diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/claude-terminal-session-options.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/claude-terminal-session-options.test.ts
index a41d62eeb7a..f3ce5d4f295 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/claude-terminal-session-options.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/claude-terminal-session-options.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,124 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import { readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen } from './claude-terminal-session-options'
 
+// Captured from a live `claude` 2.1.220 startup frame by replaying the PTY
+// bytes through @xterm/headless and calling serializeAddon.serialize({
+// scrollback: 0 }) — byte-for-byte what TerminalPane hands the scraper. The two
+// widths matter: at 100 columns the frame keeps its version and prints billing
+// on the model row, at 60 it drops the version and wraps billing to its own row.
+
+const FRESH_SESSION_100_COLS = [
+  '\u001b[?1049h\u001b[H\r',
+  '\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m╭───\u001b[1CClaude Code\u001b[1C\u001b[38;2;153;153;153mv2.1.220\u001b[1C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮\r',
+  '│\u001b[50C\u001b[2m│\u001b[1C\u001b[22;1mTips for getting started\u001b[22C\u001b[22m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[19C\u001b[39;1mWelcome back!\u001b[18C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87;22;2m│\u001b[1C\u001b[0mRun\u001b[1C/init\u001b[1Cto\u001b[1Ccreate\u001b[1Ca\u001b[1CCLAUDE.md\u001b[1Cfile\u001b[1Cwith\u001b[1Cin…\u001b[1C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[50C\u001b[2m│\u001b[1C\u001b[22m─────────────────────────────────────────────\u001b[1C│\r',
+  "│\u001b[21C ▐\u001b[48;2;0;0;0m▛███▜\u001b[49m▌\u001b[21C\u001b[2m│\u001b[1C\u001b[22;1mWhat's new\u001b[36C\u001b[22m│\r",
+  '│\u001b[21C▝▜\u001b[48;2;0;0;0m█████\u001b[49m▛▘\u001b[20C\u001b[2m│\u001b[1C\u001b[0mBug\u001b[1Cfixes\u001b[1Cand\u001b[1Creliability\u001b[1Cimprovements\u001b[8C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[21C  ▘▘ ▝▝  \u001b[20C\u001b[2m│\u001b[1C\u001b[0mAdded\u001b[1CClaude\u001b[1COpus\u001b[1C5\u001b[1C(`claude-opus-5`),\u001b[1Cnow\u001b[1Ct…\u001b[1C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[50C\u001b[2m│\u001b[1C\u001b[0mAdded\u001b[1C`sandbox.network.strictAllowlist`\u001b[1Csett…\u001b[1C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[3C\u001b[38;2;153;153;153mFable 5 with high effort · API Usage Billing\u001b[3C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87;2m│\u001b[1C\u001b[38;2;153;153;153;22;3m/release-notes for more\u001b[23C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87;23m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[19C\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m/private/tmp\u001b[19C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87;2m│\u001b[47C\u001b[22m│\r',
+  '╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\u001b[2C\u001b[38;2;255;193;7m⚠ claude.ai connectors are disabled because ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or another auth source is set and …\r',
+  '\u001b[38;2;136;136;136m────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────\r',
+  '\u001b[0m❯ \u001b[2mTry "fix typecheck errors"\r',
+  '\u001b[38;2;136;136;136;22m────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────\r',
+  '\u001b[2C\u001b[38;2;255;193;7m⚠ Transcript saving is off — inherited CLAUDE_CODE_CHILD_SESSION marker\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m · restart with CLAUDE_COD…\r',
+  '\u001b[2C\u001b[96m🤖\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m \u001b[96mFable 5\u001b[37m | \u001b[93m📁\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m \u001b[92mtmp\u001b[37m | \u001b[2C\u001b[95m⚡️ \u001b[38;2;153;153;153m \u001b[95m11.9% · 23.8k tokens\r',
+  '\u001b[2C\u001b[38;2;255;107;128m⏵⏵ bypass permissions on\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m (shift+tab to cycle)\u001b[4A\u001b[45D\u001b[0m\u001b[?2004h\u001b[?1004h\u001b[?1003h'
+].join('\n')
+
+const FRESH_SESSION_60_COLS = [
+  '\u001b[?1049h\u001b[H\r',
+  '\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m╭─ Claude Code ────────────────────────────────────────────╮\r',
