diff --git a/server/routes/codeReview.js b/server/routes/codeReview.js
index 893ba25205..03d4bad386 100644
--- a/server/routes/codeReview.js
+++ b/server/routes/codeReview.js
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ const router = Router()
 
 // Body shape for POST /api/code-review/local. `model` and `effort` are optional —
 // when omitted (or empty) we fall back to the model / reasoning effort configured
-// on the Code Review Defaults panel. The diff is sent as-is; agents can pipe
+// on the Code Review Defaults panel, and with no configured model either, to the
+// model the backend itself reports serving when that is unambiguous (see
+// `resolveServedModel`). The diff is sent as-is; agents can pipe
 // `gh pr diff <N>` straight into it without preprocessing.
 // `effort` is checked against the ladder for the REQUESTED backend rather than a
 // flat union of every local level: the two backends are separate identities in
@@ -74,8 +76,11 @@ router.post('/local', asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
     timeoutMs: body.timeoutMs,
   })
   if (!result.ok) {
+    // A model neither the request, the panel, nor the backend's own listing could
+    // supply is the caller's config gap (400) — the 502 bucket is for a reviewer
+    // that was actually asked and failed.
     throw new ServerError(result.error || 'Code review failed', {
-      status: 502,
+      status: result.code === 'NO_MODEL' ? 400 : 502,
       context: { backend: result.backend, model: result.model }
     })
   }
diff --git a/server/routes/codeReview.test.js b/server/routes/codeReview.test.js
index bec2ddbaed..d125651b8c 100644
--- a/server/routes/codeReview.test.js
+++ b/server/routes/codeReview.test.js
@@ -183,6 +183,24 @@ describe('POST /api/code-review/local', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  // A model neither the request, the panel, nor the backend's own listing could
+  // supply is the caller's config gap, not a reviewer that was asked and failed —
+  // an agent retrying a 502 would retry forever against an unset setting.
+  it('returns 400 when the service could not resolve a model', async () => {
+    codeReviewSvc.runLocalCodeReview.mockResolvedValue({
+      ok: false,
+      code: 'NO_MODEL',
+      error: 'No model configured for mtplx reviewer and mtplx is serving no models — set one on the Settings → Code Reviewers page.',
+    })
+
+    const res = await request(makeApp())
+      .post('/api/code-review/local')
+      .send({ backend: 'mtplx', diff: 'diff --git a b' })
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(400)
+    expect(res.body.error).toMatch(/No model configured/)
+  })
+
   it('returns 502 when the service returns { ok: false }', async () => {
     codeReviewSvc.runLocalCodeReview.mockResolvedValue({
       ok: false,
diff --git a/server/services/codeReview.js b/server/services/codeReview.js
index d20f515236..40e1c98749 100644
--- a/server/services/codeReview.js
+++ b/server/services/codeReview.js
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ import { fetchWithTimeout } from '../lib/fetchWithTimeout.js'
 import { readResponseJson } from '../lib/readResponseJson.js'
 import { commandExists } from '../lib/commandExists.js'
 import { extractJson } from '../lib/jsonExtract.js'
+import { probeOpenAiModels } from '../lib/openAiModelsProbe.js'
+import { normalizeOpenAiBaseUrl } from '../lib/localProviderRuntime.js'
 import {
   LOCAL_LLM_REVIEWERS,
   DEFAULT_REVIEWERS,
@@ -387,12 +389,66 @@ async function sendChatCompletion(baseUrl, { model, messages, timeoutMs }, effor
   return { ok: true, response }
 }
 
