diff --git a/changelog.d/fixes/8728-model-catalog-swr.md b/changelog.d/fixes/8728-model-catalog-swr.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9272b3f0b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/fixes/8728-model-catalog-swr.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- **fix(api):** make `/v1/models` stale refresh response-safe and generation-safe, with narrow synced-model invalidation ([#8728](https://github.com/diegosouzapw/OmniRoute/pull/8728)). Related to #8697.
diff --git a/src/app/api/v1/models/catalog.ts b/src/app/api/v1/models/catalog.ts
index 34ccbdfbaf..a16590fb7e 100644
--- a/src/app/api/v1/models/catalog.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/v1/models/catalog.ts
@@ -105,18 +105,25 @@ export { getCustomVisionCapabilityFields };
 // lives in ./catalogCache. Re-exported here because the existing tests import the
 // hooks from this module, and CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS is part of the
 // documented behavior of this endpoint.
-import { CATALOG_CACHE_TTL_MS_DEFAULT, resolveCachedCatalogResponse } from "./catalogCache";
+import {
+  CATALOG_CACHE_TTL_MS_DEFAULT,
+  resolveCachedCatalogResponse,
+  type CatalogCachePolicy,
+} from "./catalogCache";
 
 export {
   CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS,
+  getCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMs,
   __resetCatalogBuilderRunsForTest,
   __getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest,
   __expireCatalogCacheForTest,
   __setCatalogCacheEntryForTest,
   __flushCatalogBackgroundRefreshForTest,
   __forceCatalogInFlightRejectionForTest,
+  __setCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateAccessorForTest,
+  __setCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMsForTest,
 } from "./catalogCache";
-export type { CachedCatalog } from "./catalogCache";
+export type { CachedCatalog, CatalogCachePolicy } from "./catalogCache";
 
 /**
  * Build unified OpenAI-compatible model catalog response.
@@ -124,7 +131,8 @@ export type { CachedCatalog } from "./catalogCache";
  */
 export async function getUnifiedModelsResponse(
   request: Request,
-  corsHeaders: Record<string, string> = {}
+  corsHeaders: Record<string, string> = {},
+  cachePolicy: CatalogCachePolicy = {}
 ) {
   const diagnosticHeaders = getCatalogDiagnosticsHeaders({ request });
 
@@ -156,7 +164,8 @@ export async function getUnifiedModelsResponse(
     return await resolveCachedCatalogResponse(
       request,
       { corsHeaders, diagnosticHeaders },
-      buildCatalogPayload
+      buildCatalogPayload,
+      cachePolicy
     );
   } catch (err) {
     // Hard rule #12: never put a raw err.message/err.stack in a response body.
diff --git a/src/app/api/v1/models/catalogCache.ts b/src/app/api/v1/models/catalogCache.ts
index 316120293c..da08307bd5 100644
--- a/src/app/api/v1/models/catalogCache.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/v1/models/catalogCache.ts
@@ -5,15 +5,16 @@
  * builder walks 8 registries and hits SQLite for connections, combos, custom
  * models and aliases; under Next.js's single-threaded App Router request
  * handling, N concurrent calls execute back-to-back and the Nth completes at
- * N × single-request latency. So identical concurrent requests are coalesced
- * onto one in-flight promise and the serialized body is memoized for a short
- * window.
+ * N × single-request latency. Identical concurrent requests are therefore
+ * coalesced onto one in-flight promise and successful serialized bodies are
+ * memoized for a short fresh window.
  *
  * Auth rejection is NOT handled here and must stay in the caller: it depends on
  * live per-request state (dashboard cookie, API key) and must never be cached.
  */
 import { getModelCatalogCacheVersion } from "@/lib/db/readCache";
 import { extractApiKey } from "@/sse/services/auth";
+import { after } from "next/server";
 
 import { isCodexModelCatalogClient } from "./catalogRequest";
 
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ export type CachedCatalog = {
   expiresAt: number;
 };
 
-/** Payload shape returned by the builder the caller injects. */
+/** Payload shape returned by the shared builder primitive the caller injects. */
 export type CatalogPayload = {
   body: string;
   headers: Record<string, string>;
@@ -32,44 +33,65 @@ export type CatalogPayload = {
   cacheTTL: number;
 };
 
+export type CatalogRefreshTask = () => Promise<void>;
+export type CatalogRefreshScheduler = (task: CatalogRefreshTask) => void;
+
 /**
- * A client with a short discovery timeout (Claude Code allows 3 s) must never
- * wait on a full rebuild. Once a cached 200 expires it is still served
- * immediately for up to this long while a background refresh repopulates it.
- * Bounded so a refresh that keeps failing cannot pin an old catalog forever —
- * past this window callers fall back to waiting, same as a cold cache.
+ * Per-call cache policy. Request-context routes inject Next.js `after()` as the
+ * scheduler; unit tests and direct non-framework callers can inject a deterministic
+ * scheduler without making the cache branch on runner-specific environment variables.
  */
-export const CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS = 30_000;
+export type CatalogCachePolicy = {
+  getStaleWhileRevalidateMs?: () => number;
+  scheduleBackgroundRefresh?: CatalogRefreshScheduler;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Production stale-while-revalidate window.
+ *
+ * A successful snapshot remains eligible indefinitely after the 60-second fresh TTL.
+ * TTL expiry requests return that last success and schedule one refresh. Database state
+ * changes are different: the version signal below hard-invalidates every snapshot and
+ * makes the next request await a current-generation build.
+ */
+export const CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS = Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY;
 
 /**
  * Fallback memoization window; overridden by `settings.cache.modelCatalogCacheTtlMs`.
  *
- * This does NOT govern post-write freshness — `invalidateDbCache()` bumps
- * `modelCatalogCacheVersion` on every settings/connections/combos/pricing write and
- * `dropCatalogCacheIfStateChanged()` drops the whole cache the moment it moves, so a
- * write is reflected on the very next read regardless of this value. What it governs is
- * the "nothing was written" case, where replaying a body built seconds ago is precisely
- * the point of the cache.
- *
- * It was 1500 ms, which was shorter than a single build: measured 2026-07-28 on the
- * production VPS, the builder takes ~49 s for a 1.3 MB / 2645-model catalog. Any two
- * requests more than 1.5 s apart therefore both missed the fresh window, and the second
- * fell into stale-while-revalidate — which rebuilds via `setTimeout(…, 0)` and, because
- * the builder is overwhelmingly synchronous under the single-threaded App Router, pins
- * the event loop so even the "served immediately" stale body only reaches the client
- * once the rebuild finishes. Net effect: ~50 s on essentially every call.
- *
- * Held at 60 s to match the ceiling the settings schema already allows for the override
- * (`settingsSchemas.ts`, `.max(60000)`), so the default can never exceed what an
- * operator is permitted to configure.
+ * This is only the fresh window. Ordinary expiry serves the last successful snapshot
+ * while refreshing. `modelCatalogCacheVersion` changes bypass stale serving entirely.
  */
 export const CATALOG_CACHE_TTL_MS_DEFAULT = 60_000;
 
