diff --git a/docs/chat-chain-changes/2026-10-22-http-startup-recovery.md b/docs/chat-chain-changes/2026-10-22-http-startup-recovery.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa36d96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/chat-chain-changes/2026-10-22-http-startup-recovery.md
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+date: 2026-10-22
+feature: HTTP startup and session reload after backend restart
+impact: Keep session APIs available during bridge startup and recover failed initial loads
+---
+
+PR/commit: pending.
+
+The HTTP listener, Web UI stores, routes and Socket.IO handlers are initialized
+before starting the managed Agent Bridge in the background. Bridge readiness
+continues to be checked by the existing chat handlers; the chat-run protocol is
+unchanged. The bridge manager is registered with shutdown before starting it.
+
+A failed session-list request no longer marks the list loaded or discards a
+route-selected session. Offline health polling retries after two seconds;
+reconnection reloads profiles, models and sessions. An already loaded session
+list retains its state on request failure. Chat, global-agent and history views
+handle reconnection. Batch-delete confirmation text uses Popconfirm content
+rather than becoming part of the sidebar trigger.
+
+Validation: app-store and session-order Vitest coverage; Playwright startup
+recovery (base route and direct session route), deletion confirmation and history
+deep links; build and harness checks. A real isolated built-server smoke check
+used a fake Python executable sleeping for 60 seconds and confirmed /health
+responded with status=ok before the bridge became ready. State, uploads and
+bridge endpoint were isolated under a temporary directory.
diff --git a/docs/chat-chain-changes/2026-10-22-worker-connect-readiness.md b/docs/chat-chain-changes/2026-10-22-worker-connect-readiness.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..99314aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/chat-chain-changes/2026-10-22-worker-connect-readiness.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+date: 2026-10-22
+feature: Agent Bridge worker connection readiness
+impact: Recover refused worker connections before returning a chat error
+---
+
+# Worker connection readiness recovery
+
+- Date: 2026-10-22
+- PR/commit: pending
+- Feature: Agent Bridge client, cold and idle worker connection recovery.
+- Behavior: Retry broker responses explicitly typed as worker connection refusal
+  or missing socket, within the existing connect retry budget. Keep the original
+  payload (including session and conversation history). The broker's own ping
+  does not establish worker readiness. Previously only Node-to-broker connection
+  failures were retried; Python-to-worker connect failures escaped to chat.
+- Safety: Do not replay untyped agent errors, timeouts, closed responses, or
+  resets, because the worker might already have accepted the request. Vendored
+  Python and the chat-run event contract remain unchanged.
+- Validation: focused worker readiness and existing chat/bridge tests; build and
+  harness checks.
diff --git a/docs/openapi.json b/docs/openapi.json
index ca653d5..0f458c5 100644
--- a/docs/openapi.json
+++ b/docs/openapi.json
@@ -3170,6 +3170,12 @@
                   },
                   "name": {
                     "type": "string"
+                  },
+                  "providerKey": {
+                    "type": "string"
+                  },
+                  "source": {
+                    "type": "string"
                   }
                 }
               }
@@ -7688,6 +7694,9 @@
                   "api_key": {
                     "type": "string"
                   },
+                  "api_mode": {
+                    "type": "object"
+                  },
                   "base_url": {
                     "type": "string"
                   },
diff --git a/packages/client/src/api/hermes/system.ts b/packages/client/src/api/hermes/system.ts
index 4873928..0ae5746 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/api/hermes/system.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/api/hermes/system.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ export interface AvailableModelGroup {
   builtin?: boolean
   /** Env var used by Hermes to override this provider's base URL. If present, the preset URL is editable. */
   base_url_env?: string
+  credentials_editable?: boolean
   /** Config source for custom providers. Dict-backed providers can be deleted from providers:<key>. */
   provider_source?: 'custom_providers' | 'providers'
   provider_key?: string
@@ -224,6 +225,7 @@ export async function fetchProviderModels(data: {
   provider?: string
   label?: string
   update_cache?: boolean
+  api_mode?: ProviderApiMode
 }): Promise<{ models: string[] }> {
   return request<{ models: string[] }>('/api/hermes/provider-models', {
     method: 'POST',
@@ -277,6 +279,8 @@ export async function removeCustomProvider(name: string, options: { source?: 'cu
 }
 
 export async function updateProvider(poolKey: string, data: {
+  source?: 'custom_providers' | 'providers'
+  providerKey?: string
   name?: string
   base_url?: string
   api_key?: string
diff --git a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/chat/ChatPanel.vue b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/chat/ChatPanel.vue
index cd46149..6b61625 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/chat/ChatPanel.vue
+++ b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/chat/ChatPanel.vue
@@ -1125,13 +1125,16 @@ async function handleSessionModelCustomSubmit() {
             <a-popconfirm
               v-if="isBatchMode && selectedCount > 0"
               :visible="showBatchDeleteConfirm"
+              :content="t('chat.confirmBatchDelete', { count: selectedCount })"
+              :ok-text="t('common.confirm')"
+              :cancel-text="t('common.cancel')"
               :ok-button-props="{ loading: isBatchDeleting, disabled: isBatchDeleting }"
               :cancel-button-props="{ disabled: isBatchDeleting }"
               @ok="handleBatchDeleteConfirm"
               @cancel="showBatchDeleteConfirm = false"
               @update:visible="showBatchDeleteConfirm = $event"
             >
-              <a-button type="secondary" size="mini" status="danger" :loading="isBatchDeleting" :disabled="isBatchDeleting">
+              <a-button :aria-label="t('common.delete')" type="secondary" size="mini" status="danger" :loading="isBatchDeleting" :disabled="isBatchDeleting">
                 <template #icon>
                   <svg
                     width="14"
@@ -1146,7 +1149,6 @@ async function handleSessionModelCustomSubmit() {
                   </svg>
                 </template>
               </a-button>
-              {{ t('chat.confirmBatchDelete', { count: selectedCount }) }}
             </a-popconfirm>
             <a-button
               v-if="isBatchMode"
@@ -1435,34 +1437,37 @@ async function handleSessionModelCustomSubmit() {
     >
       <template #title>{{ t('chat.newChat') }}</template>
       <div class="new-chat-form">
-        <label class="new-chat-field">
+        <div class="new-chat-field">
           <span class="new-chat-label">{{ t("sidebar.profiles") }}</span>
           <a-select
+            :aria-label="t('sidebar.profiles')"
             :model-value="newChatProfile"
             :options="newChatProfileOptions"
             :loading="newChatLoading || profilesStore.loading"
             @change="handleNewChatProfileChange"
           />
-        </label>
-        <label class="new-chat-field">
+        </div>
+        <div class="new-chat-field">
           <span class="new-chat-label">{{ t("models.provider") }}</span>
           <a-select
+            :aria-label="t('models.provider')"
             :model-value="newChatProvider"
             :options="newChatProviderOptions"
             :disabled="newChatLoading"
             @change="handleNewChatProviderChange"
           />
-        </label>
-        <label class="new-chat-field">
+        </div>
+        <div class="new-chat-field">
           <span class="new-chat-label">{{ t("models.models") }}</span>
           <a-select
+            :aria-label="t('models.models')"
             v-model="newChatModel"
             :options="newChatModelOptions"
             :disabled="newChatLoading || !newChatProvider"
             allow-search
             allow-clear
           />
-        </label>
+        </div>
         <div class="new-chat-field">
           <span class="new-chat-label">
             {{ t("chat.workspace") }}
diff --git a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/AuxiliaryModelsPanel.vue b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/AuxiliaryModelsPanel.vue
index 9fce6c8..666d478 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/AuxiliaryModelsPanel.vue
+++ b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/AuxiliaryModelsPanel.vue
@@ -282,25 +282,27 @@ watch(() => form.value.provider, (provider) => {
       :mask-closable="!saving"
     >
       <div class="auxiliary-form">
-        <label>
+        <div class="auxiliary-select-field">
           <span>{{ t('models.provider') }}</span>
           <a-select
+            :aria-label="t('models.provider')"
             v-model="form.provider"
             :options="providerOptions"
             :placeholder="t('models.chooseProvider')"
             allow-search
           />
-        </label>
-        <label>
+        </div>
+        <div class="auxiliary-select-field">
           <span>{{ t('models.defaultModel') }}</span>
           <a-select
+            :aria-label="t('models.defaultModel')"
             v-model="form.model"
             :options="modelOptions"
             :placeholder="t('models.selectModel')"
             :disabled="!form.provider || form.provider === 'auto' || form.provider === 'main'"
             allow-search
           />
-        </label>
+        </div>
         <label>
           <span>{{ t('models.auxiliaryTimeout') }}</span>
           <a-input-number
@@ -395,7 +397,8 @@ watch(() => form.value.provider, (provider) => {
   grid-template-columns: repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));
   gap: 12px;
 
-  label {
+  label,
+  .auxiliary-select-field {
     display: flex;
     flex-direction: column;
     gap: 6px;
diff --git a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderCard.vue b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderCard.vue
index 30926f6..a7efd6e 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderCard.vue
+++ b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderCard.vue
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import type { AvailableModelGroup } from '@/api/hermes/system'
 import { useModelsStore } from '@/stores/hermes/models'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/stores/hermes/app'
 import { useChatStore } from '@/stores/hermes/chat'
+import ProviderEditModal from './ProviderEditModal.vue'
+import { fetchProviderModels } from '@/api/hermes/system'
 import { checkCopilotToken, disableCopilot } from '@/api/hermes/copilot-auth'
 import { useI18n } from 'vue-i18n'
 
