diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 72e73398d..19decdf18 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 ## 2026.1.15 (unreleased)
 
+- Fix: list model picker entries as provider/model pairs for explicit selection. (#970) — thanks @mcinteerj.
 - Daemon: fix profile-aware service label resolution (env-driven) and add coverage for launchd/systemd/schtasks. (#969) — thanks @bjesuiter.
 - Docs: clarify multi-gateway rescue bot guidance. (#969) — thanks @bjesuiter.
 - Fix: guard model fallback against undefined provider/model values. (#954) — thanks @roshanasingh4.
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply.directive.directive-behavior.lists-allowlisted-models-model-list.test.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply.directive.directive-behavior.lists-allowlisted-models-model-list.test.ts
index c959ce362..fd77248f1 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply.directive.directive-behavior.lists-allowlisted-models-model-list.test.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply.directive.directive-behavior.lists-allowlisted-models-model-list.test.ts
@@ -85,8 +85,8 @@ describe("directive behavior", () => {
 
       const text = Array.isArray(res) ? res[0]?.text : res?.text;
       expect(text).toContain("Pick: /model <#> or /model <provider/model>");
-      expect(text).toContain("claude-opus-4-5 — anthropic");
-      expect(text).toContain("gpt-4.1-mini — openai");
+      expect(text).toContain("anthropic/claude-opus-4-5");
+      expect(text).toContain("openai/gpt-4.1-mini");
       expect(runEmbeddedPiAgent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
   });
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ describe("directive behavior", () => {
 
       const text = Array.isArray(res) ? res[0]?.text : res?.text;
       expect(text).toContain("Pick: /model <#> or /model <provider/model>");
-      expect(text).toContain("claude-opus-4-5 — anthropic");
-      expect(text).toContain("gpt-4.1-mini — openai");
+      expect(text).toContain("anthropic/claude-opus-4-5");
+      expect(text).toContain("openai/gpt-4.1-mini");
       expect(runEmbeddedPiAgent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
   });
@@ -166,9 +166,9 @@ describe("directive behavior", () => {
       );
 
       const text = Array.isArray(res) ? res[0]?.text : res?.text;
-      expect(text).toContain("claude-opus-4-5 — anthropic");
-      expect(text).toContain("gpt-4.1-mini — openai");
-      expect(text).toContain("MiniMax-M2.1 — minimax");
+      expect(text).toContain("anthropic/claude-opus-4-5");
+      expect(text).toContain("openai/gpt-4.1-mini");
+      expect(text).toContain("minimax/MiniMax-M2.1");
       expect(runEmbeddedPiAgent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
   });
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply.directive.directive-behavior.updates-tool-verbose-during-flight-run-toggle.test.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply.directive.directive-behavior.updates-tool-verbose-during-flight-run-toggle.test.ts
index 8844bf846..c97a07434 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply.directive.directive-behavior.updates-tool-verbose-during-flight-run-toggle.test.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply.directive.directive-behavior.updates-tool-verbose-during-flight-run-toggle.test.ts
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ describe("directive behavior", () => {
       const text = Array.isArray(res) ? res[0]?.text : res?.text;
       expect(text).toContain("anthropic/claude-opus-4-5");
       expect(text).toContain("Pick: /model <#> or /model <provider/model>");
-      expect(text).toContain("gpt-4.1-mini — openai");
+      expect(text).toContain("openai/gpt-4.1-mini");
       expect(text).not.toContain("claude-sonnet-4-1");
       expect(runEmbeddedPiAgent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply.triggers.trigger-handling.shows-quick-model-picker-grouped-by-model.test.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply.triggers.trigger-handling.shows-quick-model-picker-grouped-by-model.test.ts
index 248ff9e42..3a8569800 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply.triggers.trigger-handling.shows-quick-model-picker-grouped-by-model.test.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply.triggers.trigger-handling.shows-quick-model-picker-grouped-by-model.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { normalizeTestText } from "../../test/helpers/normalize-text.js";
@@ -96,7 +95,7 @@ afterEach(() => {
 });
 
