diff --git a/.changelog/next/fixed-issue-4157.md b/.changelog/next/fixed-issue-4157.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3410fab0f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/next/fixed-issue-4157.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- Vision pickers in the universe builder (image describe, style-reference analysis, corrective reference) now offer installed vision models the client id regex doesn't recognize, instead of showing a "no vision model" blocker
diff --git a/client/src/components/universe/VisionDescribeModal.test.jsx b/client/src/components/universe/VisionDescribeModal.test.jsx
index 2608ffb855..84d2b69360 100644
--- a/client/src/components/universe/VisionDescribeModal.test.jsx
+++ b/client/src/components/universe/VisionDescribeModal.test.jsx
@@ -15,6 +15,13 @@ vi.mock('../../hooks/useProviderModels', () => ({
   }),
 }));
 
+// VisionProviderPicker unions the server's authoritative VLM set into its model
+// filter, so it runs the capability scan on mount — stub it out (this suite is
+// about the modal's actions, and the picker's own suite covers the union).
+vi.mock('../../hooks/useVisionModelIds', () => ({
+  default: () => ({ idsByProvider: null, loaded: true }),
+}));
+
 // The gallery picker pulls in the media/socket layer — stub it.
 vi.mock('../imageGen/GalleryImagePicker', () => ({ default: () => null }));
 vi.mock('../ProviderModelSelector', () => ({ default: () => null }));
diff --git a/client/src/components/universe/VisionProviderPicker.jsx b/client/src/components/universe/VisionProviderPicker.jsx
index 428a8c5d4b..fa10d2be28 100644
--- a/client/src/components/universe/VisionProviderPicker.jsx
+++ b/client/src/components/universe/VisionProviderPicker.jsx
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@
  *
  * Owns a `useProviderModels` instance scoped to enabled API providers, with
  * LOCAL backends (Ollama / LM Studio) restricted to vision-capable models (cloud
- * providers' lists are left intact). Renders the provider+model dropdowns plus
+ * providers' lists are left intact) — by the client id regex UNIONED with the
+ * server's authoritative per-provider VLM set (`useVisionModelIds`), like every
+ * other vision picker. Renders the provider+model dropdowns plus
  * the "no vision model" / "no provider" guidance, and lifts the current
  * selection to the parent via `onChange` so the caller can submit the chosen
  * `{ providerId, model }` and gate its action on a vision model being present.
@@ -15,27 +17,48 @@
  * it's actually needed.
  */
 
-import { useEffect } from 'react';
+import { useCallback, useEffect } from 'react';
 import ProviderModelSelector from '../ProviderModelSelector';
 import useProviderModels from '../../hooks/useProviderModels';
-import { enabledApiProviderFilter, visionLocalModelFilter } from '../../utils/providers';
+import useVisionModelIds from '../../hooks/useVisionModelIds';
+import { enabledApiProviderFilter, localBackendForProvider, visionLocalModelFilter } from '../../utils/providers';
 
 export default function VisionProviderPicker({ label = 'Vision provider', onChange }) {
+  // The server's authoritative per-provider VLM set, unioned into the filter:
+  // the client id regex only knows the multimodal families it was written
+  // against, so on its own it hides installed VLMs from newer ones (`gemma4`).
+  // Every mount of this picker is behind a modal/conditional render, so the
+  // capability scan is already deferred until it's needed — no `enabled` gate.
+  const { idsByProvider: visionIds, loaded: visionLoaded } = useVisionModelIds();
+  const modelFilter = useCallback(
+    (id, provider) => visionLocalModelFilter(id, provider, visionIds),
+    [visionIds],
+  );
+
   const {
     providers, selectedProviderId, selectedModel, availableModels,
     setSelectedProviderId, setSelectedModel, loading,
-  } = useProviderModels({ filter: enabledApiProviderFilter, modelFilter: visionLocalModelFilter, silent: true });
+  } = useProviderModels({ filter: enabledApiProviderFilter, modelFilter, silent: true });
 
   const hasProviders = providers.length > 0;
+  // While the capability scan is in flight the filter is regex-only, so an empty
+  // selection on a LOCAL backend is "don't know yet", not "none installed" —
+  // asserting the blocker here would flash it and then flip. Cloud providers are
+  // never filtered, so their empty selection is already a final answer.
+  const visionPending = !visionLoaded
+    && !!localBackendForProvider(providers.find((p) => p.id === selectedProviderId));
   // A provider is selected but exposes no vision-capable model (all of a local
   // backend's models were filtered out) — block the run with an explanation.
-  const noVisionModel = hasProviders && !selectedModel;
+  const noVisionModel = hasProviders && !selectedModel && !visionPending;
 