-const catalogCache = new Map<string, CachedCatalog>();
-const catalogInFlight = new Map<string, Promise<CachedCatalog>>();
+type CatalogInFlight = {
+  generation: number;
+  promise: Promise<CatalogPayload>;
+};
 
+const catalogCache = new Map<string, CachedCatalog>();
+const catalogInFlight = new Map<string, CatalogInFlight>();
+
+let catalogGeneration = 0;
+let lastSeenCatalogCacheVersion = getModelCatalogCacheVersion();
+let staleWhileRevalidateMsAccessor = () => CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS;
 let _catalogBuilderRuns = 0;
 
+function defaultBackgroundRefreshScheduler(task: CatalogRefreshTask): void {
+  // All production routes run in Next.js request context, including callers that transform the
+  // shared response. Direct test/startup callers have no request store and need a safe fallback.
+  try {
+    after(task);
+  } catch {
+    setImmediate(() => void task());
+  }
+}
+
+/** Current SWR policy value; production defaults to unbounded stale serving. */
+export function getCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMs(): number {
+  return staleWhileRevalidateMsAccessor();
+}
+
 function buildCatalogCacheKey(request: Request): string {
   const url = new URL(request.url);
   const prefix = url.searchParams.get("prefix") || "";
@@ -79,30 +101,28 @@ function buildCatalogCacheKey(request: Request): string {
   return `${prefix}|${isCodex}|${apiKey}|${configuredOnly}`;
 }
 
-// Tracks the model-catalog cache version (src/lib/db/readCache.ts) as of the last
-// cache access. invalidateDbCache() bumps that version on every settings/connections/
-// combos/pricing write; when it moves on, every memoized entry here was built from
-// state that no longer holds, so drop them all rather than keying by version (which
-// would leak one Map entry per version forever instead of ever pruning old ones).
-let lastSeenCatalogCacheVersion = getModelCatalogCacheVersion();
-function dropCatalogCacheIfStateChanged(): void {
+/**
+ * Observe the DB-side invalidation signal.
+ *
+ * Every observed version transition is hard invalidation: snapshots are cleared,
+ * the local generation advances, and old work is detached. Completion guards also
+ * call this function, so a version change that occurs while a builder is running
+ * prevents that builder from writing even before another request arrives.
+ */
+function synchronizeCatalogGeneration(): void {
   const currentVersion = getModelCatalogCacheVersion();
   if (currentVersion === lastSeenCatalogCacheVersion) return;
+
   lastSeenCatalogCacheVersion = currentVersion;
+  catalogGeneration++;
   catalogCache.clear();
-  // Deliberately NOT clearing catalogInFlight: an in-flight build already reads live
-  // DB/settings state as of when it started, so letting it finish and populate the
-  // (now-current) cache entry is correct — clearing it would just force a redundant
-  // second builder run for requests that arrive mid-flight.
+  catalogInFlight.clear();
 }
 
 // Header sources mix Title-Case keys (diagnostic/cors headers built by app code) with
-// lower-case ones (payload headers captured via the Fetch `Headers` iterator). A plain
-// object spread keeps both casings as distinct keys, and the `Response` constructor
-// then *appends* rather than overwrites them, producing comma-joined duplicates (e.g.
-// request-id echoing "foo, foo"). Merge through a real `Headers` so `.set()` overwrites
-// case-insensitively. Earlier sources are the base; the caller passes diagnostics last
-// so per-request fields reflect the current request, not whichever one filled the cache.
+// lower-case ones (payload headers captured via the Fetch `Headers` iterator). Merge
+// through a real Headers so the caller's per-request diagnostics overwrite cached values
+// case-insensitively.
 export function mergeCatalogHeaders(
   ...sources: Array<Record<string, string> | undefined>
 ): Headers {
@@ -116,66 +136,26 @@ export function mergeCatalogHeaders(
   return merged;
 }
 
-function storePayload(cacheKey: string, payload: CatalogPayload): CachedCatalog {
-  const entry: CachedCatalog = {
+function isSuccessfulPayload(payload: CatalogPayload): boolean {
+  return payload.status >= 200 && payload.status < 300;
+}
+
+function storeSuccessfulPayload(
+  cacheKey: string,
+  payload: CatalogPayload,
+  inFlight: CatalogInFlight
+): void {
+  synchronizeCatalogGeneration();
+  if (!isSuccessfulPayload(payload)) return;
+  if (inFlight.generation !== catalogGeneration) return;
+  if (catalogInFlight.get(cacheKey) !== inFlight) return;
+
+  catalogCache.set(cacheKey, {
     body: payload.body,
     headers: payload.headers,
     status: payload.status,
     expiresAt: Date.now() + payload.cacheTTL,
-  };
-  catalogCache.set(cacheKey, entry);
-  return entry;
-}
-
-/**
- * Kick off a background rebuild so an expired-but-stale-eligible entry can be
- * refreshed without the current request waiting on it. Reuses catalogInFlight —
- * no second coalescing mechanism — so a concurrent cold/stale request for the
- * same key joins this refresh instead of starting another.
- *
- * The builder runs one macrotask later so the stale response that triggered this
- * call is handed back before the builder's synchronous prologue runs; the whole
- * point of this path is that the caller does not pay for the rebuild.
- *
- * The tracked promise **rejects** on failure. catalogInFlight is shared with the
- * cold path: a caller whose entry aged past the stale window skips the stale
- * branch and awaits whatever promise it finds here, and resolving with the stale
- * entry would hand it a body it was no longer entitled to while disguising a
- * build failure as a 200. The rejection is pre-handled so this path can never
- * raise an unhandledRejection; a failed refresh simply never overwrites the entry.
- */
-function scheduleBackgroundRefresh(
-  cacheKey: string,
-  request: Request,
-  buildPayload: (request: Request) => Promise<CatalogPayload>
-): void {
-  if (catalogInFlight.has(cacheKey)) return; // a refresh for this key is already running
-
-  const refreshPromise: Promise<CachedCatalog> = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    setTimeout(() => {
-      runBuilder(buildPayload, request)
-        .then((payload) => resolve(storePayload(cacheKey, payload)))
-        .catch((err) => {
-          console.error(
-            `[catalog] Background stale-while-revalidate refresh failed for key "${cacheKey}":`,
-            err
-          );
-          reject(err);
-        });
-    }, 0);
   });
-
-  // Nobody on the stale path awaits this, so pre-handle the rejection; a cold-path
-  // caller that joins it via catalogInFlight attaches its own handler and still
-  // observes the failure.
-  refreshPromise.catch(() => {});
-
-  catalogInFlight.set(cacheKey, refreshPromise);
-  refreshPromise
-    .catch(() => {})
-    .finally(() => {
-      if (catalogInFlight.get(cacheKey) === refreshPromise) catalogInFlight.delete(cacheKey);
-    });
 }
 