-async function runToolFreeLocalCompletion({ backend, model, messages, effort, timeoutMs, baseUrl: requestedBaseUrl = null }) {
+const SERVED_MODEL_PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS = 5_000
+
+/**
+ * The model a local reviewer runs with when the user pinned none: ask the
+ * backend what it is actually serving, and use it when the answer is
+ * unambiguous.
+ *
+ * A single-model daemon (MTPLX, llama.cpp, vLLM — and LM Studio with one model
+ * loaded) makes "which model?" a question with exactly one answer, so failing
+ * the whole review pass over an unset `<backend>Model` scalar blocks a review
+ * loop on a config field that carries no information. An MTPLX reviewer hit
+ * exactly that: the daemon was up and serving, and the pass returned no verdict
+ * because nothing had typed the model id into settings.
+ *
+ * Ambiguity is NOT resolved by guessing. Ollama lists every installed model, so
+ * a normal install answers with many — picking one would silently review with a
+ * model the user never chose (a small embedding or chat model reads a diff very
+ * differently from a coder model). Several models, none, or an unreadable
+ * listing all fall through to the "pin one" error.
+ *
+ * @returns {Promise<{model: string|null, reason: string|null}>}
+ */
+async function resolveServedModel(backend, baseUrl) {
+  // Back to the `/v1` root the probe wants, through the shared normalizer rather
+  // than a re-typed suffix — the caller collapsed it to the host root for the
+  // chat-completions path.
+  const probe = await probeOpenAiModels(normalizeOpenAiBaseUrl(baseUrl), { timeoutMs: SERVED_MODEL_PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS })
+    .catch((err) => ({ reachable: false, models: null, error: err.message }))
+  if (!probe.reachable) return { model: null, reason: `${backend} is not reachable (${probe.error || 'no response'})` }
+  if (!Array.isArray(probe.models)) return { model: null, reason: `${backend} did not report which models it is serving` }
+  if (probe.models.length === 0) return { model: null, reason: `${backend} is serving no models` }
+  if (probe.models.length > 1) return { model: null, reason: `${backend} is serving ${probe.models.length} models, so there is no unambiguous default` }
+  return { model: probe.models[0], reason: null }
+}
+
+async function runToolFreeLocalCompletion({ backend, model: pinnedModel, messages, effort, timeoutMs, baseUrl: requestedBaseUrl = null }) {
   if (!isLocalLlmReviewer(backend)) {
     return { ok: false, error: `Unsupported reviewer backend: ${backend}` }
   }
+
+  // Local runtime records are normalized to the OpenAI `/v1` root, while the
+  // legacy backend managers return the host root. Keep both forms compatible
+  // with the one endpoint suffix below.
+  const baseUrl = String(requestedBaseUrl || await BACKEND_BASE_URLS[backend]())
+    .replace(/\/+$/, '')
+    .replace(/\/v\d+$/i, '')
+
+  // An unpinned model is recoverable when the backend serves exactly one — see
+  // `resolveServedModel`. Resolved BEFORE the effort probe below, which is keyed
+  // by `backend:model`.
+  let model = pinnedModel
   if (!model || typeof model !== 'string') {
-    return { ok: false, error: `No model configured for ${backend} reviewer — set one on the Settings → Code Reviewers page.` }
+    const served = await resolveServedModel(backend, baseUrl)
+    if (!served.model) {
+      // `code` so a caller can tell a config gap from a reviewer that ran and
+      // failed (a 4xx vs the 502 bucket) without matching on the message text.
+      return { ok: false, code: 'NO_MODEL', error: `No model configured for ${backend} reviewer and ${served.reason} — set one on the Settings → Code Reviewers page.` }
+    }
+    model = served.model
+    console.log(`🔍 No ${backend} reviewer model configured — using the only model it serves: ${model}`)
   }
 
   // Probe only when there is actually a level to drop — an unpinned effort
@@ -401,13 +457,6 @@ async function runToolFreeLocalCompletion({ backend, model, messages, effort, ti
   let effortUnsupported = requestedEffort ? await modelRejectsThinking(backend, model) : false
   let resolvedEffort = effortUnsupported ? null : requestedEffort
 