   // Lift the selection so the caller can submit it and gate on a vision model.
   // `onChange` should be a stable setter; deps are bounded (load + user picks).
+  // `loading` covers the capability scan too — the auto-picked model can still
+  // change when it lands, so the selection isn't final until it settles.
+  const resolving = loading || visionPending;
   useEffect(() => {
-    onChange?.({ providerId: selectedProviderId, model: selectedModel, hasProviders, noVisionModel, loading });
-  }, [onChange, selectedProviderId, selectedModel, hasProviders, noVisionModel, loading]);
+    onChange?.({ providerId: selectedProviderId, model: selectedModel, hasProviders, noVisionModel, loading: resolving });
+  }, [onChange, selectedProviderId, selectedModel, hasProviders, noVisionModel, resolving]);
 
   if (!hasProviders) {
     return (
diff --git a/client/src/components/universe/VisionProviderPicker.test.jsx b/client/src/components/universe/VisionProviderPicker.test.jsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3eb9f26462
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/components/universe/VisionProviderPicker.test.jsx
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import { render, screen, waitFor, within } from '@testing-library/react';
+
+vi.mock('../../services/api', () => ({ getProviders: vi.fn() }));
+vi.mock('../../services/apiLocalLlm', () => ({ getVisionModels: vi.fn(), getToolUseModels: vi.fn() }));
+
+import VisionProviderPicker from './VisionProviderPicker';
+import { getProviders } from '../../services/api';
+import { getVisionModels } from '../../services/apiLocalLlm';
+
+// A local backend whose ONLY vision-capable model belongs to a family the
+// client id regex predates — the `gemma4` gap, restaged with a placeholder id
+// so it keeps testing the GAP rather than whichever families the regex has
+// since learned. Regex-only, this picker renders empty.
+const VLM_ID = 'muse-glimmer:30b';
+const OLLAMA = {
+  id: 'ollama',
+  name: 'Ollama',
+  type: 'api',
+  enabled: true,
+  endpoint: 'http://127.0.0.1:11434',
+  defaultModel: 'qwen3.6:35b',
+  models: ['qwen3.6:35b', VLM_ID, 'nomic-embed-text'],
+};
+
+// Cloud providers are never id-filtered — the regex is a local-name heuristic.
+const CLOUD = {
+  id: 'cloud-api',
+  name: 'Cloud API',
+  type: 'api',
+  enabled: true,
+  defaultModel: 'omni-1',
+  models: ['omni-1', 'omni-1-mini'],
+};
+
+const modelSelect = () => screen.getByLabelText('Model');
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  vi.clearAllMocks();
+  getProviders.mockResolvedValue({ providers: [OLLAMA] });
+  getVisionModels.mockResolvedValue({ models: [] });
+});
+
+describe('VisionProviderPicker', () => {
+  it('offers a VLM the client id regex does not recognize, once the server list lands', async () => {
+    getVisionModels.mockResolvedValue({
+      models: [{ id: VLM_ID, backend: 'ollama', providerId: 'ollama', vision: true }],
+    });
+    const onChange = vi.fn();
+    render(<VisionProviderPicker onChange={onChange} />);
+
+    // The auto-pick is lifted, so the caller's "Run" gate (`!!vision.model`) opens.
+    await waitFor(() => expect(onChange).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ providerId: 'ollama', model: VLM_ID, noVisionModel: false }),
+    ));
+    expect(modelSelect()).toHaveValue(VLM_ID);
+    expect(within(modelSelect()).getByRole('option', { name: VLM_ID })).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/no vision-capable model installed/i)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('still blocks with an explanation when the backend really has no VLM', async () => {
+    // The scan settles reporting nothing installed — regex-only is then the best
+    // answer available, and it also finds nothing.
+    render(<VisionProviderPicker onChange={vi.fn()} />);
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText(/no vision-capable model installed/i)).toBeInTheDocument());
+    expect(screen.queryByLabelText('Model')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('does not flash the blocker while the capability scan is still in flight', async () => {
