diff --git a/gemma/gm/text/_chat_sampler.py b/gemma/gm/text/_chat_sampler.py
index 302ce050..3fff0606 100644
--- a/gemma/gm/text/_chat_sampler.py
+++ b/gemma/gm/text/_chat_sampler.py
@@ -219,16 +219,31 @@ def chat(
     object.__setattr__(self, 'last_state', out.state)
     return model_output
 
-
 def _print_stream(
     out: Iterator[_sampler.SamplerOutput],
+    *,
+    fallback_state: _sampler_loop.SamplingState | None = None,
 ) -> _sampler.SamplerOutput:
-  """Prints the streaming output."""
-  text_tokens = []
+  """Prints the streaming output and returns the final SamplerOutput.
+
+  If the iterator yields no elements (e.g. `max_new_tokens=0` or an early stop
+  before the first token), this function returns a dummy `SamplerOutput` with an
+  empty `text` field and the provided `fallback_state`, instead of raising an
+  internal error.
+  """
+  text_tokens: list[str] = []
+  last_state: _sampler.SamplerOutput | None = None
+
   for state in out:
+    last_state = state
     text_tokens.append(state.text)
     if state.text == '<end_of_turn>':  # Last token is not printed.
       continue
     print(state.text, end='', flush=True)
-  out = dataclasses.replace(state, text=''.join(text_tokens))  # pylint: disable=undefined-variable,undefined-loop-variable
-  return out
+
+  if last_state is None:
+    # No tokens were streamed; return a dummy SamplerOutput rather than
+    # propagating an internal UnboundLocalError.
+    return _sampler.SamplerOutput(text='', state=fallback_state)
+
+  return dataclasses.replace(last_state, text=''.join(text_tokens))