 describe("trigger handling", () => {
-  it("shows a quick /model picker grouped by model with providers", async () => {
+  it("shows a quick /model picker listing provider/model pairs", async () => {
     await withTempHome(async (home) => {
       const cfg = makeCfg(home);
       const res = await getReplyFromConfig(
@@ -116,8 +115,11 @@ describe("trigger handling", () => {
       const text = Array.isArray(res) ? res[0]?.text : res?.text;
       const normalized = normalizeTestText(text ?? "");
       expect(normalized).toContain("Pick: /model <#> or /model <provider/model>");
-      expect(normalized).toContain("1) claude-opus-4-5 — anthropic, openrouter");
-      expect(normalized).toContain("3) gpt-5.2 — openai, openai-codex");
+      // Each provider/model combo is listed separately for clear selection
+      expect(normalized).toContain("anthropic/claude-opus-4-5");
+      expect(normalized).toContain("openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4-5");
+      expect(normalized).toContain("openai/gpt-5.2");
+      expect(normalized).toContain("openai-codex/gpt-5.2");
       expect(normalized).toContain("More: /model status");
       expect(normalized).not.toContain("reasoning");
       expect(normalized).not.toContain("image");
@@ -152,27 +154,12 @@ describe("trigger handling", () => {
       expect(store[sessionKey]?.modelOverride).toBeUndefined();
     });
   });
-  it("prefers the current provider when selecting /model <#>", async () => {
+  it("selects exact provider/model combo by index via /model <#>", async () => {
     await withTempHome(async (home) => {
       const cfg = makeCfg(home);
       const sessionKey = "telegram:slash:111";
 
-      await fs.writeFile(
-        cfg.session.store,
-        JSON.stringify(
-          {
-            [sessionKey]: {
-              sessionId: "session-openrouter",
-              updatedAt: Date.now(),
-              providerOverride: "openrouter",
-              modelOverride: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5",
-            },
-          },
-          null,
-          2,
-        ),
-      );
-
+      // /model 1 should select the first item (anthropic/claude-opus-4-5)
       const res = await getReplyFromConfig(
         {
           Body: "/model 1",
@@ -188,13 +175,15 @@ describe("trigger handling", () => {
       );
 
       const text = Array.isArray(res) ? res[0]?.text : res?.text;
+      // Selecting the default model shows "reset to default" instead of "set to"
       expect(normalizeTestText(text ?? "")).toContain(
-        "Model set to openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4-5",
+        "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5",
       );
 
       const store = loadSessionStore(cfg.session.store);
-      expect(store[sessionKey]?.providerOverride).toBe("openrouter");
-      expect(store[sessionKey]?.modelOverride).toBe("anthropic/claude-opus-4-5");
+      // When selecting the default, overrides are cleared
+      expect(store[sessionKey]?.providerOverride).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(store[sessionKey]?.modelOverride).toBeUndefined();
     });
   });
   it("selects a model by index via /model <#>", async () => {
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.model-picker.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.model-picker.ts
index 98c917752..0fd2af367 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.model-picker.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.model-picker.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { normalizeProviderId } from "../../agents/model-selection.js";
+import { type ModelRef, normalizeProviderId } from "../../agents/model-selection.js";
 import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
 
 export type ModelPickerCatalogEntry = {
@@ -7,11 +7,7 @@ export type ModelPickerCatalogEntry = {
   name?: string;
 };
 
-export type ModelPickerItem = {
-  model: string;
-  providers: string[];
-  providerModels: Record<string, string>;
-};
+export type ModelPickerItem = ModelRef;
 
 const MODEL_PICK_PROVIDER_PREFERENCE = [
   "anthropic",
@@ -31,68 +27,43 @@ const MODEL_PICK_PROVIDER_PREFERENCE = [
   "lmstudio",
 ] as const;
 
-function normalizeModelFamilyId(id: string): string {
-  const trimmed = id.trim();
-  if (!trimmed) return trimmed;
-  const parts = trimmed.split("/").filter(Boolean);
-  return parts.length > 0 ? (parts[parts.length - 1] ?? trimmed) : trimmed;
-}
+const PROVIDER_RANK = new Map<string, number>(
+  MODEL_PICK_PROVIDER_PREFERENCE.map((provider, idx) => [provider, idx]),
+);
 
