diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 88efa156..2f537f35 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- **The OpenRouter setup wizard now offers Z.AI models under OpenRouter's own namespace instead of IDs that 404.** `_FALLBACK_MODELS` is authored for the *direct* provider endpoints, so its nine Z.AI entries carry the provider-native `zai/` prefix — and the OpenRouter onboarding setup reused that list verbatim. OpenRouter serves the same models as `z-ai/…`, so anyone who picked a Z.AI model during OpenRouter onboarding was handed an ID the provider does not recognise and their first message failed. The IDs are now translated at the OpenRouter projection boundary only; the fallback catalog and the direct Z.AI setup keep their own namespace. Thanks @webtecnica. (#7518, closes #7514)
+
 - **Recovered "thinking" cards no longer multiply on every turn after context compaction.** When a compacted history left the display transcript longer than the model-facing result, a recovered reasoning-only row could be re-inserted *after* the new reply each turn — doubling the recovered block geometrically (1, 2, 4, 8…). Settlement now fixes the active-turn boundary before restoring reasoning metadata and only restores a historical reasoning row directly in front of its own API-safe successor (requiring a unique stable-id or exact-identity match), failing closed to the current-turn boundary when turn ownership can't be proven. The synchronous chat path mirrors the streaming path, so live and reloaded transcripts stay consistent. Thanks @carlotestor. (#7443, refs #7388)
 
 - **Command-backed provider credentials no longer break the agent cache or discard conversation state between turns.** When a provider used `key_cmd`, the runtime supplied a lazy callable token source, but the cache signature tried to call `.encode()` on it; every turn therefore missed the cache and rebuilt the agent. Callable credentials now use a stable, secret-free cache marker while the existing runtime refresh path still receives the callable itself, so token resolution stays lazy and agent context is reused. Thanks @ArushKhasru. (#7398, closes #7396)
diff --git a/api/onboarding.py b/api/onboarding.py
index cfff9ea2..f09651c4 100644
--- a/api/onboarding.py
+++ b/api/onboarding.py
@@ -35,6 +35,34 @@ from api.workspace import get_last_workspace, load_workspaces
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+# ── OpenRouter namespace translation (#7514) ────────────────────────────────
+#
+# ``_FALLBACK_MODELS`` (api/config.py) is authored for the *direct* provider
+# endpoints, so its Z.AI entries carry the provider's own ``zai/`` prefix.
+# OpenRouter serves the same models under its canonical ``z-ai/`` slug, so
+# projecting that list into the OpenRouter setup verbatim handed the wizard
+# ids that 404 on openrouter.ai (``zai/glm-5.3`` instead of
+# ``z-ai/glm-5.3``).  Translate at this projection boundary only — the
+# fallback catalog and the direct ``zai`` setup keep their own namespace.
+#
+# Every other namespace in the fallback list is already OpenRouter-canonical:
+# openai/, anthropic/, google/, deepseek/, qwen/, x-ai/, mistralai/, minimax/,
+# openrouter/, tencent/, nvidia/, arcee-ai/ — hence a single mapping entry.
+_OPENROUTER_NAMESPACE_MAP = {"zai/": "z-ai/"}
+
+
+def _to_openrouter_namespace(model_id: str) -> str:
+    """Return *model_id* with direct-provider prefixes mapped to OpenRouter's.
+
+    Ids whose namespace already matches OpenRouter (or that carry no
+    namespace) are returned unchanged.
