diff --git a/src/modes/client/save.rs b/src/modes/client/save.rs
index 9245028..c92f56c 100644
--- a/src/modes/client/save.rs
+++ b/src/modes/client/save.rs
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ pub fn mode(
     // Determine compression type from settings
     let compression_type = settings_compression_type(cmd, settings);
     let compression_type_str = compression_type.to_string();
-    let server_compress = matches!(compression_type, CompressionType::None);
+    // In client mode, the client always handles compression (even "none").
+    // The server should never re-compress client data.
+    let server_compress = false;
 
     // Shared metadata collection: plugins write here via save_meta closure
     let collected_meta: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<String, String>>> = Arc::new(Mutex::new(HashMap::new()));
@@ -124,14 +126,8 @@ pub fn mode(
             ("compress".to_string(), server_compress.to_string()),
             ("meta".to_string(), "false".to_string()),
             ("tags".to_string(), tags_clone.join(",")),
-            (
-                "compression_type".to_string(),
-                if !server_compress {
-                    compression_type_str_clone
-                } else {
-                    String::new()
-                },
-            ),
+            // Always send compression_type when compress=false (client handled compression)
+            ("compression_type".to_string(), compression_type_str_clone),
         ];
         // Filter out empty params
         let params: Vec<(String, String)> =