diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 24b90d2..0711e40 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -4862,7 +4862,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-api"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "argon2",
@@ -4885,7 +4885,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-application"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -4902,7 +4902,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-bootstrap"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "chrono",
@@ -4919,7 +4919,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-daemon"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -4943,7 +4943,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-domain"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -4959,7 +4959,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-gateway"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "axum",
@@ -4986,7 +4986,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-grpc"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "axum",
@@ -5003,7 +5003,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-infrastructure"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "argon2",
@@ -5051,7 +5051,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-tui"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "base64",
@@ -5077,7 +5077,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-web"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "axum",
@@ -5097,7 +5097,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "zesdex-ws"
-version = "1.19.1"
+version = "1.19.2"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "axum",
diff --git a/apps/domain/src/cms/mod.rs b/apps/domain/src/cms/mod.rs
index 9ce6fc6..a0865f3 100644
--- a/apps/domain/src/cms/mod.rs
+++ b/apps/domain/src/cms/mod.rs
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ pub use repository::SettingsRepository;
 pub use service::ConversationService;
 pub use service::MemoryService;
 pub use service::SettingsService;
+pub use settings::resolve_effective_model;
 pub use settings::InternetMode;
 pub use settings::Settings;
 pub use settings::SettingsFlags;
diff --git a/apps/domain/src/cms/settings.rs b/apps/domain/src/cms/settings.rs
index 2cf2e2f..ef686ac 100644
--- a/apps/domain/src/cms/settings.rs
+++ b/apps/domain/src/cms/settings.rs
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ use std::collections::HashMap;
 
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
+use super::app_config::AppConfig;
+
 /// Controls how much network access the agent is permitted during a session.
 ///
 /// ## Variants
@@ -112,3 +114,86 @@ impl Default for Settings {
         }
     }
 }
+
+/// Pick the effective model name for the main agent.
+///
+/// When `settings.provider` is `"claude"` (auto-detected from
+/// `~/.claude/settings.json`), the provider's `default_model` (or the
+/// app-level `default_model`) wins over a possibly-stale persisted
+/// `settings.model`. Otherwise the user's explicit `settings.model` is used.
+///
+/// Why: the user's custom Claude endpoint (URL + API key from
+/// `~/.claude/settings.json`) implies Opus as the model; a stale
+/// `settings.json` (e.g. "deepseek-v4-flash-free") must not override it.
+pub fn resolve_effective_model(settings: &Settings, app_config: &AppConfig) -> String {
+    if settings.provider == "claude" {
+        if let Some(m) = app_config
+            .providers
+            .get("claude")
+            .and_then(|p| p.default_model.clone())
+        {
+            return m;
+        }
+        return app_config.default_model.clone();
+    }
+    settings.model.clone()
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::cms::app_config::AppConfig;
+
+    fn claude_app_config() -> AppConfig {
+        let mut cfg = AppConfig::default();
+        cfg.providers.insert(
+            "claude".to_string(),
+            crate::cms::ProviderConfig {
+                api_base: "https://9router.example/v1".to_string(),
+                api_key_env: Some("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY".to_string()),
+                default_model: Some("claude-opus-4-8".to_string()),
+                default_api_key: Some("sk-test".to_string()),
+            },
+        );
+        cfg.default_provider = "claude".to_string();
+        cfg.default_model = "claude-opus-4-8".to_string();
+        cfg
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn claude_provider_uses_opus_model_over_stale_settings_model() {
+        let settings = Settings {
+            provider: "claude".to_string(),
+            model: "deepseek-v4-flash-free".to_string(), // stale persisted
+            ..Settings::default()
+        };
+
+        let model = resolve_effective_model(&settings, &claude_app_config());
+        assert_eq!(model, "claude-opus-4-8");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn non_claude_provider_uses_settings_model() {
+        let settings = Settings {
+            provider: "zen".to_string(),
+            model: "my-model".to_string(),
+            ..Settings::default()
+        };
+
+        let model = resolve_effective_model(&settings, &AppConfig::default());
+        assert_eq!(model, "my-model");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn claude_falls_back_to_app_default() {
+        let settings = Settings {
+            provider: "claude".to_string(),
+            model: String::new(),
+            ..Settings::default()
+        };
+
+        let cfg = AppConfig::default();
+        let model = resolve_effective_model(&settings, &cfg);
+        assert_eq!(model, cfg.default_model);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/apps/interfaces/daemon/src/handler.rs b/apps/interfaces/daemon/src/handler.rs
index 1450c06..f9b8217 100644
--- a/apps/interfaces/daemon/src/handler.rs
+++ b/apps/interfaces/daemon/src/handler.rs
@@ -316,13 +316,13 @@ fn handle_submit_input(state: &mut AppStateRest, text: String) {
         in_flight: std::sync::Arc::new(std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool::new(false)),
         abort: state.abort_flag.clone(),
         api_key: api_key.clone(),
-        model: state.settings.model.clone(),
+        model: zesdex_domain::cms::resolve_effective_model(&state.settings, &state.app_config),
         api_base: provider_cfg.as_ref().map(|cfg| cfg.api_base.clone()),
     };
 
     let client = std::sync::Arc::new(zesdex_infrastructure::llm::provider::LlmClient::new(
         api_key,
-        state.settings.model.clone(),
+        zesdex_domain::cms::resolve_effective_model(&state.settings, &state.app_config),
         provider_cfg.map(|cfg| cfg.api_base.clone()),
     ));
 
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ fn handle_compact(state: &mut AppStateRest) {
         .get(provider_name)
         .cloned()
         .unwrap_or_default();
-    let model = state.settings.model.clone();
+    let model = zesdex_domain::cms::resolve_effective_model(&state.settings, &state.app_config);
     let api_base = provider_cfg.map(|cfg| cfg.api_base.clone());
 
     let client = zesdex_infrastructure::llm::provider::LlmClient::new(api_key, model, api_base);
diff --git a/apps/interfaces/tui/src/turn.rs b/apps/interfaces/tui/src/turn.rs
index d4d8965..fddb205 100644
--- a/apps/interfaces/tui/src/turn.rs
+++ b/apps/interfaces/tui/src/turn.rs
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ pub fn spawn_agent_turn(state: &mut AppStateRest, text: String) {
     // ── Resolve provider configuration ─────────────────────────────────
     let provider_name = &state.settings.provider;
     let api_key = resolve_api_key(state, provider_name);
-    let model = state.settings.model.clone();
+    let model = zesdex_domain::cms::resolve_effective_model(&state.settings, &state.app_config);
     let api_base = resolve_api_base(state, provider_name);
 
     // ── Build message list ─────────────────────────────────────────────