diff --git a/src/hooks/runtime-fallback/index.ts b/src/hooks/runtime-fallback/index.ts
index 3a4fe8da..06f7f9ec 100644
--- a/src/hooks/runtime-fallback/index.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/runtime-fallback/index.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import type { RuntimeFallbackConfig, OhMyOpenCodeConfig } from "../../config"
 import type { FallbackState, FallbackResult, RuntimeFallbackHook } from "./types"
 import { DEFAULT_CONFIG, RETRYABLE_ERROR_PATTERNS, HOOK_NAME } from "./constants"
 import { log } from "../../shared/logger"
+import { SessionCategoryRegistry } from "../../shared/session-category-registry"
 
 function createFallbackState(originalModel: string): FallbackState {
   return {
@@ -87,6 +88,15 @@ function getFallbackModelsForSession(
 ): string[] {
   if (!pluginConfig) return []
 
+  //#when - session has category from delegate_task, try category fallback_models first
+  const sessionCategory = SessionCategoryRegistry.get(sessionID)
+  if (sessionCategory && pluginConfig.categories?.[sessionCategory]) {
+    const categoryConfig = pluginConfig.categories[sessionCategory]
+    if (categoryConfig?.fallback_models) {
+      return normalizeFallbackModels(categoryConfig.fallback_models)
+    }
+  }
+
   const tryGetFallbackFromAgent = (agentName: string): string[] | undefined => {
     const agentConfig = pluginConfig.agents?.[agentName as keyof typeof pluginConfig.agents]
     if (!agentConfig) return undefined
diff --git a/src/shared/index.ts b/src/shared/index.ts
index ce8e69be..263d50ba 100644
--- a/src/shared/index.ts
+++ b/src/shared/index.ts
@@ -58,3 +58,4 @@ export * from "./normalize-sdk-response"
 export * from "./session-directory-resolver"
 export * from "./prompt-tools"
 export * from "./internal-initiator-marker"
+export { SessionCategoryRegistry } from "./session-category-registry"
diff --git a/src/shared/model-resolution-pipeline.ts b/src/shared/model-resolution-pipeline.ts
index 34d1c13b..12b337cf 100644
--- a/src/shared/model-resolution-pipeline.ts
+++ b/src/shared/model-resolution-pipeline.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ export type ModelResolutionRequest = {
   intent?: {
     uiSelectedModel?: string
     userModel?: string
+    userFallbackModels?: string[]
     categoryDefaultModel?: string
   }
   constraints: {
@@ -97,6 +98,42 @@ export function resolveModelPipeline(
     })
   }
 
