diff --git a/src/daemon/index.ts b/src/daemon/index.ts
index 174a14b..cf84114 100644
--- a/src/daemon/index.ts
+++ b/src/daemon/index.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 import { Lifecycle } from './lifecycle.js';
-import type { Config, ModelConfig } from '../config/index.js';
+import { createClientFromConfig, anthropicToGitHubModel, createAutoFallbackClient, createModelRouter } from './models.js';
+import type { Config } from '../config/index.js';
 import type { AudioTranscriptionConfig } from '../models/media.js';
 import type { Attachment } from '../channels/types.js';
 import { isSupportedAudio, transcribeAudio } from '../models/media.js';
-import { AnthropicClient, OpenAIClient, OllamaClient, LlamaCppClient, GeminiClient, BedrockClient, GitHubModelsClient, ModelRouter, DEFAULT_RETRY_CONFIG } from '../models/index.js';
-import type { ModelClient, RetryConfig, ModelTier } from '../models/index.js';
+import { ModelRouter } from '../models/index.js';
 import { AgentOrchestrator, type DelegationConfig } from '../backends/index.js';
 import { OutboundAttachmentCollector } from '../backends/native/attachments.js';
 import { SessionStore, SessionManager, parseDuration } from '../session/index.js';
@@ -67,254 +67,6 @@ function loadSystemPrompt(config: Config): string {
   return result.prompt;
 }
 
-/**
- * Create a ModelClient from a provider config entry.
- * Dispatches on the `provider` field so all tiers and fallback entries
- * use the correct client implementation.
- */
-export function createClientFromConfig(cfg: ModelConfig): ModelClient {
-  switch (cfg.provider) {
-    case 'anthropic':
-      return new AnthropicClient({
-        model: cfg.model,
-        apiKey: cfg.api_key,
-        authToken: cfg.auth_token,
-      });
-    case 'openai':
-      return new OpenAIClient({
-        model: cfg.model,
-        apiKey: cfg.api_key,
-      });
-    case 'ollama':
-      return new OllamaClient({
-        model: cfg.model,
-        host: cfg.endpoint,
-        numGpu: cfg.num_gpu,
-      });
-    case 'llamacpp':
-      return new LlamaCppClient({
-        endpoint: cfg.endpoint ?? 'http://localhost:8080',
-        model: cfg.model,
-        authToken: cfg.auth_token,
-      });
-    case 'gemini':
-      return new GeminiClient({
-        model: cfg.model,
-        apiKey: cfg.api_key,
-      });
-    case 'openrouter':
-      return new OpenAIClient({
-        model: cfg.model,
-        apiKey: cfg.api_key ?? process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY,
-        baseURL: cfg.endpoint ?? 'https://openrouter.ai/api/v1',
-      });
-    case 'zhipuai':
-      return new OpenAIClient({
-        model: cfg.model,
-        apiKey: cfg.api_key ?? process.env.ZHIPUAI_API_KEY,
-        baseURL: cfg.endpoint ?? 'https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4',
-      });
-    case 'xai':
-      return new OpenAIClient({
-        model: cfg.model,
-        apiKey: cfg.api_key ?? process.env.XAI_API_KEY,
-        baseURL: cfg.endpoint ?? 'https://api.x.ai/v1',
-      });
-    case 'bedrock':
-      return new BedrockClient({
-        model: cfg.model,
-        region: cfg.endpoint,
-        accessKeyId: cfg.api_key,
-        secretAccessKey: cfg.auth_token,
-      });
-    case 'github':
-      return new GitHubModelsClient({
-        model: anthropicToGitHubModel(cfg.model) ?? cfg.model,
-        apiKey: cfg.api_key,
-        endpoint: cfg.endpoint,
-        onLoginRequired: async () => {
-          const { loginGitHub } = await import('../auth/index.js');
-          return loginGitHub((userCode, verificationUri) => {
-            console.log(`GitHub login required. Visit: ${verificationUri}`);
-            console.log(`Enter code: ${userCode}`);
-          });
-        },
-      });
-    default:
-      throw new Error(`Unknown model provider: ${(cfg as Record<string, unknown>).provider}`);
-  }
-}
-
-/**
- * Map an Anthropic model identifier to its GitHub Models equivalent.
- * Returns undefined if no mapping is known.
