diff --git a/src/codex/catalog/metadata.ts b/src/codex/catalog/metadata.ts
index c5550bf373..80ba299fc0 100644
--- a/src/codex/catalog/metadata.ts
+++ b/src/codex/catalog/metadata.ts
@@ -253,11 +253,11 @@ export function shouldUpgradeToUpstreamEntry(entry: RawEntry): boolean {
 }
 
 export function nativeOpenAiSlugs(): string[] {
-  const live = listCatalogNativeSlugs();
+  const live = catalogNativeSlugs();
   return live.length > 0 ? unique([...live, ...DOCUMENTED_NATIVE_OPENAI_ADDITIONS]) : NATIVE_OPENAI_MODELS;
 }
 
-export function listCatalogNativeSlugs(): string[] {
+function catalogNativeSlugs(): string[] {
   const cat = readCurrentCatalogOrCache();
   const models = cat?.models ?? [];
   const live = models.flatMap(entry => {
@@ -271,7 +271,11 @@ export function listCatalogNativeSlugs(): string[] {
   // Deliberately ignore `visibility`: it is a rendered projection of disabledModels and account
   // selectors, so treating it as fresh availability would shrink the supported set between syncs.
   // visibleNativeSlugs applies the current disabledModels source of truth for public consumers.
+  return unique([...live, ...accountBound]);
+}
+
+export function listCatalogNativeSlugs(): string[] {
   // Ensure documented additions (e.g. gpt-5.3-codex-spark) appear even when the bundled catalog
   // predates the slug — mirrors nativeOpenAiSlugs() which already merges them for /v1/models.
-  return unique([...live, ...accountBound, ...DOCUMENTED_NATIVE_OPENAI_ADDITIONS]);
+  return unique([...catalogNativeSlugs(), ...DOCUMENTED_NATIVE_OPENAI_ADDITIONS]);
 }
diff --git a/tests/codex-catalog-sync-hardening.test.ts b/tests/codex-catalog-sync-hardening.test.ts
index 4a1bf62a90..b0487a26ca 100644
--- a/tests/codex-catalog-sync-hardening.test.ts
+++ b/tests/codex-catalog-sync-hardening.test.ts
@@ -479,6 +479,23 @@ describe("Codex catalog sync hardening", () => {
     expect(rows.some(row => row.slug.startsWith("team/"))).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  test("native model fallback remains reachable without a live catalog", () => {
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(codexHome, "config.toml"),
+      'model_catalog_json = "missing-catalog.json"\n',
+      "utf8",
+    );
+    const r = runScript(codexHome, opencodexHome, `
+      const { listCatalogNativeSlugs, nativeOpenAiSlugs, NATIVE_OPENAI_MODELS } = await import("./src/codex/catalog");
+      console.log(JSON.stringify({ picker: listCatalogNativeSlugs(), native: nativeOpenAiSlugs(), fallback: NATIVE_OPENAI_MODELS }));
+    `);
+
+    expect(r.status).toBe(0);
+    const result = JSON.parse(r.stdout) as { picker: string[]; native: string[]; fallback: string[] };
+    expect(result.picker).toContain("gpt-5.3-codex-spark");
+    expect(result.native).toEqual(result.fallback);
+  });
+
   test("account sync recovers supported natives that were hidden before selectors existed", () => {
     const catalogPath = join(codexHome, "catalog.json");
     writeFileSync(join(codexHome, "config.toml"), 'model_catalog_json = "catalog.json"\n', "utf8");