diff --git a/src/features/background-agent/manager.ts b/src/features/background-agent/manager.ts
index ab564eba9..21e18c9a9 100644
--- a/src/features/background-agent/manager.ts
+++ b/src/features/background-agent/manager.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import type {
   LaunchInput,
   ResumeInput,
 } from "./types"
-import { log, getAgentToolRestrictions } from "../../shared"
+import { log, getAgentToolRestrictions, promptWithModelSuggestionRetry } from "../../shared"
 import { ConcurrencyManager } from "./concurrency"
 import type { BackgroundTaskConfig, TmuxConfig } from "../../config/schema"
 import { isInsideTmux } from "../../shared/tmux"
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ export class BackgroundManager {
       : undefined
     const launchVariant = input.model?.variant
 
-    this.client.session.prompt({
+    promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(this.client, {
       path: { id: sessionID },
       body: {
         agent: input.agent,
diff --git a/src/features/builtin-commands/commands.ts b/src/features/builtin-commands/commands.ts
index 78a033973..eec67a9af 100644
--- a/src/features/builtin-commands/commands.ts
+++ b/src/features/builtin-commands/commands.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ ${REFACTOR_TEMPLATE}
   },
   "start-work": {
     description: "(builtin) Start Sisyphus work session from Prometheus plan",
+    agent: "atlas",
     template: `<command-instruction>
 ${START_WORK_TEMPLATE}
 </command-instruction>
diff --git a/src/shared/index.ts b/src/shared/index.ts
index d9105ec4d..cd67ddc55 100644
--- a/src/shared/index.ts
+++ b/src/shared/index.ts
@@ -32,3 +32,4 @@ export * from "./connected-providers-cache"
 export * from "./case-insensitive"
 export * from "./session-utils"
 export * from "./tmux"
+export * from "./model-suggestion-retry"
diff --git a/src/shared/model-resolver.ts b/src/shared/model-resolver.ts
index 9026a9c4e..41ca66511 100644
--- a/src/shared/model-resolver.ts
+++ b/src/shared/model-resolver.ts
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ export function resolveModelWithFallback(
 		return { model: normalizedUserModel, source: "override" }
 	}
 
-	// Step 3: Provider fallback chain (with availability check)
+	// Step 3: Provider fallback chain (exact match → fuzzy match → next provider)
 	if (fallbackChain && fallbackChain.length > 0) {
 		if (availableModels.size === 0) {
 			const connectedProviders = readConnectedProvidersCache()
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ export function resolveModelWithFallback(
 					for (const provider of entry.providers) {
 						if (connectedSet.has(provider)) {
 							const model = `${provider}/${entry.model}`
-							log("Model resolved via fallback chain (no model cache, using connected provider)", { 
+							log("Model resolved via fallback chain (connected provider)", { 
 								provider, 
 								model: entry.model, 
 								variant: entry.variant,
@@ -84,19 +84,19 @@ export function resolveModelWithFallback(
 				}
 				log("No connected provider found in fallback chain, falling through to system default")
 			}
-		}
-
-		for (const entry of fallbackChain) {
-			for (const provider of entry.providers) {
-				const fullModel = `${provider}/${entry.model}`
-				const match = fuzzyMatchModel(fullModel, availableModels, [provider])
-				if (match) {
-					log("Model resolved via fallback chain (availability confirmed)", { provider, model: entry.model, match, variant: entry.variant })
-					return { model: match, source: "provider-fallback", variant: entry.variant }
+		} else {
+			for (const entry of fallbackChain) {
+				for (const provider of entry.providers) {
+					const fullModel = `${provider}/${entry.model}`
+					const match = fuzzyMatchModel(fullModel, availableModels, [provider])
+					if (match) {
+						log("Model resolved via fallback chain (availability confirmed)", { provider, model: entry.model, match, variant: entry.variant })
+						return { model: match, source: "provider-fallback", variant: entry.variant }
+					}
 				}
 			}
+			log("No available model found in fallback chain, falling through to system default")
 		}
-		log("No available model found in fallback chain, falling through to system default")
 	}
 
 	// Step 4: System default (if provided)
diff --git a/src/shared/model-suggestion-retry.test.ts b/src/shared/model-suggestion-retry.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d04c1c701
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/model-suggestion-retry.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,401 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, mock } from "bun:test"