+    let settle;
+    getVisionModels.mockReturnValue(new Promise((resolve) => { settle = resolve; }));
+    const onChange = vi.fn();
+    render(<VisionProviderPicker onChange={onChange} />);
+
+    // Providers have loaded and the regex found nothing — but "don't know yet"
+    // must not render as "none installed".
+    await waitFor(() => expect(onChange).toHaveBeenCalled());
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/no vision-capable model installed/i)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(onChange).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ noVisionModel: false, loading: true }),
+    );
+
+    settle({ models: [] });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText(/no vision-capable model installed/i)).toBeInTheDocument());
+  });
+
+  it('leaves a cloud provider unfiltered while the scan is pending', async () => {
+    getProviders.mockResolvedValue({ providers: [CLOUD] });
+    getVisionModels.mockReturnValue(new Promise(() => {}));
+    render(<VisionProviderPicker onChange={vi.fn()} />);
+
+    // No local backend selected → nothing to wait for; the cloud list is final.
+    await waitFor(() => expect(modelSelect()).toHaveValue('omni-1'));
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/no vision-capable model installed/i)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('explains the empty case when no provider is configured at all', async () => {
+    getProviders.mockResolvedValue({ providers: [] });
+    render(<VisionProviderPicker onChange={vi.fn()} />);
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText(/No API provider with a vision-capable model/i)).toBeInTheDocument());
+  });
+});
diff --git a/client/src/hooks/useProviderModels.js b/client/src/hooks/useProviderModels.js
index b08240a470..36638b3c70 100644
--- a/client/src/hooks/useProviderModels.js
+++ b/client/src/hooks/useProviderModels.js
@@ -35,6 +35,15 @@ const sourceModels = (provider, withEffort) => {
  *   set, the auto-selected / provider-change model is the first model that
  *   passes the filter rather than the provider's `defaultModel` (which may not
  *   qualify). Omit for the full selectable list.
+ *
+ *   A `modelFilter` whose IDENTITY changes is supported and expected: a vision
+ *   picker starts on the client-side id regex and widens once the server's
+ *   authoritative capability list resolves (`useVisionModelIds`). The hook then
+ *   re-runs its initial pick — without refetching the provider list — so a
+ *   selection the first, blinder filter couldn't make isn't frozen at `''`.
+ *   Once the user picks (or clears) a model, that wins and the re-pick stands
+ *   down. Memoize the predicate (`useCallback`) so it only changes when its
+ *   inputs do.
  * @param {boolean} [options.withEffort] - Set when the caller also renders an
  *   effort control (`ProviderModelSelector`'s `effort`/`onEffortChange`) and
  *   threads the value to the server. Providers whose CLI bakes the reasoning
@@ -50,6 +59,12 @@ export default function useProviderModels({ filter, allowDefault = false, silent
   const [selectedModel, setSelectedModel] = useState('');
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
   const hasSetInitialRef = useRef(false);
+  // Latched once the model is chosen deliberately — a picker change, or a
+  // caller restoring a saved pin. The auto re-pick below then stands down for
+  // good, so a deliberate CLEAR (`''`) is not silently refilled when the filter
+  // later widens; `selectedModel === ''` alone can't carry that distinction,
+  // since it is also what a filter that matched nothing produces.
+  const userPickedModelRef = useRef(false);
 
   // Resolve the model to pin when a provider is (auto-)selected. With a
   // modelFilter, the provider's defaultModel may not qualify (e.g. a vision
@@ -62,6 +77,16 @@ export default function useProviderModels({ filter, allowDefault = false, silent
     return models[0] || '';
   }, [modelFilter, withEffort]);
 