+  '│\u001b[58C│\r',
+  '│\u001b[22C\u001b[39;1mWelcome back!\u001b[23C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87;22m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[58C│\r',
+  '│\u001b[25C ▐\u001b[48;2;0;0;0m▛███▜\u001b[49m▌\u001b[25C│\r',
+  '│\u001b[25C▝▜\u001b[48;2;0;0;0m█████\u001b[49m▛▘\u001b[24C│\r',
+  '│\u001b[25C  ▘▘ ▝▝  \u001b[24C│\r',
+  '│\u001b[58C│\r',
+  '│\u001b[17C\u001b[38;2;153;153;153mFable 5 with high effort\u001b[17C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[20C\u001b[38;2;153;153;153mAPI Usage Billing\u001b[21C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[23C\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m/private/tmp\u001b[23C\u001b[38;2;215;119;87m│\r',
+  '│\u001b[58C│\r',
+  '╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\r',
+  '\u001b[2C\u001b[38;2;255;193;7m⚠ claude.ai connectors are disabled because ANTHROPIC_AP…\r',
+  '\u001b[38;2;136;136;136m────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────\r',
+  '\u001b[0m❯ \u001b[2mTry "refactor <filepath>"\r',
+  '\u001b[38;2;136;136;136;22m────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────\r',
+  '\u001b[2C\u001b[38;2;255;193;7m⚠ Transcript saving is off — inherited CLAUDE_CODE_CHILD_…\r',
+  '\u001b[2C\u001b[96m🤖\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m \u001b[96mFable 5\u001b[37m | \u001b[93m📁\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m \u001b[92mtmp\u001b[37m | \u001b[2C\u001b[95m⚡️ \u001b[38;2;153;153;153m \u001b[95m11.9% · 23.8k tokens\r',
+  '\u001b[2C\u001b[38;2;255;107;128m⏵⏵ bypass permissions on\u001b[38;2;153;153;153m (shift+tab to cycle)\u001b[4A\u001b[45D\u001b[0m\u001b[?2004h\u001b[?1004h\u001b[?1003h'
+].join('\n')
+
 describe('Claude terminal session option detection', () => {
+  it('reads the model from a real 100-column startup frame', () => {
+    // The descriptor sits eight rows under the version, below the welcome art.
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(FRESH_SESSION_100_COLS)).toEqual({
+      model: 'fable',
+      effort: 'high'
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('reads a real 60-column frame that drops the version and wraps billing', () => {
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(FRESH_SESSION_60_COLS)).toEqual({
+      model: 'fable',
+      effort: 'high'
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('reports nothing rather than release-notes prose when the model row is bare', () => {
+    // Why: a custom model with its billing wrapped away carries no descriptor
+    // metadata, so nothing in the frame identifies it. The panel shares rows
+    // with the art and its borders collide (`││`) — reading past them would
+    // make panel prose win the search and report a sentence as the model.
+    const screen = [
+      '╭─── Claude Codev2.1.220 ───────────────────────╮',
+      '││Runs faster · uses fewer tokens│',
+      '│ ▐▛███▜▌│What‽s new│',
+      '│acme-frontier│',
+      '│API Usage Billing│',
+      '│/repo││',
+      '╰───────────────────────────────────────────────╯'
+    ].join('\r\n')
+
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(screen)).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('reads an effort suffix the frame truncated to an ellipsis', () => {
+    const screen =
+      'Claude Code v2.1.220\r\n' +
+      'Opus 5 (1M context) with high… · API Usage Billing\r\n' +
+      '~/repo'
+
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(screen)).toEqual({
+      model: 'opus',
+      effort: 'high'
+    })
+  })
+
   it('reads the current model and effort from Claude header chrome', () => {
     const screen =
       '\u001b[1mClaude Code\u001b[0m v2.1.211\r\n' +
@@ -63,4 +180,60 @@ describe('Claude terminal session option detection', () => {
       readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen('I recommend Opus 4.8 for this task.')
     ).toBeNull()
   })
+
+  it('recovers a custom model name that is not in the catalog', () => {
+    const screen =
+      '\u001b[1mClaude Code\u001b[0m v2.1.211\r\n' +
+      '\u001b[38;2;102;102;102mmy-custom-model with high effort · API Usage Billing\r\n' +
+      '~/repo'
+
+    // Custom models have no catalog options, so effort is intentionally dropped.