+import { parseModelSuggestion, promptWithModelSuggestionRetry } from "./model-suggestion-retry"
+
+describe("parseModelSuggestion", () => {
+  describe("structured NamedError format", () => {
+    it("should extract suggestion from ProviderModelNotFoundError", () => {
+      //#given a structured NamedError with suggestions
+      const error = {
+        name: "ProviderModelNotFoundError",
+        data: {
+          providerID: "anthropic",
+          modelID: "claude-sonet-4",
+          suggestions: ["claude-sonnet-4", "claude-sonnet-4-5"],
+        },
+      }
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should return the first suggestion
+      expect(result).toEqual({
+        providerID: "anthropic",
+        modelID: "claude-sonet-4",
+        suggestion: "claude-sonnet-4",
+      })
+    })
+
+    it("should return null when suggestions array is empty", () => {
+      //#given a NamedError with empty suggestions
+      const error = {
+        name: "ProviderModelNotFoundError",
+        data: {
+          providerID: "anthropic",
+          modelID: "claude-sonet-4",
+          suggestions: [],
+        },
+      }
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should return null
+      expect(result).toBeNull()
+    })
+
+    it("should return null when suggestions field is missing", () => {
+      //#given a NamedError without suggestions
+      const error = {
+        name: "ProviderModelNotFoundError",
+        data: {
+          providerID: "anthropic",
+          modelID: "claude-sonet-4",
+        },
+      }
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should return null
+      expect(result).toBeNull()
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe("nested error format", () => {
+    it("should extract suggestion from nested data.error", () => {
+      //#given an error with nested NamedError in data field
+      const error = {
+        data: {
+          name: "ProviderModelNotFoundError",
+          data: {
+            providerID: "openai",
+            modelID: "gpt-5",
+            suggestions: ["gpt-5.2"],
+          },
+        },
+      }
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should extract from nested structure
+      expect(result).toEqual({
+        providerID: "openai",
+        modelID: "gpt-5",
+        suggestion: "gpt-5.2",
+      })
+    })
+
+    it("should extract suggestion from nested error field", () => {
+      //#given an error with nested NamedError in error field
+      const error = {
+        error: {
+          name: "ProviderModelNotFoundError",
+          data: {
+            providerID: "google",
+            modelID: "gemini-3-flsh",
+            suggestions: ["gemini-3-flash"],
+          },
+        },
+      }
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should extract from nested error field
+      expect(result).toEqual({
+        providerID: "google",
+        modelID: "gemini-3-flsh",
+        suggestion: "gemini-3-flash",
+      })
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe("string message format", () => {
+    it("should parse suggestion from error message string", () => {
+      //#given an Error with model-not-found message and suggestion
+      const error = new Error(
+        "Model not found: anthropic/claude-sonet-4. Did you mean: claude-sonnet-4, claude-sonnet-4-5?"
+      )
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should extract from message string
+      expect(result).toEqual({
+        providerID: "anthropic",
+        modelID: "claude-sonet-4",
+        suggestion: "claude-sonnet-4",
+      })
+    })
+
+    it("should parse from plain string error", () => {
+      //#given a plain string error message
+      const error =
+        "Model not found: openai/gtp-5. Did you mean: gpt-5?"
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should extract from string
+      expect(result).toEqual({
+        providerID: "openai",
+        modelID: "gtp-5",
+        suggestion: "gpt-5",
+      })
+    })
+
+    it("should parse from object with message property", () => {
+      //#given an object with message property
+      const error = {
+        message: "Model not found: google/gemini-3-flsh. Did you mean: gemini-3-flash?",
+      }
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should extract from message property
+      expect(result).toEqual({
+        providerID: "google",
+        modelID: "gemini-3-flsh",
+        suggestion: "gemini-3-flash",
+      })
+    })
+
+    it("should return null when message has no suggestion", () => {
+      //#given an error without Did you mean
+      const error = new Error("Model not found: anthropic/nonexistent.")
