diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentConfigOptions.tsx b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentConfigOptions.tsx
index 5c515a0507..acbeebff97 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentConfigOptions.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/agentConfigOptions.tsx
@@ -37,6 +37,19 @@ export const ADVANCED_FIELDS_MOTION_TRANSITION = {
 } as const;
 
 export const AUTO_MODEL_DROPDOWN_VALUE = "__auto_model__";
+/**
+ * The model value that means "Auto" on Buzz shared compute.
+ *
+ * Not blank: blank means *inherit the global model*, which for this provider
+ * resolves to whatever unrelated model the global config names. It is also a
+ * trigger token rather than a final choice -- buzz-agent rewrites exactly
+ * `"auto"` to the virtual `mesh` model when the live catalog offers enough
+ * models for Mixture-of-Agents (`BUZZ_AGENT_PREFER_MESH_FOR_AUTO`), so any
+ * concrete model id defeats that translation.
+ */
+export const RELAY_MESH_AUTO_MODEL = "auto";
+/** Provider id for Buzz shared compute. */
+export const RELAY_MESH_PROVIDER = "relay-mesh";
 export const CUSTOM_MODEL_DROPDOWN_VALUE = "__custom_model__";
 export const AUTO_PROVIDER_DROPDOWN_VALUE = "__auto_provider__";
 export const CUSTOM_PROVIDER_DROPDOWN_VALUE = "__custom_provider__";
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/runtimeModelProviderSelection.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/runtimeModelProviderSelection.test.mjs
index 470b2312bc..1488307ef0 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/runtimeModelProviderSelection.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/runtimeModelProviderSelection.test.mjs
@@ -228,3 +228,94 @@ test("auto-model selection clears the model; concrete selection sets it", () =>
   );
   assert.equal(concrete.model, "gpt-5");
 });
+
+test('shared compute encodes Auto as "auto", not blank', () => {
+  // Blank means *inherit the global model*, so on shared compute a blank Auto
+  // resolves to whatever unrelated model the global config names -- a Claude id
+  // sent to a local mesh node -- and it fails the raw-pair submit gate in
+  // `agentAiConfigurationModeSatisfied`, which is what greyed out Create.
+  //
+  // "auto" is also a trigger token, not a final choice: buzz-agent rewrites
+  // exactly "auto" to the virtual `mesh` model when the catalog offers enough
+  // models for Mixture-of-Agents. Any concrete id defeats that translation.
+  const auto = selectionOnModelDropdownChange(
+    { ...base, provider: "relay-mesh", model: "some-physical-model" },
+    {
+      nextValue: "__auto_model__",
+      clearKnownModelOnCustomEntry: false,
+      isModelCustom: false,
+      isRelayMesh: true,
+    },
+  );
+  assert.equal(auto.model, "auto");
+  assert.equal(auto.isCustomModelEditing, false);
+});
+
+test("a concrete shared-compute model is still honoured verbatim", () => {
+  // Only Auto is special. An explicit pick must reach mesh-llm unchanged.
+  const concrete = selectionOnModelDropdownChange(
+    { ...base, provider: "relay-mesh", model: "auto" },
+    {
+      nextValue: "unsloth/gemma-4-26B",
+      clearKnownModelOnCustomEntry: false,
+      isModelCustom: false,
+      isRelayMesh: true,
+    },
+  );
+  assert.equal(concrete.model, "unsloth/gemma-4-26B");
+});
+
+test("ordinary providers keep blank for Auto", () => {
+  // Blank is the generic "inherit the global default" encoding everywhere else,
+  // and must not be migrated to "auto".
+  const auto = selectionOnModelDropdownChange(
+    { ...base, provider: "anthropic", model: "claude-opus-5" },
+    {
+      nextValue: "__auto_model__",
+      clearKnownModelOnCustomEntry: false,
+      isModelCustom: false,
+      isRelayMesh: false,
+    },
+  );
+  assert.equal(auto.model, "");
+  // Omitting the flag entirely behaves the same, so existing callers are safe.
