diff --git a/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-goal-steering.test.ts b/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-goal-steering.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f8136c685a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-goal-steering.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { AGENT_JOURNAL_THREAD_SCOPE } from '../../../shared/agent-session-journal-types'
+import { agentSessionFailureFact } from '../../../shared/agent-session-failure'
+import { agentSessionFailureWords } from '../../../shared/agent-session-failure-words'
+import {
+  createQueuedMessageTestRig,
+  eventually,
+  QUEUED_RIG_CALLER,
+  type QueuedMessageTestRig
+} from './structured-agent-session-queued-message-rig.test-fixture'
+import {
+  HOST_TEST_SESSION as SESSION,
+  HOST_TEST_THREAD as THREAD,
+  hostTestOperationId
+} from './structured-agent-session-host-test-data'
+
+let rig: QueuedMessageTestRig
+
+beforeEach(async () => {
+  rig = await createQueuedMessageTestRig({
+    restartable: true,
+    reportsModel: 'gpt-ran',
+    reportsEffort: 'high'
+  })
+})
+
+afterEach(() => rig.dispose())
+
+/** Codex goal turns have no ordinary Orca submission as their opener. */
+async function startGoalTurn(
+  firstChoices?: Readonly<Record<string, string>>,
+  beforeGoal?: () => Promise<void>
+): Promise<void> {
+  const first = await rig.workingSend(firstChoices)
+  await rig.settleAccepted(first, 'first')
+  await beforeGoal?.()
+  rig.host.deps.adapter.changeThreadGoal = vi.fn(async () => ({ ok: true as const }))
+  const change = { kind: 'set' as const, objective: 'Keep improving the project' }
+  expect(
+    await rig.host.changeThreadGoal(QUEUED_RIG_CALLER, {
+      envelope: rig.envelope({ change }, 'agentSession.threadGoal', hostTestOperationId()),
+      change
+    })
+  ).toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+  rig.providerEvents().appendItem(
+    { provider: 'codex', threadId: THREAD, turnId: 'goal-turn', ordinal: 99 },
+    {
+      kind: 'turn',
+      turnId: 'goal-turn',
+      state: 'running',
+      userItemId: `codex:${THREAD}:goal-turn:0`
+    },
+    { turnScope: AGENT_JOURNAL_THREAD_SCOPE }
+  )
+  await rig.host.flushStreamedEvents(SESSION)
+}
+
+it.each<{ label: string; choices: Readonly<Record<string, string>> }>([
+  { label: 'matching', choices: { model: 'gpt-ran', effort: 'high' } },
+  { label: 'inherited', choices: {} },
+  { label: 'partly inherited', choices: { model: 'gpt-ran' } }
+])('delivers $label choices while the goal turn is still running', async ({ choices }) => {
+  await startGoalTurn()
+  const steering = rig.send('Include the idle machine too', undefined, { carried: choices })
+  expect(await steering.result).toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+  await eventually(() => expect(rig.dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2))
+  expect((await rig.submission(steering.id))?.handedOverAt).toBeDefined()
+  expect(rig.host.currentWork(SESSION)?.working()).toBe(true)
+  expect(
+    rig.host.collaboratorsForTests().sessions.get(SESSION)?.journal.newestTurn()
+  ).toMatchObject({ turnId: 'goal-turn', state: 'running' })
+  expect(rig.cancelTurn).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+})
+
+it.each([
+  { label: 'model', choices: { model: 'other-model', effort: 'high' } },
+  { label: 'effort', choices: { model: 'gpt-ran', effort: 'low' } }
+])('holds a different $label until the goal turn ends', async ({ choices }) => {
+  await startGoalTurn()
+  const steering = rig.send('Use different choices', undefined, { carried: choices })
+  expect(await steering.result).toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+  await rig.host.collaboratorsForTests().conversationDelivery.loop.wake(SESSION)
+  expect(rig.dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+  expect((await rig.submission(steering.id))?.handedOverAt).toBeUndefined()
+  rig
+    .providerEvents()
+    .appendItem(
+      { provider: 'codex', threadId: THREAD, turnId: 'goal-turn', ordinal: 99 },
+      { kind: 'turn', turnId: 'goal-turn', state: 'completed' },
+      { turnScope: AGENT_JOURNAL_THREAD_SCOPE }
+    )
+  await rig.host.flushStreamedEvents(SESSION)
+  await eventually(() => expect(rig.dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2))
+  expect(rig.dispatch.mock.calls[1]?.[0].executionOptions).toEqual(choices)
+})
+
+it('steers inherited choices without inventing an unreported model', async () => {
+  await rig.dispose()
+  rig = await createQueuedMessageTestRig({ restartable: true })
+  await startGoalTurn()
+  const steering = rig.send('Keep going with the current choices')
+  expect(await steering.result).toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+  await eventually(() => expect(rig.dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2))
+  expect(rig.dispatch.mock.calls[1]?.[0].executionOptions).toEqual({})
+  expect(rig.store.getRecord(SESSION)?.options).toBeUndefined()
+})
+
+it('does not assume an explicit choice matches when the child has not reported it', async () => {
+  await rig.dispose()
+  rig = await createQueuedMessageTestRig({ restartable: true })
+  await startGoalTurn()
+  const steering = rig.send('Use a specific model', undefined, {
