diff --git a/crates/rhema-claw/src/backends.rs b/crates/rhema-claw/src/backends.rs
index 5fa25a3..6b0095b 100644
--- a/crates/rhema-claw/src/backends.rs
+++ b/crates/rhema-claw/src/backends.rs
@@ -17,9 +17,11 @@
 //! file, persisted in the settings store, changeable over `/v1/providers`
 //! — the chart pins nothing.
 //!
-//! The per-kind default models are fallbacks only, in one place here:
-//! openrouter's `openrouter/auto` deliberately replaces the old
-//! copy-pasted google default — a router deserves its own router id.
+//! The per-kind default models are fallbacks only, owned by
+//! rhema-config's provider registry (`PROVIDERS`): one table, every
+//! frontend. openrouter's `openrouter/auto` deliberately replaces the
+//! old copy-pasted google default — a router deserves its own router
+//! id — and that decision now lives in the row, not in this crate.
 
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 use std::future::Future;
@@ -63,22 +65,6 @@ pub enum BackendError {
     MissingKey(String),
 }
 
-/// The default model per backend kind, when neither the operator nor the
-/// settings store names one.
-pub fn default_model_for(kind: &str) -> &'static str {
-    match kind {
-        "llama-cpp" => "local",
-        "anthropic" => "claude-sonnet-4-5",
-        "openai" => "gpt-5",
-        "openrouter" => "openrouter/auto",
-        "deepseek" => "deepseek-chat",
-        // The Coding Plan's flagship, as Z.ai's own client spells it.
-        "zai" => "GLM-5.3",
-        "copilot" => "gpt-4.1",
-        _ => "gemini-3.8-flash",
-    }
-}
-
 /// The listing of a card-backed backend, boxed for the registry; a
 /// backend without one (the mock, llama's raw id list) carries `None`.
 pub type ModelListing = Pin<Box<dyn Future<Output = Result<Vec<ModelCard>, ProviderError>> + Send>>;
@@ -526,7 +512,7 @@ pub fn construct(kind: &str, params: &ProviderParams) -> Result<Backend, Backend
         }
         _ => return Err(BackendError::UnknownKind(kind.to_owned())),
     };
-    let default_model = default_model_for(kind).to_owned();
+    let default_model = rhema_config::default_model(kind).to_owned();
     let provider = Arc::new(provider);
     Ok(Backend {
         id: kind.to_owned(),
@@ -707,7 +693,7 @@ mod tests {
             id: kind.to_owned(),
             kind: kind.to_owned(),
             provider: Arc::new(Stub),
-            default_model: default_model_for(kind).to_owned(),
+            default_model: rhema_config::default_model(kind).to_owned(),
             list_models: None,
         }
     }
diff --git a/crates/rhema-claw/src/config.rs b/crates/rhema-claw/src/config.rs
index 209f26e..174eb54 100644
--- a/crates/rhema-claw/src/config.rs
+++ b/crates/rhema-claw/src/config.rs
@@ -289,20 +289,13 @@ impl ClawConfig {
     }
 
     /// The model identifier the handler runs: the config's, or the
-    /// provider's headless default (the same fallbacks the rhema
-    /// frontend's one-shot uses). An unknown provider string reads as
-    /// google here; the binary rejects it when it resolves the backend.
+    /// provider registry's default. An unknown provider string reads
+    /// as google here; the binary rejects it when it resolves the
+    /// backend.
     pub fn resolved_model(&self) -> String {
         self.model.clone().unwrap_or_else(|| {
-            match self.provider.as_deref().unwrap_or("google") {
-                "llama-cpp" => "local",
-                "anthropic" => "claude-sonnet-4-5",
-                "openai" => "gpt-5",
-                // The Coding Plan's flagship, as Z.ai's own client spells it.
-                "zai" => "GLM-5.3",
-                _ => "gemini-3.8-flash",
-            }
-            .to_owned()
+            let provider = self.provider.as_deref().unwrap_or("google");
+            rhema_config::default_model(provider).to_owned()
         })
     }
 
@@ -577,6 +570,19 @@ ingest_token: door-key
             "claude-sonnet-4-5"
         );
         assert_eq!(config(Some("openai"), None).resolved_model(), "gpt-5");
+        // The arms the old inline match dropped: the registry answers
+        // for the whole fleet, so a provider cannot silently read as
+        // google's default.
+        assert_eq!(
+            config(Some("deepseek"), None).resolved_model(),
+            "deepseek-chat"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(config(Some("copilot"), None).resolved_model(), "gpt-4.1");
+        assert_eq!(
+            config(Some("openrouter"), None).resolved_model(),
+            "openrouter/auto"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(config(Some("zai"), None).resolved_model(), "GLM-5.3");
         // An explicit model always wins, whatever the provider.
         assert_eq!(
             config(Some("openrouter"), Some("x/y")).resolved_model(),