-  // Local runtime records are normalized to the OpenAI `/v1` root, while the
-  // legacy backend managers return the host root. Keep both forms compatible
-  // with the one endpoint suffix below.
-  const baseUrl = String(requestedBaseUrl || await BACKEND_BASE_URLS[backend]())
-    .replace(/\/+$/, '')
-    .replace(/\/v\d+$/i, '')
-
   let attempt = await sendChatCompletion(baseUrl, { model, messages, timeoutMs }, resolvedEffort)
 
   if (!attempt.ok && attempt.status === 400 && resolvedEffort && /does not support thinking/i.test(attempt.text || '')) {
@@ -448,7 +497,10 @@ async function runToolFreeLocalCompletion({ backend, model, messages, effort, ti
  *
  * @param {Object} opts
  * @param {'lmstudio'|'ollama'|'mtplx'} opts.backend
- * @param {string} opts.model - Installed model id (e.g. `qwen2.5-coder:7b`).
+ * @param {string} [opts.model] - Installed model id (e.g. `qwen2.5-coder:7b`).
+ *   Optional: when unset, the model the backend is serving is used, provided it
+ *   is serving exactly one (a single-model daemon like MTPLX). Several, none, or
+ *   an unreadable listing is an error rather than a guess.
  * @param {string} opts.diff - Unified diff text to review.
  * @param {string} [opts.effort] - Reasoning effort (`low`/`medium`/`high`), sent
  *   as the OpenAI-compatible `reasoning_effort` field. Omitted from the body
@@ -468,9 +520,9 @@ export async function runLocalCodeReview({ backend, model, diff, effort = null,
   if (!isLocalLlmReviewer(backend)) {
     return { ok: false, error: `Unsupported reviewer backend: ${backend}` }
   }
-  if (!model || typeof model !== 'string') {
-    return { ok: false, error: `No model configured for ${backend} reviewer — set one on the Settings → Code Reviewers page.` }
-  }
+  // No model pre-check here: an unpinned model is resolved from what the backend
+  // is serving inside `runToolFreeLocalCompletion`, and a second copy of the
+  // guard would reject the recoverable case before that ever ran.
   const trimmedDiff = typeof diff === 'string' ? diff.trim() : ''
   if (!trimmedDiff) {
     return { ok: false, error: 'Empty diff — nothing to review.' }
@@ -499,7 +551,9 @@ export async function runLocalCodeReview({ backend, model, diff, effort = null,
   return {
     ok: true,
     backend,
-    model,
+    // The model the pass actually ran with, which is not the argument when it
+    // was unpinned and resolved from the backend's own listing.
+    model: result.model,
     effort: result.effort,
     ...(result.effortUnsupported ? { effortUnsupported: true } : {}),
     findings: result.content,
@@ -550,17 +604,20 @@ export async function runLocalClaimCommentReview({ backend, model, comments, cur
     ],
   })
   if (!result.ok) return result
+  // The model the pass actually ran with, which is not the argument when it was
+  // unpinned and resolved from the backend's own listing.
+  const usedModel = result.model
 
   const { value: parsed } = extractJson(result.content, {
     shapePredicate: (value) => value !== null && typeof value === 'object' && !Array.isArray(value),
   })
   if (parsed === undefined) {
-    return { ok: false, backend, model, error: `${backend} returned malformed claim-comment JSON.` }
+    return { ok: false, backend, model: usedModel, error: `${backend} returned malformed claim-comment JSON.` }
   }
   if (!parsed || typeof parsed !== 'object' || Array.isArray(parsed)
     || (parsed.claimant !== null && typeof parsed.claimant !== 'string')
     || typeof parsed.suspicious !== 'boolean') {
-    return { ok: false, backend, model, error: `${backend} returned an invalid claim-comment verdict.` }
+    return { ok: false, backend, model: usedModel, error: `${backend} returned an invalid claim-comment verdict.` }
   }
 
   const claimant = parsed.claimant
@@ -570,13 +627,13 @@ export async function runLocalClaimCommentReview({ backend, model, comments, cur
       && comment.login !== String(currentUser || '')
   ))
   if (!claimantIsEligibleInput) {
-    return { ok: false, backend, model, error: `${backend} returned a claimant not present as an eligible human commenter.` }
+    return { ok: false, backend, model: usedModel, error: `${backend} returned a claimant not present as an eligible human commenter.` }
   }
 
