diff --git a/soup_cli/commands/generate.py b/soup_cli/commands/generate.py
index 4342e79..8b8130a 100644
--- a/soup_cli/commands/generate.py
+++ b/soup_cli/commands/generate.py
@@ -853,44 +853,14 @@ def _generate_server(
 
 
 def _parse_json_array(content: str) -> list[dict]:
-    """Parse a JSON array from LLM output, handling markdown code blocks."""
-    content = content.strip()
+    """Parse a JSON array from LLM output, handling markdown code blocks.
 
-    # Strip markdown code fences
-    if content.startswith("```"):
-        lines = content.split("\n")
-        # Remove first line (```json or ```)
-        lines = lines[1:]
-        # Remove last line if it's ```)
-        if lines and lines[-1].strip() == "```":
-            lines = lines[:-1]
-        content = "\n".join(lines).strip()
+    Delegates to soup_cli.data.providers._utils.parse_json_array to avoid
+    circular imports (providers import this, this imports providers).
+    """
+    from soup_cli.data.providers._utils import parse_json_array
 
-    # Try to find JSON array in content
-    start = content.find("[")
-    end = content.rfind("]")
-    if start != -1 and end != -1 and end > start:
-        content = content[start:end + 1]
-
-    try:
-        result = json.loads(content)
-        if isinstance(result, list):
-            return [item for item in result if isinstance(item, dict)]
-    except json.JSONDecodeError:
-        pass
-
-    # Try line-by-line JSON objects
-    results = []
-    for line in content.split("\n"):
-        line = line.strip()
-        if line.startswith("{"):
-            try:
-                obj = json.loads(line)
-                if isinstance(obj, dict):
-                    results.append(obj)
-            except json.JSONDecodeError:
-                continue
-    return results
+    return parse_json_array(content)
 
 
 def _validate_example(example: dict, fmt: str) -> bool:
diff --git a/soup_cli/data/providers/_utils.py b/soup_cli/data/providers/_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc467c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/soup_cli/data/providers/_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+"""Shared utilities for data generation providers."""
+
+import json
+
+
+def parse_json_array(content: str) -> list[dict]:
+    """Parse a JSON array from LLM output, handling markdown code blocks.
+
+    Handles:
+    - Clean JSON arrays
+    - Markdown code fences (```json ... ```)
+    - JSON arrays with surrounding text
+    - Line-by-line JSON objects (NDJSON fallback)
+    """
+    content = content.strip()
+
+    # Strip markdown code fences
+    if content.startswith("```"):
+        lines = content.split("\n")
+        lines = lines[1:]
+        if lines and lines[-1].strip() == "```":
+            lines = lines[:-1]
+        content = "\n".join(lines).strip()
+
+    # Try to find JSON array in content
+    start = content.find("[")
+    end = content.rfind("]")
+    if start != -1 and end != -1 and end > start:
+        content = content[start:end + 1]
+
+    try:
+        result = json.loads(content)
+        if isinstance(result, list):
+            return [item for item in result if isinstance(item, dict)]
+    except json.JSONDecodeError:
+        pass
+
+    # Try line-by-line JSON objects
+    results = []
+    for line in content.split("\n"):
+        line = line.strip()
+        if line.startswith("{"):
+            try:
+                obj = json.loads(line)
+                if isinstance(obj, dict):
+                    results.append(obj)
+            except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                continue
+    return results
diff --git a/soup_cli/data/providers/anthropic.py b/soup_cli/data/providers/anthropic.py
index 82f4cec..4763aa9 100644
--- a/soup_cli/data/providers/anthropic.py
+++ b/soup_cli/data/providers/anthropic.py
@@ -87,6 +87,6 @@ def generate_anthropic(
     except (KeyError, IndexError, TypeError) as exc:
         raise ValueError(f"Unexpected Anthropic response format: {exc}") from exc
 
-    from soup_cli.commands.generate import _parse_json_array
+    from soup_cli.data.providers._utils import parse_json_array
 
-    return _parse_json_array(content)
+    return parse_json_array(content)
diff --git a/soup_cli/data/providers/ollama.py b/soup_cli/data/providers/ollama.py
index d28685a..ee21e83 100644
--- a/soup_cli/data/providers/ollama.py
+++ b/soup_cli/data/providers/ollama.py
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@ def detect_ollama(base_url: str = DEFAULT_OLLAMA_BASE) -> Optional[str]:
                 ver_response = httpx.get(f"{base_url}/api/version", timeout=5.0)
                 if ver_response.status_code == 200:
                     return ver_response.json().get("version", "unknown")
-            except Exception:
-                pass
+            except (httpx.HTTPError, KeyError, ValueError):
+                logger.debug("Ollama version check failed", exc_info=True)
             return "unknown"
-    except Exception:
-        pass
+    except (httpx.HTTPError, OSError):
+        logger.debug("Ollama not reachable at %s", base_url, exc_info=True)
     return None
 
 
@@ -118,6 +118,6 @@ def generate_ollama(
     except (KeyError, IndexError, TypeError) as exc:
         raise ValueError(f"Unexpected Ollama response format: {exc}") from exc
 
-    from soup_cli.commands.generate import _parse_json_array
+    from soup_cli.data.providers._utils import parse_json_array
 
-    return _parse_json_array(content)
+    return parse_json_array(content)
diff --git a/soup_cli/data/providers/vllm.py b/soup_cli/data/providers/vllm.py
index 09e0d8d..5f982e9 100644
--- a/soup_cli/data/providers/vllm.py
+++ b/soup_cli/data/providers/vllm.py
@@ -102,6 +102,6 @@ def generate_vllm(
     except (KeyError, IndexError, TypeError) as exc:
         raise ValueError(f"Unexpected vLLM response format: {exc}") from exc
 
-    from soup_cli.commands.generate import _parse_json_array
+    from soup_cli.data.providers._utils import parse_json_array
 
-    return _parse_json_array(content)
+    return parse_json_array(content)
diff --git a/tests/test_synth_data_pro.py b/tests/test_synth_data_pro.py
index 989fa7f..46444a7 100644
--- a/tests/test_synth_data_pro.py
+++ b/tests/test_synth_data_pro.py
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ class TestOllamaProvider:
         """detect_ollama should return None when Ollama is not running."""
         from soup_cli.data.providers.ollama import detect_ollama
 
-        with mock_patch("httpx.get", side_effect=Exception("connection refused")):
+        with mock_patch("httpx.get", side_effect=OSError("connection refused")):
             version = detect_ollama()
         assert version is None
 
@@ -151,10 +151,7 @@ class TestOllamaProvider:
         mock_tags.status_code = 200
         mock_tags.json.return_value = {"models": []}
 
-        mock_ver = MagicMock()
-        mock_ver.status_code = 500
-
-        with mock_patch("httpx.get", side_effect=[mock_tags, Exception("fail")]):
+        with mock_patch("httpx.get", side_effect=[mock_tags, ValueError("fail")]):
             version = detect_ollama()
         assert version == "unknown"