+  // `load` must NOT depend on `pickInitialModel` (and so on `modelFilter`): a
+  // caller whose filter identity changes when a capability list resolves would
+  // otherwise re-run the whole `api.getProviders()` fetch for a change that
+  // needs no new data. The ref hands the async body the freshest picker without
+  // pulling it into the dependency list — synced in an effect (never mutated
+  // during render), which is soon enough: `load` only reads it after awaiting
+  // the fetch, and the initial value covers the mount.
+  const pickInitialModelRef = useRef(pickInitialModel);
+  useEffect(() => { pickInitialModelRef.current = pickInitialModel; }, [pickInitialModel]);
+
   const load = useCallback(async () => {
     setLoading(true);
     const data = await api.getProviders(silent ? { silent: true } : undefined).catch((err) => {
@@ -76,10 +101,10 @@ export default function useProviderModels({ filter, allowDefault = false, silent
     if (!allowDefault && filtered.length > 0 && !hasSetInitialRef.current) {
       hasSetInitialRef.current = true;
       setSelectedProviderId(filtered[0].id);
-      setSelectedModel(pickInitialModel(filtered[0]));
+      setSelectedModel(pickInitialModelRef.current(filtered[0]));
     }
     setLoading(false);
-  }, [filter, allowDefault, silent, pickInitialModel]);
+  }, [filter, allowDefault, silent]);
 
   useEffect(() => { load(); }, [load]);
 
@@ -107,8 +132,35 @@ export default function useProviderModels({ filter, allowDefault = false, silent
     [currentProvider, modelFilter, selectedModel, withEffort]
   );
 