+  const omitted = selectionOnModelDropdownChange(
+    { ...base, provider: "anthropic", model: "claude-opus-5" },
+    {
+      nextValue: "__auto_model__",
+      clearKnownModelOnCustomEntry: false,
+      isModelCustom: false,
+    },
+  );
+  assert.equal(omitted.model, "");
+});
+
+test("shared compute is inferred from the selection when the caller omits it", () => {
+  // The Edit dialog cannot pass the flag (its file is at the size ceiling), so
+  // the selection's own provider has to be enough for the common case where the
+  // agent names relay-mesh itself.
+  const auto = selectionOnModelDropdownChange(
+    { ...base, provider: "relay-mesh", model: "some-physical-model" },
+    {
+      nextValue: "__auto_model__",
+      clearKnownModelOnCustomEntry: false,
+      isModelCustom: false,
+    },
+  );
+  assert.equal(auto.model, "auto");
+});
+
+test("an explicit flag wins over the selection's own provider", () => {
+  // Inheritance case: the picker can run off an effective provider the selection
+  // does not name, so a caller that knows better must be able to say so.
+  const inherited = selectionOnModelDropdownChange(
+    { ...base, provider: "", model: "x" },
+    {
+      nextValue: "__auto_model__",
+      clearKnownModelOnCustomEntry: false,
+      isModelCustom: false,
+      isRelayMesh: true,
+    },
+  );
+  assert.equal(inherited.model, "auto");
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/runtimeModelProviderSelection.ts b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/runtimeModelProviderSelection.ts
index e98dc540df..c360a66f25 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/runtimeModelProviderSelection.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/agents/ui/runtimeModelProviderSelection.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import type { EnvVarsValue } from "./EnvVarsEditor";
 import {
   AUTO_MODEL_DROPDOWN_VALUE,
+  RELAY_MESH_AUTO_MODEL,
+  RELAY_MESH_PROVIDER,
   AUTO_PROVIDER_DROPDOWN_VALUE,
   CUSTOM_MODEL_DROPDOWN_VALUE,
   CUSTOM_PROVIDER_DROPDOWN_VALUE,
@@ -147,6 +149,27 @@ export function selectionOnModelDropdownChange(
     clearKnownModelOnCustomEntry: boolean;
     /** Caller-computed: whether the current model is outside the known options. */
     isModelCustom: boolean;
+    /**
+     * Caller-computed: whether the effective provider is Buzz shared compute.
+     *
+     * Shared compute encodes Auto as the literal `"auto"`, not as blank. Blank
+     * means *inherit the global model*, so a blank Auto on shared compute both
+     * resolves to whatever unrelated model the global config names (e.g. a
+     * Claude id sent to a local mesh node) and fails the raw-pair submit gate in
+     * `agentAiConfigurationModeSatisfied`, which requires a non-empty model.
+     *
+     * `"auto"` is also a trigger token rather than a final choice: Buzz sets
+     * `BUZZ_AGENT_PREFER_MESH_FOR_AUTO` for this provider, and buzz-agent
+     * rewrites exactly `"auto"` to the virtual `mesh` model when the live
+     * catalog offers enough models for Mixture-of-Agents. Any concrete model id
+     * defeats that translation.
+     *
+     * Optional. Callers that already derive it (because the picker can be driven
+     * by an *inherited* effective provider, not just the selection's own) should
+     * pass it; otherwise the selection's own provider is used, which covers every
+     * case where the agent names the provider itself.
+     */
+    isRelayMesh?: boolean;
   },
 ): RuntimeModelProviderSelection {
   const next = { ...current };
@@ -159,8 +182,15 @@ export function selectionOnModelDropdownChange(
     return next;
   }
 
+  const isRelayMesh =
+    params.isRelayMesh ?? current.provider.trim() === RELAY_MESH_PROVIDER;
+
   next.isCustomModelEditing = false;
   next.model =
-    params.nextValue === AUTO_MODEL_DROPDOWN_VALUE ? "" : params.nextValue;
+    params.nextValue === AUTO_MODEL_DROPDOWN_VALUE
+      ? isRelayMesh
+        ? RELAY_MESH_AUTO_MODEL
+        : ""
+      : params.nextValue;
   return next;
 }