diff --git a/dsp/modules/hf_client.py b/dsp/modules/hf_client.py
index bd2061e7a2..caea2f5e1e 100644
--- a/dsp/modules/hf_client.py
+++ b/dsp/modules/hf_client.py
@@ -113,26 +113,41 @@ def __init__(self, model, **kwargs):
             **kwargs
         }
 
-    def _generate(self, prompt, **kwargs):
+    def _generate(self, prompt, use_chat_api=True, **kwargs):
         url = f"{self.api_base}/chat/completions"
         kwargs = {**self.kwargs, **kwargs}
 
         temperature = kwargs.get("temperature")
-        messages = [{"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant. You must continue the user text directly without *any* additional interjections."}, {"role": "user", "content": prompt}]
-
-        body = {
-            "model": self.model,
-            "messages": messages,
-            "temperature": temperature,
-            "max_tokens": 150
-        }
+        max_tokens = kwargs.get("max_tokens", 150) 
+
+        if use_chat_api:
+            messages = [
+                {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant. You must continue the user text directly without *any* additional interjections."},
+                {"role": "user", "content": prompt}
+            ]
+            body = {
+                "model": self.model,
+                "messages": messages,
+                "temperature": temperature,
+                "max_tokens": max_tokens
+            }
+        else:
+            body = {
+                "model": self.model,
+                "prompt": f"[INST]{prompt}[/INST]",
+                "temperature": temperature,
+                "max_tokens": max_tokens
+            }
 
         headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {self.token}"}
 
         try:
             with self.session.post(url, headers=headers, json=body) as resp:
                 resp_json = resp.json()
-                completions = [resp_json.get('choices', [])[0].get('message', {}).get('content', "")]
+                if use_chat_api:
+                    completions = [resp_json.get('choices', [])[0].get('message', {}).get('content', "")]
+                else:
+                    completions = [resp_json.get('choices', [])[0].get('text', "")]
                 response = {"prompt": prompt, "choices": [{"text": c} for c in completions]}
                 return response
         except Exception as e: