diff --git a/hermes_cli/web_server.py b/hermes_cli/web_server.py
index 4c5e516b84..18f5a42fc4 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/web_server.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/web_server.py
@@ -386,6 +386,17 @@ async def _lifespan(app: "FastAPI"):
     # Desktop's 10-second WebSocket ready-probe to time out (GH-73083).
     _warm_gateway_module()
 
+    # Snapshot the checkout revision at boot so risky lazy-import paths (the
+    # model picker) can detect when `hermes update` replaced the code
+    # underneath this long-lived process and refuse with a clear "restart
+    # required" message instead of a stale-module ImportError (#86207).  This
+    # mirrors the gateway's record_boot_fingerprint in gateway/run.py; the
+    # dashboard is a separate process/unit that the update flow does not
+    # reliably restart, so it must detect the drift itself.
+    from gateway.code_skew import record_boot_fingerprint
+
+    record_boot_fingerprint()
+
     # Desktop-spawned backends (HERMES_DESKTOP=1) fire cron jobs themselves,
     # since the app has no gateway running the scheduler. Server `hermes
     # dashboard` is unaffected — it relies on its own gateway.
@@ -7158,6 +7169,37 @@ _AUX_TASK_SLOTS: Tuple[str, ...] = (
 )
 
 
+def _dashboard_code_skew_guard() -> Optional[str]:
+    """Return a clear \"restart required\" message when the dashboard runs stale code.
+
+    The dashboard is a long-lived process; its ``sys.modules`` is frozen at
+    boot.  When ``hermes update`` (or a manual ``git pull``) replaces the
+    checkout underneath it, a first-time lazy import on a new code path can
+    resolve a freshly-pulled consumer module against a stale cached dependency
+    -> ImportError — e.g. ``/api/model/options`` 500 after the update added
+    ``agent.model_metadata.is_grok_46_family`` while the running process kept
+    serving the pre-update module (#86207).  Mirror the gateway's
+    ``_model_switch_skew_guard``: refuse the risky call with an actionable
+    message instead of crashing with a cryptic import error.
+
+    Returns None when no drift is detectable (fresh process, or a non-git
+    install where the boot fingerprint could not be read — never a false
+    positive).
+    """
+    from gateway.code_skew import detect_code_skew
+
+    skew = detect_code_skew()
+    if not skew:
+        return None
+    boot_rev, disk_rev = skew
+    return (
+        f"This dashboard is running code from {boot_rev} but the checkout on "
+        f"disk is now {disk_rev}. The model picker would risk a stale-module "
+        f"crash — restart the dashboard to load the new code "
+        f"(systemctl --user restart hermes-dashboard, or hermes dashboard --port <port>)"
+    )
+
+
 @app.get("/api/model/options")
 async def get_model_options(
     profile: Optional[str] = None,
@@ -7181,6 +7223,13 @@ async def get_model_options(
     Models" control. Normal opens leave it false to stay on the 1h cache.
     """
     try:
+        skew_msg = _dashboard_code_skew_guard()
+        if skew_msg:
+            _log.warning("GET /api/model/options refused: %s", skew_msg)
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=503, detail=f"Restart required: {skew_msg}"
+            )
+
         from hermes_cli.inventory import build_model_options_payload, load_picker_context
 
         def _build_payload_scoped() -> dict:
diff --git a/tests/test_code_skew.py b/tests/test_code_skew.py
index 0f71ac0cb5..646260ff47 100644
--- a/tests/test_code_skew.py
+++ b/tests/test_code_skew.py
@@ -2,9 +2,15 @@
 
 Companion to ``tests/test_stale_utils_module_import.py``: that test proves the
 crash; these prove the guard that turns it into a clear "restart the gateway"
-message before a model switch can hit it.
+message before a model switch can hit it.  The dashboard mirror (#86207) lives
+here too: ``web_server._dashboard_code_skew_guard`` and the
+``/api/model/options`` 503 guard, which protect the Models page from the same
+stale-module ImportError after ``hermes update``.
 """
 
+import asyncio
+import contextlib
+
 import pytest
 
 from gateway import code_skew
@@ -61,3 +67,80 @@ class TestModelSwitchSkewGuard:
         assert "abc1234567" in msg
         assert "def4567890" in msg
         assert "hermes gateway restart" in msg
+
+
+class TestDashboardCodeSkewGuard:
+    """Dashboard mirror of the gateway's model-switch skew guard (#86207)."""
+
+    def test_dashboard_guard_returns_none_without_skew(self, monkeypatch):
+        from hermes_cli import web_server
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(code_skew, "detect_code_skew", lambda: None)
+        assert web_server._dashboard_code_skew_guard() is None
+
+    def test_dashboard_guard_message_names_revs_and_restart(self, monkeypatch):
+        from hermes_cli import web_server
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(code_skew, "detect_code_skew", lambda: ("abc1234567", "def4567890"))
+        msg = web_server._dashboard_code_skew_guard()
+        assert msg is not None
+        assert "abc1234567" in msg
+        assert "def4567890" in msg
+        assert "restart" in msg.lower()
+
+
+class TestModelOptionsSkewGuard:
+    """/api/model/options must refuse with a clear 503 when the dashboard is stale.
+
+    Regression for #86207: a dashboard kept alive across ``hermes update``
+    serves stale modules, so the picker's lazy import of names the update added
+    (``agent.model_metadata.is_grok_46_family``) raised ImportError and the
+    handler collapsed it into a generic 500.  With the guard, the stale process
+    surfaces "Restart required" (503) and never reaches the payload build.
+    """
+
+    def test_stale_dashboard_returns_503_and_skips_payload_build(self, monkeypatch):
+        from fastapi import HTTPException
+        from hermes_cli import web_server
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(code_skew, "detect_code_skew", lambda: ("abc1234567", "def4567890"))
+
+        payload_calls: list = []
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            "hermes_cli.inventory.build_model_options_payload",
+            lambda *a, **k: payload_calls.append(1) or {"providers": []},
+        )
+
+        with pytest.raises(HTTPException) as excinfo:
+            asyncio.run(web_server.get_model_options())
+
+        assert excinfo.value.status_code == 503
+        assert "restart" in str(excinfo.value.detail).lower()
+        # The stale-import crash site (the payload build) is never reached.
+        assert payload_calls == []
+
+    def test_fresh_dashboard_builds_payload_unchanged(self, monkeypatch):
+        from hermes_cli import web_server
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(code_skew, "detect_code_skew", lambda: None)
+
+        async def _fake_run_in_threadpool(func):
+            return func()
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(web_server, "run_in_threadpool", _fake_run_in_threadpool)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            web_server, "_profile_scope", lambda profile: contextlib.nullcontext()
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr("hermes_cli.inventory.load_picker_context", lambda: {})
+
+        payload_calls: list = []
+        expected = {"providers": [], "model": {}, "provider": None}
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            "hermes_cli.inventory.build_model_options_payload",
+            lambda *a, **k: payload_calls.append(1) or expected,
+        )
+
+        result = asyncio.run(web_server.get_model_options())
+
+        assert result == expected
+        assert payload_calls == [1]