 function runBuilder(
@@ -183,23 +163,104 @@ function runBuilder(
   request: Request
 ): Promise<CatalogPayload> {
   _catalogBuilderRuns++;
-  return buildPayload(request);
+  try {
+    return Promise.resolve(buildPayload(request));
+  } catch (error) {
+    return Promise.reject(error);
+  }
+}
+
+function cleanInFlight(cacheKey: string, inFlight: CatalogInFlight): void {
+  if (catalogInFlight.get(cacheKey) === inFlight) {
+    catalogInFlight.delete(cacheKey);
+  }
+}
+
+function startSynchronousBuild(
+  cacheKey: string,
+  request: Request,
+  buildPayload: (request: Request) => Promise<CatalogPayload>
+): CatalogInFlight {
+  const generation = catalogGeneration;
+  let inFlight!: CatalogInFlight;
+  const promise = runBuilder(buildPayload, request).then((payload) => {
+    storeSuccessfulPayload(cacheKey, payload, inFlight);
+    return payload;
+  });
+  inFlight = { generation, promise };
+  catalogInFlight.set(cacheKey, inFlight);
+  inFlight.promise.then(
+    () => cleanInFlight(cacheKey, inFlight),
+    () => cleanInFlight(cacheKey, inFlight)
+  );
+  return inFlight;
+}
+
+function scheduleBackgroundRefresh(
+  cacheKey: string,
+  request: Request,
+  buildPayload: (request: Request) => Promise<CatalogPayload>,
+  schedule: CatalogRefreshScheduler
+): void {
+  if (catalogInFlight.has(cacheKey)) return;
+
+  let resolveRefresh!: (payload: CatalogPayload) => void;
+  let rejectRefresh!: (error: unknown) => void;
+  const inFlight: CatalogInFlight = {
+    generation: catalogGeneration,
+    promise: new Promise<CatalogPayload>((resolve, reject) => {
+      resolveRefresh = resolve;
+      rejectRefresh = reject;
+    }),
+  };
+
+  // Reserve the key before handing the task to the scheduler. Multiple stale reads in
+  // the same request turn therefore cannot enqueue duplicate refreshes.
+  catalogInFlight.set(cacheKey, inFlight);
+  void inFlight.promise.catch(() => {}); // background failures are always handled
+
+  const task: CatalogRefreshTask = async () => {
+    synchronizeCatalogGeneration();
+    if (inFlight.generation !== catalogGeneration || catalogInFlight.get(cacheKey) !== inFlight) {
+      // Hard invalidation or a deterministic test reset detached this scheduled task
+      // before it started. Resolve its private bookkeeping promise without rebuilding.
+      resolveRefresh({ body: "", headers: {}, status: 204, cacheTTL: 0 });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    try {
+      const payload = await runBuilder(buildPayload, request);
+      storeSuccessfulPayload(cacheKey, payload, inFlight);
+      resolveRefresh(payload);
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error("[catalog] Background stale-while-revalidate refresh failed:", error);
+      rejectRefresh(error);
+    } finally {
+      cleanInFlight(cacheKey, inFlight);
+    }
+  };
+
+  try {
+    schedule(task);
+  } catch (error) {
+    cleanInFlight(cacheKey, inFlight);
+    rejectRefresh(error);
+    console.error("[catalog] Failed to schedule background refresh:", error);
+  }
 }
 
 /**
- * Resolve the cached catalog response for `request`, building it through
- * `buildPayload` when there is nothing fresh to serve.
- *
- * Returns `null` when the caller must build and handle errors itself — i.e. the
- * in-flight build rejected — so the error-response shape stays in the caller.
+ * Resolve the cached catalog response for `request`, building it through the shared
+ * `buildPayload` primitive when there is no current snapshot.
  */
 export async function resolveCachedCatalogResponse(
   request: Request,
   headerSources: { corsHeaders: Record<string, string>; diagnosticHeaders: Record<string, string> },
-  buildPayload: (request: Request) => Promise<CatalogPayload>
+  buildPayload: (request: Request) => Promise<CatalogPayload>,
+  policy: CatalogCachePolicy = {}
 ): Promise<Response> {
   const { corsHeaders, diagnosticHeaders } = headerSources;
-  dropCatalogCacheIfStateChanged();
+  synchronizeCatalogGeneration();
 
   const cacheKey = buildCatalogCacheKey(request);
   const now = Date.now();
@@ -212,33 +273,32 @@ export async function resolveCachedCatalogResponse(
     });
   }
 
-  // Stale-while-revalidate: an expired entry is still served immediately as long as
-  // (a) it was a successful build — a cached error replayed as "stale" would mask an
-  // intermittent failure behind a fake success forever — and (b) it is within the
-  // staleness window, so a refresh that keeps failing eventually falls through to the
-  // cold-path wait instead of pinning ancient data.
+  const staleWhileRevalidateMs =
+    policy.getStaleWhileRevalidateMs?.() ?? getCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMs();
   if (
     cached &&
-    cached.status === 200 &&
-    now - cached.expiresAt <= CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS
+    cached.status >= 200 &&
+    cached.status < 300 &&
+    now - cached.expiresAt <= staleWhileRevalidateMs
   ) {
-    scheduleBackgroundRefresh(cacheKey, request, buildPayload);
+    scheduleBackgroundRefresh(
+      cacheKey,
+      request,
+      buildPayload,
+      policy.scheduleBackgroundRefresh ?? defaultBackgroundRefreshScheduler
+    );
     return new Response(cached.body, {
       status: cached.status,
       headers: mergeCatalogHeaders(corsHeaders, cached.headers, diagnosticHeaders),
     });
   }
 
-  let inflight = catalogInFlight.get(cacheKey);
-  if (!inflight) {
-    inflight = runBuilder(buildPayload, request).then((payload) => storePayload(cacheKey, payload));
-    catalogInFlight.set(cacheKey, inflight);
-    inflight.finally(() => {
-      if (catalogInFlight.get(cacheKey) === inflight) catalogInFlight.delete(cacheKey);
-    });
+  let inFlight = catalogInFlight.get(cacheKey);
+  if (!inFlight) {
+    inFlight = startSynchronousBuild(cacheKey, request, buildPayload);
   }
 
-  const payload = await inflight;
+  const payload = await inFlight.promise;
   return new Response(payload.body, {
     status: payload.status,
     headers: mergeCatalogHeaders(corsHeaders, payload.headers, diagnosticHeaders),
@@ -246,14 +306,26 @@ export async function resolveCachedCatalogResponse(
 }
 
 // ── Test hooks ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-// Not part of the public API; do not read from app code.
+// Not part of the public application API.
 
