diff --git a/crates/cli/src/lib.rs b/crates/cli/src/lib.rs
index a84498407..623ec3c71 100644
--- a/crates/cli/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/cli/src/lib.rs
@@ -505,6 +505,10 @@ enum ModelCommand {
         #[arg(long, value_enum)]
         provider: Option<ProviderArg>,
     },
+    /// Set the default model (e.g. "pro", "flash", "deepseek-v4-pro").
+    Set {
+        model: String,
+    },
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Args)]
@@ -754,7 +758,7 @@ fn run() -> Result<()> {
         Some(Commands::Auth(args)) => run_auth_command(&mut store, args.command),
         Some(Commands::McpServer) => run_mcp_server_command(&mut store),
         Some(Commands::Config(args)) => run_config_command(&mut store, args.command),
-        Some(Commands::Model(args)) => run_model_command(args.command, runtime_overrides.provider),
+        Some(Commands::Model(args)) => run_model_command(&mut store, args.command, runtime_overrides.provider),
         Some(Commands::Thread(args)) => run_thread_command(args.command),
         Some(Commands::Sandbox(args)) => run_sandbox_command(args.command),
         Some(Commands::AppServer(args)) => {
@@ -1495,6 +1499,7 @@ fn model_command_provider_hint(
 }
 
 fn run_model_command(
+    store: &mut ConfigStore,
     command: ModelCommand,
     top_level_provider: Option<ProviderKind>,
 ) -> Result<()> {
@@ -1519,6 +1524,21 @@ fn run_model_command(
             println!("used_fallback: {}", resolved.used_fallback);
             Ok(())
         }
+        ModelCommand::Set { model } => {
+            let trimmed = model.trim();
+            if trimmed.is_empty() {
+                bail!("Model name cannot be empty");
+            }
+            let canonical = match trimmed.to_ascii_lowercase().as_str() {
+                "pro" | "deepseek-v4-pro" | "deepseek-v4pro" => "deepseek-v4-pro",
+                "flash" | "deepseek-v4-flash" | "deepseek-v4flash" => "deepseek-v4-flash",
+                _ => trimmed,
+            };
+            store.config.default_text_model = Some(canonical.to_string());
+            store.save()?;
+            println!("Default model set to '{canonical}'");
+            Ok(())
+        }
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/tui/src/config.rs b/crates/tui/src/config.rs
index 179f8a8e1..ffdd8fe63 100644
--- a/crates/tui/src/config.rs
+++ b/crates/tui/src/config.rs
@@ -616,8 +616,8 @@ fn deepseek_alias_deprecation(model_lower: &str) -> Option<ModelAliasDeprecation
 #[must_use]
 pub fn canonical_model_name(model: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
     match model.trim().to_ascii_lowercase().as_str() {
-        "deepseek-v4pro" => Some("deepseek-v4-pro"),
-        "deepseek-v4flash" => Some("deepseek-v4-flash"),
+        "pro" | "deepseek-v4-pro" | "deepseek-v4pro" => Some("deepseek-v4-pro"),
+        "flash" | "deepseek-v4-flash" | "deepseek-v4flash" => Some("deepseek-v4-flash"),
         _ => None,
     }
 }