+  //#when - user configured fallback_models, try them before hardcoded fallback chain
+  const userFallbackModels = intent?.userFallbackModels
+  if (userFallbackModels && userFallbackModels.length > 0) {
+    if (availableModels.size === 0) {
+      const connectedProviders = readConnectedProvidersCache()
+      const connectedSet = connectedProviders ? new Set(connectedProviders) : null
+
+      if (connectedSet !== null) {
+        for (const model of userFallbackModels) {
+          attempted.push(model)
+          const parts = model.split("/")
+          if (parts.length >= 2) {
+            const provider = parts[0]
+            if (connectedSet.has(provider)) {
+              log("Model resolved via user fallback_models (connected provider)", { model })
+              return { model, provenance: "provider-fallback", attempted }
+            }
+          }
+        }
+        log("No connected provider found in user fallback_models, falling through to hardcoded chain")
+      }
+    } else {
+      for (const model of userFallbackModels) {
+        attempted.push(model)
+        const parts = model.split("/")
+        const providerHint = parts.length >= 2 ? [parts[0]] : undefined
+        const match = fuzzyMatchModel(model, availableModels, providerHint)
+        if (match) {
+          log("Model resolved via user fallback_models (availability confirmed)", { model: model, match })
+          return { model: match, provenance: "provider-fallback", attempted }
+        }
+      }
+      log("No available model found in user fallback_models, falling through to hardcoded chain")
+    }
+  }
+
   if (fallbackChain && fallbackChain.length > 0) {
     if (availableModels.size === 0) {
       const connectedProviders = constraints.connectedProviders ?? connectedProvidersCache.readConnectedProvidersCache()
diff --git a/src/shared/model-resolver.ts b/src/shared/model-resolver.ts
index cbaa8c48..84cbcbe2 100644
--- a/src/shared/model-resolver.ts
+++ b/src/shared/model-resolver.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ export type ModelResolutionResult = {
 export type ExtendedModelResolutionInput = {
 	uiSelectedModel?: string
 	userModel?: string
+	userFallbackModels?: string[]
 	categoryDefaultModel?: string
 	fallbackChain?: FallbackEntry[]
 	availableModels: Set<string>
@@ -44,9 +45,9 @@ export function resolveModel(input: ModelResolutionInput): string | undefined {
 export function resolveModelWithFallback(
 	input: ExtendedModelResolutionInput,
 ): ModelResolutionResult | undefined {
-	const { uiSelectedModel, userModel, categoryDefaultModel, fallbackChain, availableModels, systemDefaultModel } = input
+	const { uiSelectedModel, userModel, userFallbackModels, categoryDefaultModel, fallbackChain, availableModels, systemDefaultModel } = input
 	const resolved = resolveModelPipeline({
-		intent: { uiSelectedModel, userModel, categoryDefaultModel },
+		intent: { uiSelectedModel, userModel, userFallbackModels, categoryDefaultModel },
 		constraints: { availableModels },
 		policy: { fallbackChain, systemDefaultModel },
 	})
diff --git a/src/shared/session-category-registry.ts b/src/shared/session-category-registry.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ce19e1c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/session-category-registry.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/**
+ * Session Category Registry
+ *
+ * Maintains a mapping of session IDs to their assigned categories.
+ * Used by runtime-fallback hook to lookup category-specific fallback_models.
+ */
+
+// Map of sessionID -> category name
+const sessionCategoryMap = new Map<string, string>()
+
+export const SessionCategoryRegistry = {
+  /**
+   * Register a session with its category
+   */
+  register: (sessionID: string, category: string): void => {
+    sessionCategoryMap.set(sessionID, category)
+  },
+
+  /**
+   * Get the category for a session
+   */
+  get: (sessionID: string): string | undefined => {
+    return sessionCategoryMap.get(sessionID)
+  },
+
+  /**
+   * Remove a session from the registry (cleanup)
+   */
+  remove: (sessionID: string): void => {
+    sessionCategoryMap.delete(sessionID)
+  },
+
+  /**
+   * Check if a session is registered
+   */
+  has: (sessionID: string): boolean => {
+    return sessionCategoryMap.has(sessionID)
+  },
+
+  /**
+   * Get the size of the registry (for debugging)
+   */
+  size: (): number => {
+    return sessionCategoryMap.size
+  },
+
+  /**
+   * Clear all entries (use with caution, mainly for testing)
+   */
+  clear: (): void => {
+    sessionCategoryMap.clear()
+  },
+}
diff --git a/src/tools/delegate-task/background-task.ts b/src/tools/delegate-task/background-task.ts
index e724695b..62580541 100644
--- a/src/tools/delegate-task/background-task.ts
+++ b/src/tools/delegate-task/background-task.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { getTimingConfig } from "./timing"
 import { storeToolMetadata } from "../../features/tool-metadata-store"
 import { formatDetailedError } from "./error-formatting"
 import { getSessionTools } from "../../shared/session-tools-store"
+import { SessionCategoryRegistry } from "../../shared/session-category-registry"
 
 export async function executeBackgroundTask(
   args: DelegateTaskArgs,
@@ -48,6 +49,10 @@ export async function executeBackgroundTask(
       sessionId = updated?.sessionID
     }
 
+    if (args.category && sessionId) {
+      SessionCategoryRegistry.register(sessionId, args.category)
+    }
+
     const unstableMeta = {
       title: args.description,
       metadata: {
diff --git a/src/tools/delegate-task/sync-task.ts b/src/tools/delegate-task/sync-task.ts
index d9543786..13b701c2 100644
--- a/src/tools/delegate-task/sync-task.ts
+++ b/src/tools/delegate-task/sync-task.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { getTaskToastManager } from "../../features/task-toast-manager"
 import { storeToolMetadata } from "../../features/tool-metadata-store"
 import { subagentSessions } from "../../features/claude-code-session-state"
 import { log } from "../../shared/logger"
+import { SessionCategoryRegistry } from "../../shared/session-category-registry"
 import { formatDuration } from "./time-formatter"
 import { formatDetailedError } from "./error-formatting"
 import { syncTaskDeps, type SyncTaskDeps } from "./sync-task-deps"
@@ -41,6 +42,10 @@ export async function executeSyncTask(
     syncSessionID = sessionID
     subagentSessions.add(sessionID)
 
+    if (args.category) {
+      SessionCategoryRegistry.register(sessionID, args.category)
+    }
+
     if (onSyncSessionCreated) {
       log("[task] Invoking onSyncSessionCreated callback", { sessionID, parentID: parentContext.sessionID })
       await onSyncSessionCreated({