-/** Resets the builder counter and every cached/in-flight entry. */
+/** Deterministically resets counters, policy, snapshots, generations, and old work. */
 export function __resetCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(): void {
   _catalogBuilderRuns = 0;
+  catalogGeneration++;
   catalogCache.clear();
   catalogInFlight.clear();
   lastSeenCatalogCacheVersion = getModelCatalogCacheVersion();
+  staleWhileRevalidateMsAccessor = () => CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS;
+}
+
+/** Injects the SWR policy accessor without environment-dependent behavior. */
+export function __setCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateAccessorForTest(accessor: () => number): void {
+  staleWhileRevalidateMsAccessor = accessor;
+}
+
+/** Backward-compatible scalar policy hook retained for focused tests. */
+export function __setCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMsForTest(ms: number): void {
+  staleWhileRevalidateMsAccessor = () => ms;
 }
 
 /** Counts full builder executions — proves concurrent requests share one run (#6408). */
@@ -261,11 +333,7 @@ export function __getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(): number {
   return _catalogBuilderRuns;
 }
 
-/**
- * Marks every cached entry as expired `msAgo` milliseconds ago instead of sleeping
- * out the real TTL. Pass more than CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS to simulate an
- * entry that has aged past the stale-serving window.
- */
+/** Marks every successful snapshot expired without sleeping out the real TTL. */
 export function __expireCatalogCacheForTest(msAgo = 1): void {
   const expiresAt = Date.now() - msAgo;
   for (const [key, entry] of catalogCache.entries()) {
@@ -273,33 +341,22 @@ export function __expireCatalogCacheForTest(msAgo = 1): void {
   }
 }
 
-/**
- * Seeds the entry a given request would read, for status/staleness combinations the
- * intentionally exception-resistant builder cannot be made to produce (e.g. a cached
- * non-200). Takes the Request so the cache-key format stays private to this module.
- */
+/** Seeds a request-keyed snapshot for status/staleness compatibility tests. */
 export function __setCatalogCacheEntryForTest(request: Request, entry: CachedCatalog): void {
   catalogCache.set(buildCatalogCacheKey(request), entry);
 }
 
-/** Awaits any background refresh in flight, instead of guessing at a real-time sleep. */
+/** Awaits any currently running or scheduled refresh without real-time sleeps. */
 export async function __flushCatalogBackgroundRefreshForTest(): Promise<void> {
-  await Promise.all([...catalogInFlight.values()].map((p) => p.catch(() => {})));
+  await Promise.all([...catalogInFlight.values()].map(({ promise }) => promise.catch(() => {})));
 }
 
-/**
- * Injects a synthetic in-flight rejection so the caller's catch branch (sanitized
- * error body) can be exercised deterministically — the builder core try/catches every
- * registry and DB read individually, so it is not a practical error-injection point.
- *
- * Deliberately does not self-clean the way production entries do: this promise is
- * already rejected at creation, so a cleanup callback would delete the map entry
- * within a microtask or two — before the caller's several-await auth check finishes —
- * silently swapping in a fresh cold build instead of the intended failure. The next
- * __resetCatalogBuilderRunsForTest() clears it.
- */
+/** Injects a handled in-flight rejection for the catalog error-shape regression test. */
 export function __forceCatalogInFlightRejectionForTest(request: Request, error: unknown): void {
-  const rejected: Promise<CachedCatalog> = Promise.reject(error);
-  rejected.catch(() => {}); // mark as handled — avoids an unhandledRejection warning
-  catalogInFlight.set(buildCatalogCacheKey(request), rejected);
+  const promise: Promise<CatalogPayload> = Promise.reject(error);
+  void promise.catch(() => {});
+  catalogInFlight.set(buildCatalogCacheKey(request), {
+    generation: catalogGeneration,
+    promise,
+  });
 }
diff --git a/src/app/api/v1/models/route.ts b/src/app/api/v1/models/route.ts
index f884388ae8..da37ca65e8 100644
--- a/src/app/api/v1/models/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/v1/models/route.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import { after } from "next/server";
+
 import { getUnifiedModelsResponse } from "./catalog";
 
 /**
@@ -31,5 +33,11 @@ export async function HEAD() {
  * GET /v1/models - OpenAI compatible models list
  */
 export async function GET(request: Request) {
-  return getUnifiedModelsResponse(request);
+  return getUnifiedModelsResponse(
+    request,
+    {},
+    {
+      scheduleBackgroundRefresh: (task) => after(task),
+    }
+  );
 }
diff --git a/src/lib/db/models.ts b/src/lib/db/models.ts
index 168a71d47a..2c21f26619 100644
--- a/src/lib/db/models.ts
+++ b/src/lib/db/models.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ import { getDbInstance } from "./core";
 import { backupDbFile } from "./backup";
 import { getProviderConnectionsCount } from "./providers";
 import { type JsonRecord, asRecord, toNonEmptyString, getKeyValue } from "./models/shared";
+import {
+  finishSyncedAvailableModelsWrite,
+  persistCanonicalSyncedAvailableModels,
+} from "./models/syncedAvailableModelPersistence";
 import {
   readCompatList,
   writeCompatList,
@@ -561,7 +565,6 @@ export async function replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection(
   connectionId: string,
   models: SyncedAvailableModelInput[]
 ): Promise<SyncedAvailableModel[]> {
-  const db = getDbInstance();
   const key = `${providerId}:${connectionId}`;
   // #3199: drop ids the operator DELETED (trash) so a re-fetch does not re-import
   // a model that was explicitly removed.
@@ -573,16 +576,7 @@ export async function replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection(
   const normalizedModels = normalizeSyncedAvailableModels(models).filter(
     (m) => !getModelIsDeleted(providerId, m.id)
   );
-  if (normalizedModels.length === 0) {
-    db.prepare("DELETE FROM key_value WHERE namespace = 'syncedAvailableModels' AND key = ?").run(
-      key
-    );
-  } else {
-    db.prepare(
-      "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO key_value (namespace, key, value) VALUES ('syncedAvailableModels', ?, ?)"
-    ).run(key, JSON.stringify(normalizedModels));
-  }
-  backupDbFile("pre-write");
+  persistCanonicalSyncedAvailableModels(key, normalizedModels, normalizeSyncedAvailableModels);
   // Return the full unioned list for the provider
   return getSyncedAvailableModels(providerId);
 }
@@ -632,11 +626,10 @@ export async function removeSyncedAvailableModel(
         }
       }
     }
-
-    if (removedAny) backupDbFile("pre-write");
   });
 
   removeModel();
+  if (removedAny) finishSyncedAvailableModelsWrite();
   return removedAny;
 }
 
@@ -650,10 +643,10 @@ export async function deleteSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection(
 ): Promise<SyncedAvailableModel[]> {
   const db = getDbInstance();
   const key = `${providerId}:${connectionId}`;
-  db.prepare("DELETE FROM key_value WHERE namespace = 'syncedAvailableModels' AND key = ?").run(
-    key
-  );
-  backupDbFile("pre-write");
+  const result = db
+    .prepare("DELETE FROM key_value WHERE namespace = 'syncedAvailableModels' AND key = ?")
+    .run(key);
+  if (result.changes > 0) finishSyncedAvailableModelsWrite();
   return getSyncedAvailableModels(providerId);
 }
 
