fix(settings): show live models in default model picker and apply to new chats (#872) (#900)

* fix(settings): show live models in default model picker and apply to new chats (#872)

Two related bugs:
1. Settings > Preferences > Default Model dropdown only showed static models
   from /api/models — live-fetched models (e.g. @nous:anthropic/claude-opus-4.7)
   were missing. Now calls _fetchLiveModels() on the settings picker too.
2. New chats ignored the saved default model preference — they always used the
   chat-header dropdown value (which reflects the previous session's model).
   Now newSession() uses the saved default_model and syncs the dropdown.

Extracted _addLiveModelsToSelect() from _fetchLiveModels() so cached live models
can be applied to any <select> element (chat-header or settings picker).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(tests): update live-model prefix tests for _addLiveModelsToSelect extraction

The tests searched for og.dataset.provider, _isPortalFetch, and openrouter
exclusion patterns inside _fetchLiveModels(). These were extracted into
_addLiveModelsToSelect() as part of the #872 fix. Updated regex targets to
check _addLiveModelsToSelect first, falling back to _fetchLiveModels.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* chore: add multi-tab note on window._defaultModel

Clarifies that window._defaultModel is per-page-load and not synced
across browser tabs, following maintainer feedback on #889.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* chore: CHANGELOG for v0.50.170

* chore: trigger PR refresh after rebase

---------

Co-authored-by: fr33m1nd <bergeouss@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: nesquena-hermes <nesquena-hermes@users.noreply.github.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -29,6 +29,11 @@
   workspace subtree) and never enumerate blocked system roots. (`api/routes.py`,
   `api/workspace.py`, `static/panels.js`, `static/style.css`) (partial for #616)
 
+## [v0.50.170] — 2026-04-23
+
+### Fixed
+- **Settings default model picker shows live-fetched models** — the Settings → Preferences → Default Model dropdown previously only showed static models from `_PROVIDER_MODELS`. It now calls `_fetchLiveModels()` via the new `_addLiveModelsToSelect()` helper, consistent with the chat-header dropdown. New sessions also respect the saved default model (`window._defaultModel`) instead of always reading the chat-header value, which reflected the previous session's model. (`static/ui.js`, `static/sessions.js`, `static/panels.js`) Closes #872. Co-authored by @bergeouss.
+
 ## [v0.50.163] — 2026-04-23
 
 ### Fixed

static/panels.js

@@ -1431,7 +1431,7 @@ async function loadSettingsPanel(){
       setLocale(resolvedLanguage);
       if(typeof applyLocaleToDOM==='function') applyLocaleToDOM();
     }
-    // Populate model dropdown from /api/models
+    // Populate model dropdown from /api/models + live model fetch (#872)
     const modelSel=$('settingsModel');
     if(modelSel){
       modelSel.innerHTML='';
@@ -1441,6 +1441,7 @@ async function loadSettingsPanel(){
         for(const g of ((models||{}).groups||[])){
           const og=document.createElement('optgroup');
           og.label=g.provider;
+          if(g.provider_id) og.dataset.provider=g.provider_id;
           for(const m of g.models){
             const opt=document.createElement('option');
             opt.value=m.id;opt.textContent=m.label;
@@ -1448,6 +1449,11 @@ async function loadSettingsPanel(){
           }
           modelSel.appendChild(og);
         }
+        // Append live-fetched models for the active provider, same as the
+        // chat-header dropdown does via _fetchLiveModels() (#872).
+        if(models.active_provider && typeof _fetchLiveModels==='function'){
+          _fetchLiveModels(models.active_provider, modelSel);
+        }
       }catch(e){}
       _settingsHermesDefaultModelOnOpen=(models&&models.default_model)||'';
       modelSel.value=_settingsHermesDefaultModelOnOpen;

static/sessions.js

@@ -62,12 +62,23 @@ async function newSession(flash){
   const switchWs=S._profileSwitchWorkspace;
   S._profileSwitchWorkspace=null;
   const inheritWs=switchWs||(S.session?S.session.workspace:null)||(S._profileDefaultWorkspace||null);
-  const data=await api('/api/session/new',{method:'POST',body:JSON.stringify({model:$('modelSelect').value,workspace:inheritWs,profile:S.activeProfile||'default'})});
+  // Use the saved default model for new sessions (#872). The user's saved
+  // default_model (from Settings) takes priority over the chat-header dropdown
+  // value, which reflects the *previous* session's model. Fall back to the
+  // dropdown value only when no default_model is configured.
+  const newModel=window._defaultModel||$('modelSelect').value;
+  const data=await api('/api/session/new',{method:'POST',body:JSON.stringify({model:newModel,workspace:inheritWs,profile:S.activeProfile||'default'})});
   S.session=data.session;S.messages=data.session.messages||[];
   S.lastUsage={...(data.session.last_usage||{})};
   if(flash)S.session._flash=true;
   localStorage.setItem('hermes-webui-session',S.session.session_id);
   _setSessionViewedCount(S.session.session_id, S.session.message_count || 0);
+  // Sync chat-header dropdown to the session's model so the UI reflects
+  // the default model the server actually used (#872).
+  if(S.session.model && S.session.model!==$('modelSelect').value && typeof _applyModelToDropdown==='function'){
+    _applyModelToDropdown(S.session.model,$('modelSelect'));
+    if(typeof syncModelChip==='function') syncModelChip();
+  }
   // Reset per-session visual state: a fresh chat is idle even if another
   // conversation is still streaming in the background.
   S.busy=false;

