diff --git a/src/agents/model-auth.ts b/src/agents/model-auth.ts
index e494cc71b8c..09e5c0397d9 100644
--- a/src/agents/model-auth.ts
+++ b/src/agents/model-auth.ts
@@ -167,6 +167,18 @@ function resolveSyntheticLocalProviderAuth(params: {
   cfg: OpenClawConfig | undefined;
   provider: string;
 }): ResolvedProviderAuth | null {
+  // Check for known local providers first — these should always get synthetic auth,
+  // even when the user sets models.primary without running the provider setup wizard
+  // (i.e., no explicit models.providers.{name} config entry exists).
+  const normalizedProvider = normalizeProviderId(params.provider);
+  if (normalizedProvider === "ollama") {
+    return {
+      apiKey: OLLAMA_LOCAL_AUTH_MARKER,
+      source: "models.providers.ollama (synthetic local key)",
+      mode: "api-key",
+    };
+  }
+
   const providerConfig = resolveProviderConfig(params.cfg, params.provider);
   if (!providerConfig) {
     return null;
@@ -180,15 +192,6 @@ function resolveSyntheticLocalProviderAuth(params: {
     return null;
   }
 
-  const normalizedProvider = normalizeProviderId(params.provider);
-  if (normalizedProvider === "ollama") {
-    return {
-      apiKey: OLLAMA_LOCAL_AUTH_MARKER,
-      source: "models.providers.ollama (synthetic local key)",
-      mode: "api-key",
-    };
-  }
-
   const authOverride = resolveProviderAuthOverride(params.cfg, params.provider);
   if (authOverride && authOverride !== "api-key") {
     return null;