+    """
+    for direct_prefix, openrouter_prefix in _OPENROUTER_NAMESPACE_MAP.items():
+        if model_id.startswith(direct_prefix):
+            return openrouter_prefix + model_id[len(direct_prefix):]
+    return model_id
+
+
 _SUPPORTED_PROVIDER_SETUPS = {
     # ── Easy start ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
     "openrouter": {
@@ -43,7 +71,8 @@ _SUPPORTED_PROVIDER_SETUPS = {
         "default_model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6",
         "requires_base_url": False,
         "models": [
-            {"id": model["id"], "label": model["label"]} for model in _FALLBACK_MODELS
+            {"id": _to_openrouter_namespace(model["id"]), "label": model["label"]}
+            for model in _FALLBACK_MODELS
         ],
         "category": "easy_start",
         "quick": True,
diff --git a/static/panels.js b/static/panels.js
index f7d9a8ea..b53a89c6 100644
--- a/static/panels.js
+++ b/static/panels.js
@@ -12315,12 +12315,23 @@ function _buildAuxProviderOptions(sel,providers,currentProvider){
  autoOpt.value='auto';autoOpt.textContent='auto ('+t('settings_aux_provider_auto')+')';
  if(currentProvider==='auto'||!currentProvider) autoOpt.selected=true;
  sel.appendChild(autoOpt);
+ let matched=currentProvider==='auto'||!currentProvider;
  for(const p of providers){
   const opt=document.createElement('option');
   opt.value=p.slug;opt.textContent=p.name;
-  if(p.slug===currentProvider) opt.selected=true;
+  if(p.slug===currentProvider){opt.selected=true;matched=true;}
   sel.appendChild(opt);
  }
+ // The configured provider can be absent from the /api/models catalog (e.g. its
+ // group exposes no models). Keep it selectable: with no matching option the
+ // select falls back to its first entry ('auto') and the next Apply would
+ // persist that, silently discarding the configured value.
+ if(!matched&&currentProvider){
+  const configuredOpt=document.createElement('option');
+  configuredOpt.value=currentProvider;configuredOpt.textContent=currentProvider+' (configured)';
+  configuredOpt.selected=true;
+  sel.appendChild(configuredOpt);
+ }
 }
 
 function _buildAuxModelOptions(sel,provider,providers,currentModel){
diff --git a/tests/test_auxiliary_models_settings.py b/tests/test_auxiliary_models_settings.py
index 98c73579..513377ee 100644
--- a/tests/test_auxiliary_models_settings.py
+++ b/tests/test_auxiliary_models_settings.py
@@ -312,6 +312,280 @@ console.log(JSON.stringify({
             "Missing _buildAuxModelOptions() for model dropdown rebuild"
         )
 
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(NODE is None, reason="node not on PATH")
+    def test_configured_aux_provider_absent_from_catalog_is_preserved(self):
+        """#7486: a configured provider missing from /api/models must survive Apply.
+
+        The aux provider <select> is populated with 'auto' plus the /api/models
+        catalog. When the configured provider is absent from that catalog (e.g.
+        its group is filtered out because it exposes no models), no option
+        matched, so the select fell back to its first entry ('auto') and the
+        next Apply persisted 'auto' — silently discarding the configured value.
+        """
+        script = r"""
+const fs = require('fs');
+const src = fs.readFileSync(process.argv[1], 'utf8');
+
+function extract(name){
+  const re = new RegExp('function\\s+' + name + '\\s*\\(');
+  const start = src.search(re);
+  if(start < 0) throw new Error(name + ' not found');
+  let i = src.indexOf('{', start);
+  let depth = 0;
+  while(i < src.length){
+    const ch = src[i];
+    if(ch === '{') depth += 1;
+    else if(ch === '}') {
+      depth -= 1;
+      if(depth === 0){
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+    i += 1;
+  }
+  if(depth !== 0) throw new Error(name + ' parse failed');
+  return src.slice(start, i + 1);
+}
+
+global.t = (key) => key;
+
+// Minimal <select>/<option> model. The value getter mirrors real browser
+// behavior: with no option explicitly selected a single-select reads back its
+// first option, which is what made the downgrade silent.