+
+      //#when parsing the error
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+
+      //#then should return null
+      expect(result).toBeNull()
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe("edge cases", () => {
+    it("should return null for null error", () => {
+      //#given null
+      //#when parsing
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(null)
+      //#then should return null
+      expect(result).toBeNull()
+    })
+
+    it("should return null for undefined error", () => {
+      //#given undefined
+      //#when parsing
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(undefined)
+      //#then should return null
+      expect(result).toBeNull()
+    })
+
+    it("should return null for unrelated error", () => {
+      //#given an unrelated error
+      const error = new Error("Connection timeout")
+      //#when parsing
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+      //#then should return null
+      expect(result).toBeNull()
+    })
+
+    it("should return null for empty object", () => {
+      //#given empty object
+      //#when parsing
+      const result = parseModelSuggestion({})
+      //#then should return null
+      expect(result).toBeNull()
+    })
+  })
+})
+
+describe("promptWithModelSuggestionRetry", () => {
+  it("should succeed on first try without retry", async () => {
+    //#given a client where prompt succeeds
+    const promptMock = mock(() => Promise.resolve())
+    const client = { session: { prompt: promptMock } }
+
+    //#when calling promptWithModelSuggestionRetry
+    await promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(client as any, {
+      path: { id: "session-1" },
+      body: {
+        parts: [{ type: "text", text: "hello" }],
+        model: { providerID: "anthropic", modelID: "claude-sonnet-4" },
+      },
+    })
+
+    //#then should call prompt exactly once
+    expect(promptMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
+  it("should retry with suggestion on model-not-found error", async () => {
+    //#given a client that fails first with model-not-found, then succeeds
+    const promptMock = mock()
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce({
+        name: "ProviderModelNotFoundError",
+        data: {
+          providerID: "anthropic",
+          modelID: "claude-sonet-4",
+          suggestions: ["claude-sonnet-4"],
+        },
+      })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined)
+    const client = { session: { prompt: promptMock } }
+
+    //#when calling promptWithModelSuggestionRetry
+    await promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(client as any, {
+      path: { id: "session-1" },
+      body: {
+        agent: "explore",
+        parts: [{ type: "text", text: "hello" }],
+        model: { providerID: "anthropic", modelID: "claude-sonet-4" },
+      },
+    })
+
+    //#then should call prompt twice - first with original, then with suggestion
+    expect(promptMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+    const retryCall = promptMock.mock.calls[1][0]
+    expect(retryCall.body.model).toEqual({
+      providerID: "anthropic",
+      modelID: "claude-sonnet-4",
+    })
+  })
+
+  it("should throw original error when no suggestion available", async () => {
+    //#given a client that fails with a non-model-not-found error
+    const originalError = new Error("Connection refused")
+    const promptMock = mock().mockRejectedValueOnce(originalError)
+    const client = { session: { prompt: promptMock } }
+
+    //#when calling promptWithModelSuggestionRetry
+    //#then should throw the original error
+    await expect(
+      promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(client as any, {
+        path: { id: "session-1" },
+        body: {
+          parts: [{ type: "text", text: "hello" }],
+          model: { providerID: "anthropic", modelID: "claude-sonnet-4" },
+        },
+      })
+    ).rejects.toThrow("Connection refused")
+
+    expect(promptMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
+  it("should throw original error when retry also fails", async () => {
+    //#given a client that fails with model-not-found, retry also fails
+    const modelNotFoundError = {
+      name: "ProviderModelNotFoundError",
+      data: {
+        providerID: "anthropic",
+        modelID: "claude-sonet-4",
+        suggestions: ["claude-sonnet-4"],
+      },
+    }
+    const retryError = new Error("Still not found")
+    const promptMock = mock()
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(modelNotFoundError)
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(retryError)
+    const client = { session: { prompt: promptMock } }
+
+    //#when calling promptWithModelSuggestionRetry
