diff --git a/server/pkg/agent/codex.go b/server/pkg/agent/codex.go
index a178a8969..ef8848a67 100644
--- a/server/pkg/agent/codex.go
+++ b/server/pkg/agent/codex.go
@@ -20,6 +20,37 @@ var codexBlockedArgs = map[string]blockedArgMode{
 	"--listen": blockedWithValue, // stdio:// transport for daemon communication
 }
 
+// extractCodexModelArg pulls `-m <v>`, `--model <v>`, and `--model=<v>` out of
+// user-supplied custom_args and returns the model plus the remaining args.
+// Codex's `app-server` subcommand does not accept these flags — the model
+// belongs in the `thread/start` JSON-RPC payload. If multiple model specifiers
+// are present, the last one wins. If the flag appears without a value, it is
+// dropped silently (malformed input).
+func extractCodexModelArg(args []string, logger *slog.Logger) (model string, remaining []string) {
+	if len(args) == 0 {
+		return "", args
+	}
+	remaining = make([]string, 0, len(args))
+	for i := 0; i < len(args); i++ {
+		arg := args[i]
+		switch {
+		case arg == "-m" || arg == "--model":
+			if i+1 < len(args) {
+				model = args[i+1]
+				i++
+			}
+		case strings.HasPrefix(arg, "--model="):
+			model = strings.TrimPrefix(arg, "--model=")
+		default:
+			remaining = append(remaining, arg)
+		}
+	}
+	if model != "" && logger != nil {
+		logger.Info("codex: migrating --model from custom_args to thread/start payload", "model", model)
+	}
+	return model, remaining
+}
+
 // codexBackend implements Backend by spawning `codex app-server --listen stdio://`
 // and communicating via JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdin/stdout.
 type codexBackend struct {
@@ -41,6 +72,16 @@ func (b *codexBackend) Execute(ctx context.Context, prompt string, opts ExecOpti
 	}
 	runCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, timeout)
 
+	// Codex's `app-server` subcommand does not accept `-m` / `--model`; the
+	// model is selected via the `thread/start` JSON-RPC payload. If a user's
+	// custom_args still carry those tokens (historically the UI suggested
+	// CLI-style model overrides), extract them here so the process doesn't
+	// exit during initialize.
+	if extractedModel, trimmedCustom := extractCodexModelArg(opts.CustomArgs, b.cfg.Logger); extractedModel != "" {
+		opts.Model = extractedModel
+		opts.CustomArgs = trimmedCustom
+	}
+
 	codexArgs := append([]string{"app-server", "--listen", "stdio://"}, filterCustomArgs(opts.CustomArgs, codexBlockedArgs, b.cfg.Logger)...)
 	cmd := exec.CommandContext(runCtx, execPath, codexArgs...)
 	b.cfg.Logger.Debug("agent command", "exec", execPath, "args", codexArgs)
@@ -315,14 +356,14 @@ func (c *codexClient) startOrResumeThread(ctx context.Context, opts ExecOptions,
 // ── codexClient: JSON-RPC 2.0 transport ──
 
 type codexClient struct {
-	cfg       Config
-	stdin     interface{ Write([]byte) (int, error) }
-	mu        sync.Mutex
-	nextID    int
-	pending   map[int]*pendingRPC
-	threadID  string
-	turnID    string
-	onMessage func(Message)
+	cfg        Config
+	stdin      interface{ Write([]byte) (int, error) }
+	mu         sync.Mutex
+	nextID     int
+	pending    map[int]*pendingRPC
+	threadID   string
+	turnID     string
+	onMessage  func(Message)
 	onTurnDone func(aborted bool)
 
 	notificationProtocol string // "unknown", "legacy", "raw"
diff --git a/server/pkg/agent/codex_test.go b/server/pkg/agent/codex_test.go
index 20361ae27..e3e7e4990 100644
--- a/server/pkg/agent/codex_test.go
+++ b/server/pkg/agent/codex_test.go
@@ -911,3 +911,91 @@ func TestCodexProtocolDetectionLegacyBlocksRaw(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("raw notification should be ignored in legacy mode")
 	}
 }
+
+func TestExtractCodexModelArg(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	logger := slog.Default()
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		name      string
+		in        []string
+		wantModel string
+		wantRest  []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:      "short flag with value",
+			in:        []string{"-m", "gpt-5.4-mini"},
+			wantModel: "gpt-5.4-mini",
+			wantRest:  []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "long flag with separate value",
+			in:        []string{"--model", "gpt-5.4-mini"},
+			wantModel: "gpt-5.4-mini",
+			wantRest:  []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "long flag with inline value",
+			in:        []string{"--model=gpt-5.4-mini"},
+			wantModel: "gpt-5.4-mini",
+			wantRest:  []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "model flag among other args",
+			in:        []string{"--verbose", "-m", "o3", "--experimental"},
+			wantModel: "o3",
+			wantRest:  []string{"--verbose", "--experimental"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "last model specifier wins",
+			in:        []string{"-m", "first", "--model=second"},
+			wantModel: "second",
+			wantRest:  []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "no model flag passes through untouched",
+			in:        []string{"--verbose", "--experimental"},
+			wantModel: "",
+			wantRest:  []string{"--verbose", "--experimental"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "orphan -m with no value is dropped",
+			in:        []string{"-m"},
+			wantModel: "",
+			wantRest:  []string{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "empty input",
+			in:        nil,
+			wantModel: "",
+			wantRest:  nil,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		tc := tc
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			gotModel, gotRest := extractCodexModelArg(tc.in, logger)
+			if gotModel != tc.wantModel {
+				t.Errorf("model: got %q, want %q", gotModel, tc.wantModel)
+			}
+			if !equalStringSlices(gotRest, tc.wantRest) {
+				t.Errorf("remaining: got %v, want %v", gotRest, tc.wantRest)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func equalStringSlices(a, b []string) bool {
+	if len(a) != len(b) {
+		return false
+	}
+	for i := range a {
+		if a[i] != b[i] {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}