   return {
     ok: true,
     backend,
-    model,
+    model: usedModel,
     effort: result.effort,
     ...(result.effortUnsupported ? { effortUnsupported: true } : {}),
     claimant,
diff --git a/server/services/codeReview.test.js b/server/services/codeReview.test.js
index 2a438c11cd..4a4b143062 100644
--- a/server/services/codeReview.test.js
+++ b/server/services/codeReview.test.js
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ vi.mock('./providers.js', () => ({
   getActiveProvider: () => Promise.resolve(mockedActiveProvider.current),
 }))
 vi.mock('./lmStudioManager.js', () => ({ getBaseUrl: () => 'http://localhost:1234' }))
+// MTPLX's endpoint is resolved through a DYNAMIC import in the SUT (its manager
+// drags in the managed-daemon/PM2 graph), and it reports the OpenAI `/v1` root
+// rather than the host root — both halves of what the reviewer has to tolerate.
+vi.mock('./mtplxServerManager.js', () => ({ getMtplxServerEndpoint: () => Promise.resolve('http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1') }))
 // Ollama's per-model `/api/show` capability probe, which the reviewer now
 // consults BEFORE attaching `reasoning_effort`. Default `null` = "probe could
 // not answer", the sentinel that keeps a test on the reactive 400-retry path;
@@ -478,10 +482,67 @@ describe('codeReview helpers', () => {
       expect(r.error).toMatch(/Unsupported reviewer backend/)
     })
 
-    it('requires a model id', async () => {
-      const r = await runLocalCodeReview({ backend: 'lmstudio', model: '', diff: 'a' })
-      expect(r.ok).toBe(false)
-      expect(r.error).toMatch(/No model configured/)
+    describe('with no model pinned', () => {
+      // A single-model daemon (MTPLX, llama.cpp — or LM Studio with one model
+      // loaded) answers "which model?" unambiguously, so an unset
+      // `<backend>Model` scalar must not fail the whole review pass: an mtplx
+      // review loop was blocked with "no verdict" while its daemon was up and
+      // serving, purely because nothing had typed the id into settings.
+      const modelListing = (ids) => mockJsonResponse({ data: ids.map((id) => ({ id })) })
+
+      it('reviews with the only model the backend reports serving', async () => {
+        global.fetch = vi.fn()
+          .mockResolvedValueOnce(modelListing(['mlx-community/example-coder']))
+          .mockResolvedValueOnce(mockJsonResponse({ choices: [{ message: { content: 'No findings.' } }] }))
+
+        const r = await runLocalCodeReview({ backend: 'mtplx', diff: 'diff --git a b' })
+
+        expect(r.ok).toBe(true)
+        // The resolved id is reported back, not the (absent) argument — callers
+        // record which model produced the verdict.
+        expect(r.model).toBe('mlx-community/example-coder')
+        const [probeUrl] = global.fetch.mock.calls[0]
+        // MTPLX's manager reports the `/v1` root; the probe must not double it.
+        expect(probeUrl).toBe('http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1/models')
+        const [chatUrl, chatInit] = global.fetch.mock.calls[1]
+        expect(chatUrl).toBe('http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1/chat/completions')
+        expect(JSON.parse(chatInit.body).model).toBe('mlx-community/example-coder')
+      })
+
+      it('refuses to guess when the backend serves several models', async () => {
+        // Ollama lists every INSTALLED model, so picking one would silently
+        // review with a model the user never chose.
+        global.fetch = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(modelListing(['qwen2.5-coder:7b', 'nomic-embed-text']))
+
+        const r = await runLocalCodeReview({ backend: 'ollama', diff: 'diff --git a b' })
+
+        expect(r.ok).toBe(false)
+        expect(r.code).toBe('NO_MODEL')
+        expect(r.error).toMatch(/serving 2 models/)
+        // Probe only — no review request went out on an unresolved model.
+        expect(global.fetch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+      })
+
+      it('names an unreachable backend rather than reporting a bare config gap', async () => {
+        global.fetch = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(Object.assign(new Error('fetch failed'), { code: 'ECONNREFUSED' }))
+
+        const r = await runLocalCodeReview({ backend: 'mtplx', diff: 'diff --git a b' })
+
+        expect(r.ok).toBe(false)
+        expect(r.code).toBe('NO_MODEL')
+        expect(r.error).toMatch(/not reachable/)
+      })
+
+      it('still asks for a pin when the backend is up and serving nothing', async () => {
+        global.fetch = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(modelListing([]))
+
+        const r = await runLocalCodeReview({ backend: 'lmstudio', model: '', diff: 'diff --git a b' })
+
+        expect(r.ok).toBe(false)
+        expect(r.code).toBe('NO_MODEL')
+        expect(r.error).toMatch(/No model configured/)
+        expect(r.error).toMatch(/Code Reviewers/)
+      })
     })
 