static/ui.js

@@ -84,6 +84,9 @@ async function populateModelDropdown(){
     if(!data.groups||!data.groups.length) return; // keep HTML defaults
     // Store active provider globally so the send path can warn on mismatch
     window._activeProvider=data.active_provider||null;
+    // Store default model so newSession() can apply it (#872).
+    // Per-page-load — not synced across browser tabs.
+    window._defaultModel=data.default_model||null;
     // Clear existing options
     sel.innerHTML='';
     _dynamicModelLabels={};
@@ -118,72 +121,61 @@ async function populateModelDropdown(){
 // Cache so we don't re-fetch on every page load
 const _liveModelCache={};
 
+function _addLiveModelsToSelect(provider, models, sel){
+  if(!provider||!models||!models.length||!sel) return 0;
+  const currentVal=sel.value;
+  let providerGroup=null;
+  for(const og of sel.querySelectorAll('optgroup')){
+    if(og.dataset.provider&&og.dataset.provider===provider){
+      providerGroup=og; break;
+    }
+    if(og.label&&og.label.toLowerCase().includes(provider.toLowerCase())){
+      providerGroup=og; break;
+    }
+  }
+  if(!providerGroup){
+    providerGroup=document.createElement('optgroup');
+    providerGroup.label=provider.charAt(0).toUpperCase()+provider.slice(1)+' (live)';
+    sel.appendChild(providerGroup);
+  }
+  const existingIds=new Set([...sel.options].map(o=>o.value));
+  let added=0;
+  const _ap=(window._activeProvider||'').toLowerCase();
+  const _isPortalFetch=_ap && _ap!=='openrouter' && _ap!=='custom' && provider===_ap;
+  for(const m of models){
+    let mid=m.id;
+    if(_isPortalFetch && !mid.startsWith('@')){
+      mid=`@${provider}:${mid}`;
+    }
+    if(existingIds.has(mid)) continue;
+    const opt=document.createElement('option');
+    opt.value=mid;
+    opt.textContent=m.label||m.id;
+    opt.title='Live model — fetched from provider';
+    providerGroup.appendChild(opt);
+    _dynamicModelLabels[mid]=m.label||m.id;
+    added++;
+  }
+  if(added>0 && currentVal) _applyModelToDropdown(currentVal, sel);
+  return added;
+}
+
 async function _fetchLiveModels(provider, sel){
   if(!provider||!sel) return;
-  // Don't fetch for providers where we know it's unsupported or unnecessary
+  // Already fetched — apply cached models to this select element (#872)
-  // All providers now supported via agent's provider_model_ids() — no exclusions needed
+  if(_liveModelCache[provider]){
-  if(_liveModelCache[provider]) return; // already fetched this session
+    const added=_addLiveModelsToSelect(provider,_liveModelCache[provider],sel);
+    if(added>0 && typeof syncModelChip==='function') syncModelChip();
+    return;
+  }
   try{
     const url=new URL('api/models/live',location.href);
     url.searchParams.set('provider',provider);
     const data=await fetch(url.href,{credentials:'include'}).then(r=>r.json());
     if(!data.models||!data.models.length) return;
     _liveModelCache[provider]=data.models;
-    // Remember current selection before rebuilding options
+    const added=_addLiveModelsToSelect(provider,data.models,sel);
-    const currentVal=sel.value;
-    // Rebuild the optgroup for this provider with live models
-    // Keep other providers' optgroups intact
-    let providerGroup=null;
-    for(const og of sel.querySelectorAll('optgroup')){
-      // Prefer exact data-provider match (set from provider_id in API response)
-      // over substring label match — avoids false positives like 'zai' not matching
-      // 'Z.AI / GLM' and vice versa.
-      if(og.dataset.provider&&og.dataset.provider===provider){
-        providerGroup=og; break;
-      }
-      if(og.label&&og.label.toLowerCase().includes(provider.toLowerCase())){
-        providerGroup=og; break;
-      }
-    }
-    if(!providerGroup){
-      // No existing group — add a new one
-      providerGroup=document.createElement('optgroup');
-      providerGroup.label=provider.charAt(0).toUpperCase()+provider.slice(1)+' (live)';
-      sel.appendChild(providerGroup);
-    }
-    // Rebuild options from live data
-    const existingIds=new Set([...sel.options].map(o=>o.value));
-    let added=0;
-    // Apply @provider: prefix to live-fetched model IDs (mirrors the server-side
-    // behaviour for static lists).  Portal providers like Nous return upstream
-    // vendor IDs (e.g. "minimax/minimax-m2.7", "anthropic/claude-opus-4.7") —
-    // without a `@nous:` prefix, `resolve_model_provider()` sees the slash and
-    // mis-routes via OpenRouter → 404.  Prefixing with `@${provider}:` makes
-    // the portal hint explicit so routing honours it (#854).
-    //
-    // Scope: only apply the prefix when this fetch is for the active provider
-    // and that provider is a portal (not OpenRouter / custom, which use bare
-    // or cross-namespace IDs natively).  Skip IDs that already carry an
-    // `@prefix:` — they've already been disambiguated upstream.
-    const _ap=(window._activeProvider||'').toLowerCase();
-    const _isPortalFetch=_ap && _ap!=='openrouter' && _ap!=='custom' && provider===_ap;
-    for(const m of data.models){
-      let mid=m.id;
-      if(_isPortalFetch && !mid.startsWith('@')){
-        mid=`@${provider}:${mid}`;
-      }
-      if(existingIds.has(mid)) continue; // already shown from static list
-      const opt=document.createElement('option');
-      opt.value=mid;
-      opt.textContent=m.label||m.id;
-      opt.title='Live model — fetched from provider';
-      providerGroup.appendChild(opt);
-      _dynamicModelLabels[mid]=m.label||m.id;
-      added++;
-    }
     if(added>0){
-      // Restore selection
-      if(currentVal) _applyModelToDropdown(currentVal, sel);
       if(typeof syncModelChip==='function') syncModelChip();
       console.log('[hermes] Live models loaded for',provider+':',added,'new models added');
     }

