diff --git a/python/hopsworks_common/connection.py b/python/hopsworks_common/connection.py
index ea954b79a..552fbd132 100644
--- a/python/hopsworks_common/connection.py
+++ b/python/hopsworks_common/connection.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 import weakref
 from typing import Any, Optional
 
-from hopsworks_common import client, usage, util, version
+from hopsworks_common import client, constants, usage, util, version
 from hopsworks_common.core import (
     hosts_api,
     project_api,
@@ -99,8 +99,8 @@ class Connection:
             defaults to the project from where the client is run from.
             Defaults to `None`.
         engine: Specifies the engine to use. Possible options are "spark", "python", "training", "spark-no-metastore", or "spark-delta". The default value is None, which automatically selects the engine based on the environment:
-            "spark": Used if Spark is available, such as in Hopsworks or Databricks environments.
-            "python": Used in local Python environments or AWS SageMaker when Spark is not available.
+            "spark": Used if Spark is available and the connection is not to serverless Hopsworks, such as in Hopsworks or Databricks environments.
+            "python": Used in local Python environments or AWS SageMaker when Spark is not available or the connection is done to serverless Hopsworks.
             "training": Used when only feature store metadata is needed, such as for obtaining training dataset locations and label information during Hopsworks training experiments.
             "spark-no-metastore": Functions like "spark" but does not rely on the Hive metastore.
             "spark-delta": Minimizes dependencies further by avoiding both Hive metastore and HopsFS.
@@ -337,26 +337,26 @@ def connect(self) -> None:
         self._connected = True
         finalizer = weakref.finalize(self, self.close)
         try:
+            internal = client.base.Client.REST_ENDPOINT in os.environ
+            serverless = self._host != constants.HOSTS.APP_HOST
             # determine engine, needed to init client
-            if (self._engine is not None and self._engine.lower() == "spark") or (
-                self._engine is None and importlib.util.find_spec("pyspark")
+            if (
+                self._engine is None
+                and importlib.util.find_spec("pyspark")
+                and (internal or serverless)
             ):
                 self._engine = "spark"
-            elif (self._engine is not None and self._engine.lower() == "python") or (
-                self._engine is None and not importlib.util.find_spec("pyspark")
-            ):
+            elif self._engine is None:
+                self._engine = "python"
+            elif self._engine.lower() == "spark":
+                self._engine = "spark"
+            elif self._engine.lower() == "python":
                 self._engine = "python"
-            elif self._engine is not None and self._engine.lower() == "training":
+            elif self._engine.lower() == "training":
                 self._engine = "training"
-            elif (
-                self._engine is not None
-                and self._engine.lower() == "spark-no-metastore"
-            ):
+            elif self._engine.lower() == "spark-no-metastore":
                 self._engine = "spark-no-metastore"
-            elif (
-                self._engine is not None
-                and self._engine.lower() == "spark-delta"
-            ):
+            elif self._engine.lower() == "spark-delta":
                 self._engine = "spark-delta"
             else:
                 raise ConnectionError(
@@ -365,7 +365,12 @@ def connect(self) -> None:
                 )
 
             # init client
-            if client.base.Client.REST_ENDPOINT not in os.environ:
+            if internal:
+                client.init(
+                    "hopsworks",
+                    hostname_verification=self._hostname_verification,
+                )
+            else:
                 client.init(
                     "external",
                     self._host,
@@ -378,11 +383,6 @@ def connect(self) -> None:
                     self._api_key_file,
                     self._api_key_value,
                 )
-            else:
-                client.init(
-                    "hopsworks",
-                    hostname_verification=self._hostname_verification,
-                )
 
             client.set_connection(self)
             from hsfs.core import feature_store_api