@@ -692,8 +685,9 @@ export async function deleteSyncedAvailableModelsForProvider(providerId: string)
       "DELETE FROM key_value WHERE namespace = 'syncedAvailableModels' AND substr(key, 1, ?) = ?"
     )
     .run(keyPrefix.length, keyPrefix);
-  backupDbFile("pre-write");
-  return Number(result.changes || 0);
+  const changes = Number(result.changes || 0);
+  if (changes > 0) finishSyncedAvailableModelsWrite();
+  return changes;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -716,8 +710,9 @@ export async function pruneStaleSyncedAvailableModelsForProvider(
       `DELETE FROM key_value WHERE namespace = 'syncedAvailableModels' AND key LIKE ? AND key NOT IN (${placeholders})`
     )
     .run(`${keyPrefix}%`, ...allowedKeys);
-  backupDbFile("pre-write");
-  return Number(result.changes || 0);
+  const changes = Number(result.changes || 0);
+  if (changes > 0) finishSyncedAvailableModelsWrite();
+  return changes;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/lib/db/models/syncedAvailableModelPersistence.ts b/src/lib/db/models/syncedAvailableModelPersistence.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7e8d13a142
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/db/models/syncedAvailableModelPersistence.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/** Canonical comparison and write helpers for connection-scoped synced model catalogs. */
+
+import { backupDbFile } from "../backup";
+import { getDbInstance } from "../core";
+import { invalidateModelCatalogCache } from "../readCache";
+import { getKeyValue } from "./shared";
+
+type ModelNormalizer<T> = (models: unknown) => T[];
+
+export function finishSyncedAvailableModelsWrite(): void {
+  backupDbFile("pre-write");
+  invalidateModelCatalogCache();
+}
+
+export function persistCanonicalSyncedAvailableModels<T>(
+  key: string,
+  normalizedModels: T[],
+  normalizeModels: ModelNormalizer<T>
+): boolean {
+  const db = getDbInstance();
+  const existingRow = db
+    .prepare("SELECT value FROM key_value WHERE namespace = 'syncedAvailableModels' AND key = ?")
+    .get(key);
+  const existingValue = getKeyValue(existingRow).value;
+  let existingModels: T[] | null = null;
+  if (existingValue !== null) {
+    try {
+      existingModels = normalizeModels(JSON.parse(existingValue));
+    } catch {
+      existingModels = null;
+    }
+  }
+
+  const unchanged =
+    (normalizedModels.length > 0 &&
+      existingModels !== null &&
+      JSON.stringify(existingModels) === JSON.stringify(normalizedModels)) ||
+    (normalizedModels.length === 0 && existingValue === null);
+  if (unchanged) return false;
+
+  if (normalizedModels.length === 0) {
+    db.prepare("DELETE FROM key_value WHERE namespace = 'syncedAvailableModels' AND key = ?").run(
+      key
+    );
+  } else {
+    db.prepare(
+      "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO key_value (namespace, key, value) VALUES ('syncedAvailableModels', ?, ?)"
+    ).run(key, JSON.stringify(normalizedModels));
+  }
+  finishSyncedAvailableModelsWrite();
+  return true;
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/db/readCache.ts b/src/lib/db/readCache.ts
index b8f520fe19..e6072be174 100644
--- a/src/lib/db/readCache.ts
+++ b/src/lib/db/readCache.ts
@@ -233,26 +233,29 @@ export function getCombosCacheVersion(): number {
 
 // ──────────────── Model Catalog Cache Invalidation Signal ────────────────
 //
-// #6408 added a request-shape-keyed (prefix/isCodex/apiKey) TTL cache around the
-// unified /v1/models builder (src/app/api/v1/models/catalog.ts) to coalesce
-// concurrent/bursty GETs. That cache key does not vary with the underlying DB
-// state the builder reads (connections, settings, combos), so a write followed by
-// a read within the ~1.5s TTL replayed the pre-write response. Same import-cycle
+// #6408 added a request-shape-keyed (prefix/isCodex/apiKey/configuredOnly) TTL
+// cache around the unified /v1/models builder (src/app/api/v1/models/catalog.ts)
+// to coalesce concurrent/bursty GETs. That cache key does not vary with the
+// underlying DB state the builder reads (connections, settings, combos), so
+// writes need an explicit invalidation signal. Same import-cycle
 // constraint as combosCacheVersion above (a db module must not import the route
-// module) — catalog.ts instead compares this version on every access and drops its
-// whole cache the moment it moves, so any write that calls invalidateDbCache() makes
-// the next read miss immediately instead of waiting out the TTL.
+// module): catalogCache.ts compares this version on every access and builder
+// completion, then hard-invalidates snapshots and old-generation work when it moves.
 let modelCatalogCacheVersion = 0;
 
 /**
- * Current model-catalog-cache version. `getUnifiedModelsResponse()` folds this
- * into its response cache key; a change means settings/connections/combos were
- * written since the cache was populated and the cached body is stale.
+ * Current model-catalog-cache version. A change means catalog-backed state was
+ * written and the next read must synchronously build the new generation.
  */
 export function getModelCatalogCacheVersion(): number {
   return modelCatalogCacheVersion;
 }
 