-function sortProvidersForPicker(providers: string[]): string[] {
-  const pref = new Map<string, number>(
-    MODEL_PICK_PROVIDER_PREFERENCE.map((provider, idx) => [provider, idx]),
-  );
-  return providers.sort((a, b) => {
-    const pa = pref.get(a);
-    const pb = pref.get(b);
-    if (pa !== undefined && pb !== undefined) return pa - pb;
-    if (pa !== undefined) return -1;
-    if (pb !== undefined) return 1;
-    return a.localeCompare(b);
-  });
+function compareProvidersForPicker(a: string, b: string): number {
+  const pa = PROVIDER_RANK.get(a);
+  const pb = PROVIDER_RANK.get(b);
+  if (pa !== undefined && pb !== undefined) return pa - pb;
+  if (pa !== undefined) return -1;
+  if (pb !== undefined) return 1;
+  return a.localeCompare(b);
 }
 
 export function buildModelPickerItems(catalog: ModelPickerCatalogEntry[]): ModelPickerItem[] {
-  const byModel = new Map<string, { providerModels: Record<string, string> }>();
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  const out: ModelPickerItem[] = [];
+
   for (const entry of catalog) {
     const provider = normalizeProviderId(entry.provider);
-    const model = normalizeModelFamilyId(entry.id);
+    const model = entry.id?.trim();
     if (!provider || !model) continue;
-    const existing = byModel.get(model);
-    if (existing) {
-      existing.providerModels[provider] = entry.id;
-      continue;
-    }
-    byModel.set(model, { providerModels: { [provider]: entry.id } });
-  }
-  const out: ModelPickerItem[] = [];
-  for (const [model, data] of byModel.entries()) {
-    const providers = sortProvidersForPicker(Object.keys(data.providerModels));
-    out.push({ model, providers, providerModels: data.providerModels });
-  }
-  out.sort((a, b) => a.model.toLowerCase().localeCompare(b.model.toLowerCase()));
-  return out;
-}
 
-export function pickProviderForModel(params: {
-  item: ModelPickerItem;
-  preferredProvider?: string;
-}): { provider: string; model: string } | null {
-  const preferred = params.preferredProvider
-    ? normalizeProviderId(params.preferredProvider)
-    : undefined;
-  if (preferred && params.item.providerModels[preferred]) {
-    return {
-      provider: preferred,
-      model: params.item.providerModels[preferred],
-    };
+    const key = `${provider}/${model}`;
+    if (seen.has(key)) continue;
+    seen.add(key);
+
+    out.push({ model, provider });
   }
-  const first = params.item.providers[0];
-  if (!first) return null;
-  return {
-    provider: first,
-    model: params.item.providerModels[first] ?? params.item.model,
-  };
+
+  // Sort by provider preference first, then by model name
+  out.sort((a, b) => {
+    const providerOrder = compareProvidersForPicker(a.provider, b.provider);
+    if (providerOrder !== 0) return providerOrder;
+    return a.model.toLowerCase().localeCompare(b.model.toLowerCase());
+  });
+
+  return out;
 }
 
 export function resolveProviderEndpointLabel(
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.model.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.model.ts
index b63f2c6d1..61a693798 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.model.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.model.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import {
 import {
   buildModelPickerItems,
   type ModelPickerCatalogEntry,
-  pickProviderForModel,
   resolveProviderEndpointLabel,
 } from "./directive-handling.model-picker.js";
 import type { InlineDirectives } from "./directive-handling.parse.js";
@@ -126,7 +125,7 @@ export async function maybeHandleModelDirectiveInfo(params: {
     const current = `${params.provider}/${params.model}`;
     const lines: string[] = [`Current: ${current}`, "Pick: /model <#> or /model <provider/model>"];
     for (const [idx, item] of items.entries()) {
-      lines.push(`${idx + 1}) ${item.model} — ${item.providers.join(", ")}`);
+      lines.push(`${idx + 1}) ${item.provider}/${item.model}`);
     }
     lines.push("", "More: /model status");
     return { text: lines.join("\n") };
@@ -236,22 +235,13 @@ export function resolveModelSelectionFromDirective(params: {
         errorText: `Invalid model selection "${raw}". Use /model to list.`,
       };
     }
-    const picked = pickProviderForModel({
-      item,
-      preferredProvider: params.provider,
-    });
-    if (!picked) {
-      return {
-        errorText: `Invalid model selection "${raw}". Use /model to list.`,
-      };
-    }
-    const key = `${picked.provider}/${picked.model}`;
+    const key = `${item.provider}/${item.model}`;
     const aliases = params.aliasIndex.byKey.get(key);
     const alias = aliases && aliases.length > 0 ? aliases[0] : undefined;
     modelSelection = {
-      provider: picked.provider,
-      model: picked.model,
-      isDefault: picked.provider === params.defaultProvider && picked.model === params.defaultModel,
+      provider: item.provider,
+      model: item.model,
+      isDefault: item.provider === params.defaultProvider && item.model === params.defaultModel,
       ...(alias ? { alias } : {}),
     };
   } else {