+function makeSelect(){
+  const sel = { options: [] };
+  Object.defineProperty(sel, 'innerHTML', {
+    get(){ return ''; },
+    set(v){ if(v === '') sel.options = []; },
+  });
+  sel.appendChild = (node) => { sel.options.push(node); return node; };
+  sel.insertBefore = (node, ref) => {
+    const idx = sel.options.indexOf(ref);
+    if(idx < 0) sel.options.push(node); else sel.options.splice(idx, 0, node);
+    return node;
+  };
+  Object.defineProperty(sel, 'value', {
+    get(){
+      const picked = sel.options.find((opt) => opt.selected);
+      if(picked) return picked.value;
+      return sel.options.length ? sel.options[0].value : '';
+    },
+    set(v){ sel.options.forEach((opt) => { opt.selected = opt.value === v; }); },
+  });
+  return sel;
+}
+
+global.document = {
+  createElement(tag){
+    if(String(tag).toLowerCase() === 'option'){
+      return { tagName: 'OPTION', value: '', textContent: '', selected: false };
+    }
+    return { tagName: String(tag).toUpperCase(), value: '', textContent: '' };
+  },
+};
+
+eval(extract('_buildAuxProviderOptions'));
+
+const catalog = [
+  {slug: 'openai', name: 'OpenAI'},
+  {slug: 'anthropic', name: 'Anthropic'},
+];
+
+function build(providers, currentProvider){
+  const sel = makeSelect();
+  _buildAuxProviderOptions(sel, providers, currentProvider);
+  return {
+    values: sel.options.map((opt) => opt.value),
+    labels: sel.options.map((opt) => opt.textContent),
+    selected: sel.options.filter((opt) => opt.selected).map((opt) => opt.value),
+    value: sel.value,
+  };
+}
+
+console.log(JSON.stringify({
+  absent: build(catalog, 'custom-router'),
+  absentEmptyCatalog: build([], 'custom-router'),
+  present: build(catalog, 'anthropic'),
+  auto: build(catalog, 'auto'),
+  empty: build(catalog, ''),
+}));
+"""
+
+        proc = subprocess.run(
+            [NODE, "-e", script, str(PANELS_JS_PATH)],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=20,
+        )
+        assert proc.returncode == 0, f"node probe failed:\n{proc.stderr}"
+        result = json.loads(proc.stdout.strip().splitlines()[-1])
+
+        absent = result["absent"]
+        assert "custom-router" in absent["values"], (
+            "configured provider absent from the catalog must keep a selectable option"
+        )
+        assert absent["selected"] == ["custom-router"], (
+            f"configured option must be selected, got {absent['selected']}"
+        )
+        assert absent["value"] == "custom-router", (
+            "Apply must read back the configured provider, not the fallback first option"
+        )
+        assert "custom-router" in absent["labels"][-1]
+        assert result["absentEmptyCatalog"]["value"] == "custom-router"
+
+        assert result["present"]["value"] == "anthropic"
+        assert result["present"]["values"] == ["auto", "openai", "anthropic"]
+        assert result["present"]["selected"] == ["anthropic"]
+        assert result["auto"]["value"] == "auto"
+        assert result["empty"]["value"] == "auto"
+        assert result["empty"]["values"] == ["auto", "openai", "anthropic"]
+
+    def test_apply_does_not_downgrade_untouched_aux_row(self):
+        """#7486: applying one row must not re-save another row's provider as 'auto'.
+
+        End-to-end over the Apply path: two task rows are built with the real
+        option builder, the user edits only the second row's model, and the
+        first row keeps a provider that is missing from the catalog. The first
+        row must not produce any POST at all — the destructive symptom was it
+        being re-saved with provider 'auto'.
+        """
+        script = r"""
+const fs = require('fs');
+const src = fs.readFileSync(process.argv[1], 'utf8');
+
+function extract(name){
+  const re = new RegExp('function\\s+' + name + '\\s*\\(');
+  const start = src.search(re);
+  if(start < 0) throw new Error(name + ' not found');
+  let i = src.indexOf('{', start);
+  let depth = 0;
+  while(i < src.length){
+    const ch = src[i];
+    if(ch === '{') depth += 1;
+    else if(ch === '}') {
+      depth -= 1;
+      if(depth === 0){
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+    i += 1;
+  }
+  if(depth !== 0) throw new Error(name + ' parse failed');
+  return src.slice(start, i + 1);
+}
+
+// Minimal <select>/<option> shim. The value getter mirrors the browser: a
+// single select with nothing explicitly selected reads back its first option,
+// which is why the downgrade was silent rather than an explicit error.