+    //#then should throw the retry error (not the original)
+    await expect(
+      promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(client as any, {
+        path: { id: "session-1" },
+        body: {
+          parts: [{ type: "text", text: "hello" }],
+          model: { providerID: "anthropic", modelID: "claude-sonet-4" },
+        },
+      })
+    ).rejects.toThrow("Still not found")
+
+    expect(promptMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+  })
+
+  it("should preserve other body fields during retry", async () => {
+    //#given a client that fails first with model-not-found
+    const promptMock = mock()
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce({
+        name: "ProviderModelNotFoundError",
+        data: {
+          providerID: "anthropic",
+          modelID: "claude-sonet-4",
+          suggestions: ["claude-sonnet-4"],
+        },
+      })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined)
+    const client = { session: { prompt: promptMock } }
+
+    //#when calling with additional body fields
+    await promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(client as any, {
+      path: { id: "session-1" },
+      body: {
+        agent: "explore",
+        system: "You are a helpful agent",
+        tools: { task: false },
+        parts: [{ type: "text", text: "hello" }],
+        model: { providerID: "anthropic", modelID: "claude-sonet-4" },
+        variant: "max",
+      },
+    })
+
+    //#then retry call should preserve all fields except corrected model
+    const retryCall = promptMock.mock.calls[1][0]
+    expect(retryCall.body.agent).toBe("explore")
+    expect(retryCall.body.system).toBe("You are a helpful agent")
+    expect(retryCall.body.tools).toEqual({ task: false })
+    expect(retryCall.body.variant).toBe("max")
+    expect(retryCall.body.model).toEqual({
+      providerID: "anthropic",
+      modelID: "claude-sonnet-4",
+    })
+  })
+
+  it("should handle string error message with suggestion", async () => {
+    //#given a client that fails with a string error containing suggestion
+    const promptMock = mock()
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(
+        new Error("Model not found: anthropic/claude-sonet-4. Did you mean: claude-sonnet-4?")
+      )
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined)
+    const client = { session: { prompt: promptMock } }
+
+    //#when calling promptWithModelSuggestionRetry
+    await promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(client as any, {
+      path: { id: "session-1" },
+      body: {
+        parts: [{ type: "text", text: "hello" }],
+        model: { providerID: "anthropic", modelID: "claude-sonet-4" },
+      },
+    })
+
+    //#then should retry with suggested model
+    expect(promptMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+    const retryCall = promptMock.mock.calls[1][0]
+    expect(retryCall.body.model.modelID).toBe("claude-sonnet-4")
+  })
+
+  it("should not retry when no model in original request", async () => {
+    //#given a client that fails with model-not-found but original has no model param
+    const modelNotFoundError = new Error(
+      "Model not found: anthropic/claude-sonet-4. Did you mean: claude-sonnet-4?"
+    )
+    const promptMock = mock().mockRejectedValueOnce(modelNotFoundError)
+    const client = { session: { prompt: promptMock } }
+
+    //#when calling without model in body
+    //#then should throw without retrying
+    await expect(
+      promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(client as any, {
+        path: { id: "session-1" },
+        body: {
+          parts: [{ type: "text", text: "hello" }],
+        },
+      })
+    ).rejects.toThrow()
+
+    expect(promptMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/shared/model-suggestion-retry.ts b/src/shared/model-suggestion-retry.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4b2e6486c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/model-suggestion-retry.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+import type { createOpencodeClient } from "@opencode-ai/sdk"
+import { log } from "./logger"
+
+type Client = ReturnType<typeof createOpencodeClient>
+
+export interface ModelSuggestionInfo {
+  providerID: string
+  modelID: string
+  suggestion: string
+}
+
+function extractMessage(error: unknown): string {
+  if (typeof error === "string") return error
+  if (error instanceof Error) return error.message
+  if (typeof error === "object" && error !== null) {
+    const obj = error as Record<string, unknown>
+    if (typeof obj.message === "string") return obj.message
+    try {
+      return JSON.stringify(error)
+    } catch {
+      return ""
+    }
+  }
+  return String(error)