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(screen)).toEqual({
+      model: 'my-custom-model'
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('recovers a custom model with no effort suffix', () => {
+    const screen = 'Claude Code v2.1.211\r\ncompany/internal-opus · API Usage Billing\r\n~/repo'
+
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(screen)).toEqual({
+      model: 'company/internal-opus'
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('keeps a custom model containing a catalog label', () => {
+    const screen = 'Claude Code v2.1.211\r\ncompany/my-haiku-v2 · API Usage Billing\r\n~/repo'
+
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(screen)).toEqual({
+      model: 'company/my-haiku-v2'
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('keeps a custom model whose name only starts with a catalog family', () => {
+    // Why: the family must match as a whole leading word, not a bare prefix, or
+    // every vendor slug built off a family name would be claimed as that model.
+    const screen = 'Claude Code v2.1.211\r\nopus-internal-v3 · API Usage Billing\r\n~/repo'
+
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(screen)).toEqual({
+      model: 'opus-internal-v3'
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('ignores catalog labels outside the descriptor row', () => {
+    const screen = 'Claude Code v2.1.211\r\nacme-frontier · API Usage Billing\r\n~/work/Haiku'
+
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(screen)).toEqual({
+      model: 'acme-frontier'
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('recovers a custom model when xterm joins the descriptor to the header', () => {
+    const screen =
+      '\u001b[?1049h\u001b[H▐▛███▜▌Claude Codev2.1.211' +
+      '▝▜█████▛▘acme-frontier with medium effort · API Usage Billing'
+
+    expect(readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(screen)).toEqual({
+      model: 'acme-frontier'
+    })
+  })
 })
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/claude-terminal-session-options.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/claude-terminal-session-options.ts
index 7a1e5b8fbd8..185897e8e79 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/claude-terminal-session-options.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/native-chat/claude-terminal-session-options.ts
@@ -11,12 +11,99 @@ const EFFORT_ID_BY_LABEL: Record<string, string> = {
   max: 'max'
 }
 
+// Why: narrow panes elide the trailing `effort` word to an ellipsis, so the
+// level itself is the only part of the suffix we can rely on.
+const CLAUDE_MODEL_EFFORT =
+  /\bwith\s+(extra high|xhigh|medium|high|low|max)(?:\s+effort\b|\s*…|\s*$)/i
+
+// Claude's startup frame. Chat text uses an em dash rather than these box
+// characters, so a leading corner is safe proof that a row is chrome.
+const FRAME_TOP = '╭'
+const FRAME_BOTTOM = '╰'
+const FRAME_COLUMN = '│'
+
+/** Rows of the visible screen, ANSI-stripped and whitespace-collapsed. */
 function normalizedScreenLines(screen: string): string[] {
   return stripScrollbackAnsi(screen)
     .split('\n')
     .map((line) => line.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim())
 }
 
+function isClaudeHeaderRow(line: string): boolean {
+  // No trailing word boundary: serialization drops the gap before the version,
+  // leaving `Claude Codev2.1.220`.
+  if (!/\bClaude Code/i.test(line)) {
+    return false
+  }
+  // Why: panes under ~70 columns drop the version from the frame entirely, so
+  // accept the frame corner as the alternative proof this is Claude's chrome.
+  // xterm serialization also drops cursor-positioning cells between the product
+  // name and version, producing `Claude Codev2.1.211`.
+  return /\bClaude Code\s*v?\d+(?:\.\d+){1,2}\b/i.test(line) || line.startsWith(FRAME_TOP)
+}
+
+/** The frame's leftmost cell on a row. Reading up to the next column border
+ *  keeps the release-notes panel out: on rows whose left cell is empty the
+ *  borders collide (`││`) and this yields nothing rather than the panel text. */
+function frameCell(line: string): string {
+  if (line.startsWith(FRAME_COLUMN)) {
+    const afterBorder = line.slice(FRAME_COLUMN.length)
+    const columnEnd = afterBorder.indexOf(FRAME_COLUMN)
+    return (columnEnd < 0 ? afterBorder : afterBorder.slice(0, columnEnd)).trim()
+  }
+  // Unframed buffers put the descriptor on the row directly, behind box art.
+  return line.replace(/^[^A-Za-z0-9]+/, '').trim()
+}
+
+/** Whether a cell carries the metadata Claude only prints on the model row, so
+ *  ordinary frame text is never mistaken for a model. */
+function isModelDescriptorCell(cell: string): boolean {
+  return cell.includes('·') || CLAUDE_MODEL_EFFORT.test(cell)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Claude prints the model descriptor near the bottom of its startup frame, with
+ * the welcome art and the release-notes panel in between — it is not adjacent to
+ * the version row. Search the frame from the bottom up so the panel's own text
+ * can never win over the descriptor.