+    carried: { model: 'gpt-ran' }
+  })
+  expect(await steering.result).toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+  await rig.host.collaboratorsForTests().conversationDelivery.loop.wake(SESSION)
+  expect(rig.dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+  expect((await rig.submission(steering.id))?.handedOverAt).toBeUndefined()
+})
+
+it.each([
+  { label: 'steers the overriding choices', choices: { model: 'other-model' }, dispatches: 2 },
+  { label: 'holds the reported model', choices: { model: 'gpt-ran' }, dispatches: 1 }
+])(
+  'compares with the last turn/start override the goal inherits: $label',
+  async ({ choices, dispatches }) => {
+    await startGoalTurn({ model: 'other-model', effort: 'high' })
+    const steering = rig.send('Follow up', undefined, { carried: { ...choices, effort: 'high' } })
+    expect(await steering.result).toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+    await rig.host.collaboratorsForTests().conversationDelivery.loop.wake(SESSION)
+    expect(rig.dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(dispatches)
+  }
+)
+
+it('compares with a send that set the thread choices before its turn rejected it', async () => {
+  await startGoalTurn(undefined, async () => {
+    const stopped = await rig.workingSend({ model: 'other-model', effort: 'high' })
+    await rig.host.settleLateDispatch({
+      sessionId: SESSION,
+      clientMessageId: stopped,
+      state: 'rejected',
+      ...agentSessionFailureWords(agentSessionFailureFact('cancelled'), { surface: 'rejection' }),
+      answeredInTurn: {
+        turn: { provider: 'codex', threadId: THREAD, turnId: 'turn-stopped', ordinal: 0 },
+        via: 'start'
+      }
+    })
+  })
+  const steering = rig.send('Back to the reported model', undefined, {
+    carried: { model: 'gpt-ran', effort: 'high' }
+  })
+  expect(await steering.result).toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+  await rig.host.collaboratorsForTests().conversationDelivery.loop.wake(SESSION)
+  expect(rig.dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+})
diff --git a/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-message-options.ts b/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-message-options.ts
index 6e06dd7f957..5b8f237cb47 100644
--- a/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-message-options.ts
+++ b/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-message-options.ts
@@ -38,13 +38,33 @@ export function waitsForCodexTurnOptions(
   if (turn?.state !== 'running') {
     return false
   }
-  const active = journal.submissions().find((submission) => {
-    if (submission.handedOverAt === undefined) {
-      return false
-    }
-    return agentJournalSubmissionKey(submission.clientMessageId) === turn.userItemId
-  })
-  return active
-    ? !sameOptions(active.options, next.options, structuredAgentSessionChildRan(child))
-    : true
+  const handed = journal.submissions().filter((submission) => submission.handedOverAt !== undefined)
+  const opener = handed.find(
+    (submission) => agentJournalSubmissionKey(submission.clientMessageId) === turn.userItemId
+  )
+  const onChild = handed.filter((submission) => submission.fence === child.fence)
+  // An unechoed send may own this turn; joining it first would reorder the thread.
+  if (!opener && onChild.some((submission) => submission.dispatchState === 'pending')) {
+    return true
+  }
+  const active =
+    opener ??
+    // Goal continuations have no opener and run on this child's last turn/start choices.
+    onChild
+      // A send rejected after its turn opened still set the thread's choices.
+      .filter((submission) => submission.dispatchState !== 'rejected' || submission.answeredInTurn)
+      .reduce<AgentJournalSubmission | undefined>(
+        (newest, submission) =>
+          newest && (newest.handedOverAt ?? 0) > (submission.handedOverAt ?? 0)
+            ? newest
+            : submission,
+        undefined
+      )
+  const ran = structuredAgentSessionChildRan(child)
+  if (active) {
+    return !sameOptions(active.options, next.options, ran)
+  }
+  return OPTION_ORDER.some(
+    (key) => next.options?.[key] !== undefined && next.options[key] !== ran?.[key]
+  )
 }
diff --git a/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-queued-message-rig.test-fixture.ts b/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-queued-message-rig.test-fixture.ts
index 53e6e11ba20..a16380cf7cc 100644
--- a/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-queued-message-rig.test-fixture.ts
+++ b/src/main/native-chat/agent-session-wire/structured-agent-session-queued-message-rig.test-fixture.ts
@@ -182,8 +182,8 @@ export async function createQueuedMessageTestRig(
   }
 
   /** Wait for startup proof before the first send can hold work. */
-  async function workingSend(): Promise<string> {
-    const { id, result } = send('work on this')
+  async function workingSend(carried?: RigSendOptions['carried']): Promise<string> {
+    const { id, result } = send('work on this', undefined, carried ? { carried } : undefined)
     await result
     await eventually(async () => {
       if (host.collaboratorsForTests().sessions.get(SESSION)?.child?.phase === 'starting') {