@@ -24,6 +26,32 @@ const isConfigBackedProvider = computed(() => isCustomProviderKey.value || (!pro
 const isCopilot = computed(() => props.provider.provider === 'copilot')
 const displayName = computed(() => props.provider.label)
 const deleting = ref(false)
+const showEditModal = ref(false)
+const fetchingUpstream = ref(false)
+const canEditProvider = computed(() => isConfigBackedProvider.value || props.provider.credentials_editable || !!props.provider.base_url_env)
+
+async function handleFetchUpstream() {
+  if (fetchingUpstream.value) return
+  fetchingUpstream.value = true
+  try {
+    const result = await fetchProviderModels({
+      provider: props.provider.provider,
+      label: props.provider.label,
+      base_url: props.provider.base_url,
+      api_key: props.provider.api_key,
+      update_cache: true,
+      api_mode: props.provider.api_mode,
+      freeOnly: props.provider.provider === 'openrouter',
+    })
+    await modelsStore.fetchProviders()
+    await appStore.reloadModels()
+    message.success(t('models.upstreamModelsFetched', { count: result.models.length }))
+  } catch (e: any) {
+    message.error(e?.message || t('models.upstreamModelsFailed'))
+  } finally {
+    fetchingUpstream.value = false
+  }
+}
 const destructiveActionLabel = computed(() => {
   if (isConfigBackedProvider.value) return t('common.delete')
   if (isCopilot.value) return t('models.disableProvider')
@@ -302,11 +330,15 @@ async function handleDelete() {
     </div>
 
     <div class="cy-panel-b card-actions">
+      <a-button size="mini" type="text" :loading="fetchingUpstream" :disabled="!provider.base_url || showEditModal" @click="handleFetchUpstream">{{ t('models.fetchUpstreamModels') }}</a-button>
+      <a-button v-if="canEditProvider" size="mini" type="text" :disabled="fetchingUpstream || deleting" @click="showEditModal = true">{{ t('common.edit') }}</a-button>
       <a-button size="mini" type="text" @click="showAliasListModal = true">{{ t('models.aliasManage') }}</a-button>
       <a-button size="mini" type="text" @click="openVisibilityModal">{{ t('models.manageVisibleModels') }}</a-button>
       <a-button size="mini" type="text" status="danger" :loading="deleting" @click="handleDelete">{{ destructiveActionLabel }}</a-button>
     </div>
 
+    <ProviderEditModal v-if="showEditModal" :provider="provider" @close="showEditModal = false" />
+
     <a-modal
       v-model:visible="showAliasListModal"
       :footer="false"
diff --git a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderEditModal.vue b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderEditModal.vue
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8237ace
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderEditModal.vue
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+<script setup lang="ts">
+import { computed, ref } from 'vue'
+import { useI18n } from 'vue-i18n'
+import { updateProvider, type AvailableModelGroup } from '@/api/hermes/system'
+import { useModelsStore } from '@/stores/hermes/models'
+import { useAppStore } from '@/stores/hermes/app'
+import { useMessage } from '@/composables/useMessage'
+
+const props = defineProps<{ provider: AvailableModelGroup }>()
+const emit = defineEmits<{ close: [] }>()
+const { t } = useI18n()
+const modelsStore = useModelsStore()
+const appStore = useAppStore()
+const message = useMessage()
+const visible = ref(true)
+const saving = ref(false)
+const baseUrl = ref(props.provider.base_url)
+const apiKey = ref('')
+const canEditBaseUrl = computed(() => props.provider.provider.startsWith('custom:') || !!props.provider.provider_source || !!props.provider.base_url_env)
+
+async function save() {
+  if (saving.value) return
+  const url = baseUrl.value.trim()
+  if (canEditBaseUrl.value) {
+    try {
+      if (!['http:', 'https:'].includes(new URL(url).protocol)) throw new Error('Invalid protocol')
+    } catch {
+      message.error(t('models.invalidBaseUrl'))
+      return
+    }
+  }
+  saving.value = true
+  try {
+    await updateProvider(props.provider.provider, {
+      ...(canEditBaseUrl.value ? { base_url: url } : {}),
+      ...(apiKey.value.trim() ? { api_key: apiKey.value.trim() } : {}),
+      source: props.provider.provider_source,
+      providerKey: props.provider.provider_key,
+    })
+    await modelsStore.fetchProviders()
+    await appStore.reloadModels()
+    message.success(t('models.providerUpdated'))
+    emit('close')
+  } catch (e: any) {
+    message.error(e?.message || t('models.providerUpdateFailed'))
+  } finally {
+    saving.value = false
+  }
+}
+</script>
+
+<template>
+  <a-modal
+    v-model:visible="visible"
+    :title="t('models.editProviderFor', { name: provider.label })"
+    width="min(560px, calc(100vw - 32px))"
+    :mask-closable="!saving"
+    :esc-to-close="!saving"
+    :closable="!saving"
+    @cancel="emit('close')"
+  >
+    <a-form :model="{ baseUrl, apiKey }" layout="vertical" class="provider-edit-form">
+      <a-form-item :label="t('models.provider')">
+        <a-input :model-value="provider.provider" disabled />
+      </a-form-item>
+      <a-form-item :label="t('models.baseUrl')">
+        <a-input v-model="baseUrl" :aria-label="t('models.baseUrl')" :disabled="saving || !canEditBaseUrl" />
+      </a-form-item>
+      <a-form-item :label="t('models.apiKey')" :extra="t('models.keepExistingKey')">
+        <a-input-password v-model="apiKey" :aria-label="t('models.apiKey')" :placeholder="t('models.keepExistingKey')" :disabled="saving" autocomplete="new-password" />
+      </a-form-item>
+    </a-form>
+    <template #footer>
+      <a-button :disabled="saving" @click="emit('close')">{{ t('common.cancel') }}</a-button>
+      <a-button type="primary" :loading="saving" @click="save">{{ t('common.save') }}</a-button>
+    </template>
+  </a-modal>
+</template>
diff --git a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderFormModal.vue b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderFormModal.vue
index 5f57ec9..69b4577 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderFormModal.vue
+++ b/packages/client/src/components/hermes/models/ProviderFormModal.vue
@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@ async function fetchModels() {
       : formData.value.name.trim() || provider
     const data = await fetchProviderModels({
       base_url: base_url.trim(),
+      api_mode: formData.value.api_mode,
       api_key: formData.value.api_key.trim(),
       provider,
       label,
diff --git a/packages/client/src/i18n/locales/en.ts b/packages/client/src/i18n/locales/en.ts
index d3e335b..e7ff020 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/i18n/locales/en.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/i18n/locales/en.ts
@@ -1211,6 +1211,14 @@ export default {
 
   // Models
   models: {
+    fetchUpstreamModels: 'Fetch models from upstream',
+    upstreamModelsFetched: 'Fetched {count} models from upstream',
+    upstreamModelsFailed: 'Failed to fetch models from upstream',
+    editProviderFor: 'Edit {name}',
+    keepExistingKey: 'Leave blank to keep the existing key',
+    invalidBaseUrl: 'Enter a valid HTTP or HTTPS Base URL',
+    providerUpdated: 'Provider configuration updated',
+    providerUpdateFailed: 'Failed to update provider configuration',
     title: 'Models',
     searchPlaceholder: 'Search models...',
     noResults: 'No results',
diff --git a/packages/client/src/i18n/locales/zh.ts b/packages/client/src/i18n/locales/zh.ts
index 59c2964..60895fc 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/i18n/locales/zh.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/i18n/locales/zh.ts
@@ -1211,6 +1211,14 @@ export default {
 
   // 模型
   models: {
+    fetchUpstreamModels: '从上游获取模型',
+    upstreamModelsFetched: '已从上游获取 {count} 个模型',
+    upstreamModelsFailed: '从上游获取模型失败',
+    editProviderFor: '修改 {name}',
+    keepExistingKey: '留空保留现有 Key',
+    invalidBaseUrl: '请输入有效的 HTTP 或 HTTPS Base URL',
+    providerUpdated: 'Provider 配置已更新',
+    providerUpdateFailed: '修改 Provider 配置失败',
     title: '模型',
     searchPlaceholder: '搜索模型...',
     noResults: '无结果',
diff --git a/packages/client/src/stores/hermes/app.ts b/packages/client/src/stores/hermes/app.ts
index 9a5ac5d..6324c8b 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/stores/hermes/app.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/stores/hermes/app.ts
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ export const useAppStore = defineStore('app', () => {
   const customModels = ref<Record<string, string[]>>({})
   const modelAliases = ref<Record<string, Record<string, string>>>({})
   const modelVisibility = ref<ModelVisibility>({})
-  const healthPollTimer = ref<ReturnType<typeof setInterval>>()
+  const healthPollTimer = ref<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>>()
+  let healthPollGeneration = 0
   const nodeVersion = ref('')
   const isDocker = ref(false)
 
