diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto-model-selection.ts b/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto-model-selection.ts
index 2e96f7ce8..031b6103f 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto-model-selection.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto-model-selection.ts
@@ -100,7 +100,25 @@ export async function selectAndApplyModel(
   let appliedModel: Model<Api> | null = null;
 
   if (modelConfig) {
-    const availableModels = ctx.modelRegistry.getAvailable();
+    // ─── Provider Allowlist (outer gate) ──────────────────────────────
+    // When `allowed_providers` is set in preferences, filter the candidate
+    // set BEFORE any other selection logic runs — both models.* resolution
+    // and dynamic routing will only see providers in the allowlist. This
+    // prevents routing from silently picking a provider the user doesn't
+    // have keys for (or has explicitly excluded), which caused repeated
+    // 400 "model not supported" dispatch failures in dr-repo.
+    const rawAvailable = ctx.modelRegistry.getAvailable();
+    const allowed = prefs?.allowed_providers;
+    const availableModels = (allowed && allowed.length > 0)
+      ? rawAvailable.filter(m => allowed.includes(m.provider.toLowerCase()))
+      : rawAvailable;
+    if (allowed && allowed.length > 0 && availableModels.length === 0) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `allowed_providers filter rejected every available model. ` +
+        `Configured providers: [${allowed.join(", ")}]. ` +
+        `Either add a provider to allowed_providers or remove the pref.`,
+      );
+    }
     const modelPolicyTraceId = `model:${ctx.sessionManager.getSessionId()}:${Date.now()}`;
     const modelPolicyTurnId = `${unitType}:${unitId}`;
     let policyAllowedModelKeys: Set<string> | null = null;
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences-types.ts b/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences-types.ts
index 084e29353..21a8e28da 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences-types.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences-types.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ export const KNOWN_PREFERENCE_KEYS = new Set<string>([
   "gate_evaluation",
   "github",
   "service_tier",
+  "allowed_providers",
   "forensics_dedup",
   "show_token_cost",
   "stale_commit_threshold_minutes",
@@ -424,6 +425,21 @@ export interface SFPreferences {
    * same regardless of model.  Case-insensitive.
    */
   flat_rate_providers?: string[];
+  /**
+   * Hard allowlist of providers that auto-mode is permitted to dispatch to.
+   * Case-insensitive provider IDs (e.g. ["kimi-coding", "minimax", "zai",
+   * "ollama-cloud"]). When set, SF filters `modelRegistry.getAvailable()`
+   * down to only these providers before resolving `models.*` roles, running
+   * dynamic routing, or applying fallback chains — models from any other
+   * provider are invisible to selection logic.
+   *
+   * Undefined (default) = no filtering, every installed provider is in play.
+   *
+   * Pair with `models.*` using `provider/model-id` syntax to pin specific
+   * choices; the allowlist is the outer gate, the `models.*` block picks
+   * within it, and dynamic routing's `tier_models` stays inside the gate.
+   */
+  allowed_providers?: string[];
 }
 
 export interface LoadedSFPreferences {
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences-validation.ts b/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences-validation.ts
index 111eb105e..455ef6997 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences-validation.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences-validation.ts
@@ -392,6 +392,26 @@ export function validatePreferences(preferences: SFPreferences): {
     }
   }
 
+  // ─── Allowed Providers (hard allowlist) ─────────────────────────────
+  // When set, model selection is gated to these providers only — any
+  // model from any other provider is filtered out of the candidate set
+  // before models.* resolution and dynamic routing. Case-insensitive.
+  if (preferences.allowed_providers !== undefined) {
+    if (Array.isArray(preferences.allowed_providers)) {
+      const allStrings = preferences.allowed_providers.every((s: unknown) => typeof s === "string");
+      if (allStrings) {
+        const cleaned = preferences.allowed_providers
+          .map((s: string) => s.trim().toLowerCase())
+          .filter((s: string) => s.length > 0);
+        if (cleaned.length > 0) validated.allowed_providers = cleaned;
+      } else {
+        errors.push("allowed_providers must be an array of strings (provider IDs)");
+      }
+    } else {
+      errors.push("allowed_providers must be an array of strings");
+    }
+  }
+
   // ─── Flat-rate Providers ────────────────────────────────────────────
   // User-declared flat-rate providers for dynamic routing suppression.
   // Built-in providers (github-copilot, copilot, claude-code) and any
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences.ts b/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences.ts
index bc0672af1..eb04f20d2 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/sf/preferences.ts
@@ -503,6 +503,19 @@ function mergePreferences(base: SFPreferences, override: SFPreferences): SFPrefe
     slice_parallel: (base.slice_parallel || override.slice_parallel)
       ? { ...(base.slice_parallel ?? {}), ...(override.slice_parallel ?? {}) }
       : undefined,
+    // Fields previously validated but silently dropped here — same class
+    // of latent bug as service_tier (fixed separately). Each gets a simple
+    // override-wins merge so the preference actually reaches consumers.
+    allowed_providers: mergeStringLists(base.allowed_providers, override.allowed_providers),
+    flat_rate_providers: mergeStringLists(base.flat_rate_providers, override.flat_rate_providers),
+    stale_commit_threshold_minutes: override.stale_commit_threshold_minutes ?? base.stale_commit_threshold_minutes,
+    widget_mode: override.widget_mode ?? base.widget_mode,
+    modelOverrides: (base.modelOverrides || override.modelOverrides)
+      ? { ...(base.modelOverrides ?? {}), ...(override.modelOverrides ?? {}) }
+      : undefined,
+    safety_harness: (base.safety_harness || override.safety_harness)
+      ? { ...(base.safety_harness ?? {}), ...(override.safety_harness ?? {}) }
+      : undefined,
   };
 }