diff --git a/gateway/run.py b/gateway/run.py
index 7873cf14..2584521d 100644
--- a/gateway/run.py
+++ b/gateway/run.py
@@ -1449,6 +1449,11 @@ class GatewayRunner:
             except Exception:
                 current_provider = "openrouter"
 
+        # Detect custom endpoint: provider resolved to openrouter but a custom
+        # base URL is configured — the user set up a custom endpoint.
+        if current_provider == "openrouter" and os.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL", "").strip():
+            current_provider = "custom"
+
         if not args:
             provider_label = _PROVIDER_LABELS.get(current_provider, current_provider)
             lines = [
@@ -1575,6 +1580,10 @@ class GatewayRunner:
             except Exception:
                 current_provider = "openrouter"
 
+        # Detect custom endpoint
+        if current_provider == "openrouter" and os.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL", "").strip():
+            current_provider = "custom"
+
         current_label = _PROVIDER_LABELS.get(current_provider, current_provider)
 
         lines = [
diff --git a/hermes_cli/main.py b/hermes_cli/main.py
index d10915c8..c2e8bed4 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/main.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/main.py
@@ -1050,7 +1050,7 @@ def _model_flow_custom(config):
         cfg = load_config()
         model = cfg.get("model")
         if isinstance(model, dict):
-            model["provider"] = "auto"
+            model["provider"] = "custom"
             model["base_url"] = effective_url
         save_config(cfg)
         deactivate_provider()
diff --git a/hermes_cli/models.py b/hermes_cli/models.py
index 723f226e..1fdde090 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/models.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/models.py
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ _PROVIDER_LABELS = {
     "kimi-coding": "Kimi / Moonshot",
     "minimax": "MiniMax",
     "minimax-cn": "MiniMax (China)",
-    "custom": "custom endpoint",
+    "custom": "Custom endpoint",
 }
 
 _PROVIDER_ALIASES = {
diff --git a/hermes_cli/setup.py b/hermes_cli/setup.py
index df7a2876..ffb10c14 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/setup.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/setup.py
@@ -659,6 +659,28 @@ def setup_model_provider(config: dict):
         if model_name:
             config['model'] = model_name
             save_env_value("LLM_MODEL", model_name)
+
+        # Save provider and base_url to config.yaml so the gateway and CLI
+        # both resolve the correct provider without relying on env-var heuristics.
+        if base_url:
+            import yaml
+            config_path = Path(os.environ.get("HERMES_HOME", Path.home() / ".hermes")) / "config.yaml"
+            try:
+                disk_cfg = {}
+                if config_path.exists():
+                    disk_cfg = yaml.safe_load(config_path.read_text()) or {}
+                model_section = disk_cfg.get("model", {})
+                if isinstance(model_section, str):
+                    model_section = {"default": model_section}
+                model_section["provider"] = "custom"
+                model_section["base_url"] = base_url.rstrip("/")
+                if model_name:
+                    model_section["default"] = model_name
+                disk_cfg["model"] = model_section
+                config_path.write_text(yaml.safe_dump(disk_cfg, sort_keys=False))
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.debug("Could not save provider to config.yaml: %s", e)
+
         print_success("Custom endpoint configured")
 
     elif provider_idx == 4:  # Z.AI / GLM