@@ -301,13 +302,19 @@ export const useAppStore = defineStore('app', () => {
 
   function startHealthPolling(interval = 30000) {
     stopHealthPolling()
-    checkConnection()
-    healthPollTimer.value = setInterval(checkConnection, interval)
+    const generation = healthPollGeneration
+    const poll = async () => {
+      await checkConnection()
+      if (generation !== healthPollGeneration) return
+      healthPollTimer.value = setTimeout(poll, connected.value ? interval : Math.min(interval, 2000))
+    }
+    void poll()
   }
 
   function stopHealthPolling() {
+    healthPollGeneration++
     if (healthPollTimer.value) {
-      clearInterval(healthPollTimer.value)
+      clearTimeout(healthPollTimer.value)
       healthPollTimer.value = undefined
     }
   }
diff --git a/packages/client/src/stores/hermes/chat.ts b/packages/client/src/stores/hermes/chat.ts
index deaed59..a84bdff 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/stores/hermes/chat.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/stores/hermes/chat.ts
@@ -995,11 +995,13 @@ export const useChatStore = defineStore('chat', () => {
       } else {
         clearActiveSession()
       }
+      sessionsLoaded.value = true
+      return true
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Failed to load sessions:', err)
+      return false
     } finally {
       isLoadingSessions.value = false
-      sessionsLoaded.value = true
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/client/src/views/hermes/ChatView.vue b/packages/client/src/views/hermes/ChatView.vue
index f72277f..7407010 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/views/hermes/ChatView.vue
+++ b/packages/client/src/views/hermes/ChatView.vue
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
-import { computed, onMounted, onUnmounted, watch } from 'vue'
+import { computed, onMounted, onUnmounted, ref, watch } from 'vue'
 import { useRoute, useRouter } from 'vue-router'
 import ChatPanel from '@/components/hermes/chat/ChatPanel.vue'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/stores/hermes/app'
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ const routeProfile = computed(() => {
   return typeof value === 'string' && value.trim() ? value : null
 })
 
+const initialLoadFinished = ref(false)
+
 const productTitle = 'hermes-ui'
 const tabTitle = computed(() => {
   if (route.name !== 'hermes.session') return productTitle
@@ -39,8 +41,8 @@ onUnmounted(() => {
 })
 
 async function loadRouteSession() {
-  await chatStore.loadSessions(chatStore.sessionProfileFilter, routeSessionId.value)
-  if (routeSessionId.value && chatStore.activeSessionId !== routeSessionId.value) {
+  const loaded = await chatStore.loadSessions(chatStore.sessionProfileFilter, routeSessionId.value)
+  if (loaded && routeSessionId.value && chatStore.activeSessionId !== routeSessionId.value) {
     await router.replace({ name: 'hermes.chat' })
   }
 }
@@ -55,6 +57,16 @@ onMounted(async () => {
     settingsStore.fetchSettings(),
   ])
   await loadRouteSession()
+  initialLoadFinished.value = true
+})
+
+watch([() => appStore.connected, initialLoadFinished], async ([connected, initialized], [, wasInitialized]) => {
+  if (!connected || !initialized) return
+  if (!wasInitialized && chatStore.sessionsLoaded) return
+  await Promise.all([profilesStore.fetchProfiles(), settingsStore.fetchSettings(), appStore.loadModels()])
+  if (chatStore.isLoadingSessions) return
+  if (!chatStore.sessionsLoaded) await loadRouteSession()
+  else await chatStore.refreshSessionListOnly(chatStore.sessionProfileFilter)
 })
 
 watch([routeSessionId, routeProfile], async ([sessionId]) => {
diff --git a/packages/client/src/views/hermes/GlobalAgentView.vue b/packages/client/src/views/hermes/GlobalAgentView.vue
index f38856a..62324bc 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/views/hermes/GlobalAgentView.vue
+++ b/packages/client/src/views/hermes/GlobalAgentView.vue
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
-import { computed, onMounted, onUnmounted, watch } from 'vue'
+import { computed, onMounted, onUnmounted, ref, watch } from 'vue'
 import { useRoute, useRouter } from 'vue-router'
 import ChatPanel from '@/components/hermes/chat/ChatPanel.vue'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/stores/hermes/app'
@@ -24,9 +24,11 @@ const routeProfile = computed(() => {
   return typeof value === 'string' && value.trim() ? value : null
 })
 
+const initialLoadFinished = ref(false)
+
 async function loadRouteSession() {
-  await chatStore.loadSessions(chatStore.sessionProfileFilter, routeSessionId.value)
-  if (routeSessionId.value && chatStore.activeSessionId !== routeSessionId.value) {
+  const loaded = await chatStore.loadSessions(chatStore.sessionProfileFilter, routeSessionId.value)
+  if (loaded && routeSessionId.value && chatStore.activeSessionId !== routeSessionId.value) {
     await router.replace({ name: 'hermes.globalAgent' })
   }
 }
@@ -39,6 +41,16 @@ onMounted(async () => {
     settingsStore.fetchSettings(),
   ])
   await loadRouteSession()
+  initialLoadFinished.value = true
+})
+
+watch([() => appStore.connected, initialLoadFinished], async ([connected, initialized], [, wasInitialized]) => {
+  if (!connected || !initialized || chatStore.runtimeMode !== 'global_agent') return
+  if (!wasInitialized && chatStore.sessionsLoaded) return
+  await Promise.all([profilesStore.fetchProfiles(), settingsStore.fetchSettings(), appStore.loadModels()])
+  if (chatStore.isLoadingSessions) return
+  if (!chatStore.sessionsLoaded) await loadRouteSession()
+  else await chatStore.refreshSessionListOnly(chatStore.sessionProfileFilter)
 })
 
 onUnmounted(() => {
diff --git a/packages/client/src/views/hermes/HistoryView.vue b/packages/client/src/views/hermes/HistoryView.vue
index 2d26cdb..cad5162 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/views/hermes/HistoryView.vue
+++ b/packages/client/src/views/hermes/HistoryView.vue
@@ -332,6 +332,7 @@ async function openDefaultHistorySession(replace = false) {
 }
 
 async function syncRouteSession() {
+  if (!hermesSessionsLoaded.value) return
   const sessionId = routeSessionId.value
   if (!sessionId) return
 
@@ -379,6 +380,13 @@ onUnmounted(() => {
   window.removeEventListener('hermes:open-page-sidebar', openPageSidebar)
 })
 
+watch(() => appStore.connected, async (connected) => {
+  if (!connected || hermesSessionsLoading.value) return
+  await profilesStore.fetchProfiles()
+  await loadHermesSessions()
+  await syncRouteSession()
+})
+
 watch([routeSessionId, routeProfile], async ([sessionId]) => {
   if (!sessionId) {
     historySessionId.value = null
diff --git a/packages/client/src/views/hermes/WorkflowView.vue b/packages/client/src/views/hermes/WorkflowView.vue
index d013136..92910b9 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/views/hermes/WorkflowView.vue
+++ b/packages/client/src/views/hermes/WorkflowView.vue
@@ -2147,14 +2147,15 @@ function nodeColor(node: { data: WorkflowAgentNodeData }) {
             @press-enter="submitCreateWorkflow"
           />
         </label>
-        <label class="workflow-field">
+        <div class="workflow-field">
           <span class="workflow-field-label">{{ t('workflow.profile') }}</span>
           <a-select
+            :aria-label="t('workflow.profile')"
             v-model="createWorkflowProfile"
             :options="workflowProfileOptions"
             :loading="profilesStore.loading"
           />
-        </label>
+        </div>
         <div class="workflow-field">
           <span class="workflow-field-label">{{ t('workflow.workspace.select') }}</span>
           <FolderPicker v-model="createWorkflowWorkspace" />
diff --git a/packages/server/src/controllers/hermes/models.ts b/packages/server/src/controllers/hermes/models.ts
index 9d2251b..b1f31f3 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/controllers/hermes/models.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/controllers/hermes/models.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'fs'
 import { join } from 'path'
 import { getActiveEnvPath, getActiveAuthPath, getActiveProfileName, getProfileDir, listProfileNamesFromDisk } from '../../services/hermes/hermes-profile'
 import { readConfigYaml, readConfigYamlForProfile, updateConfigYaml, updateConfigYamlForProfile, fetchProviderModels, buildModelGroups, PROVIDER_ENV_MAP } from '../../services/config-helpers'
+import { discoverProviderModels } from '../../services/hermes/provider-model-discovery'
 import { getCompatibleCustomProviders } from '../../services/hermes/custom-providers-compat'
 import { buildProviderModelMap, PROVIDER_PRESETS } from '../../shared/providers'
 import { getCopilotModelsDetailed, resolveCopilotOAuthToken, type CopilotModelMeta } from '../../services/hermes/copilot-models'
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ const PROVIDER_MODEL_CATALOG = buildProviderModelMap()
 
 type ModelMeta = { preview?: boolean; disabled?: boolean; alias?: string }
 type ProviderApiMode = 'chat_completions' | 'codex_responses' | 'anthropic_messages' | 'bedrock_converse' | 'codex_app_server'
-type AvailableGroup = { provider: string; label: string; base_url: string; models: string[]; api_key: string; api_mode?: ProviderApiMode; builtin?: boolean; model_meta?: Record<string, ModelMeta>; available_models?: string[]; base_url_env?: string; provider_source?: 'custom_providers' | 'providers'; provider_key?: string }
+type AvailableGroup = { provider: string; label: string; base_url: string; models: string[]; api_key: string; api_mode?: ProviderApiMode; builtin?: boolean; credentials_editable?: boolean; model_meta?: Record<string, ModelMeta>; available_models?: string[]; base_url_env?: string; provider_source?: 'custom_providers' | 'providers'; provider_key?: string }
 type ModelVisibility = Record<string, ModelVisibilityRule>
 type CustomModels = Record<string, string[]>
 