+function makeOption(value, label){
+  return {
+    tagName: 'OPTION',
+    value: String(value),
+    textContent: label === undefined ? String(value) : label,
+    selected: false,
+  };
+}
+function makeSelect(){
+  const sel = {options: []};
+  Object.defineProperty(sel, 'innerHTML', {
+    get(){ return ''; },
+    set(v){ if(v === '') sel.options = []; },
+  });
+  sel.appendChild = (node) => { sel.options.push(node); return node; };
+  sel.insertBefore = (node, ref) => {
+    const idx = sel.options.indexOf(ref);
+    if(idx < 0) sel.options.push(node); else sel.options.splice(idx, 0, node);
+    return node;
+  };
+  Object.defineProperty(sel, 'value', {
+    get(){
+      const picked = sel.options.find(o => o.selected);
+      if(picked) return picked.value;
+      return sel.options.length ? sel.options[0].value : '';
+    },
+    set(v){ sel.options.forEach(o => { o.selected = (o.value === String(v)); }); },
+  });
+  return sel;
+}
+function setSelect(sel, values, chosen){
+  sel.innerHTML = '';
+  for(const v of values) sel.appendChild(makeOption(v));
+  sel.value = chosen;
+  return sel;
+}
+global.document = {
+  createElement(tag){
+    return String(tag).toLowerCase() === 'option'
+      ? makeOption('', '')
+      : {tagName: String(tag).toUpperCase(), style: {}, appendChild(){}};
+  },
+};
+const els = {};
+global.$ = (id) => els[id] || null;
+global.t = (key) => key;
+global.showToast = () => {};
+global._loadAuxiliaryModels = () => {};
+
+eval(extract('_buildAuxProviderOptions'));
+
+const catalog = [{slug: 'openai', name: 'OpenAI'}];
+
+// Persisted config: 'simple' is configured with a provider that is no longer
+// present in /api/models; 'complex' uses a catalog provider.
+global._auxTasks = [{task: 'simple'}, {task: 'complex'}];
+global._auxOriginalConfig = {
+  simple: {provider: 'custom-router', model: 'gpt-x'},
+  complex: {provider: 'openai', model: 'gpt-5'},
+};
+
+els['aux-prov-simple'] = makeSelect();
+els['aux-model-simple'] = setSelect(makeSelect(), ['gpt-x', '__custom__'], 'gpt-x');
+els['aux-prov-complex'] = makeSelect();
+els['aux-model-complex'] = setSelect(makeSelect(), ['gpt-5', 'gpt-5-mini', '__custom__'], 'gpt-5');
+
+// The settings panel rebuilds every row's selects on load
+_buildAuxProviderOptions(els['aux-prov-simple'], catalog, 'custom-router');
+_buildAuxProviderOptions(els['aux-prov-complex'], catalog, 'openai');
+
+// The user edits only the 'complex' row, then clicks Apply
+els['aux-model-complex'].value = 'gpt-5-mini';
+
+const posted = [];
+global.api = async (path, opts) => { posted.push(JSON.parse(opts.body)); return {}; };
+
+// _applyAuxModels is async: extract() slices from the `function` keyword, so
+// re-add the modifier before evaluating the declaration.
+eval('async ' + extract('_applyAuxModels'));
+
+_applyAuxModels().then(() => {
+  console.log(JSON.stringify({posted, untouchedProvider: els['aux-prov-simple'].value}));
+});
+"""
+
+        proc = subprocess.run(
+            [NODE, "-e", script, str(PANELS_JS_PATH)],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=20,
+        )
+        assert proc.returncode == 0, f"node probe failed:\n{proc.stderr}"
+        result = json.loads(proc.stdout.strip().splitlines()[-1])
+
+        assert result["untouchedProvider"] == "custom-router", (
+            "the untouched row must still read back its configured provider"
+        )
+        assert result["posted"] == [
+            {
+                "scope": "auxiliary",
+                "task": "complex",
+                "provider": "openai",
+                "model": "gpt-5-mini",
+            }
+        ], f"only the edited row may be saved, got {result['posted']}"
+        assert not any(p.get("provider") == "auto" for p in result["posted"]), (
+            "an untouched row must never be persisted as 'auto' (data loss)"
+        )
+
     def test_custom_model_prompt(self):
         """Selecting 'Custom model…' must prompt for model ID."""
         assert "__custom__" in PANELS_JS, (
diff --git a/tests/test_issue7514_openrouter_zai_namespace.py b/tests/test_issue7514_openrouter_zai_namespace.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..837ece43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_issue7514_openrouter_zai_namespace.py
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+"""Regression tests for #7514: OpenRouter onboarding must serve Z.AI models
+under OpenRouter's canonical ``z-ai/`` namespace, not the direct provider's
+``zai/`` namespace.
+
+``_FALLBACK_MODELS`` (api/config.py) is authored for the *direct* provider
+endpoints, and its Z.AI entries use that provider's own ``zai/`` prefix.
+The OpenRouter onboarding setup reused the list verbatim, so the wizard
+offered ids such as ``zai/glm-5.3`` — which 404 on openrouter.ai, where the
+canonical slug is ``z-ai/glm-5.3``.
