}
+            {image.image_path && image.image_path.trim() && isValidLocalPath(image.image_path) ? (
               <>
                 <img
                   src={getLocalImageUrl(image.image_path)}
                   alt={prompt || 'Generated image'}
                   className="w-full h-24 object-cover rounded border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600"
                   onError={(e) => {
-                    // Show error placeholder if local image fails (no fallback to image_url)
+                    // Show empty placeholder if local image fails to load
                     const target = e.target as HTMLImageElement;
                     target.style.display = 'none';
                     const parent = target.parentElement;
@@ -131,8 +141,8 @@ export default function ContentImageCell({ image, maxPromptLength = 100 }: Conte
                 )}
               </>
             ) : (
-              <div className="w-full h-24 bg-yellow-100 dark:bg-yellow-900/20 rounded border border-yellow-300 dark:border-yellow-700 flex items-center justify-center">
-                <p className="text-xs text-yellow-700 dark:text-yellow-400">No image available</p>
+              <div className="w-full h-24 bg-gray-200 dark:bg-gray-700 rounded border-2 border-dashed border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 flex items-center justify-center">
+                <p className="text-xs text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">No image available</p>
               </div>
             )}
           </div>