@@ -366,7 +367,9 @@ async function buildAvailableForProfile(
     seenProviders.add(provider)
     const availableModels = [...new Set(models)]
     const apiMode = providerApiMode(provider, extra?.api_mode)
-    groups.push({ provider, label, base_url, models: availableModels, available_models: availableModels, api_key, ...(apiMode ? { api_mode: apiMode } : {}), ...(builtin ? { builtin: true } : {}), ...(model_meta ? { model_meta } : {}), ...(extra?.provider_source ? { provider_source: extra.provider_source } : {}), ...(extra?.provider_key ? { provider_key: extra.provider_key } : {}) })
+    groups.push({ provider, label, base_url, models: availableModels, available_models: availableModels, api_key,
+      ...(PROVIDER_ENV_MAP[provider]?.base_url_env ? { base_url_env: PROVIDER_ENV_MAP[provider].base_url_env } : {}),
+      ...(PROVIDER_ENV_MAP[provider]?.api_key_env ? { credentials_editable: true } : {}), ...(apiMode ? { api_mode: apiMode } : {}), ...(builtin ? { builtin: true } : {}), ...(model_meta ? { model_meta } : {}), ...(extra?.provider_source ? { provider_source: extra.provider_source } : {}), ...(extra?.provider_key ? { provider_key: extra.provider_key } : {}) })
   }
 
   const copilotEnabled = appConfig.copilotEnabled === true
@@ -421,7 +424,7 @@ async function buildAvailableForProfile(
       let models = [...new Set([cp.model, ...configuredModels, ...builtinCatalogModels].filter(Boolean) as string[])]
       const cachedModels = getCachedProviderModels(modelCatalogCache, providerKey, baseUrl)
       if (cachedModels) models = [...new Set([...models, ...cachedModels])]
-      return { providerKey, label: cp.name, base_url: baseUrl, models, api_key: cp.api_key || '', api_mode: cp.api_mode, builtin: isBuiltinProviderKey(providerKey), provider_source: cp.source, provider_key: cp.provider_key }
+      return { providerKey, label: cp.name, base_url: baseUrl, models, api_key: cp.api_key || (cp.key_env ? envGetValue(cp.key_env) : ''), api_mode: cp.api_mode, builtin: isBuiltinProviderKey(providerKey), provider_source: cp.source, provider_key: cp.provider_key }
     }),
   )
   for (const result of customFetches) {
@@ -805,7 +808,7 @@ export async function removeCustomModel(ctx: any) {
 
 export async function fetchProviderModelList(ctx: any) {
   try {
-    const body = ctx.request.body as { base_url?: string; api_key?: string; freeOnly?: boolean; provider?: string; label?: string; update_cache?: boolean }
+    const body = ctx.request.body as { base_url?: string; api_key?: string; freeOnly?: boolean; provider?: string; label?: string; update_cache?: boolean; api_mode?: ProviderApiMode }
     const baseUrl = String(body?.base_url || '').trim()
     const apiKey = String(body?.api_key || '').trim()
     const freeOnly = body?.freeOnly === true
@@ -832,33 +835,15 @@ export async function fetchProviderModelList(ctx: any) {
       return
     }
 
-    const base = baseUrl.replace(/\/+$/, '')
-    const modelsUrl = /\/v\d+\/?$/.test(base) ? `${base}/models` : `${base}/v1/models`
-    const headers: Record<string, string> = {}
-    if (apiKey) headers.Authorization = `Bearer ${apiKey}`
-
-    const res = await fetch(modelsUrl, {
-      headers,
-      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(8000),
-    })
-    if (!res.ok) {
+    const apiMode = providerApiMode(provider, body?.api_mode)
+    let models = await discoverProviderModels(baseUrl, apiKey, apiMode === 'anthropic_messages')
+    if (freeOnly) models = models.filter(model => model.endsWith(':free'))
+    const uniqueModels = models
+    if (body?.update_cache === true && provider && uniqueModels.length === 0) {
       ctx.status = 502
-      ctx.body = { error: `Provider returned HTTP ${res.status}` }
+      ctx.body = { error: 'Provider returned no models; existing catalog was kept' }
       return
     }
-
-    const data = await res.json() as { data?: Array<{ id?: unknown }> }
-    if (!Array.isArray(data.data)) {
-      ctx.status = 502
-      ctx.body = { error: 'Provider returned unexpected format' }
-      return
-    }
-
-    let models = data.data
-      .map(m => String(m?.id || '').trim())
-      .filter(Boolean)
-    if (freeOnly) models = models.filter(m => m.endsWith(':free'))
-    const uniqueModels = Array.from(new Set(models)).sort()
     if (body?.update_cache === true && provider) {
       await writeProviderModelCatalogEntry({
         provider,
diff --git a/packages/server/src/controllers/hermes/providers.ts b/packages/server/src/controllers/hermes/providers.ts
index 2e1eac3..657b779 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/controllers/hermes/providers.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/controllers/hermes/providers.ts
@@ -194,23 +194,35 @@ export async function create(ctx: any) {
 
 export async function update(ctx: any) {
   const poolKey = decodeURIComponent(ctx.params.poolKey)
-  const { name, base_url, api_key, model, api_mode } = ctx.request.body as {
-    name?: string; base_url?: string; api_key?: string; model?: string; api_mode?: ProviderApiMode
+  const { name, base_url, api_key, model, api_mode, source, providerKey } = ctx.request.body as {
+    name?: string; base_url?: string; api_key?: string; model?: string; api_mode?: ProviderApiMode; source?: string; providerKey?: string
   }
   const customApiMode = normalizeApiMode(api_mode)
+  if (base_url !== undefined) {
+    try {
+      const parsed = new URL(base_url)
+      if (!['http:', 'https:'].includes(parsed.protocol)) throw new Error('Invalid protocol')
+    } catch {
+      ctx.status = 400; ctx.body = { error: 'base_url must be a valid HTTP or HTTPS URL' }; return
+    }
+  }
   try {
     const profile = requestedProfile(ctx)
     const isCustom = poolKey.startsWith('custom:')
     if (isCustom) {
-      const found = await updateConfigYamlForProfile(profile, (config) => {
-        if (!Array.isArray(config.custom_providers)) return { data: config, result: false, write: false }
-        const entry = (config.custom_providers as any[]).find((e: any) => {
-          return `custom:${e.name.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/ /g, '-')}` === poolKey
-        })
-        if (!entry) return { data: config, result: false, write: false }
+      const found = await updateConfigYamlForProfile(profile, async (config) => {
+        const legacyIndex = source === 'providers' ? -1 : findLegacyCustomProviderIndex(config, poolKey)
+        const dictKey = source === 'custom_providers' || legacyIndex !== -1
+          ? '' : findProviderDictKey(config, poolKey, providerKey)
+        const entry = legacyIndex !== -1 ? config.custom_providers[legacyIndex] : dictKey ? config.providers[dictKey] : null
+        const normalized = normalizeCustomProviderEntry(entry, dictKey, dictKey ? 'providers' : 'custom_providers')
+        if (!entry || !normalized || providerKeyForCustomName(normalized.name) !== poolKey) return { data: config, result: false, write: false }
         if (name !== undefined) entry.name = name
-        if (base_url !== undefined) entry.base_url = base_url
-        if (api_key !== undefined) entry.api_key = api_key
+        if (base_url !== undefined) entry.base_url = base_url.trim()
+        if (api_key !== undefined) {
+          if (normalized.key_env) await saveEnvValueForProfile(profile, normalized.key_env, api_key)
+          entry.api_key = api_key
+        }
         if (model !== undefined) entry.model = model
         if (customApiMode !== undefined) entry.api_mode = customApiMode
         return { data: config, result: true }
@@ -220,10 +232,17 @@ export async function update(ctx: any) {
       }
     } else {
       const envMapping = PROVIDER_ENV_MAP[poolKey]
-      if (!envMapping?.api_key_env) {
+      if (!envMapping || (!envMapping.api_key_env && !envMapping.base_url_env)) {
         ctx.status = 400; ctx.body = { error: `Cannot update credentials for "${poolKey}"` }; return
       }
-      if (api_key !== undefined) { await saveEnvValueForProfile(profile, envMapping.api_key_env, api_key) }
+      if (base_url !== undefined && !envMapping.base_url_env) {
+        ctx.status = 400; ctx.body = { error: `Cannot update base URL for "${poolKey}"` }; return
+      }
+      if (api_key !== undefined && !envMapping.api_key_env) {
+        ctx.status = 400; ctx.body = { error: `Cannot update API key for "${poolKey}"` }; return
+      }
+      if (api_key !== undefined) await saveEnvValueForProfile(profile, envMapping.api_key_env, api_key)
+      if (base_url !== undefined) await saveEnvValueForProfile(profile, envMapping.base_url_env, base_url.trim())
     }
     // TODO: Test if provider works without gateway restart
     // try { await hermesCli.restartGateway() } catch (e: any) { logger.error(e, 'Gateway restart failed') }
diff --git a/packages/server/src/index.ts b/packages/server/src/index.ts
index a6ee9a2..53ecde5 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/index.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import { setGroupChatServer } from './routes/hermes/group-chat'
 import { setChatRunServer } from './routes/hermes/chat-run'
 import { GroupChatServer } from './services/hermes/group-chat'
 import { ChatRunSocket } from './services/hermes/run-chat'
-import { startAgentBridgeManager } from './services/hermes/agent-bridge'
+import { getAgentBridgeManager } from './services/hermes/agent-bridge'
 import { HermesSkillInjector } from './services/hermes/skill-injector'
 import { injectBundledMcpServer } from './services/hermes/studio-mcp-autoinject'
 import { ensureProfileGatewaysRunning } from './services/hermes/gateway-autostart'
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ function skillInjectionDisabled(): boolean {
   return envFlagEnabled('HERMES_WEB_UI_DISABLE_SKILL_INJECTION')
 }
 