+ */
+function claudeModelDescriptorCell(lines: string[], headerIndex: number): string | null {
+  const frameBottom = lines.findIndex(
+    (line, index) => index > headerIndex && line.startsWith(FRAME_BOTTOM)
+  )
+  // Why: an unframed buffer gives no bottom to bound the search, so keep the
+  // original tight window rather than reaching into conversation text.
+  const lastRow = frameBottom > 0 ? frameBottom - 1 : Math.min(headerIndex + 2, lines.length - 1)
+  for (let index = lastRow; index > headerIndex; index -= 1) {
+    const cell = frameCell(lines[index] ?? '')
+    if (isModelDescriptorCell(cell)) {
+      return cell
+    }
+  }
+  // xterm serialization can join the descriptor onto the version row itself.
+  const joined = frameCell((lines[headerIndex] ?? '').replace(/^.*?\bClaude Code\s*v?[\d.]*/i, ''))
+  return isModelDescriptorCell(joined) ? joined : null
+}
+
+/** The displayed model name, without the effort suffix or billing tail. */
+function parseClaudeModelName(cell: string): string | null {
+  // split always yields a non-empty first segment for a non-empty cell.
+  const beforeBilling = cell.split('·')[0]!
+  const effort = beforeBilling.match(CLAUDE_MODEL_EFFORT)
+  const name = (
+    effort?.index === undefined ? beforeBilling : beforeBilling.slice(0, effort.index)
+  ).trim()
+  return name || null
+}
+
+/** Whether the reported name is this catalog family, optionally followed by the
+ *  resolved version the header appends. */
+function leadsWithLabel(reportedModel: string, label: string): boolean {
+  const name = reportedModel.toLowerCase()
+  const family = label.toLowerCase()
+  return name === family || name.startsWith(`${family} `)
+}
+
 export function readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(
   screen: string | null | undefined
 ): Record<string, SessionOptionValue> | null {
@@ -24,28 +111,26 @@ export function readClaudeSessionOptionsFromTerminalScreen(
     return null
   }
   const lines = normalizedScreenLines(screen)
-  const headerIndex = lines.findIndex((line) =>
-    // xterm serialization can remove cursor-positioning cells between the
-    // product name and version, producing `Claude Codev2.1.211`.
-    /\bClaude Code\s*v?\d+(?:\.\d+){1,2}\b/i.test(line)
-  )
+  const headerIndex = lines.findIndex(isClaudeHeaderRow)
   if (headerIndex < 0) {
     return null
   }
-  // Why: only Claude's fixed header rows describe live state; conversation
-  // text and old command confirmations elsewhere in the buffer can be stale.
-  const header = lines.slice(headerIndex, headerIndex + 3).join(' ')
-  const catalog = getAgentSessionOptionCatalog('claude')
-  const model = [...(catalog?.models ?? [])]
-    .sort((left, right) => right.label.length - left.label.length)
-    .find(({ label }) => header.toLowerCase().includes(label.toLowerCase()))
-  if (!model) {
+  const descriptorCell = claudeModelDescriptorCell(lines, headerIndex)
+  const reportedModel = descriptorCell ? parseClaudeModelName(descriptorCell) : null
+  if (!reportedModel) {
     return null
   }
+  const catalog = getAgentSessionOptionCatalog('claude')
+  // Why: catalog labels are version-neutral family names while the frame names
+  // the resolved model ("Opus 5 (1M context)"), so the family has to match as a
+  // leading word. Anchoring is what keeps `company/my-haiku-v2` out of `haiku`.
+  const model = catalog?.models.find(({ label }) => leadsWithLabel(reportedModel, label))
+  if (!model) {
+    // A custom model carries no catalog options, so no effort is reported.
+    return { model: reportedModel }
+  }
   const result: Record<string, SessionOptionValue> = { model: model.id }
-  const effortLabel = header.match(
-    /\bwith\s+(low|medium|high|extra high|xhigh|max)\s+effort\b/i
-  )?.[1]
+  const effortLabel = descriptorCell?.match(CLAUDE_MODEL_EFFORT)?.[1]
   const effort = effortLabel ? EFFORT_ID_BY_LABEL[effortLabel.toLowerCase()] : undefined
   if (effort && model.options.some((option) => option.id === 'effort')) {
     result.effort = effort