+  // Re-run the initial pick when the `modelFilter`'s identity changes. Without
+  // this, `hasSetInitialRef` freezes the auto-pick at whatever the FIRST filter
+  // produced: a vision picker running on the client id regex alone returns `''`
+  // for a backend whose only VLM the regex doesn't know (`gemma4`), and the
+  // authoritative list landing a moment later never gets a say — leaving a
+  // "no vision model" blocker next to a now-populated dropdown. Scoped to
+  // filtered pickers (an unfiltered one pins `defaultModel`, which needs no
+  // revision) and to a selection that is still the hook's own.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!modelFilter || allowDefault || userPickedModelRef.current) return;
+    if (!hasSetInitialRef.current || !currentProvider) return;
+    // Still valid under the current filter → nothing to revise.
+    if (selectedModel && availableModels.includes(selectedModel)) return;
+    const next = pickInitialModel(currentProvider);
+    if (next !== selectedModel) setSelectedModel(next);
+  }, [modelFilter, allowDefault, currentProvider, availableModels, selectedModel, pickInitialModel]);
+
+  // A user pick latches: the re-pick above never overrides it, in either
+  // direction (a chosen model, or a deliberate clear).
+  const handleModelChange = useCallback((model) => {
+    userPickedModelRef.current = true;
+    setSelectedModel(model);
+  }, []);
+
   const handleProviderChange = useCallback((id) => {
     setSelectedProviderId(id);
+    // The model that follows a provider change is auto-picked, not user-picked,
+    // so it stays eligible for the re-pick above if the filter widens later.
+    userPickedModelRef.current = false;
     if (allowDefault) {
       // Empty model = "use the default model" — don't pin the provider's
       // defaultModel, which would suppress the empty-sentinel choice.
@@ -131,7 +183,7 @@ export default function useProviderModels({ filter, allowDefault = false, silent
     availableModels,
     selectedProvider,
     setSelectedProviderId: handleProviderChange,
-    setSelectedModel,
+    setSelectedModel: handleModelChange,
     loading
   };
 }
diff --git a/client/src/hooks/useProviderModels.test.js b/client/src/hooks/useProviderModels.test.js
index 5e6b02ca0a..58872380f1 100644
--- a/client/src/hooks/useProviderModels.test.js
+++ b/client/src/hooks/useProviderModels.test.js
@@ -90,3 +90,101 @@ describe('useProviderModels — Antigravity base models', () => {
     ]);
   });
 });
+
+// A capability-scoped picker (vision) starts on the client-side id regex and
+// widens once the server's authoritative list resolves, so its `modelFilter`
+// identity changes AFTER the first load. Stand-in filters here: the contract
+// under test is the identity change, not any particular capability rule.
+describe('useProviderModels — a modelFilter whose identity changes', () => {
+  const LOCAL = {
+    id: 'local-backend',
+    name: 'Local Backend',
+    type: 'api',
+    enabled: true,
+    defaultModel: 'text-a',
+    models: ['text-a', 'vlm-b', 'vlm-c'],
+  };
+  const OTHER = { ...LOCAL, id: 'other-backend', name: 'Other Backend', defaultModel: 'text-a' };
+
+  // The blind first pass: knows no vision family this backend has installed.
+  const matchesNothing = () => false;
+  const matchesB = (id) => id === 'vlm-b';
+  const matchesBandC = (id) => id === 'vlm-b' || id === 'vlm-c';
+
+  const mountFiltered = async (modelFilter, providers = [LOCAL], extra = {}) => {
+    api.getProviders.mockResolvedValue({ providers });
+    const hook = renderHook(
+      ({ filterFn }) => useProviderModels({ modelFilter: filterFn, ...extra }),
+      { initialProps: { filterFn: modelFilter } },
+    );
+    await waitFor(() => expect(hook.result.current.loading).toBe(false));
+    return hook;
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(() => vi.clearAllMocks());
+
+  it('re-picks the initial model once the filter widens', async () => {
+    const { result, rerender } = await mountFiltered(matchesNothing);
+    // The blind first pass finds nothing — the bug this guards is that the
+    // hook used to freeze here forever.
+    expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('');
+    expect(result.current.availableModels).toEqual([]);
+
+    rerender({ filterFn: matchesB });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('vlm-b'));
+    expect(result.current.availableModels).toEqual(['vlm-b']);
+  });
+
+  it('does not refetch the provider list for a filter identity change', async () => {
+    const { rerender, result } = await mountFiltered(matchesNothing);
+    expect(api.getProviders).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    rerender({ filterFn: matchesB });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('vlm-b'));
+    expect(api.getProviders).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it('leaves a deliberate user clear alone when the filter widens', async () => {
+    const { result, rerender } = await mountFiltered(matchesB);
+    expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('vlm-b');
+
+    act(() => result.current.setSelectedModel(''));
+    rerender({ filterFn: matchesBandC });
+    // A clear and a "the filter matched nothing" both read as `''` — only the
+    // user-pick latch tells them apart, and the user's wins.
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.availableModels).toEqual(['vlm-b', 'vlm-c']));
+    expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('leaves a user-picked model alone when the filter changes', async () => {
+    const { result, rerender } = await mountFiltered(matchesBandC);
+    act(() => result.current.setSelectedModel('vlm-c'));
+
+    rerender({ filterFn: matchesB });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.availableModels).toEqual(['vlm-b']));
+    expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('vlm-c');
+  });
+
+  it('re-arms the auto-pick after a provider change', async () => {
+    const { result, rerender } = await mountFiltered(matchesNothing, [LOCAL, OTHER]);
+    // A provider change picks through the CURRENT (still blind) filter…
+    act(() => result.current.setSelectedProviderId('other-backend'));
+    expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('');
+
+    // …so the widened filter must still get its say on that provider.
+    rerender({ filterFn: matchesB });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('vlm-b'));
+    expect(result.current.selectedProviderId).toBe('other-backend');
+  });
+
+  it('keeps the empty-model sentinel under allowDefault', async () => {
+    const { result, rerender } = await mountFiltered(matchesNothing, [LOCAL], { allowDefault: true });
+    expect(result.current.selectedProviderId).toBe('');
+    expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('');
+
+    rerender({ filterFn: matchesB });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.availableModels).toEqual([]));
+    // `''` is the "use the default model" choice here, never an auto-pick target.
+    expect(result.current.selectedModel).toBe('');
+  });
+});