-async function startRuntimeServicesBeforeListen(): Promise<void> {
+async function startRuntimeServices(): Promise<void> {
   if (gatewayAutostartDisabled()) {
     console.log('[bootstrap] profile gateway check disabled by HERMES_WEB_UI_DISABLE_GATEWAY_AUTOSTART')
   } else {
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ async function startRuntimeServicesBeforeListen(): Promise<void> {
   }
 
   try {
-    agentBridgeManager = await startAgentBridgeManager()
+    await agentBridgeManager.start()
     console.log('[bootstrap] agent bridge started')
   } catch (err) {
     logger.warn(err, '[bootstrap] agent bridge failed to start')
@@ -187,8 +187,6 @@ export async function bootstrap() {
     console.warn('[bootstrap] failed to inject bundled MCP server:', err instanceof Error ? err.message : err)
   }
 
-  await startRuntimeServicesBeforeListen()
-
   const app = new Koa()
   // Initialize all web-ui SQLite tables
   const { initAllStores } = await import('./db/hermes/init')
@@ -291,7 +289,10 @@ export async function bootstrap() {
     })
   })
 
+  agentBridgeManager = getAgentBridgeManager()
   bindShutdown(servers, groupChatServer, chatRunServer, agentBridgeManager)
+  // Session/history APIs must remain available while the Python runtime starts.
+  void startRuntimeServices()
   startVersionCheck()
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/server/src/services/hermes/agent-bridge/client.ts b/packages/server/src/services/hermes/agent-bridge/client.ts
index 75a9474..9b92a57 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/services/hermes/agent-bridge/client.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/services/hermes/agent-bridge/client.ts
@@ -373,10 +373,23 @@ export class AgentBridgeClient {
         }, '[agent-bridge-client] request')
       }
       try {
-        const socket = await this.connectSocket()
-        socket.write(`${JSON.stringify(payload)}\n`)
-        const raw = await this.readResponse(socket, timeoutMs)
-        const response = JSON.parse(raw) as { ok?: boolean; error?: string }
+        const workerConnectDeadline = Date.now() + Math.max(0, this.connectRetryMs)
+        let response: { ok?: boolean; error?: string; error_type?: string }
+        for (;;) {
+          const socket = await this.connectSocket()
+          socket.write(`${JSON.stringify(payload)}\n`)
+          const raw = await this.readResponse(socket, timeoutMs)
+          response = JSON.parse(raw) as typeof response
+          // The broker reports worker connect failures before any request bytes
+          // reach the worker. Only these typed failures are safe to replay;
+          // timeouts, lost responses and agent errors may have side effects.
+          const workerNotListening = response.ok === false && (
+            (response.error_type === 'ConnectionRefusedError' && /^\[Errno (111|61|10061)\]/.test(response.error || '')) ||
+            (response.error_type === 'FileNotFoundError' && /^\[Errno 2\]/.test(response.error || ''))
+          )
+          if (!workerNotListening || Date.now() >= workerConnectDeadline) break
+          await delay(100)
+        }
         if (!response.ok) {
           const error = new AgentBridgeError(response.error || 'Agent bridge request failed')
           error.response = response
diff --git a/packages/server/src/services/hermes/custom-providers-compat.ts b/packages/server/src/services/hermes/custom-providers-compat.ts
index 4299df3..c1d15e4 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/services/hermes/custom-providers-compat.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/services/hermes/custom-providers-compat.ts
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@
  * Studio historically only read the legacy `custom_providers:` list, which makes
  * v12+ dict-shaped providers invisible in the model picker, catalog, and context
  * lookups (Issue #1570). This helper mirrors Agent's behavior so Studio can read
- * both shapes; write paths intentionally still target the legacy list (that's
- * the canonical write surface Studio's UI manipulates today).
+ * both shapes. Creation targets the legacy list; updates and deletion preserve
+ * the original source and dictionary key returned by this helper.
  */
 
