diff --git a/packages/leann-backend-hnsw/leann_backend_hnsw/hnsw_backend.py b/packages/leann-backend-hnsw/leann_backend_hnsw/hnsw_backend.py
index e1afb36..d6b87f9 100644
--- a/packages/leann-backend-hnsw/leann_backend_hnsw/hnsw_backend.py
+++ b/packages/leann-backend-hnsw/leann_backend_hnsw/hnsw_backend.py
@@ -124,7 +124,9 @@ class HNSWSearcher(BaseSearcher):
         )
         from . import faiss  # type: ignore
 
-        self.distance_metric = self.meta.get("distance_metric", "mips").lower()
+        self.distance_metric = (
+            self.meta.get("backend_kwargs", {}).get("distance_metric", "mips").lower()
+        )
         metric_enum = get_metric_map().get(self.distance_metric)
         if metric_enum is None:
             raise ValueError(f"Unsupported distance_metric '{self.distance_metric}'.")
@@ -200,6 +202,16 @@ class HNSWSearcher(BaseSearcher):
         params.efSearch = complexity
         params.beam_size = beam_width
 
+        # For OpenAI embeddings with cosine distance, disable relative distance check
+        # This prevents early termination when all scores are in a narrow range
+        embedding_model = self.meta.get("embedding_model", "").lower()
+        if self.distance_metric == "cosine" and any(
+            openai_model in embedding_model for openai_model in ["text-embedding", "openai"]
+        ):
+            params.check_relative_distance = False
+        else:
+            params.check_relative_distance = True
+
         # PQ pruning: direct mapping to HNSW's pq_pruning_ratio
         params.pq_pruning_ratio = prune_ratio
 
diff --git a/packages/leann-core/src/leann/embedding_server_manager.py b/packages/leann-core/src/leann/embedding_server_manager.py
index 3c8a028..5a75ac7 100644
--- a/packages/leann-core/src/leann/embedding_server_manager.py
+++ b/packages/leann-core/src/leann/embedding_server_manager.py
@@ -293,6 +293,8 @@ class EmbeddingServerManager:
             command.extend(["--passages-file", str(passages_file)])
         if embedding_mode != "sentence-transformers":
             command.extend(["--embedding-mode", embedding_mode])
+        if kwargs.get("distance_metric"):
+            command.extend(["--distance-metric", kwargs["distance_metric"]])
 
         return command
 
diff --git a/packages/leann-core/src/leann/searcher_base.py b/packages/leann-core/src/leann/searcher_base.py
index cc02fb2..02ec430 100644
--- a/packages/leann-core/src/leann/searcher_base.py
+++ b/packages/leann-core/src/leann/searcher_base.py
@@ -63,12 +63,19 @@ class BaseSearcher(LeannBackendSearcherInterface, ABC):
         if not self.embedding_model:
             raise ValueError("Cannot use recompute mode without 'embedding_model' in meta.json.")
 
+        # Get distance_metric from meta if not provided in kwargs
+        distance_metric = (
+            kwargs.get("distance_metric")
+            or self.meta.get("backend_kwargs", {}).get("distance_metric")
+            or "mips"
+        )
+
         server_started, actual_port = self.embedding_server_manager.start_server(
             port=port,
             model_name=self.embedding_model,
             embedding_mode=self.embedding_mode,
             passages_file=passages_source_file,
-            distance_metric=kwargs.get("distance_metric"),
+            distance_metric=distance_metric,
             enable_warmup=kwargs.get("enable_warmup", False),
         )
         if not server_started: