diff --git a/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-session-options.test.ts b/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-session-options.test.ts
index 720085cabe3..f2cde77d598 100644
--- a/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-session-options.test.ts
+++ b/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-session-options.test.ts
@@ -157,6 +157,31 @@ describe('useMobileNativeChatSessionOptions', () => {
     expect(onAgentPicker).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
   })
 
+  it.each([null, 'gpt-5.6-terra'])(
+    'tracks an unlisted Codex report after %s without inventing effort choices',
+    async (initialModel) => {
+      mount({ agent: 'codex', reportedModel: initialModel })
+      update({ reportedModel: 'gpt-6.1-sol' })
+      expect(api!.snapshot).toHaveLength(1)
+      expect(api!.snapshot[0]).toMatchObject({
+        valueSource: 'reported',
+        action: { type: 'agent-picker' },
+        kind: {
+          currentValue: 'gpt-6.1-sol',
+          choices: expect.arrayContaining([{ value: 'gpt-6.1-sol', label: 'gpt-6.1-sol' }])
+        }
+      })
+      const snapshot = api!.snapshot
+      update({ reportedModel: null })
+      update({ reportedModel: 'gpt-6.1-sol' })
+      expect(api!.snapshot).toBe(snapshot)
+      await act(async () => {
+        await api!.invokeAction('model')
+      })
+      expect(dispatchCommand).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/model', { delivery: 'type' })
+    }
+  )
+
   it('types the Codex effort picker command', async () => {
     mount({ agent: 'codex', reportedModel: 'gpt-5.5' })
     await act(async () => {
diff --git a/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-session-options.ts b/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-session-options.ts
index d57c4c06976..4fcaf7166f8 100644
--- a/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-session-options.ts
+++ b/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-session-options.ts
@@ -110,7 +110,11 @@ export function useMobileNativeChatSessionOptions(args: {
     }
     // OMP reports exact selectors, including models absent from cached discovery.
     const matched =
-      agent === 'omp' ? reportedModel.trim() : matchNativeChatCatalogModelId(catalog, reportedModel)
+      agent === 'omp'
+        ? reportedModel.trim()
+        : matchNativeChatCatalogModelId(catalog, reportedModel, {
+            allowUnlisted: agent === 'codex'
+          })
     if (!matched) {
       return
     }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/use-native-chat-session-options.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/use-native-chat-session-options.test.ts
index 88d74631949..640d256e8b1 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/use-native-chat-session-options.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/use-native-chat-session-options.test.ts
@@ -63,6 +63,52 @@ describe('useNativeChatSessionOptions model reporting', () => {
     Object.defineProperty(window, 'api', { configurable: true, value: undefined })
   })
 
