The remote model catalog (website/static/api/model-catalog.json) now labels
exactly one entry per provider block with "default": true — z-ai/glm-5.2 for
both OpenRouter and Nous Portal. That labeled entry is the model Hermes
silently lands on when the user never picked one, and it can be rotated by
editing the manifest alone: no release needed.
- model_catalog.py: get_default_model_from_cache() reads the label from the
in-process/disk cache only — never triggers a network fetch, so hot
resolution paths (agent build, gateway session setup) stay network-free.
- models.py: get_preferred_silent_default_model() resolves catalog label
first, PREFERRED_SILENT_DEFAULT_MODEL constant second (offline/fresh
install). _PROVIDER_SILENT_DEFAULT_OVERRIDES dict replaced by
_SILENT_DEFAULT_PROVIDERS routing through the shared resolver.
fetch_openrouter_models() preserves the "default" badge through live
/v1/models refreshes so the picker shows it.
- scripts/build_model_catalog.py: generator emits the default label so
regeneration can't drop it.
- website/docs/reference/model-catalog.md: schema documents the new field.
- Salvaged from PR #61141 (@HumphreySun98): bare-provider /model switches
(/model nous) route through the cost-safe default instead of curated
entry [0].
- tests: catalog-label precedence, constant fallback, stale-label fallback,
cache-only (no network) guarantee, and a shipped-manifest contract test
pinning the labeled entry to PREFERRED_SILENT_DEFAULT_MODEL.
E2E (temp HERMES_HOME): fresh-install constant fallback, shipped-manifest
label read, release-free rotation (relabeled cache -> new default across
models.py, tui_gateway, and gateway empty-model paths) all verified.
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