diff --git a/core/application/startup.go b/core/application/startup.go
index a5aec50908c7..12217e42687f 100644
--- a/core/application/startup.go
+++ b/core/application/startup.go
@@ -267,6 +267,10 @@ func New(opts ...config.AppOption) (*Application, error) {
 	}
 
 	// Initialize distributed mode services (NATS, object storage, node registry)
+	// revisionStore is built inside the distributed block below but used after
+	// the model configs are loaded, so it is declared out here.
+	var revisionStore modeladmin.RevisionStore
+
 	distSvc, err := initDistributed(options, application.authDB, application.ModelConfigLoader())
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("distributed mode initialization failed: %w", err)
@@ -373,16 +377,9 @@ func New(opts ...config.AppOption) (*Application, error) {
 			cfgLoaderOpts := options.ToConfigLoaderOptions()
 			modelRevisionLifecycle := modeladmin.NewDistributedModelRevisionLifecycle(distSvc.Registry, distSvc.ModelCleanup)
 			gs.SetModelRevisionLifecycle(modelRevisionLifecycle)
-			// Bring the controller's stored revisions back in line with the
-			// configuration on disk. An inference request may only establish a
-			// revision, never replace one, so a model whose stored value had
-			// drifted stayed unroutable until someone deleted the row.
-			if err := modeladmin.ResyncModelConfigRevisions(options.Context,
-				application.ModelConfigLoader(),
-				modeladmin.NewRevisionStore(distSvc.Registry, modelRevisionLifecycle),
-			); err != nil {
-				xlog.Warn("Failed to resync model config revisions", "error", err)
-			}
+			// Captured here, used after the model configs are loaded below: the
+			// resync reads the loader, which is still empty at this point.
+			revisionStore = modeladmin.NewRevisionStore(distSvc.Registry, modelRevisionLifecycle)
 			gs.OnModelsChanged = func(evt messaging.CacheInvalidateEvent) {
 				// ApplyRemoteChange honors the op: a "delete" prunes the element
 				// (a reload-from-path is additive and cannot drop it), anything
@@ -429,6 +426,18 @@ func New(opts ...config.AppOption) (*Application, error) {
 		xlog.Error("error loading config files", "error", err)
 	}
 
+	// Bring the controller's stored revisions back in line with the
+	// configuration just loaded. An inference request may only establish a
+	// revision, never replace one, so a model whose stored value has drifted
+	// stays unroutable until something republishes it. This has to run after
+	// the load above: the loader is empty until then, and a resync against an
+	// empty loader silently reconciles nothing.
+	if revisionStore != nil {
+		if err := modeladmin.ResyncModelConfigRevisions(options.Context, application.ModelConfigLoader(), revisionStore); err != nil {
+			xlog.Warn("Failed to resync model config revisions", "error", err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	if err := gallery.RegisterBackends(options.SystemState, application.ModelLoader()); err != nil {
 		xlog.Error("error registering external backends", "error", err)
 	}
diff --git a/core/services/modeladmin/revision_resync.go b/core/services/modeladmin/revision_resync.go
index 4724f60e03b0..1eceff3f9529 100644
--- a/core/services/modeladmin/revision_resync.go
+++ b/core/services/modeladmin/revision_resync.go
@@ -70,8 +70,17 @@ func ResyncModelConfigRevisions(ctx context.Context, loader *config.ModelConfigL
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	configs := loader.GetAllModelsConfigs()
+	if len(configs) == 0 {
+		// Reconciling nothing is indistinguishable from reconciling correctly,
+		// which is how a caller that ran this before the configs were loaded
+		// went unnoticed. Say so rather than report success.
+		xlog.Warn("Skipping model config revision resync: no model configurations are loaded")
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	var transitions []ModelRevisionTransition
-	for _, cfg := range loader.GetAllModelsConfigs() {
+	for _, cfg := range configs {
 		want, err := config.ModelConfigRevision(&cfg)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("compute config revision for %q: %w", cfg.Name, err)
diff --git a/core/services/modeladmin/revision_resync_test.go b/core/services/modeladmin/revision_resync_test.go
index 3979ccf75298..12772544245a 100644
--- a/core/services/modeladmin/revision_resync_test.go
+++ b/core/services/modeladmin/revision_resync_test.go
@@ -140,3 +140,18 @@ var _ = Describe("ResyncModelConfigRevisions", func() {
 		Expect(store.applied).To(BeEmpty())
 	})
 })
+
+// Running the resync before the model configs are loaded reconciled nothing
+// while reporting success, which is how a mis-ordered startup call went
+// unnoticed. An empty loader is now called out instead of looking like a
+// clean run.
+var _ = Describe("ResyncModelConfigRevisions with nothing loaded", func() {
+	It("does not touch stored revisions when no configs are loaded", func() {
+		dir := GinkgoT().TempDir()
+		loader := config.NewModelConfigLoader(dir)
+		store := &stubRevisionStore{stored: map[string]string{"served-before": "stale"}}
+
+		Expect(ResyncModelConfigRevisions(context.Background(), loader, store)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(store.applied).To(BeEmpty())
+	})
+})