+  it.each([null, 'gpt-5.6-terra'])(
+    'tracks an unlisted Codex report after %s without inventing effort choices',
+    async (initialModel) => {
+      discoverModels.mockResolvedValue(null)
+      const paneKey = `codex-unlisted-${initialModel}:leaf`
+      const dispatchCommand = vi.fn()
+      storeState.agentStatusByPaneKey[paneKey] = initialModel ? { model: initialModel } : {}
+      const { result, rerender } = renderHook(() =>
+        useNativeChatSessionOptions({
+          agent: 'codex',
+          terminalTabId: paneKey,
+          targetPtyId: paneKey,
+          dispatchCommand,
+          paneKey
+        })
+      )
+      await waitFor(() =>
+        expect(modelDescriptor(result.current.snapshot).currentValue).toBe(
+          initialModel ?? undefined
+        )
+      )
+      storeState.agentStatusByPaneKey[paneKey] = { model: 'gpt-6.1-sol' }
+      rerender()
+      await waitFor(() =>
+        expect(modelDescriptor(result.current.snapshot).currentValue).toBe('gpt-6.1-sol')
+      )
+      expect(result.current.snapshot).toHaveLength(1)
+      expect(result.current.snapshot[0]).toMatchObject({
+        valueSource: 'reported',
+        action: { type: 'agent-picker' }
+      })
+      expect(modelDescriptor(result.current.snapshot).choices).toContainEqual({
+        value: 'gpt-6.1-sol',
+        label: 'gpt-6.1-sol'
+      })
+      const snapshot = result.current.snapshot
+      storeState.agentStatusByPaneKey[paneKey] = {}
+      rerender()
+      storeState.agentStatusByPaneKey[paneKey] = { model: 'gpt-6.1-sol' }
+      rerender()
+      expect(result.current.snapshot).toBe(snapshot)
+      await result.current.surface?.invokeAction('model')
+      expect(dispatchCommand).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/model', { delivery: 'type' })
+    }
+  )
+
   it('names an OMP session by the model its hook reports, before and after discovery', async () => {
     // Why: OMP seeds no models and has no terminal frame to read; the hook's
     // `provider/id` stamp is the only way the pill can name the running model.
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/use-native-chat-session-options.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/use-native-chat-session-options.ts
index 6e77b06e445..0e7b5eff682 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/use-native-chat-session-options.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/use-native-chat-session-options.ts
@@ -216,7 +216,9 @@ export function useNativeChatSessionOptions(args: {
     const matched =
       agent === 'omp'
         ? reportedModel.trim()
-        : matchNativeChatCatalogModelId({ ...catalog, models }, reportedModel)
+        : matchNativeChatCatalogModelId({ ...catalog, models }, reportedModel, {
+            allowUnlisted: agent === 'codex'
+          })
     if (!matched || appliedReportedModelRef.current === matched) {
       return
     }
diff --git a/src/shared/native-chat-session-option-state.test.ts b/src/shared/native-chat-session-option-state.test.ts
index 7fa100abe23..31746ba7889 100644
--- a/src/shared/native-chat-session-option-state.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/native-chat-session-option-state.test.ts
@@ -48,6 +48,35 @@ describe('applyNativeChatReportedSessionOptions', () => {
 })
 
 describe('matchNativeChatCatalogModelId', () => {
+  it.each(['gpt-6.1-sol', 'gpt-5.5-custom', 'custom/Model-v2'])(
+    'keeps the exact unlisted selector %s only when requested',
+    (reported) => {
+      expect(matchNativeChatCatalogModelId(CODEX_SESSION_OPTION_CATALOG, reported)).not.toBe(
+        reported
+      )
+      expect(
+        matchNativeChatCatalogModelId(CODEX_SESSION_OPTION_CATALOG, reported, {
+          allowUnlisted: true
+        })
+      ).toBe(reported)
+    }
+  )
+
+  it('retains known labels and rejects blank or free text as unlisted selectors', () => {
+    expect(
+      matchNativeChatCatalogModelId(CODEX_SESSION_OPTION_CATALOG, ' GPT-5.5 ', {
+        allowUnlisted: true
+      })
+    ).toBe('gpt-5.5')
+    for (const reported of ['', '  ', 'unknown model', 'unknown\nmodel']) {
+      expect(
+        matchNativeChatCatalogModelId(CODEX_SESSION_OPTION_CATALOG, reported, {
+          allowUnlisted: true
+        })
+      ).toBeNull()
+    }
+  })
+
   it('prefers the longest contained id and keeps catalog order for ties', () => {
     const catalog = {
       ...CLAUDE_SESSION_OPTION_CATALOG,
diff --git a/src/shared/native-chat-session-option-state.ts b/src/shared/native-chat-session-option-state.ts
index 12f49ea1ec0..19aec983344 100644
--- a/src/shared/native-chat-session-option-state.ts
+++ b/src/shared/native-chat-session-option-state.ts
@@ -153,10 +153,11 @@ export function applyNativeChatReportedSessionOptions(
 
 /** Resolves a hook-reported model string to a catalog id: exact id, then label,
  *  then the longest id the report contains. A catalog that seeds no models keeps
- *  the report itself. Null when nothing matches. */
+ *  the report itself. Callers may retain unlisted selectors without fuzzy id matching. */
 export function matchNativeChatCatalogModelId(
   catalog: AgentSessionOptionCatalog,
-  reported: string
+  reported: string,
+  options?: { allowUnlisted?: boolean }
 ): string | null {
   const normalized = reported.trim().toLowerCase()
   if (!normalized) {
@@ -175,6 +176,9 @@ export function matchNativeChatCatalogModelId(
   if (byLabel) {
     return byLabel.id
   }
+  if (options?.allowUnlisted && !/\s/.test(normalized)) {
+    return reported.trim()
+  }
   let containingId: string | null = null
   for (const model of catalog.models) {
     if (