 const KNOWN_KEYS = new Set([
diff --git a/packages/server/src/services/hermes/provider-model-discovery.ts b/packages/server/src/services/hermes/provider-model-discovery.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7d2866
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/server/src/services/hermes/provider-model-discovery.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/** Strict live discovery: never replace a cached catalog with a partial/error response. */
+export async function discoverProviderModels(baseUrl: string, apiKey: string, anthropic = false): Promise<string[]> {
+  const base = baseUrl.replace(/\/+$/, '')
+  const modelsUrl = new URL(/\/v\d+\/?$/.test(base) ? `${base}/models` : `${base}/v1/models`)
+  const headers: Record<string, string> = {}
+  if (anthropic) {
+    if (apiKey) headers['x-api-key'] = apiKey
+    headers['anthropic-version'] = '2023-06-01'
+  } else if (apiKey) {
+    headers.Authorization = `Bearer ${apiKey}`
+  }
+  const models: string[] = []
+  const cursors = new Set<string>()
+  const signal = AbortSignal.timeout(8000)
+  // Anthropic-compatible /models uses has_more + last_id cursor pagination.
+  // https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/api/models/list
+  for (let page = 0; page < 100; page++) {
+    const res = await fetch(modelsUrl.toString(), { headers, signal })
+    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Provider returned HTTP ${res.status}`)
+    const data = await res.json() as { data?: Array<{ id?: unknown }>; has_more?: boolean; last_id?: string }
+    if (!Array.isArray(data.data)) throw new Error('Provider returned unexpected format')
+    models.push(...data.data.map(model => String(model?.id || '').trim()).filter(Boolean))
+    if (!data.has_more) return [...new Set(models)].sort()
+    const cursor = data.last_id
+    if (typeof cursor !== 'string' || !cursor || cursors.has(cursor)) throw new Error('Provider returned invalid model pagination')
+    cursors.add(cursor)
+    modelsUrl.searchParams.set('after_id', cursor)
+  }
+  throw new Error('Provider model pagination limit exceeded')
+}
diff --git a/tests/client/app-store.test.ts b/tests/client/app-store.test.ts
index fd12baf..0fea0b4 100644
--- a/tests/client/app-store.test.ts
+++ b/tests/client/app-store.test.ts
@@ -583,4 +583,33 @@ describe('App Store', () => {
     expect(store.profileModelGroups[0].groups[0].models).toEqual(['deepseek-v4-flash'])
     expect(store.profileModelGroups[0].groups[0].available_models).toEqual(['deepseek-v4-flash'])
   })
+  it('retries health quickly while offline and stops polling after unmount', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    mockSystemApi.checkHealth.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('offline')).mockResolvedValue({ status: 'ok' })
+    const store = useAppStore()
+    store.startHealthPolling()
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(0)
+    expect(store.connected).toBe(false)
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2000)
+    expect(store.connected).toBe(true)
+    expect(mockSystemApi.checkHealth).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2000)
+    expect(mockSystemApi.checkHealth).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+    store.stopHealthPolling()
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(30000)
+    expect(mockSystemApi.checkHealth).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+  })
+
+  it('does not reschedule an in-flight health poll after polling is stopped', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    let finish!: (value: any) => void
+    mockSystemApi.checkHealth.mockReturnValue(new Promise(resolve => { finish = resolve }))
+    const store = useAppStore()
+    store.startHealthPolling()
+    store.stopHealthPolling()
+    finish({ status: 'ok' })
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(60000)
+    expect(mockSystemApi.checkHealth).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
 })
diff --git a/tests/client/chat-store-session-order.test.ts b/tests/client/chat-store-session-order.test.ts
index 18ab29d..fc3d6c4 100644
--- a/tests/client/chat-store-session-order.test.ts
+++ b/tests/client/chat-store-session-order.test.ts
@@ -139,4 +139,18 @@ describe('chat session ordering', () => {
     expect(store.activeSessionId).toBeNull()
     expect(store.activeSession).toBeNull()
   })
+  it('keeps a failed initial session load retryable and restores sessions on retry', async () => {
+    vi.mocked(fetchSessions).mockRejectedValue(new Error('backend starting'))
+    const store = useChatStore()
+    expect(await store.loadSessions()).toBe(false)
+    expect(store.sessionsLoaded).toBe(false)
+    vi.mocked(fetchSessions).mockResolvedValue([makeSession('restored', { started_at: 1000 })] as any)
+    expect(await store.loadSessions()).toBe(true)
+    expect(store.sessionsLoaded).toBe(true)
+    expect(store.activeSessionId).toBe('restored')
+    vi.mocked(fetchSessions).mockRejectedValue(new Error('restart'))
+    expect(await store.loadSessions()).toBe(false)
+    expect(store.sessions.map(session => session.id)).toEqual(['restored'])
+  })
+
 })
diff --git a/tests/client/dropdown-label-activation.test.ts b/tests/client/dropdown-label-activation.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3dd81d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/client/dropdown-label-activation.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import { readdirSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { parse as parseSfc } from '@vue/compiler-sfc'
+import { parse as parseTemplate, type ElementNode, type RootNode, type TemplateChildNode } from '@vue/compiler-dom'
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+function vueFiles(directory: string): string[] {
+  return readdirSync(directory, { withFileTypes: true }).flatMap(entry => {
+    const path = join(directory, entry.name)
+    return entry.isDirectory() ? vueFiles(path) : path.endsWith('.vue') ? [path] : []
+  })
+}
+
+// A native label forwards clicks on custom control chrome to the first input.
+// For popup controls this can immediately toggle the menu closed again.
+const popupControls = new Set([
+  'a-select', 'a-tree-select', 'a-cascader', 'a-auto-complete', 'a-dropdown',
+  'a-trigger', 'a-date-picker', 'a-range-picker', 'a-time-picker', 'a-color-picker',
+  'ModelSelector', 'ProfileSelector', 'LanguageSwitch', 'WorkflowModelSelector',
+])
+
+describe('dropdown label activation', () => {
+  it('keeps custom popup controls outside native labels throughout the client', () => {
+    const violations: string[] = []
+    for (const path of vueFiles('packages/client/src')) {
+      const { descriptor } = parseSfc(readFileSync(path, 'utf8'))
+      if (!descriptor.template) continue
+      const offset = descriptor.template.loc.start.line - 1
+      function visit(node: RootNode | TemplateChildNode, insideLabel = false) {
+        if (node.type !== 0 && node.type !== 1) return
+        if (node.type === 1) {
+          if (insideLabel && popupControls.has(node.tag)) {
+            violations.push(`${path}:${offset + node.loc.start.line} <${node.tag}> inside <label>`)
+          }
+          insideLabel ||= node.tag === 'label'
+        }
+        for (const child of (node as RootNode | ElementNode).children) visit(child, insideLabel)
+      }
+      visit(parseTemplate(descriptor.template.content))
+    }
+    expect(violations).toEqual([])
+  })
+})
diff --git a/tests/e2e/chat-input-dropdown.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/chat-input-dropdown.spec.ts
index 6e5f867..6500ffb 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/chat-input-dropdown.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/chat-input-dropdown.spec.ts
@@ -63,3 +63,40 @@ test('session context menu renders flat items and its export submenu', async ({
   await popup.locator('.arco-dropdown-option', { hasText: 'Export' }).click()
   await expect(page.locator('.arco-trigger-popup').filter({ hasText: 'Compressed' })).toBeVisible()
 })
+
+test('new chat selectors stay open after clicking their field and allow selection', async ({ page }) => {
+  await authenticate(page, TEST_ACCESS_KEY, 'research')
+  await mockHermesApi(page)
+  await page.route('**/api/hermes/available-models**', async route => {
+    const group = { provider: 'test-provider', label: 'Test Provider', models: ['test-model', 'other-model'] }
+    await route.fulfill({ json: {
+      default: 'test-model', default_provider: 'test-provider', groups: [group], allProviders: [group],
+      profiles: ['default', 'research'].map(profile => ({
+        profile, default: 'test-model', default_provider: 'test-provider', groups: [group],
+      })),
+    } })
+  })
+  await mockChatSocket(page)
+  await page.goto('/#/hermes/chat')
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'New Chat', exact: true }).click()
+  const drawer = page.locator('.new-chat-drawer')
+  const selects = drawer.locator('.new-chat-field > .arco-select')
+  await expect(selects).toHaveCount(3)
+  await expect(selects.nth(1)).not.toHaveClass(/arco-select-disabled/)
+
+  for (const index of [0, 1, 2]) {
+    // Click the field chrome, not the internal input: a wrapping HTML label
+    // forwards this click to its input and can toggle the popup a second time.
+    await selects.nth(index).click({ position: { x: 8, y: 16 } })
+    const popup = page.locator('.arco-select-dropdown:visible')
+    await expect(popup).toBeVisible()
+    await page.waitForTimeout(300)
+    await expect(popup).toBeVisible()
+    const option = index === 0
+      ? popup.locator('.arco-select-option', { hasText: 'research' })
+      : popup.locator('.arco-select-option').first()
+    await option.click()
+    await expect(popup).toHaveCount(0)
+    await expect(drawer).toBeVisible()
+  }
+})
diff --git a/tests/e2e/chat-startup-recovery.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/chat-startup-recovery.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ea6e86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/chat-startup-recovery.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { expect, test } from '@playwright/test'
+import { authenticate, mockChatSocket, mockHermesApi, TEST_ACCESS_KEY } from './fixtures'
+
+const session = { id: 'restored-chat', profile: 'research', source: 'cli', title: 'Restored conversation', started_at: 1000, last_active: 1100, message_count: 2 }
+
+for (const path of ['/hermes/chat', '/hermes/session/restored-chat?profile=research']) {
+test(`recovers sessions and preserves the route after backend restart: ${path}`, async ({ page }) => {
+  await authenticate(page, TEST_ACCESS_KEY, 'research')
+  await mockHermesApi(page, { sessions: [session] })
+  await mockChatSocket(page)
+  let ready = false
+  let healthRequests = 0
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname === '/health', async route => {
+    healthRequests++
+    if (healthRequests === 1) await route.fulfill({ status: 503, json: { error: 'starting' } })
+    else {
+      ready = true
+      await route.fulfill({ json: { status: 'ok' } })
+    }
+  })