+/** Invalidate only the unified model catalog response cache. */
+export function invalidateModelCatalogCache(): void {
+  modelCatalogCacheVersion++;
+}
+
 /**
  * Invalidate caches (call after writes to any of: settings, pricing,
  * connections, combos, nodes).
diff --git a/tests/integration/v1-models-swr-response-flush-8728.test.ts b/tests/integration/v1-models-swr-response-flush-8728.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..60aa72c894
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/v1-models-swr-response-flush-8728.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import http from "node:http";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import test from "node:test";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+const CACHE_DATA_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "omniroute-swr-cache-8728-"));
+process.env.DATA_DIR = CACHE_DATA_DIR;
+
+const catalogCache = await import("../../src/app/api/v1/models/catalogCache.ts");
+const REPO_ROOT = fileURLToPath(new URL("../..", import.meta.url));
+const BLOCK_MS = 300;
+
+function listen(server: http.Server, socketPath: string): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    server.once("error", reject);
+    server.listen(socketPath, resolve);
+  });
+}
+
+function close(server: http.Server): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    server.close((error) => (error ? reject(error) : resolve()));
+  });
+}
+
+function fetchFromExternalClient(
+  socketPath: string
+): Promise<{ body: string; receivedAt: number }> {
+  const script = [
+    'import http from "node:http";',
+    "const chunks = [];",
+    "const request = http.request({ socketPath: process.argv[1], path: '/v1/models' }, (response) => {",
+    "  response.on('data', (chunk) => chunks.push(chunk));",
+    "  response.on('end', () => {",
+    "    const body = Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf8');",
+    "    process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify({ body, receivedAt: Date.now() }));",
+    "  });",
+    "});",
+    "request.on('error', (error) => { throw error; });",
+    "request.end();",
+  ].join("\n");
+  const child = spawn(process.execPath, ["--input-type=module", "-e", script, socketPath], {
+    stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+  });
+
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    let stdout = "";
+    let stderr = "";
+    child.stdout.on("data", (chunk) => {
+      stdout += String(chunk);
+    });
+    child.stderr.on("data", (chunk) => {
+      stderr += String(chunk);
+    });
+    child.once("error", reject);
+    child.once("exit", (code) => {
+      if (code !== 0) {
+        reject(new Error(`external fetch exited ${code}: ${stderr}`));
+        return;
+      }
+      resolve(JSON.parse(stdout));
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+function productionShapedSynchronousRefresh() {
+  const models = Array.from({ length: 4_000 }, (_, index) => ({
+    id: `provider/model-${index}`,
+    object: "model",
+    owned_by: "provider",
+    display_name: `Model ${index}`,
+  }));
+  const startedAt = Date.now();
+  do {
+    JSON.stringify({ object: "list", data: models });
+  } while (Date.now() - startedAt < BLOCK_MS);
+}
+
+test.after(() => {
+  fs.rmSync(CACHE_DATA_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+test("the /v1/models route wires Next after() as its response-flush-safe scheduler", () => {
+  const routeSource = fs.readFileSync(
+    path.join(REPO_ROOT, "src/app/api/v1/models/route.ts"),
+    "utf8"
+  );
+  const cacheSource = fs.readFileSync(
+    path.join(REPO_ROOT, "src/app/api/v1/models/catalogCache.ts"),
+    "utf8"
+  );
+  assert.match(routeSource, /import\s+\{\s*after\s*\}\s+from\s+["']next\/server["']/);
+  assert.match(routeSource, /scheduleBackgroundRefresh:\s*\(task\)\s*=>\s*after\(task\)/);
+  assert.match(cacheSource, /import\s+\{\s*after\s*\}\s+from\s+["']next\/server["']/);
+  assert.match(cacheSource, /function defaultBackgroundRefreshScheduler[\s\S]*?after\(task\)/);
+});
+
+test("an external client receives the stale body before synchronous refresh finishes blocking", async (t) => {
+  catalogCache.__resetCatalogBuilderRunsForTest();
+  const socketDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "omniroute-swr-http-8728-"));
+  const socketPath = path.join(socketDir, "catalog.sock");
+
+  let buildCount = 0;
+  let responseFinishedAt = 0;
+  let refreshStartedAt = 0;
+  let refreshFinishedAt = 0;
+  let scheduledCount = 0;
+
+  const server = http.createServer(async (incoming, outgoing) => {
+    const url = `http://127.0.0.1${incoming.url || "/"}`;
+    const response = await catalogCache.resolveCachedCatalogResponse(
+      new Request(url),
+      { corsHeaders: {}, diagnosticHeaders: {} },
+      async () => {
+        buildCount++;
+        if (buildCount > 1) {
+          refreshStartedAt = Date.now();
+          productionShapedSynchronousRefresh();
+          refreshFinishedAt = Date.now();
+        }
+        return {
+          body: buildCount > 1 ? "new" : "old",
+          headers: { "content-type": "text/plain" },
+          status: 200,
+          cacheTTL: 60_000,
+        };
+      },
+      {
+        getStaleWhileRevalidateMs: () => Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY,
+        scheduleBackgroundRefresh: (task) => {
+          scheduledCount++;
+          outgoing.once("finish", () => {
+            responseFinishedAt = Date.now();
+            setImmediate(() => {
+              void task();
+            });
+          });
+        },
+      }
+    );
+
+    outgoing.writeHead(response.status, Object.fromEntries(response.headers.entries()));
+    outgoing.end(await response.text());
+  });
+
+  try {
+    await listen(server, socketPath);
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "EPERM") {
+      t.skip("sandbox does not permit opening HTTP listener sockets");
+      fs.rmSync(socketDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      return;
+    }
+    throw error;
+  }
+  try {
+    assert.equal((await fetchFromExternalClient(socketPath)).body, "old");
+    catalogCache.__expireCatalogCacheForTest();
+
+    const stale = await fetchFromExternalClient(socketPath);
+    await catalogCache.__flushCatalogBackgroundRefreshForTest();
+
+    assert.equal(stale.body, "old");
+    assert.equal(scheduledCount, 1);
+    assert.ok(refreshStartedAt >= responseFinishedAt, "refresh must start after response finish");
+    assert.ok(
+      stale.receivedAt < refreshFinishedAt,
+      `external client received stale body at ${stale.receivedAt}, after refresh finished at ${refreshFinishedAt}`
+    );
+    assert.ok(
+      refreshFinishedAt - refreshStartedAt >= BLOCK_MS,
+      "refresh did not exercise the synchronous blocking window"
+    );
+  } finally {
+    await close(server);
+    fs.rmSync(socketDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    catalogCache.__resetCatalogBuilderRunsForTest();
+  }
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/db-synced-model-catalog-invalidation-8728.test.ts b/tests/unit/db-synced-model-catalog-invalidation-8728.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f013d530ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/db-synced-model-catalog-invalidation-8728.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+const TEST_DATA_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "omniroute-db-model-cache-8728-"));
+process.env.DATA_DIR = TEST_DATA_DIR;
+process.env.DISABLE_SQLITE_AUTO_BACKUP = "true";
+
+const core = await import("../../src/lib/db/core.ts");
+const models = await import("../../src/lib/db/models.ts");
+const readCache = await import("../../src/lib/db/readCache.ts");
+
+function resetStorage() {
+  core.resetDbInstance();
+  fs.rmSync(TEST_DATA_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  fs.mkdirSync(TEST_DATA_DIR, { recursive: true });
+}
+
+function catalogVersion() {
+  return readCache.getModelCatalogCacheVersion();
+}
+
+function totalChanges() {
+  return Number(
+    (
+      core.getDbInstance().prepare("SELECT total_changes() AS count").get() as {
+        count: number;
+      }
+    ).count
+  );
+}
+
+function seedSynced(providerId: string, connectionId: string, value: unknown) {
+  core
+    .getDbInstance()
+    .prepare("INSERT INTO key_value (namespace, key, value) VALUES ('syncedAvailableModels', ?, ?)")
+    .run(`${providerId}:${connectionId}`, JSON.stringify(value));
+}
+
+test.beforeEach(() => {
+  resetStorage();
+});
+
+test.after(() => {
+  core.resetDbInstance();
+  fs.rmSync(TEST_DATA_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+test("replace invalidates only for canonical persisted changes", async () => {
+  const initialVersion = catalogVersion();
+
+  await models.replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "a", [
+    {
+      id: "gpt-b",
+      name: " GPT B ",
+      source: "ignored",
+      supportedEndpoints: ["responses", "chat", "chat"],
+    },
+    { id: "gpt-a", name: "GPT A" },
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), initialVersion + 1);
+
+  const beforeIdenticalChanges = totalChanges();
+  const beforeIdenticalVersion = catalogVersion();
+  await models.replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "a", [
+    {
+      id: "gpt-b",
+      name: "GPT B",
+      source: "imported",
+      supportedEndpoints: ["chat", "responses"],
+    },
+    { id: "gpt-a", name: "GPT A", source: "imported" },
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(totalChanges(), beforeIdenticalChanges, "canonical equality must skip the DB write");
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), beforeIdenticalVersion, "canonical equality must not invalidate");
+
+  await models.replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "a", [
+    { id: "gpt-a", name: "GPT A" },
+    { id: "gpt-b", name: "GPT B", supportedEndpoints: ["chat", "responses"] },
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), beforeIdenticalVersion + 1, "ordering changes are persisted");
+
+  await models.replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "a", [
+    { id: "gpt-a", name: "GPT A renamed" },
+    { id: "gpt-b", name: "GPT B", supportedEndpoints: ["chat", "responses"] },
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), beforeIdenticalVersion + 2, "content changes are persisted");
+});
+
+test("replace handles empty and deleted-model normalization without phantom writes", async () => {
+  const startVersion = catalogVersion();
+  const startChanges = totalChanges();
+
+  await models.replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "absent", []);
+  assert.equal(totalChanges(), startChanges, "absent-to-empty replacement must be a no-op");
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), startVersion);
+
+  models.mergeModelCompatOverride("openai", "trashed", {
+    isDeleted: true,
+    isHidden: true,
+  });
+
+  const beforeDeletedAbsent = totalChanges();
+  const beforeDeletedVersion = catalogVersion();
+  await models.replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "absent", [
+    { id: "trashed", name: "Trashed" },
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(totalChanges(), beforeDeletedAbsent, "filtered deleted models must stay absent");
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), beforeDeletedVersion);
+
+  seedSynced("openai", "present", [{ id: "existing", name: "Existing" }]);
+  const beforeDeleteVersion = catalogVersion();
+  await models.replaceSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "present", []);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), beforeDeleteVersion + 1, "present-to-empty must invalidate");
+  assert.deepEqual(await models.getSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "present"), []);
+});
+
+test("remove and connection/provider deletes invalidate only when rows actually change", async () => {
+  let version = catalogVersion();
+  assert.equal(await models.removeSyncedAvailableModel("openai", "missing"), false);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), version);
+
+  seedSynced("openai", "a", [
