diff --git a/lib/chat/runs/__tests__/handleStartChatRun.test.ts b/lib/chat/runs/__tests__/handleStartChatRun.test.ts
index 3f1c8555..d66023a7 100644
--- a/lib/chat/runs/__tests__/handleStartChatRun.test.ts
+++ b/lib/chat/runs/__tests__/handleStartChatRun.test.ts
@@ -121,4 +121,11 @@ describe("handleStartChatRun", () => {
     expect(mintEphemeralAccountKey).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(deleteApiKey).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
+
+  it("passes the resolved modelId to provisionRunSession so chats.model_id is accurate (chat#1918)", async () => {
+    await handleStartChatRun(req());
+    expect(provisionRunSession).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ modelId: expect.any(String) }),
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/lib/chat/runs/__tests__/provisionRunSession.test.ts b/lib/chat/runs/__tests__/provisionRunSession.test.ts
index 3dd3a13b..ff51f732 100644
--- a/lib/chat/runs/__tests__/provisionRunSession.test.ts
+++ b/lib/chat/runs/__tests__/provisionRunSession.test.ts
@@ -77,4 +77,15 @@ describe("provisionRunSession", () => {
     expect(result.session).toEqual(updated);
     expect(discoverSkills).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
+
+  it("forwards modelId to createSessionWithInitialChat (chat#1918)", async () => {
+    await provisionRunSession({
+      accountId: "acc-1",
+      title: "T",
+      modelId: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5",
+    });
+    expect(createSessionWithInitialChat).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ modelId: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5" }),
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/lib/chat/runs/handleStartChatRun.ts b/lib/chat/runs/handleStartChatRun.ts
index 41b68d1c..a7dc7468 100644
--- a/lib/chat/runs/handleStartChatRun.ts
+++ b/lib/chat/runs/handleStartChatRun.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ export async function handleStartChatRun(request: NextRequest): Promise<Response
       accountId,
       title: DEFAULT_RUN_SESSION_TITLE,
       artistId,
+      modelId,
     });
 
     const { rawKey, keyId } = await mintEphemeralAccountKey(accountId);
diff --git a/lib/chat/runs/provisionRunSession.ts b/lib/chat/runs/provisionRunSession.ts
index df1b054f..a29b938e 100644
--- a/lib/chat/runs/provisionRunSession.ts
+++ b/lib/chat/runs/provisionRunSession.ts
@@ -37,16 +37,20 @@ export async function provisionRunSession({
   accountId,
   title,
   artistId,
+  modelId,
 }: {
   accountId: string;
   title: string;
   artistId?: string;
+  /** Resolved model for this run; persisted onto the chat row (chat#1918). */
+  modelId?: string;
 }): Promise<ProvisionedRunSession> {
   const created = await createSessionWithInitialChat({
     accountId,
     title,
     chatTitle: "Scheduled generation",
     artistId,
+    modelId,
   });
   if (created.ok === false) {
     throw new Error(
diff --git a/lib/sessions/__tests__/createSessionWithInitialChat.test.ts b/lib/sessions/__tests__/createSessionWithInitialChat.test.ts
index f30286ff..ba960c27 100644
--- a/lib/sessions/__tests__/createSessionWithInitialChat.test.ts
+++ b/lib/sessions/__tests__/createSessionWithInitialChat.test.ts
@@ -60,4 +60,17 @@ describe("createSessionWithInitialChat", () => {
     expect(r).toEqual({ ok: false, reason: "insert" });
     expect(deleteSessionById).toHaveBeenCalledWith("sess-1");
   });
+
+  it("persists modelId onto the chat row so the run's model is recorded (chat#1918)", async () => {
+    await createSessionWithInitialChat({ ...args, modelId: "moonshotai/kimi-k3" });
+    expect(insertChat).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ model_id: "moonshotai/kimi-k3" }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("omits model_id when no modelId is supplied", async () => {
+    await createSessionWithInitialChat(args);
+    const row = vi.mocked(insertChat).mock.calls[0]![0] as Record<string, unknown>;
+    expect(row.model_id).toBeUndefined();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/lib/sessions/createSessionWithInitialChat.ts b/lib/sessions/createSessionWithInitialChat.ts
index 766c2053..897a95b4 100644
--- a/lib/sessions/createSessionWithInitialChat.ts
+++ b/lib/sessions/createSessionWithInitialChat.ts
@@ -35,12 +35,20 @@ export async function createSessionWithInitialChat({
   title,
   chatTitle,
   artistId,
+  modelId,
 }: {
   accountId: string;
   workspaceAccountId?: string;
   title: string;
   chatTitle: string;
   artistId?: string;
+  /**
+   * Model the run will execute on. Persisted onto the chat so `chats.model_id`
+   * reflects reality — the generation path reads the model from the chat row,
+   * so leaving it unset made every headless run record the default regardless
+   * of what the task configured (chat#1918).
+   */
+  modelId?: string;
 }): Promise<CreateSessionWithChatResult> {
   const cloneUrl = await ensurePersonalRepo({ accountId: workspaceAccountId ?? accountId });
   if (!cloneUrl) return { ok: false, reason: "repo" };
@@ -50,7 +58,12 @@ export async function createSessionWithInitialChat({
   );
   if (!session) return { ok: false, reason: "insert" };
 
-  const chat = await insertChat({ id: generateUUID(), session_id: session.id, title: chatTitle });
+  const chat = await insertChat({
+    id: generateUUID(),
+    session_id: session.id,
+    title: chatTitle,
+    ...(modelId ? { model_id: modelId } : {}),
+  });
   if (!chat) {
     const rolledBack = await deleteSessionById(session.id);
     if (!rolledBack) {