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname === '/api/hermes/sessions', async route => {
+    await route.fulfill(ready
+      ? { json: { sessions: [session] } }
+      : { status: 503, json: { error: 'starting' } })
+  })
+  await page.goto(`/#${path}`)
+  await expect(page.locator('.session-item', { hasText: 'Restored conversation' })).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15000 })
+  expect(healthRequests).toBeGreaterThan(1)
+  if (path.includes('/session/')) await expect(page).toHaveURL(/session\/restored-chat/);
+})
+}
+
+test('batch-delete text appears in its confirmation popup without leaking into the sidebar', async ({ page }) => {
+  await authenticate(page, TEST_ACCESS_KEY, 'research')
+  await mockHermesApi(page, { sessions: [session] })
+  await mockChatSocket(page)
+  await page.goto('/#/hermes/chat')
+  await page.getByTitle('Batch selection', { exact: true }).click()
+  await page.locator('.session-item-checkbox').first().click()
+  const confirmation = 'Delete 1 selected sessions?'
+  await expect(page.locator('.page-sidebar-top')).not.toContainText(confirmation)
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Delete', exact: true }).click()
+  const popup = page.locator('.arco-popconfirm')
+  await expect(popup).toBeVisible()
+  await expect(popup).toContainText(confirmation)
+  await expect(popup.getByRole('button', { name: /cancel/i })).toBeVisible()
+})
diff --git a/tests/e2e/form-dropdowns.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/form-dropdowns.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..387bf94
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/form-dropdowns.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import { expect, test, type Locator, type Page } from '@playwright/test'
+import { authenticate, mockHermesApi, TEST_ACCESS_KEY } from './fixtures'
+
+async function openSelector(page: Page, select: Locator) {
+  await expect(select).not.toHaveClass(/arco-select-disabled/)
+  await select.click({ position: { x: 8, y: 16 } })
+  const popup = page.locator('.arco-select-dropdown:visible')
+  await expect(popup).toBeVisible()
+  // Wait past Arco's popup animation: label forwarding used to close the
+  // dropdown just after the initial visible assertion succeeded.
+  await page.waitForTimeout(300)
+  await expect(popup).toBeVisible()
+  return popup
+}
+
+test('auxiliary provider and model menus stay open and apply choices', async ({ page }) => {
+  await authenticate(page, TEST_ACCESS_KEY)
+  await mockHermesApi(page)
+  await page.goto('/#/hermes/models')
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Auxiliary Models', exact: true }).click()
+  await page.locator('.auxiliary-row').filter({ hasText: 'Vision' }).getByRole('button', { name: 'Edit', exact: true }).click()
+  const selects = page.locator('.auxiliary-form .arco-select')
+  await expect(selects).toHaveCount(2)
+  const providers = await openSelector(page, selects.nth(0))
+  await providers.locator('.arco-select-option', { hasText: 'Test Provider' }).click()
+  await expect(providers).toHaveCount(0)
+  await expect(selects.nth(0)).toContainText('Test Provider')
+  const models = await openSelector(page, selects.nth(1))
+  await models.locator('.arco-select-option', { hasText: 'test-model' }).click()
+  await expect(selects.nth(1)).toContainText('test-model')
+  await expect(page.locator('.auxiliary-form')).toBeVisible()
+})
+
+test('new workflow agent menu stays open and applies another profile', async ({ page }) => {
+  await authenticate(page, TEST_ACCESS_KEY, 'research')
+  await mockHermesApi(page)
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname.startsWith('/api/hermes/workflows'), route => route.fulfill({ json: { workflows: [] } }))
+  await page.goto('/#/hermes/workflow')
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'New Workflow', exact: true }).click()
+  const select = page.locator('.workflow-create-form .arco-select')
+  const profiles = await openSelector(page, select)
+  await profiles.locator('.arco-select-option', { hasText: 'default' }).click()
+  await expect(select).toContainText('default')
+  await expect(page.locator('.workflow-create-form')).toBeVisible()
+})
diff --git a/tests/e2e/provider-card-actions.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/provider-card-actions.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..56b3bdb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/provider-card-actions.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import { expect, test, type Page } from '@playwright/test'
+import { authenticate, mockHermesApi, TEST_ACCESS_KEY } from './fixtures'
+
+async function setup(page: Page, custom = false) {
+  await authenticate(page, TEST_ACCESS_KEY, 'research')
+  await mockHermesApi(page)
+  const group = {
+    provider: custom ? 'custom:proxy' : 'minimax-cn',
+    label: custom ? 'Proxy' : 'MiniMax (China)',
+    base_url: 'https://provider.example.test/v1', api_key: 'existing-test-key',
+    models: ['original-model'], available_models: ['original-model'],
+    builtin: !custom, credentials_editable: !custom,
+    ...(!custom ? { base_url_env: 'MINIMAX_CN_BASE_URL' } : { provider_source: 'providers', provider_key: 'proxy_config' }),
+  }
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname === '/api/hermes/available-models', route => route.fulfill({ json: {
+    default: 'original-model', default_provider: group.provider, groups: [group], allProviders: [group],
+    profiles: [{ profile: 'research', default: 'original-model', default_provider: group.provider, groups: [group] }],
+  } }))
+  await page.goto('/#/hermes/models')
+  const card = page.locator('.provider-card').filter({ hasText: group.label })
+  await expect(card).toBeVisible()
+  return { group, card }
+}
+
+async function fillUrl(page: Page, url: string) {
+  await page.locator('.provider-edit-form .arco-form-item').filter({ hasText: 'Base URL' }).locator('input').fill(url)
+}
+
+test('card fetches the live catalog, updates the list, and retains its default model', async ({ page }) => {
+  const { group, card } = await setup(page)
+  let requestBody: any
+  let profileHeader: string | undefined
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname === '/api/hermes/provider-models', async route => {
+    requestBody = route.request().postDataJSON()
+    profileHeader = route.request().headers()['x-hermes-profile']
+    group.models = ['original-model', 'latest-model']
+    group.available_models = [...group.models]
+    await route.fulfill({ json: { models: [...group.models] } })
+  })
+  await card.getByRole('button', { name: 'Fetch models from upstream' }).click()
+  await expect(card.locator('.model-tag', { hasText: 'latest-model' })).toBeVisible()
+  await expect(card.locator('.default-model-select')).toContainText('original-model')
+  expect(requestBody).toMatchObject({ provider: 'minimax-cn', api_key: 'existing-test-key', update_cache: true })
+  expect(profileHeader).toBe('research')
+})
+
+test('editing built-in URL and key uses PUT and updates the card without recreation', async ({ page }) => {
+  const { group, card } = await setup(page)
+  const writes: Array<{ method: string; body: any; profile?: string }> = []
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname.startsWith('/api/hermes/config/providers/'), async route => {
+    const body = route.request().postDataJSON()
+    writes.push({ method: route.request().method(), body, profile: route.request().headers()['x-hermes-profile'] })
+    group.base_url = body.base_url
+    if (body.api_key) group.api_key = body.api_key
+    await route.fulfill({ json: { success: true } })
+  })
+  await card.getByRole('button', { name: 'Edit', exact: true }).click()
+  await fillUrl(page, 'https://new.example.test/v1')
+  await page.locator('.provider-edit-form input[type=password]').fill('new-test-key')
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save', exact: true }).click()
+  await expect(page.locator('.provider-edit-form')).toHaveCount(0)
+  await expect(card).toContainText('https://new.example.test/v1')
+  expect(writes).toEqual([{ method: 'PUT', body: { base_url: 'https://new.example.test/v1', api_key: 'new-test-key' }, profile: 'research' }])
+  await expect(card.locator('.default-model-select')).toContainText('original-model')
+})
+
+test('editing a dict-backed provider preserves a blank key and sends its storage identity', async ({ page }) => {
+  const { card } = await setup(page, true)
+  let requestBody: any
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname.startsWith('/api/hermes/config/providers/'), async route => {
+    requestBody = route.request().postDataJSON()
+    await route.fulfill({ json: { success: true } })
+  })
+  await card.getByRole('button', { name: 'Edit', exact: true }).click()
+  await expect(page.locator('.provider-edit-form input[type=password]')).toHaveValue('')
+  await fillUrl(page, 'https://changed.example.test/v1')
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save', exact: true }).click()
+  await expect(page.locator('.provider-edit-form')).toHaveCount(0)
+  expect(requestBody).toEqual({ base_url: 'https://changed.example.test/v1', source: 'providers', providerKey: 'proxy_config' })
+})
+
+test('failed upstream fetch keeps the existing catalog; failed edit stays open', async ({ page }) => {
+  const { card } = await setup(page)
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname === '/api/hermes/provider-models', route => route.fulfill({ status: 502, json: { error: 'Upstream unavailable' } }))
+  await card.getByRole('button', { name: 'Fetch models from upstream' }).click()
+  await expect(page.getByText('API Error 502: Upstream unavailable', { exact: true })).toBeVisible()
+  await expect(card.locator('.model-tag', { hasText: 'original-model' })).toBeVisible()
+  await page.route(url => url.pathname.startsWith('/api/hermes/config/providers/'), route => route.fulfill({ status: 500, json: { error: 'Save failed' } }))
+  await card.getByRole('button', { name: 'Edit', exact: true }).click()
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save', exact: true }).click()
+  await expect(page.getByText('API Error 500: Save failed', { exact: true })).toBeVisible()
+  await expect(page.locator('.provider-edit-form')).toBeVisible()
+})
diff --git a/tests/e2e/provider-models.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/provider-models.spec.ts
index 4859140..e8805a1 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/provider-models.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/provider-models.spec.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ test('fetches custom provider models through the backend proxy', async ({ page }
   await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Custom' }).click()
   await page.getByPlaceholder('e.g. https://api.example.com/v1').fill('https://provider.example.test/v1')
   await page.getByPlaceholder('sk-...').fill('test-provider-key')
-  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Fetch' }).click()
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Fetch', exact: true }).click()
 
