diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useStatusLine.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useStatusLine.test.ts
index c2e3713dbc..08af6ce9c9 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useStatusLine.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useStatusLine.test.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ const mockConfig = {
   getTargetDir: vi.fn(() => '/test/dir'),
   getModel: vi.fn(() => 'test-model'),
   getModelDisplayName: vi.fn(() => 'Test Model'),
+  getModelsConfig: vi.fn(() => ({
+    getModelDisplayName: (model: string) =>
+      model === 'main-model' ? 'Main Model' : 'Test Model',
+  })),
   getCliVersion: vi.fn(() => '1.0.0'),
   getContentGeneratorConfig: vi.fn(getMockContentGeneratorConfig),
 };
@@ -191,6 +195,7 @@ describe('useStatusLine', () => {
     mockUIState.sessionStats.metrics.files.totalLinesRemoved = 0;
     mockVimMode.vimEnabled = false;
     mockVimMode.vimMode = 'INSERT';
+    mockConfig.getModelDisplayName.mockReturnValue('Test Model');
     mockConfig.getContentGeneratorConfig.mockReturnValue({
       contextWindowSize: 131072,
     });
@@ -215,6 +220,27 @@ describe('useStatusLine', () => {
       ]);
     });
 
+    it('falls back to config model display name when the preset current model is empty', () => {
+      mockUIState.currentModel = '';
+
+      const { result } = renderHook(() => useStatusLine());
+
+      expect(result.current.lines).toEqual([
+        '\u279c dir \u00b7 git:(main) \u00b7 Test Model \u00b7 131.1k Context 0.1% used',
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it('renders the session model when config is scoped to a fast subagent', () => {
+      mockUIState.currentModel = 'main-model';
+      mockConfig.getModelDisplayName.mockReturnValue('Fast Model');
+
+      const { result } = renderHook(() => useStatusLine());
+
+      expect(result.current.lines).toEqual([
+        '\u279c dir \u00b7 git:(main) \u00b7 Main Model \u00b7 131.1k Context 0.1% used',
+      ]);
+    });
+
     it('renders no lines when statusLine is explicitly null (opt-out)', () => {
       setStatusLineConfig(null);
       const { result } = renderHook(() => useStatusLine());
@@ -715,6 +741,17 @@ describe('useStatusLine', () => {
       const input = JSON.parse(stdinWrittenData);
       expect(input.model.display_name).toBe('Test Model');
     });
+
+    it('sends the session model when config is scoped to a fast subagent', () => {
+      mockUIState.currentModel = 'main-model';
+      mockConfig.getModelDisplayName.mockReturnValue('Fast Model');
+      setStatusLineConfig({ type: 'command', command: 'cat' });
+
+      renderHook(() => useStatusLine());
+
+      const input = JSON.parse(stdinWrittenData);
+      expect(input.model.display_name).toBe('Main Model');
+    });
   });
 
   // --- Stale generation handling ---
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useStatusLine.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useStatusLine.ts
index d928683b3b..338a489c1c 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useStatusLine.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useStatusLine.ts
@@ -389,6 +389,24 @@ export function useStatusLine(): {
 
   const doUpdate = useCallback(() => {
     const preset = statusLinePresetRef.current;
+    const cmd = statusLineCommandRef.current;
+    if (!preset && !cmd) {
+      clearPullRequestLookup();
+      setOutput([]);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const ui = uiStateRef.current;
+    const cfg = configRef.current;
+    const stats = ui.sessionStats;
+    const m = stats.metrics;
+    const contentGeneratorConfig = cfg.getContentGeneratorConfig();
+    const contextWindowSize = contentGeneratorConfig?.contextWindowSize || 0;
+    const modelDisplayName = ui.currentModel
+      ? cfg.getModelsConfig().getModelDisplayName(ui.currentModel)
+      : cfg.getModelDisplayName();
+    const { totalInputTokens, totalOutputTokens } = aggregateModelTokens(m);
+
     if (preset) {
       if (activeChildRef.current) {
         activeChildRef.current.kill();
@@ -396,21 +414,13 @@ export function useStatusLine(): {
         generationRef.current++;
       }
 
-      const ui = uiStateRef.current;
-      const cfg = configRef.current;
-      const stats = ui.sessionStats;
-      const m = stats.metrics;
       const currentDir = cfg.getTargetDir();
       ensurePullRequestNumber(preset, currentDir, ui.branchName);
 
-      const { totalInputTokens, totalOutputTokens } = aggregateModelTokens(m);
-
-      const contentGeneratorConfig = cfg.getContentGeneratorConfig();
-      const contextWindowSize = contentGeneratorConfig?.contextWindowSize || 0;
       const data = buildStatusLinePresetData({
         sessionId: stats.sessionId,
         version: cfg.getCliVersion(),
-        modelDisplayName: cfg.getModelDisplayName(),
+        modelDisplayName,
         reasoning: contentGeneratorConfig?.reasoning,
         currentDir,
         branch: ui.branchName,
@@ -429,19 +439,6 @@ export function useStatusLine(): {
 
     clearPullRequestLookup();
 
-    const cmd = statusLineCommandRef.current;
-    if (!cmd) {
-      setOutput([]);
-      return;
-    }
-
-    const ui = uiStateRef.current;
-    const cfg = configRef.current;
-    const stats = ui.sessionStats;
-    const m = stats.metrics;
-
-    const contextWindowSize =
-      cfg.getContentGeneratorConfig()?.contextWindowSize || 0;
     const usedPercentage =
       contextWindowSize > 0
         ? Math.min(
@@ -455,13 +452,11 @@ export function useStatusLine(): {
           )
         : 0;
 
-    const { totalInputTokens, totalOutputTokens } = aggregateModelTokens(m);
-
     const input: StatusLineCommandInput = {
       session_id: stats.sessionId,
       version: cfg.getCliVersion() || 'unknown',
       model: {
-        display_name: cfg.getModelDisplayName(),
+        display_name: modelDisplayName,
       },
       context_window: {
         context_window_size: contextWindowSize,
@@ -511,7 +506,7 @@ export function useStatusLine(): {
     let child: ChildProcess;
     try {
       child = exec(
-        cmd,
+        cmd!,
         { cwd: cfg.getTargetDir(), timeout: 5000, maxBuffer: 1024 * 10 },
         (error, stdout) => {
           if (gen !== generationRef.current) return; // stale