- *
- * Anthropic uses hyphens and date suffixes:  claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
- * GitHub Copilot uses dots, no dates:        claude-sonnet-4.5
- */
-export function anthropicToGitHubModel(anthropicModel: string): string | undefined {
-  // Explicit mappings for known models
-  const MAPPINGS: Record<string, string> = {
-    // Sonnet family
-    'claude-sonnet-4-20250514': 'claude-sonnet-4',
-    'claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929': 'claude-sonnet-4.5',
-    // Opus family
-    'claude-opus-4-20250514': 'claude-opus-4',
-    'claude-opus-4-5-20250918': 'claude-opus-4.5',
-    'claude-opus-4-6-20250715': 'claude-opus-4.6',
-    // Haiku family
-    'claude-3-5-haiku-20241022': 'claude-haiku-4.5',
-    'claude-haiku-4-5-20251001': 'claude-haiku-4.5',
-  };
-
-  if (MAPPINGS[anthropicModel]) return MAPPINGS[anthropicModel];
-
-  // Generic fallback: strip date suffix, then convert trailing -N to .N
-  // only when preceded by another digit (i.e. "4-5" → "4.5", not "sonnet-5" → "sonnet.5")
-  // e.g. "claude-sonnet-4-7-20260301" → "claude-sonnet-4-7" → "claude-sonnet-4.7"
-  const dateMatch = anthropicModel.match(/^(.+)-\d{8}$/);
-  if (dateMatch) {
-    const base = dateMatch[1];
-    // Convert "claude-sonnet-4-5" → "claude-sonnet-4.5" (digit-hyphen-digit at end)
-    const dotted = base.replace(/(\d)-(\d+)$/, '$1.$2');
-    return dotted;
-  }
-
-  return undefined;
-}
-
-/**
- * For a given tier config using the Anthropic provider, create a GitHub Models
- * client with the equivalent model as an automatic same-model fallback.
- * Returns undefined if no mapping exists or the tier isn't Anthropic.
- */
-export function createAutoFallbackClient(tierConfig: { provider: string; model: string }): ModelClient | undefined {
-  if (tierConfig.provider !== 'anthropic') return undefined;
-
-  const githubModel = anthropicToGitHubModel(tierConfig.model);
-  if (!githubModel) return undefined;
-
-  return new GitHubModelsClient({
-    model: githubModel,
-    onLoginRequired: async () => {
-      const { loginGitHub } = await import('../auth/index.js');
-      return loginGitHub((userCode, verificationUri) => {
-        console.log(`GitHub login required. Visit: ${verificationUri}`);
-        console.log(`Enter code: ${userCode}`);
-      });
-    },
-  });
-}
-
-export function createModelRouter(config: Config): ModelRouter {
-  const models = config.models;
-
-  const defaultClient = createClientFromConfig(models.default);
-
-  const fastClient = models.fast ? createClientFromConfig(models.fast) : undefined;
-  const complexClient = models.complex ? createClientFromConfig(models.complex) : undefined;
-  const localClient = models.local ? createClientFromConfig(models.local) : undefined;
-
-  // Build fallback chain — each entry references a tier name or 'local'
-  const fallbackChain: ModelClient[] = [];
-  for (const providerName of models.fallback_chain) {
-    if (providerName === 'local' && localClient) {
-      fallbackChain.push(localClient);
-    } else if (providerName === 'default') {
-      // Allows re-trying the default provider in the chain
-      fallbackChain.push(defaultClient);
-    } else if (providerName === 'fast' && fastClient) {
-      fallbackChain.push(fastClient);
-    } else if (providerName === 'complex' && complexClient) {
-      fallbackChain.push(complexClient);
-    } else if (models.local_providers?.[providerName]) {
-      // Named provider from local_providers map
-      fallbackChain.push(createClientFromConfig(models.local_providers[providerName]));
-    } else {
-      console.warn(`Fallback chain entry "${providerName}" not found — skipping`);
-    }
-  }
-
-  // Build per-tier fallbacks from inline fallback config + auto same-model fallbacks.
-  // Auto-fallback: when a tier uses Anthropic, automatically insert a GitHub Models
-  // client for the same model *before* any user-configured inline fallbacks.
-  // This ensures the same model is tried via an alternative provider before
-  // degrading to the global fallback chain (which may be a much weaker local model).