   await expect(page.getByText('Found 2 models')).toBeVisible()
   // Scope to the dropdown options: Arco renders both the select's current value
diff --git a/tests/server/agent-bridge-worker-readiness.test.ts b/tests/server/agent-bridge-worker-readiness.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa77254
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/server/agent-bridge-worker-readiness.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+import { createServer, type Server } from 'net'
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { AgentBridgeClient } from '../../packages/server/src/services/hermes/agent-bridge/client'
+
+const servers: Server[] = []
+afterEach(async () => {
+  await Promise.all(servers.splice(0).map(server => new Promise<void>(resolve => server.close(() => resolve()))))
+})
+
+async function broker(reply: (request: Record<string, unknown>) => Record<string, unknown>, retryMs = 1000) {
+  const server = createServer(socket => {
+    let buffer = ''
+    socket.on('data', data => {
+      buffer += data.toString()
+      if (!buffer.includes('\n')) return
+      socket.end(`${JSON.stringify(reply(JSON.parse(buffer)))}\n`)
+    })
+  })
+  servers.push(server)
+  await new Promise<void>(resolve => server.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', resolve))
+  const address = server.address()
+  if (!address || typeof address === 'string') throw new Error('Missing test broker address')
+  return new AgentBridgeClient({ endpoint: `tcp://127.0.0.1:${address.port}`, connectRetryMs: retryMs, timeoutMs: 1000 })
+}
+
+const refused = { ok: false, error: '[Errno 111] Connection refused', error_type: 'ConnectionRefusedError' }
+
+describe('Agent Bridge worker readiness', () => {
+  it('waits for a cold worker and for a worker restarting after idle without losing the message', async () => {
+    const requests: Record<string, unknown>[] = []
+    let ready = false
+    const client = await broker(request => {
+      requests.push(request)
+      if (!ready) {
+        ready = true
+        return refused
+      }
+      return { ok: true, run_id: `run-${requests.length}`, session_id: request.session_id }
+    })
+    await expect(client.chat('session', 'first message', [], undefined, 'default')).resolves.toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+    ready = false
+    await expect(client.chat('session', 'after idle', [{ role: 'user', content: 'first message' }])).resolves.toMatchObject({ ok: true })
+    expect(requests).toHaveLength(4)
+    expect(requests[0]).toEqual(requests[1])
+    expect(requests[2]).toEqual(requests[3])
+  })
+
+  it('retries a worker socket that has not been created yet', async () => {
+    let attempts = 0
+    const client = await broker(() => ++attempts === 1
+      ? { ok: false, error: '[Errno 2] No such file or directory', error_type: 'FileNotFoundError' }
+      : { ok: true })
+    await expect(client.request({ action: 'worker_ping', profile: 'default' })).resolves.toEqual({ ok: true })
+    expect(attempts).toBe(2)
+  })
+
+  it.each([
+    { ok: false, error: '[Errno 111] Connection refused' },
+    { ok: false, error: '[Errno 111] Connection refused', error_type: 'RuntimeError' },
+    { ok: false, error: 'worker closed without a response', error_type: 'RuntimeError' },
+    { ok: false, error: 'timed out', error_type: 'TimeoutError' },
+  ])('does not replay ambiguous failures: $error_type $error', async response => {
+    let attempts = 0
+    const client = await broker(() => { attempts++; return response })
+    await expect(client.chat('session', 'message')).rejects.toThrow(response.error)
+    expect(attempts).toBe(1)
+  })
+
+  it('stops retrying persistent worker refusal within the configured budget', async () => {
+    let attempts = 0
+    const client = await broker(() => { attempts++; return refused }, 150)
+    await expect(client.chat('session', 'message')).rejects.toThrow('Connection refused')
+    expect(attempts).toBeGreaterThan(1)
+    expect(attempts).toBeLessThanOrEqual(4)
+  })
+
+  it('honors disabled retries', async () => {
+    let attempts = 0
+    const client = await broker(() => { attempts++; return refused }, 0)
+    await expect(client.chat('session', 'message')).rejects.toThrow('Connection refused')
+    expect(attempts).toBe(1)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/tests/server/model-visibility-controller.test.ts b/tests/server/model-visibility-controller.test.ts
index 7bdd6bc..f2ec84b 100644
--- a/tests/server/model-visibility-controller.test.ts
+++ b/tests/server/model-visibility-controller.test.ts
@@ -409,6 +409,8 @@ describe('models controller — model visibility', () => {
     expect(ctx.body.groups).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([
       expect.objectContaining({
         provider: 'lmstudio',
+        credentials_editable: true,
+        base_url_env: 'LM_BASE_URL',
         label: 'LM Studio',
         base_url: 'http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1',
         models: ['eee'],
@@ -647,4 +649,22 @@ describe('models controller — model visibility', () => {
     expect(ctx.body).toEqual({ error: 'Select at least one model' })
     expect(mockWriteAppConfig).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
   })
+  it.each([
+    { ok: false, status: 401, json: async () => ({}) },
+    { ok: true, status: 200, json: async () => ({ data: [] }) },
+    { ok: true, status: 200, json: async () => ({ unexpected: [] }) },
+  ])('keeps the cached catalog when an upstream refresh fails or has no models ($status)', async response => {
+    const originalFetch = globalThis.fetch
+    globalThis.fetch = vi.fn(async () => response) as any
+    try {
+      mockWriteProviderModelCatalogEntry.mockClear()
+      const ctx = makeCtx({ provider: 'deepseek', base_url: 'https://api.deepseek.com/v1', api_key: 'test', update_cache: true })
+      await ctrl.fetchProviderModelList(ctx)
+      expect(ctx.status).toBe(502)
+      expect(mockWriteProviderModelCatalogEntry).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    } finally {
+      globalThis.fetch = originalFetch
+    }
+  })
+
 })
diff --git a/tests/server/provider-model-discovery.test.ts b/tests/server/provider-model-discovery.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e5ed25a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/server/provider-model-discovery.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { discoverProviderModels } from '../../packages/server/src/services/hermes/provider-model-discovery'
+
+afterEach(() => vi.unstubAllGlobals())
+
+describe('live provider model discovery', () => {
+  it('uses Anthropic authentication and collects every page before returning the catalog', async () => {
+    const fetch = vi.fn()
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: async () => ({ data: [{ id: 'MiniMax-M3' }], has_more: true, last_id: 'MiniMax-M3' }) })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: async () => ({ data: [{ id: 'MiniMax-M2.7' }], has_more: false }) })
+    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', fetch)
+    await expect(discoverProviderModels('https://proxy.invalid/anthropic/v1/', 'test-key', true)).resolves.toEqual(['MiniMax-M2.7', 'MiniMax-M3'])
+    expect(fetch).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, 'https://proxy.invalid/anthropic/v1/models', expect.objectContaining({
+      headers: { 'x-api-key': 'test-key', 'anthropic-version': '2023-06-01' },
+    }))
+    expect(fetch.mock.calls[1][0]).toContain('after_id=MiniMax-M3')
+  })
+
+  it('uses Bearer authentication for OpenAI-compatible endpoints and normalizes model IDs', async () => {
+    const fetch = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ ok: true, json: async () => ({ data: [{ id: 'b' }, { id: '' }, { id: 'a' }, { id: 'b' }] }) })
+    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', fetch)
+    await expect(discoverProviderModels('https://proxy.invalid', 'test-key')).resolves.toEqual(['a', 'b'])
+    expect(fetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith('https://proxy.invalid/v1/models', expect.objectContaining({ headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer test-key' } }))
+  })
+
+  it('rejects a failed later page instead of returning a partial list', async () => {
+    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', vi.fn()
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: async () => ({ data: [{ id: 'first' }], has_more: true, last_id: 'first' }) })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: false, status: 503 }))
+    await expect(discoverProviderModels('https://proxy.invalid/v1', 'test-key', true)).rejects.toThrow('HTTP 503')
+  })
+
+  it('rejects a repeated cursor instead of looping', async () => {
+    const fetch = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ ok: true, json: async () => ({ data: [{ id: 'first' }], has_more: true, last_id: 'first' }) })
+    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', fetch)
+    await expect(discoverProviderModels('https://proxy.invalid/v1', 'test-key', true)).rejects.toThrow('invalid model pagination')
+    expect(fetch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/tests/server/provider-update-controller.test.ts b/tests/server/provider-update-controller.test.ts
index e074d60..459b721 100644
--- a/tests/server/provider-update-controller.test.ts
+++ b/tests/server/provider-update-controller.test.ts
@@ -127,4 +127,67 @@ describe('providers controller update', () => {
     expect(defaultConfig.custom_providers[0].api_mode).toBe('codex_responses')
     expect(researchConfig.custom_providers[0].api_mode).toBe('chat_completions')
   })
+  it('updates a built-in Base URL and key without changing defaults or another profile', async () => {
+    const { update } = await loadProvidersController()
+    const before = readFileSync(join(hermesHome, 'profiles', 'research', 'config.yaml'), 'utf8')
+    const ctx = makeCtx('minimax-cn', { base_url: 'https://proxy.invalid/anthropic/v1', api_key: 'new-key' })
+    await update(ctx)
+    expect(ctx.body).toEqual({ success: true })
+    const env = readFileSync(join(hermesHome, 'profiles', 'research', '.env'), 'utf8')
+    expect(env).toContain('MINIMAX_CN_API_KEY=new-key')
+    expect(env).toContain('MINIMAX_CN_BASE_URL=https://proxy.invalid/anthropic/v1')
+    expect(readFileSync(join(hermesHome, '.env'), 'utf8')).not.toContain('new-key')
+    expect(readFileSync(join(hermesHome, 'profiles', 'research', 'config.yaml'), 'utf8')).toBe(before)
+  })
+
+  it('keeps an existing key when only the URL is edited', async () => {
+    const { update } = await loadProvidersController()
+    const ctx = makeCtx('deepseek', { base_url: 'https://new.invalid/v1' })
+    await update(ctx)
+    const env = readFileSync(join(hermesHome, 'profiles', 'research', '.env'), 'utf8')
+    expect(env).toContain('DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=old-research-key')
+    expect(env).toContain('DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL=https://new.invalid/v1')
+  })
+
+  it('edits a dict-backed provider in place and preserves its models and extra configuration', async () => {
+    const path = join(hermesHome, 'profiles', 'research', 'config.yaml')
+    writeFileSync(path, YAML.dump({
+      model: { provider: 'custom:dict-proxy', default: 'selected-model' },
+      providers: { original_key: {
+        name: 'dict-proxy', url: 'https://old.invalid/v1', api_key: 'old-key',
+        models: { 'selected-model': { context_length: 12345 } }, extra_body: { keep: true },
+      } },
+    }))
+    const { update } = await loadProvidersController()
+    const ctx = makeCtx('custom:dict-proxy', {
+      base_url: 'https://new.invalid/v1', api_key: 'new-key', source: 'providers', providerKey: 'original_key',
+    })
+    await update(ctx)
+    expect(ctx.body).toEqual({ success: true })
+    const config = readYaml(path)
+    expect(config.custom_providers).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(config.model).toEqual({ provider: 'custom:dict-proxy', default: 'selected-model' })
+    expect(config.providers.original_key).toMatchObject({
+      base_url: 'https://new.invalid/v1', api_key: 'new-key',
+      models: { 'selected-model': { context_length: 12345 } }, extra_body: { keep: true },
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('updates an env-backed custom key in the same profile', async () => {
+    const path = join(hermesHome, 'profiles', 'research', 'config.yaml')
+    writeFileSync(path, YAML.dump({ providers: { proxy: { base_url: 'https://proxy.invalid/v1', key_env: 'PROXY_KEY', model: 'keep' } } }))
+    const { update } = await loadProvidersController()
+    await update(makeCtx('custom:proxy', { api_key: 'new-key', source: 'providers', providerKey: 'proxy' }))
+    expect(readFileSync(join(hermesHome, 'profiles', 'research', '.env'), 'utf8')).toContain('PROXY_KEY=new-key')
+    expect(readYaml(path).providers.proxy.model).toBe('keep')
+  })
+
+  it.each(['', 'bad-url', 'file:///tmp/model'])('rejects an invalid URL before writing the key: %s', async base_url => {
+    const { update } = await loadProvidersController()
+    const ctx = makeCtx('deepseek', { base_url, api_key: 'must-not-save' })
+    await update(ctx)
+    expect(ctx.status).toBe(400)
+    expect(readFileSync(join(hermesHome, 'profiles', 'research', '.env'), 'utf8')).toContain('DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=old-research-key')
+  })
+
 })