tests/test_byok_model_dropdown.py

@@ -309,11 +309,14 @@ class TestProviderIdInGroupResponse:
 
     def test_fetch_live_models_prefers_data_provider_match(self):
         src = read("static/ui.js")
-        m = re.search(r'function _fetchLiveModels\b.*?\n\}', src, re.DOTALL)
+        # Live model optgroup matching was extracted to _addLiveModelsToSelect (#872)
-        assert m, "_fetchLiveModels not found"
+        m = re.search(r'function _addLiveModelsToSelect\b.*?\n\}', src, re.DOTALL)
+        if not m:
+            m = re.search(r'function _fetchLiveModels\b.*?\n\}', src, re.DOTALL)
+        assert m, "_addLiveModelsToSelect or _fetchLiveModels not found"
         fn = m.group(0)
         assert 'og.dataset.provider' in fn, (
-            "_fetchLiveModels must check og.dataset.provider===provider before "
+            "_addLiveModelsToSelect must check og.dataset.provider===provider before "
             "falling back to label substring match"
         )
         # The data-provider check must come before the label.includes check

tests/test_issue854_live_model_prefix.py

@@ -23,8 +23,11 @@ class TestLiveModelPrefix:
         `minimax/minimax-m2.7` from Nous's live catalog — excluding them
         leaves the bug unfixed."""
         js = _read("static/ui.js")
-        m = re.search(r'async function _fetchLiveModels\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
+        # Live model prefix logic was extracted to _addLiveModelsToSelect (#872)
-        assert m, "_fetchLiveModels not found"
+        m = re.search(r'function _addLiveModelsToSelect\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
+        if not m:
+            m = re.search(r'async function _fetchLiveModels\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
+        assert m, "_addLiveModelsToSelect or _fetchLiveModels not found"
         fn = m.group(0)
         # The prefix application block must NOT have `!mid.includes('/')`
         # as a guard — slash-prefixed IDs from portal providers also need
@@ -47,7 +50,10 @@ class TestLiveModelPrefix:
         so the prefix is ADDED when the flag is true (portal fetch), not when
         false.  Earlier revision used `!_needsPrefix` (inverted)."""
         js = _read("static/ui.js")
-        m = re.search(r'async function _fetchLiveModels\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
+        # Live model prefix logic was extracted to _addLiveModelsToSelect (#872)
+        m = re.search(r'function _addLiveModelsToSelect\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
+        if not m:
+            m = re.search(r'async function _fetchLiveModels\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
         assert m
         fn = m.group(0)
         # New flag: _isPortalFetch (positive semantics)
@@ -66,7 +72,10 @@ class TestLiveModelPrefix:
         """OpenRouter IDs are cross-namespace by design, and `custom` providers
         use user-defined bare names — neither should get a `@provider:` prefix."""
         js = _read("static/ui.js")
-        m = re.search(r'async function _fetchLiveModels\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
+        # Live model prefix logic was extracted to _addLiveModelsToSelect (#872)
+        m = re.search(r'function _addLiveModelsToSelect\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
+        if not m:
+            m = re.search(r'async function _fetchLiveModels\(.*?\n\}', js, re.DOTALL)
         assert m
         fn = m.group(0)
         assert "_ap!=='openrouter'" in fn or "_ap !== 'openrouter'" in fn, (