     it('requires a non-empty diff', async () => {
diff --git a/server/services/cosTaskStore.js b/server/services/cosTaskStore.js
index 73cad94f2c..de5cd0bccb 100644
--- a/server/services/cosTaskStore.js
+++ b/server/services/cosTaskStore.js
@@ -1328,7 +1328,7 @@ export async function resolveTaskChallenge(taskId, { outcome, note, resolvedBy }
  * (→ upheld). This is the cheap confirm/overturn pass that runs BEFORE falling back
  * to user escalation, closing the gap #2470 left ("this slice resolves manually").
  *
- * Only the in-process local reviewers (`lmstudio`/`ollama`) are re-run here; CLI
+ * Only the in-process local reviewers (`LOCAL_LLM_REVIEWERS`) are re-run here; CLI
  * reviewers are re-run by the follow-up agent itself, which then calls the manual
  * `resolveTaskChallenge` path with an explicit outcome.
  *
@@ -1354,19 +1354,21 @@ export async function resolveTaskChallengeWithRecheck(taskId, { recheck, resolve
   // stale level is null by the time it reaches here — same as the model read below.
   const recheckDefaults = await getCodeReviewDefaults().catch(() => null);
   const effort = recheckDefaults?.[`${backend}Effort`] || null;
-  let model = recheck?.model;
-  if (!model) {
-    model = backend === 'ollama' ? recheckDefaults?.ollamaModel : recheckDefaults?.lmstudioModel;
-  }
-  // A missing model is a config problem (no Code Review Defaults set), not an
-  // upstream-reviewer failure — surface it as a 4xx (RECHECK_NO_MODEL → 400), not
-  // the 502 bucket reserved for a reviewer that's actually unreachable.
-  if (!model) {
-    return { error: `No model configured for the ${backend} reviewer — set one on the Settings → Code Reviewers page.`, code: 'RECHECK_NO_MODEL' };
-  }
-  console.log(`⚖️ Re-checking challenge on ${taskId} via ${backend} (${model}${effort ? `, ${effort} effort` : ''})`);
+  // Keyed off the roster's `<reviewer>Model` scalar rather than a per-backend
+  // branch (matching `POST /api/code-review/local`): the old ollama-or-lmstudio
+  // ternary read LM STUDIO's model for any third local backend, so an `mtplx`
+  // re-check ran against a model id from the wrong daemon.
+  //
+  // An unset scalar is no longer fatal here: `runLocalCodeReview` falls back to the
+  // model the backend is actually serving when that answer is unambiguous, so a
+  // single-model daemon re-checks without one. It reports `code: 'NO_MODEL'` when it
+  // could not resolve one either, which stays a config problem (4xx) rather than the
+  // 502 bucket reserved for a reviewer that's actually unreachable.
+  const model = recheck?.model || recheckDefaults?.[`${backend}Model`] || null;
+  console.log(`⚖️ Re-checking challenge on ${taskId} via ${backend} (${model || 'model from the backend'}${effort ? `, ${effort} effort` : ''})`);
   const review = await runLocalCodeReview({ backend, model, effort, diff: recheck?.diff });
   if (!review?.ok) {
+    if (review?.code === 'NO_MODEL') return { error: review.error, code: 'RECHECK_NO_MODEL' };
     return { error: `Re-check failed: ${review?.error || 'unknown reviewer error'}`, code: 'RECHECK_FAILED' };
   }
   const outcome = classifyRecheckOutcome(review.findings);
@@ -1378,6 +1380,9 @@ export async function resolveTaskChallengeWithRecheck(taskId, { recheck, resolve
     : `a blocking finding still stands (${backend})`;
   // The resolution note is auto-generated from the re-check verdict (any caller
   // `note` is intentionally not threaded here — the machine verdict is the record).
-  const note = `Auto re-check by ${backend} (${model}): ${verdict}.`;
+  // `review.model` rather than `model`: the reviewer resolves an unpinned id from
+  // what the backend is serving, and the record has to name the model that actually
+  // produced this verdict, not `null`.
+  const note = `Auto re-check by ${backend} (${review.model || model}): ${verdict}.`;
   return resolveTaskChallenge(taskId, { outcome, note, resolvedBy: resolvedBy || `recheck:${backend}` }, taskType, { now });
 }
diff --git a/server/services/cosTaskStore.test.js b/server/services/cosTaskStore.test.js
index 83acc80442..10b7e9324a 100644
--- a/server/services/cosTaskStore.test.js
+++ b/server/services/cosTaskStore.test.js
@@ -1878,13 +1878,35 @@ describe('cosTaskStore.resolveTaskChallengeWithRecheck (#2471)', () => {
     expect(mock.reviewCalls[0].model).toBe('coder-7b');
   });
 
