diff --git a/src/app/api/provider-models/route.ts b/src/app/api/provider-models/route.ts
index c230d8fcca..5fbfcd3b92 100644
--- a/src/app/api/provider-models/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/provider-models/route.ts
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ export async function DELETE(request) {
     // DELETE /api/provider-models?provider=<id>&all=true — clear all models
     const all = searchParams.get("all");
     if (all === "true") {
-      await replaceCustomModels(provider, []);
+      await replaceCustomModels(provider, [], { allowEmpty: true });
       return Response.json({ cleared: true });
     }
 
diff --git a/src/lib/db/models.ts b/src/lib/db/models.ts
index 671fbc1465..74234a7f12 100644
--- a/src/lib/db/models.ts
+++ b/src/lib/db/models.ts
@@ -383,8 +383,17 @@ export async function replaceCustomModels(
     source?: string;
     apiFormat?: string;
     supportedEndpoints?: string[];
-  }>
+  }>,
+  { allowEmpty = false }: { allowEmpty?: boolean } = {}
 ) {
+  // Guard: skip destructive clear when the caller hasn't explicitly opted in.
+  // This prevents auto-sync from wiping manually-imported models when the
+  // upstream /models endpoint fails, times out, or returns an empty list.
+  if (models.length === 0 && !allowEmpty) {
+    const existing = await getCustomModels(providerId);
+    return Array.isArray(existing) ? existing : [];
+  }
+
   const db = getDbInstance();
   const existing = await getCustomModels(providerId);
   const existingMap = new Map<string, JsonRecord>();