-  const tierFallbacks = new Map<ModelTier, ModelClient[]>();
-
-  const tierConfigs: { tier: ModelTier; cfg: typeof models.default | undefined }[] = [
-    { tier: 'default', cfg: models.default },
-    { tier: 'fast', cfg: models.fast },
-    { tier: 'complex', cfg: models.complex },
-    { tier: 'local', cfg: models.local },
-  ];
-
-  const autoFallbackTiers: string[] = [];
-  for (const { tier, cfg } of tierConfigs) {
-    if (!cfg) continue;
-
-    const fallbackList: ModelClient[] = [];
-
-    // Auto same-model fallback (only when user hasn't configured an inline fallback)
-    if (!cfg.fallback) {
-      const autoClient = createAutoFallbackClient(cfg);
-      if (autoClient) {
-        fallbackList.push(autoClient);
-        autoFallbackTiers.push(tier);
-      }
-    }
-
-    // User-configured inline fallback
-    if (cfg.fallback) {
-      fallbackList.push(createClientFromConfig(cfg.fallback));
-    }
-
-    if (fallbackList.length > 0) {
-      tierFallbacks.set(tier, fallbackList);
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (tierFallbacks.size > 0) {
-    const tierNames = Array.from(tierFallbacks.keys()).join(', ');
-    console.log(`Per-tier fallbacks configured for: ${tierNames}`);
-  }
-  if (autoFallbackTiers.length > 0) {
-    console.log(`Auto same-model fallback (via GitHub Models) for: ${autoFallbackTiers.join(', ')}`);
-  }
-
-  console.log(`Model router: default=${models.default.provider}/${models.default.model}, ` +
-    `fallback=[${models.fallback_chain.join(', ')}]`);
-
-  // Build retry config if enabled
-  const retryConfig: RetryConfig | undefined = config.retry.enabled ? {
-    maxRetries: config.retry.max_retries,
-    initialDelayMs: config.retry.initial_delay_ms,
-    backoffMultiplier: config.retry.backoff_multiplier,
-    maxDelayMs: config.retry.max_delay_ms,
-    nonRetryablePatterns: DEFAULT_RETRY_CONFIG.nonRetryablePatterns,
-  } : undefined;
-
-  if (retryConfig) {
-    console.log(`Retry policy: max_retries=${retryConfig.maxRetries}, initial_delay=${retryConfig.initialDelayMs}ms`);
-  }
-
-  return new ModelRouter({
-    default: defaultClient,
-    fast: fastClient,
-    complex: complexClient,
-    local: localClient,
-    fallbackChain,
-    tierFallbacks,
-    retryConfig,
-    labels: {
-      default: `${models.default.provider}/${models.default.model}`,
-      ...(models.fast ? { fast: `${models.fast.provider}/${models.fast.model}` } : {}),
-      ...(models.complex ? { complex: `${models.complex.provider}/${models.complex.model}` } : {}),
-      ...(models.local ? { local: `${models.local.provider}/${models.local.model}` } : {}),
-    },
-  });
-}
-
 /**
  * Create the unified message handler for the channel registry.
  * Each channel+sender pair gets its own AgentOrchestrator backed by a persistent session.
@@ -1085,3 +837,4 @@ export async function startDaemon(config: Config): Promise<DaemonContext> {
 }
 
 export { Lifecycle } from './lifecycle.js';
+export { createClientFromConfig, anthropicToGitHubModel, createAutoFallbackClient, createModelRouter } from './models.js';
diff --git a/src/daemon/models.ts b/src/daemon/models.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a266659
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/daemon/models.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+import type { Config, ModelConfig } from '../config/index.js';
+import { AnthropicClient, OpenAIClient, OllamaClient, LlamaCppClient, GeminiClient, BedrockClient, GitHubModelsClient, ModelRouter, DEFAULT_RETRY_CONFIG } from '../models/index.js';
+import type { ModelClient, RetryConfig, ModelTier } from '../models/index.js';
+
+/**
+ * Create a ModelClient from a provider config entry.
+ * Dispatches on the `provider` field so all tiers and fallback entries
+ * use the correct client implementation.