+    { id: "gpt-a", name: "GPT A" },
+    { id: "gpt-b", name: "GPT B" },
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(await models.removeSyncedAvailableModel("openai", "gpt-a"), true);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), ++version);
+  assert.equal(await models.removeSyncedAvailableModel("openai", "gpt-a"), false);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), version);
+
+  await models.deleteSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "missing");
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), version);
+  await models.deleteSyncedAvailableModelsForConnection("openai", "a");
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), ++version);
+
+  assert.equal(await models.deleteSyncedAvailableModelsForProvider("openai"), 0);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), version);
+  seedSynced("openai", "b", [{ id: "gpt-b", name: "GPT B" }]);
+  seedSynced("openai", "c", [{ id: "gpt-c", name: "GPT C" }]);
+  assert.equal(await models.deleteSyncedAvailableModelsForProvider("openai"), 2);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), ++version);
+});
+
+test("prune uses affected rows and the delegated provider delete invalidates exactly once", async () => {
+  seedSynced("openai", "keep", [{ id: "gpt-a", name: "GPT A" }]);
+  seedSynced("openai", "stale", [{ id: "gpt-b", name: "GPT B" }]);
+  let version = catalogVersion();
+
+  assert.equal(
+    await models.pruneStaleSyncedAvailableModelsForProvider("openai", ["keep", "stale"]),
+    0
+  );
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), version);
+
+  assert.equal(await models.pruneStaleSyncedAvailableModelsForProvider("openai", ["keep"]), 1);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), ++version);
+
+  assert.equal(await models.pruneStaleSyncedAvailableModelsForProvider("openai", []), 1);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), ++version, "delegated provider delete must invalidate once");
+
+  assert.equal(await models.pruneStaleSyncedAvailableModelsForProvider("openai", []), 0);
+  assert.equal(catalogVersion(), version);
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/model-catalog-cache-swr-8728.test.ts b/tests/unit/model-catalog-cache-swr-8728.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ffef72a217
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/model-catalog-cache-swr-8728.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+const TEST_DATA_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "omniroute-catalog-cache-8728-"));
+process.env.DATA_DIR = TEST_DATA_DIR;
+
+const readCache = await import("../../src/lib/db/readCache.ts");
+const catalogCache = await import("../../src/app/api/v1/models/catalogCache.ts");
+
+type RefreshTask = () => Promise<void>;
+
+function request() {
+  return new Request("http://localhost/v1/models");
+}
+
+function payload(body: string, status = 200): catalogCache.CatalogPayload {
+  return {
+    body,
+    headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+    status,
+    cacheTTL: 60_000,
+  };
+}
+
+function createPolicyQueue() {
+  const tasks: RefreshTask[] = [];
+  return {
+    policy: {
+      getStaleWhileRevalidateMs: () => Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY,
+      scheduleBackgroundRefresh: (task: RefreshTask) => {
+        tasks.push(task);
+      },
+    },
+    tasks,
+  };
+}
+
+async function resolve(
+  build: (request: Request) => Promise<catalogCache.CatalogPayload>,
+  policy = createPolicyQueue().policy
+) {
+  return catalogCache.resolveCachedCatalogResponse(
+    request(),
+    { corsHeaders: {}, diagnosticHeaders: {} },
+    build,
+    policy
+  );
+}
+
+test.beforeEach(() => {
+  catalogCache.__resetCatalogBuilderRunsForTest();
+});
+
+test.after(() => {
+  fs.rmSync(TEST_DATA_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+test("production SWR policy is unbounded and reset restores the default accessor", () => {
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS, Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY);
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.getCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMs(), Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY);
+
+  catalogCache.__setCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateAccessorForTest(() => 0);
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.getCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMs(), 0);
+
+  catalogCache.__resetCatalogBuilderRunsForTest();
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.getCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMs(), Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY);
+});
+
+test("reset detaches scheduled work before it can run", async () => {
+  const { policy, tasks } = createPolicyQueue();
+  await resolve(async () => payload("old"), policy);
+  catalogCache.__expireCatalogCacheForTest();
+  await resolve(async () => payload("detached"), policy);
+  assert.equal(tasks.length, 1);
+
+  catalogCache.__resetCatalogBuilderRunsForTest();
+  await tasks[0]();
+
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.__getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(), 0);
+});
+
+test("ordinary TTL expiry serves the last success indefinitely and schedules one refresh per key", async () => {
+  const { policy, tasks } = createPolicyQueue();
+  const initial = await resolve(async () => payload("old"), policy);
+  assert.equal(await initial.text(), "old");
+  catalogCache.__expireCatalogCacheForTest(7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
+
+  const staleResponses = await Promise.all(
+    Array.from({ length: 5 }, () => resolve(async () => payload("new"), policy))
+  );
+
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    await Promise.all(staleResponses.map((response) => response.text())),
+    Array(5).fill("old")
+  );
+  assert.equal(tasks.length, 1, "concurrent stale reads must schedule exactly one refresh");
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.__getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(), 1);
+
+  await tasks[0]();
+
+  const refreshed = await resolve(async () => payload("unexpected"), policy);
+  assert.equal(await refreshed.text(), "new");
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.__getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(), 2);
+});
+
+test("unsuccessful cold payloads are returned but never cached", async () => {
+  const first = await resolve(async () => payload("temporary failure", 503));
+  assert.equal(first.status, 503);
+  assert.equal(await first.text(), "temporary failure");
+
+  const second = await resolve(async () => payload("recovered"));
+  assert.equal(second.status, 200);
+  assert.equal(await second.text(), "recovered");
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.__getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(), 2);
+});
+
+test("failed background refresh retains the prior successful snapshot and permits retry", async (t) => {
+  t.mock.method(console, "error", () => {});
+  const { policy, tasks } = createPolicyQueue();
+  assert.equal(await (await resolve(async () => payload("old"), policy)).text(), "old");
+  catalogCache.__expireCatalogCacheForTest();
+
+  assert.equal(
+    await (
+      await resolve(async () => {
+        throw new Error("temporary failure");
+      }, policy)
+    ).text(),
+    "old"
+  );
+  await tasks.shift()!();
+
+  assert.equal(
+    await (await resolve(async () => payload("temporary failure", 503), policy)).text(),
+    "old"
+  );
+  assert.equal(tasks.length, 1, "a failed refresh must release single-flight state for retry");
+  await tasks.shift()!();
+
+  assert.equal(await (await resolve(async () => payload("new"), policy)).text(), "old");
+  assert.equal(tasks.length, 1, "an unsuccessful payload must also permit another refresh");
+  await tasks.shift()!();
+
+  assert.equal(await (await resolve(async () => payload("unused"), policy)).text(), "new");
+});
+
+test("hard invalidation drops snapshots, detaches old work, and guards old-generation writeback", async () => {
+  let resolveOld!: (value: catalogCache.CatalogPayload) => void;
+  const oldPayload = new Promise<catalogCache.CatalogPayload>((resolvePromise) => {
+    resolveOld = resolvePromise;
+  });
+  let currentBuildStarted = false;
+  let resolveCurrent!: (value: catalogCache.CatalogPayload) => void;
+  const currentPayload = new Promise<catalogCache.CatalogPayload>((resolvePromise) => {
+    resolveCurrent = resolvePromise;
+  });
+
+  const oldRequest = resolve(async () => oldPayload);
+  await Promise.resolve();
+
+  readCache.invalidateModelCatalogCache();
+  const currentRequest = resolve(async () => {
+    currentBuildStarted = true;
+    return currentPayload;
+  });
+  await Promise.resolve();
+
+  assert.equal(currentBuildStarted, true, "the first post-write read must start a current build");
+
+  resolveCurrent(payload("current"));
+  assert.equal(await (await currentRequest).text(), "current");
+
+  resolveOld(payload("old"));
+  assert.equal(await (await oldRequest).text(), "old");
+
+  const cached = await resolve(async () => payload("unexpected"));
+  assert.equal(await cached.text(), "current", "old completion must not overwrite current cache");
+  assert.equal(catalogCache.__getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(), 2);
+});
+
+test("hard invalidation clears a completed snapshot and makes the next read block", async () => {
+  assert.equal(await (await resolve(async () => payload("old"))).text(), "old");
+  readCache.invalidateModelCatalogCache();
+
+  let resolveCurrent!: (value: catalogCache.CatalogPayload) => void;
+  const currentPayload = new Promise<catalogCache.CatalogPayload>((resolvePromise) => {
+    resolveCurrent = resolvePromise;
+  });
+  let settled = false;
+  const next = resolve(async () => currentPayload).then((response) => {
+    settled = true;
+    return response;
+  });
+
+  await Promise.resolve();
+  assert.equal(settled, false, "post-write reads may block and must not serve the old snapshot");
+
+  resolveCurrent(payload("current"));
+  assert.equal(await (await next).text(), "current");
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/quota-exclusive-catalog-short-circuit.test.ts b/tests/unit/quota-exclusive-catalog-short-circuit.test.ts
index c3710a1cff..f6b786d643 100644
--- a/tests/unit/quota-exclusive-catalog-short-circuit.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/quota-exclusive-catalog-short-circuit.test.ts
@@ -134,9 +134,8 @@ await test("chave quota-exclusive não constrói o catálogo completo", async (t
     process.env.EXPOSE_CC_DISCOVERY_ALIASES = "1";
     // A chave do cache é `prefix|isCodex|apiKey|configuredOnly` — um query param
     // qualquer NÃO a invalida, então a resposta do subteste anterior seria servida.
-    v1ModelsCatalog.__expireCatalogCacheForTest(
-      v1ModelsCatalog.CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS + 1000
-    );
+    v1ModelsCatalog.__setCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMsForTest(0);
+    v1ModelsCatalog.__expireCatalogCacheForTest(1);
     try {
       const res = await v1ModelsCatalog.getUnifiedModelsResponse(
         new Request("http://localhost/api/v1/models", {
@@ -152,6 +151,9 @@ await test("chave quota-exclusive não constrói o catálogo completo", async (t
           `ids=${JSON.stringify(body.data.map((m) => m.id).slice(0, 6))}`
       );
     } finally {
+      v1ModelsCatalog.__setCatalogStaleWhileRevalidateMsForTest(
+        v1ModelsCatalog.CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS
+      );
       if (prev === undefined) delete process.env.EXPOSE_CC_DISCOVERY_ALIASES;
       else process.env.EXPOSE_CC_DISCOVERY_ALIASES = prev;
     }
diff --git a/tests/unit/v1-models-discovery-conformance.test.ts b/tests/unit/v1-models-discovery-conformance.test.ts
index e1ab778003..9941d18ca5 100644
--- a/tests/unit/v1-models-discovery-conformance.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/v1-models-discovery-conformance.test.ts
@@ -108,27 +108,29 @@ test("3. stale-first: an expired 200 entry within the staleness window is served
   );
 });
 
