diff --git a/src/app/hooks/useAvailableModels.ts b/src/app/hooks/useAvailableModels.ts
index 88a38e4..dcee6d8 100644
--- a/src/app/hooks/useAvailableModels.ts
+++ b/src/app/hooks/useAvailableModels.ts
@@ -28,17 +28,80 @@ interface RegistryResponse {
 
 const EMPTY: ModelRegistry = { entries: [], defaultEntry: null };
 
+// Module-level cache keyed by normalised deploymentUrl. The registry is static
+// between deployment restarts — one network round-trip per URL per page load
+// is enough regardless of how many times ChatInterface mounts/unmounts.
+// Failed fetches are evicted so the next mount retries.
+const cache = new Map<string, Promise<ModelRegistry>>();
+
+function fetchRegistry(deploymentUrl: string, apiKey: string): Promise<ModelRegistry> {
+  const key = deploymentUrl.replace(/\/$/, "");
+  const hit = cache.get(key);
+  if (hit) return hit;
+
+  const headers: Record<string, string> = {};
+  if (apiKey) headers["X-Api-Key"] = apiKey;
+
+  const p = fetch(`${key}/api/models`, { headers })
+    .then(async (r) => {
+      if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${r.status}`);
+      const body = (await r.json()) as RegistryResponse;
+      const entries: ModelRegistryEntry[] = [];
+      if (Array.isArray(body.entries)) {
+        for (const raw of body.entries) {
+          if (!raw || typeof raw !== "object") continue;
+          const e = raw as {
+            name?: unknown;
+            model_id?: unknown;
+            provider?: unknown;
+          };
+          if (
+            typeof e.name === "string" &&
+            typeof e.provider === "string" &&
+            e.name &&
+            e.provider
+          ) {
+            entries.push({
+              name: e.name,
+              model_id: typeof e.model_id === "string" ? e.model_id : e.name,
+              provider: e.provider,
+            });
+          }
+        }
+      }
+      let defaultEntry: ModelRegistry["defaultEntry"] = null;
+      if (body.default && typeof body.default === "object") {
+        const d = body.default as { name?: unknown; provider?: unknown };
+        if (typeof d.name === "string" && d.name) {
+          defaultEntry = {
+            name: d.name,
+            provider:
+              typeof d.provider === "string" && d.provider
+                ? d.provider
+                : null,
+          };
+        }
+      }
+      return { entries, defaultEntry } as ModelRegistry;
+    })
+    .catch((err: unknown) => {
+      cache.delete(key);
+      throw err;
+    });
+
+  cache.set(key, p);
+  return p;
+}
+
 /**
  * Fetch the backend's authoritative model registry from
- * `GET ${deploymentUrl}/api/models`. The endpoint is mounted into the
- * langgraph-dev process (see `.backend-ref/notes/expose-available-models-endpoint.md`)
- * so the URL lives on the same origin/port as the SDK, not the WebUI's
- * Next.js server. We fetch once per session and cache in component state —
- * the registry is large (~120 entries) but static between deployment
- * restarts.
+ * `GET ${deploymentUrl}/api/models`. Results are cached at module level —
+ * the registry is static between deployment restarts, so remounting
+ * ChatInterface never triggers a redundant network request.
  *
  * Failures are non-fatal: the picker falls back to its curated
- * `COMMON_MODELS` list when `entries` is empty.
+ * `COMMON_MODELS` list when `entries` is empty. Failed fetches are evicted
+ * from the cache so the next mount retries.
  */
 export function useAvailableModels(): {
   registry: ModelRegistry;
@@ -56,58 +119,16 @@ export function useAvailableModels(): {
       return;
     }
     let cancelled = false;
-    setLoading(true);
-    setError(null);
     const apiKey =
       cfg.langsmithApiKey || process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_LANGSMITH_API_KEY || "";
-    const headers: Record<string, string> = {};
-    if (apiKey) headers["X-Api-Key"] = apiKey;
-    fetch(`${cfg.deploymentUrl.replace(/\/$/, "")}/api/models`, { headers })
-      .then(async (r) => {
-        if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${r.status}`);
-        return (await r.json()) as RegistryResponse;
-      })
-      .then((body) => {
+
+    fetchRegistry(cfg.deploymentUrl, apiKey)
+      .then((result) => {
         if (cancelled) return;
-        const entries: ModelRegistryEntry[] = [];
-        if (Array.isArray(body.entries)) {
-          for (const raw of body.entries) {
-            if (!raw || typeof raw !== "object") continue;
-            const e = raw as {
-              name?: unknown;
-              model_id?: unknown;
-              provider?: unknown;
-            };
-            if (
-              typeof e.name === "string" &&
-              typeof e.provider === "string" &&
-              e.name &&
-              e.provider
-            ) {
-              entries.push({
-                name: e.name,
-                model_id: typeof e.model_id === "string" ? e.model_id : e.name,
-                provider: e.provider,
-              });
-            }
-          }
-        }
-        let defaultEntry: ModelRegistry["defaultEntry"] = null;
-        if (body.default && typeof body.default === "object") {
-          const d = body.default as { name?: unknown; provider?: unknown };
-          if (typeof d.name === "string" && d.name) {
-            defaultEntry = {
-              name: d.name,
-              provider:
-                typeof d.provider === "string" && d.provider
-                  ? d.provider
-                  : null,
-            };
-          }
-        }
-        setRegistry({ entries, defaultEntry });
+        setRegistry(result);
+        setError(null);
       })
-      .catch((err) => {
+      .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (cancelled) return;
         setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to load models.");
         setRegistry(EMPTY);
@@ -115,6 +136,7 @@ export function useAvailableModels(): {
       .finally(() => {
         if (!cancelled) setLoading(false);
       });
+
     return () => {
       cancelled = true;
     };
diff --git a/src/lib/modelCommand.ts b/src/lib/modelCommand.ts
index 0b903f0..e2e4fe1 100644
--- a/src/lib/modelCommand.ts
+++ b/src/lib/modelCommand.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,12 @@
 // and persist the choice per-thread (in thread metadata, not localStorage —
 // the choice should follow the conversation, not the browser tab).
 //
-// Listing available models is a separate concern: the backend has the
-// authoritative registry in `EvoScientist/llm/models.py`, but no HTTP endpoint
-// exposes it today. Until that lands we ship a curated `COMMON_MODELS` list
-// for the picker. Names outside the list are NOT rejected — `/model <name>`
-// passes through verbatim and the middleware accepts anything `init_chat_model`
+// Listing available models: the backend's authoritative registry lives in
+// `EvoScientist/llm/models.py` and is exposed at `GET /api/models` (mounted
+// via langgraph.json). `useAvailableModels` fetches that endpoint at runtime;
+// `COMMON_MODELS` below is a fallback for older deployments or network
+// failures. Names outside the list are NOT rejected — `/model <name>` passes
+// through verbatim and the middleware accepts anything `init_chat_model`
 // recognises, so power users aren't blocked by our curation.
 
 /** Thread metadata key carrying the per-thread model override. Mirrors the