+ */
+export function createClientFromConfig(cfg: ModelConfig): ModelClient {
+  switch (cfg.provider) {
+    case 'anthropic':
+      return new AnthropicClient({
+        model: cfg.model,
+        apiKey: cfg.api_key,
+        authToken: cfg.auth_token,
+      });
+    case 'openai':
+      return new OpenAIClient({
+        model: cfg.model,
+        apiKey: cfg.api_key,
+      });
+    case 'ollama':
+      return new OllamaClient({
+        model: cfg.model,
+        host: cfg.endpoint,
+        numGpu: cfg.num_gpu,
+      });
+    case 'llamacpp':
+      return new LlamaCppClient({
+        endpoint: cfg.endpoint ?? 'http://localhost:8080',
+        model: cfg.model,
+        authToken: cfg.auth_token,
+      });
+    case 'gemini':
+      return new GeminiClient({
+        model: cfg.model,
+        apiKey: cfg.api_key,
+      });
+    case 'openrouter':
+      return new OpenAIClient({
+        model: cfg.model,
+        apiKey: cfg.api_key ?? process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY,
+        baseURL: cfg.endpoint ?? 'https://openrouter.ai/api/v1',
+      });
+    case 'zhipuai':
+      return new OpenAIClient({
+        model: cfg.model,
+        apiKey: cfg.api_key ?? process.env.ZHIPUAI_API_KEY,
+        baseURL: cfg.endpoint ?? 'https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4',
+      });
+    case 'xai':
+      return new OpenAIClient({
+        model: cfg.model,
+        apiKey: cfg.api_key ?? process.env.XAI_API_KEY,
+        baseURL: cfg.endpoint ?? 'https://api.x.ai/v1',
+      });
+    case 'bedrock':
+      return new BedrockClient({
+        model: cfg.model,
+        region: cfg.endpoint,
+        accessKeyId: cfg.api_key,
+        secretAccessKey: cfg.auth_token,
+      });
+    case 'github':
+      return new GitHubModelsClient({
+        model: anthropicToGitHubModel(cfg.model) ?? cfg.model,
+        apiKey: cfg.api_key,
+        endpoint: cfg.endpoint,
+        onLoginRequired: async () => {
+          const { loginGitHub } = await import('../auth/index.js');
+          return loginGitHub((userCode, verificationUri) => {
+            console.log(`GitHub login required. Visit: ${verificationUri}`);
+            console.log(`Enter code: ${userCode}`);
+          });
+        },
+      });
+    default:
+      throw new Error(`Unknown model provider: ${(cfg as Record<string, unknown>).provider}`);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Map an Anthropic model identifier to its GitHub Models equivalent.
+ * Returns undefined if no mapping is known.
+ *
+ * Anthropic uses hyphens and date suffixes:  claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
+ * GitHub Copilot uses dots, no dates:        claude-sonnet-4.5
+ */
+export function anthropicToGitHubModel(anthropicModel: string): string | undefined {
+  // Explicit mappings for known models
+  const MAPPINGS: Record<string, string> = {
+    // Sonnet family
+    'claude-sonnet-4-20250514': 'claude-sonnet-4',
+    'claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929': 'claude-sonnet-4.5',
+    // Opus family
+    'claude-opus-4-20250514': 'claude-opus-4',
+    'claude-opus-4-5-20250918': 'claude-opus-4.5',
+    'claude-opus-4-6-20250715': 'claude-opus-4.6',
+    // Haiku family
+    'claude-3-5-haiku-20241022': 'claude-haiku-4.5',
+    'claude-haiku-4-5-20251001': 'claude-haiku-4.5',
+  };
+
+  if (MAPPINGS[anthropicModel]) return MAPPINGS[anthropicModel];
+
+  // Generic fallback: strip date suffix, then convert trailing -N to .N
+  // only when preceded by another digit (i.e. "4-5" → "4.5", not "sonnet-5" → "sonnet.5")
+  // e.g. "claude-sonnet-4-7-20260301" → "claude-sonnet-4-7" → "claude-sonnet-4.7"
+  const dateMatch = anthropicModel.match(/^(.+)-\d{8}$/);
+  if (dateMatch) {
+    const base = dateMatch[1];
+    // Convert "claude-sonnet-4-5" → "claude-sonnet-4.5" (digit-hyphen-digit at end)
+    const dotted = base.replace(/(\d)-(\d+)$/, '$1.$2');
+    return dotted;
+  }
+
+  return undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * For a given tier config using the Anthropic provider, create a GitHub Models
+ * client with the equivalent model as an automatic same-model fallback.
+ * Returns undefined if no mapping exists or the tier isn't Anthropic.