-  it('returns RECHECK_NO_MODEL (config problem, not 502) when no model is configured', async () => {
+  // The model read is keyed off `<backend>Model`, not an ollama-or-lmstudio
+  // ternary — that ternary handed a third local backend LM STUDIO's model id.
+  it("reads the re-check model from the challenged backend's own scalar", async () => {
+    const id = await seedChallenged('mtplx');
+    mock.reviewDefaults = { lmstudioModel: 'wrong-model', mtplxModel: 'mtplx-model' };
+    mock.review = { ok: true, model: 'mtplx-model', findings: 'No findings.' };
+    await resolveTaskChallengeWithRecheck(id, { recheck: { backend: 'mtplx', diff: 'diff' } });
+    expect(mock.reviewCalls[0].model).toBe('mtplx-model');
+  });
+
+  it('leaves an unconfigured model to the reviewer, which resolves it from the backend', async () => {
+    const id = await seedChallenged();
+    mock.reviewDefaults = { lmstudioModel: null, ollamaModel: null };
+    mock.review = { ok: true, model: 'served-by-the-daemon', findings: 'No findings.' };
+    const resolved = await resolveTaskChallengeWithRecheck(id, { recheck: { backend: 'ollama', diff: 'diff' } });
+    expect(mock.reviewCalls[0].model).toBeNull();
+    expect(resolved.status).toBe('pending');
+    // The record names the model that actually produced the verdict, not `null`.
+    expect(resolved.metadata.challengeResolution.note).toContain('served-by-the-daemon');
+  });
+
+  it('returns RECHECK_NO_MODEL (config problem, not 502) when nothing can name a model', async () => {
     const id = await seedChallenged();
     mock.reviewDefaults = { lmstudioModel: null, ollamaModel: null };
+    mock.review = { ok: false, code: 'NO_MODEL', error: 'No model configured for ollama reviewer and ollama is serving no models — set one on the Settings → Code Reviewers page.' };
     const result = await resolveTaskChallengeWithRecheck(id, { recheck: { backend: 'ollama', diff: 'diff' } });
     expect(result.code).toBe('RECHECK_NO_MODEL');
-    // No reviewer call attempted without a model.
-    expect(mock.reviewCalls.length).toBe(0);
+    // Surfaced verbatim: the reviewer's message says WHICH gap it is.
+    expect(result.error).toMatch(/No model configured/);
   });
 
   it('returns RECHECK_FAILED when the reviewer is unreachable', async () => {