-test("4. beyond the staleness window, the response waits for a fresh build again", async () => {
+test("4. an ordinary TTL expiry remains stale-first regardless of snapshot age", async () => {
   const makeRequest = () => new Request("http://localhost/v1/models");
 
   const res1 = await v1ModelsCatalog.getUnifiedModelsResponse(makeRequest());
   assert.equal(res1.status, 200);
+  const body1 = await res1.text();
   const runsAfterFirst = v1ModelsCatalog.__getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest();
   assert.equal(runsAfterFirst, 1);
 
-  // Push the entry's age past CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS.
-  v1ModelsCatalog.__expireCatalogCacheForTest(
-    v1ModelsCatalog.CATALOG_STALE_WHILE_REVALIDATE_MS + 5_000
-  );
+  // Age well past the historical 30-second bound. Ordinary expiry must not turn a
+  // refresh failure into a client-visible cold-build wait.
+  v1ModelsCatalog.__expireCatalogCacheForTest(24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
 
   const res2 = await v1ModelsCatalog.getUnifiedModelsResponse(makeRequest());
   assert.equal(res2.status, 200);
+  assert.equal(await res2.text(), body1);
   assert.equal(
     v1ModelsCatalog.__getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(),
-    runsAfterFirst + 1,
-    "past the staleness window, the builder must run again BEFORE the response is returned " +
-      "(a refresh that keeps failing must not pin a stale catalog forever)"
+    runsAfterFirst,
+    "ordinary TTL expiry must return the last successful snapshot before refreshing"
   );
+  await v1ModelsCatalog.__flushCatalogBackgroundRefreshForTest();
+  assert.equal(v1ModelsCatalog.__getCatalogBuilderRunsForTest(), runsAfterFirst + 1);
 });
 
 test("5. a cached non-200 entry is never served as stale", async () => {