+}
+
+export function parseModelSuggestion(error: unknown): ModelSuggestionInfo | null {
+  if (!error) return null
+
+  if (typeof error === "object") {
+    const errObj = error as Record<string, unknown>
+
+    if (errObj.name === "ProviderModelNotFoundError" && typeof errObj.data === "object" && errObj.data !== null) {
+      const data = errObj.data as Record<string, unknown>
+      const suggestions = data.suggestions
+      if (Array.isArray(suggestions) && suggestions.length > 0 && typeof suggestions[0] === "string") {
+        return {
+          providerID: String(data.providerID ?? ""),
+          modelID: String(data.modelID ?? ""),
+          suggestion: suggestions[0],
+        }
+      }
+      return null
+    }
+
+    for (const key of ["data", "error", "cause"] as const) {
+      const nested = errObj[key]
+      if (nested && typeof nested === "object") {
+        const result = parseModelSuggestion(nested)
+        if (result) return result
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  const message = extractMessage(error)
+  if (!message) return null
+
+  const modelMatch = message.match(/model not found:\s*([^/\s]+)\s*\/\s*([^.\s]+)/i)
+  const suggestionMatch = message.match(/did you mean:\s*([^,?]+)/i)
+
+  if (modelMatch && suggestionMatch) {
+    return {
+      providerID: modelMatch[1].trim(),
+      modelID: modelMatch[2].trim(),
+      suggestion: suggestionMatch[1].trim(),
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null
+}
+
+interface PromptBody {
+  model?: { providerID: string; modelID: string }
+  [key: string]: unknown
+}
+
+interface PromptArgs {
+  path: { id: string }
+  body: PromptBody
+  [key: string]: unknown
+}
+
+export async function promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(
+  client: Client,
+  args: PromptArgs,
+): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    await client.session.prompt(args as Parameters<typeof client.session.prompt>[0])
+  } catch (error) {
+    const suggestion = parseModelSuggestion(error)
+    if (!suggestion || !args.body.model) {
+      throw error
+    }
+
+    log("[model-suggestion-retry] Model not found, retrying with suggestion", {
+      original: `${suggestion.providerID}/${suggestion.modelID}`,
+      suggested: suggestion.suggestion,
+    })
+
+    await client.session.prompt({
+      ...args,
+      body: {
+        ...args.body,
+        model: {
+          providerID: suggestion.providerID,
+          modelID: suggestion.suggestion,
+        },
+      },
+    } as Parameters<typeof client.session.prompt>[0])
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/tools/delegate-task/tools.ts b/src/tools/delegate-task/tools.ts
index 6d152daa7..93ccc7041 100644
--- a/src/tools/delegate-task/tools.ts
+++ b/src/tools/delegate-task/tools.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import { discoverSkills } from "../../features/opencode-skill-loader"
 import { getTaskToastManager } from "../../features/task-toast-manager"
 import type { ModelFallbackInfo } from "../../features/task-toast-manager/types"
 import { subagentSessions, getSessionAgent } from "../../features/claude-code-session-state"
-import { log, getAgentToolRestrictions, resolveModel, getOpenCodeConfigPaths, findByNameCaseInsensitive, equalsIgnoreCase } from "../../shared"
+import { log, getAgentToolRestrictions, resolveModel, getOpenCodeConfigPaths, findByNameCaseInsensitive, equalsIgnoreCase, promptWithModelSuggestionRetry } from "../../shared"
 import { fetchAvailableModels } from "../../shared/model-availability"
 import { readConnectedProvidersCache } from "../../shared/connected-providers-cache"
 import { resolveModelWithFallback } from "../../shared/model-resolver"
@@ -819,12 +819,6 @@ Create the work plan directly - that's your job as the planning agent.`
           // If we can't fetch agents, proceed anyway - the session.prompt will fail with a clearer error
         }
 
-        // When using subagent_type directly, inherit parent model so agents don't default
-        // to their hardcoded models (like grok-code) which may not be available
-        if (parentModel) {
-          categoryModel = parentModel
-          modelInfo = { model: `${parentModel.providerID}/${parentModel.modelID}`, type: "inherited" }
-        }
       }
 
       const systemContent = buildSystemContent({ skillContent, categoryPromptAppend, agentName: agentToUse })
@@ -953,7 +947,7 @@ To continue this session: session_id="${task.sessionID}"`
 
         try {
           const allowDelegateTask = isPlanAgent(agentToUse)
-          await client.session.prompt({
+          await promptWithModelSuggestionRetry(client, {
             path: { id: sessionID },
             body: {
               agent: agentToUse,