+
+These tests pin the boundary:
+
+  1. The ``openrouter`` setup translates ``zai/`` → ``z-ai/`` and never
+     serves a ``zai/`` id.
+  2. The translation is namespace-only: same models, same order, same labels.
+  3. The direct ``zai`` setup keeps ``zai/`` (it talks to the Z.AI endpoint,
+     not to OpenRouter).
+  4. ``_FALLBACK_MODELS`` itself is never rewritten — other consumers still
+     see the direct-provider namespace.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import api.config as config
+import api.onboarding as onboarding
+
+
+def _models(provider_id: str) -> list[dict]:
+    return onboarding._SUPPORTED_PROVIDER_SETUPS[provider_id]["models"]
+
+
+def _ids(provider_id: str) -> list[str]:
+    return [model["id"] for model in _models(provider_id)]
+
+
+def _expected_openrouter_id(model_id: str) -> str:
+    """Independent reference implementation of the namespace translation."""
+    if model_id.startswith("zai/"):
+        return "z-ai/" + model_id[len("zai/") :]
+    return model_id
+
+
+def test_openrouter_setup_never_serves_direct_zai_namespace():
+    served = [model_id for model_id in _ids("openrouter") if model_id.startswith("zai/")]
+    assert served == [], (
+        "OpenRouter onboarding served ids from the direct-provider namespace; "
+        f"these 404 on the OpenRouter API: {served}"
+    )
+
+
+def test_openrouter_setup_exposes_z_ai_models():
+    ids = _ids("openrouter")
+    assert "z-ai/glm-5.3" in ids
+    assert "z-ai/glm-5.3-flash" in ids
+
+    expected = {
+        _expected_openrouter_id(model["id"])
+        for model in config._FALLBACK_MODELS
+        if model["id"].startswith("zai/")
+    }
+    assert expected, "expected the fallback catalog to carry Z.AI models"
+    assert expected.issubset(set(ids)), (
+        "every Z.AI model from the fallback catalog must be offered under the "
+        f"OpenRouter namespace; missing: {sorted(expected - set(ids))}"
+    )
+
+
+def test_openrouter_projection_is_namespace_only():
+    """The OpenRouter list stays a 1:1, order-preserving projection."""
+    fallback = config._FALLBACK_MODELS
+    openrouter = _models("openrouter")
+
+    assert len(openrouter) == len(fallback)
+    for source, projected in zip(fallback, openrouter, strict=True):
+        assert projected["label"] == source["label"]
+        assert projected["id"] == _expected_openrouter_id(source["id"])
+
+
+def test_direct_zai_setup_keeps_direct_provider_ids():
+    """The direct Z.AI setup talks to the Z.AI endpoint (base_url is set on the
+    setup), so it keeps its own bare provider ids and must not inherit the
+    OpenRouter translation."""
+    ids = _ids("zai")
+    assert ids == [model["id"] for model in config._PROVIDER_MODELS["zai"]]
+    assert "glm-5.3" in ids
+    assert [model_id for model_id in ids if model_id.startswith("z-ai/")] == []
+
+
+def test_fallback_models_are_untouched():
+    ids = [model["id"] for model in config._FALLBACK_MODELS]
+    assert "zai/glm-5.3" in ids
+    assert [model_id for model_id in ids if model_id.startswith("z-ai/")] == []
+
+
+def test_namespace_helper_is_a_noop_for_other_namespaces_and_bare_ids():
+    for model_id in (
+        "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6",
+        "x-ai/grok-4.20",
+        "minimax/MiniMax-M3",
+        "openrouter/elephant-alpha",
+        "gpt-4o",
+    ):
+        assert onboarding._to_openrouter_namespace(model_id) == model_id
+    assert onboarding._to_openrouter_namespace("zai/glm-5.3") == "z-ai/glm-5.3"
+
+
+def test_setup_catalog_serves_the_translated_namespace():
+    """The payload the wizard consumes carries the OpenRouter namespace."""
+    catalog = onboarding._build_setup_catalog({})
+    entries = {provider["id"]: provider for provider in catalog["providers"]}
+    ids = [model["id"] for model in entries["openrouter"]["models"]]
+
+    assert [model_id for model_id in ids if model_id.startswith("zai/")] == []
+    assert "z-ai/glm-5.3" in ids