+ */
+export function createAutoFallbackClient(tierConfig: { provider: string; model: string }): ModelClient | undefined {
+  if (tierConfig.provider !== 'anthropic') return undefined;
+
+  const githubModel = anthropicToGitHubModel(tierConfig.model);
+  if (!githubModel) return undefined;
+
+  return new GitHubModelsClient({
+    model: githubModel,
+    onLoginRequired: async () => {
+      const { loginGitHub } = await import('../auth/index.js');
+      return loginGitHub((userCode, verificationUri) => {
+        console.log(`GitHub login required. Visit: ${verificationUri}`);
+        console.log(`Enter code: ${userCode}`);
+      });
+    },
+  });
+}
+
+export function createModelRouter(config: Config): ModelRouter {
+  const models = config.models;
+
+  const defaultClient = createClientFromConfig(models.default);
+
+  const fastClient = models.fast ? createClientFromConfig(models.fast) : undefined;
+  const complexClient = models.complex ? createClientFromConfig(models.complex) : undefined;
+  const localClient = models.local ? createClientFromConfig(models.local) : undefined;
+
+  // Build fallback chain — each entry references a tier name or 'local'
+  const fallbackChain: ModelClient[] = [];
+  for (const providerName of models.fallback_chain) {
+    if (providerName === 'local' && localClient) {
+      fallbackChain.push(localClient);
+    } else if (providerName === 'default') {
+      // Allows re-trying the default provider in the chain
+      fallbackChain.push(defaultClient);
+    } else if (providerName === 'fast' && fastClient) {
+      fallbackChain.push(fastClient);
+    } else if (providerName === 'complex' && complexClient) {
+      fallbackChain.push(complexClient);
+    } else if (models.local_providers?.[providerName]) {
+      // Named provider from local_providers map
+      fallbackChain.push(createClientFromConfig(models.local_providers[providerName]));
+    } else {
+      console.warn(`Fallback chain entry "${providerName}" not found — skipping`);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Build per-tier fallbacks from inline fallback config + auto same-model fallbacks.
+  // Auto-fallback: when a tier uses Anthropic, automatically insert a GitHub Models
+  // client for the same model *before* any user-configured inline fallbacks.
+  // This ensures the same model is tried via an alternative provider before
+  // degrading to the global fallback chain (which may be a much weaker local model).
+  const tierFallbacks = new Map<ModelTier, ModelClient[]>();
+
+  const tierConfigs: { tier: ModelTier; cfg: typeof models.default | undefined }[] = [
+    { tier: 'default', cfg: models.default },
+    { tier: 'fast', cfg: models.fast },
+    { tier: 'complex', cfg: models.complex },
+    { tier: 'local', cfg: models.local },
+  ];
+
+  const autoFallbackTiers: string[] = [];
+  for (const { tier, cfg } of tierConfigs) {
+    if (!cfg) continue;
+
+    const fallbackList: ModelClient[] = [];
+
+    // Auto same-model fallback (only when user hasn't configured an inline fallback)
+    if (!cfg.fallback) {
+      const autoClient = createAutoFallbackClient(cfg);
+      if (autoClient) {
+        fallbackList.push(autoClient);
+        autoFallbackTiers.push(tier);
+      }
+    }
+
+    // User-configured inline fallback
+    if (cfg.fallback) {
+      fallbackList.push(createClientFromConfig(cfg.fallback));
+    }
+
+    if (fallbackList.length > 0) {
+      tierFallbacks.set(tier, fallbackList);
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (tierFallbacks.size > 0) {
+    const tierNames = Array.from(tierFallbacks.keys()).join(', ');
+    console.log(`Per-tier fallbacks configured for: ${tierNames}`);
+  }
+  if (autoFallbackTiers.length > 0) {
+    console.log(`Auto same-model fallback (via GitHub Models) for: ${autoFallbackTiers.join(', ')}`);
+  }
+
+  console.log(`Model router: default=${models.default.provider}/${models.default.model}, ` +
+    `fallback=[${models.fallback_chain.join(', ')}]`);
+
+  // Build retry config if enabled
+  const retryConfig: RetryConfig | undefined = config.retry.enabled ? {
+    maxRetries: config.retry.max_retries,
+    initialDelayMs: config.retry.initial_delay_ms,
+    backoffMultiplier: config.retry.backoff_multiplier,
+    maxDelayMs: config.retry.max_delay_ms,
+    nonRetryablePatterns: DEFAULT_RETRY_CONFIG.nonRetryablePatterns,
+  } : undefined;
+
+  if (retryConfig) {
+    console.log(`Retry policy: max_retries=${retryConfig.maxRetries}, initial_delay=${retryConfig.initialDelayMs}ms`);
+  }
+
+  return new ModelRouter({
+    default: defaultClient,
+    fast: fastClient,
+    complex: complexClient,
+    local: localClient,
+    fallbackChain,
+    tierFallbacks,
+    retryConfig,
+    labels: {
+      default: `${models.default.provider}/${models.default.model}`,
+      ...(models.fast ? { fast: `${models.fast.provider}/${models.fast.model}` } : {}),
+      ...(models.complex ? { complex: `${models.complex.provider}/${models.complex.model}` } : {}),
+      ...(models.local ? { local: `${models.local.provider}/${models.local.model}` } : {}),
+    },
+  });
+}