diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/env-credentials.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/env-credentials.tsx
index 8be974dc68..78b0418d60 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/env-credentials.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/env-credentials.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 import { deleteEnvVar, getEnvVars, revealEnvVar, setEnvVar } from '@/hermes'
 import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { type IconComponent } from '@/lib/icons'
+import { queryClient } from '@/lib/query-client'
 import { confirm } from '@/store/confirm'
 import { notify, notifyError } from '@/store/notifications'
 import type { EnvVarInfo } from '@/types/hermes'
@@ -115,6 +116,7 @@ export function useEnvCredentials(profile?: string): UseEnvCredentials {
       await setEnvVar(key, value, profile)
       patchVar(key, { is_set: true, redacted_value: redactedValue(value) })
       clearLocalState(key)
+      void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['model-options'] })
       notify({ kind: 'success', title: toolsets.savedTitle, message: toolsets.savedMessage(key) })
     } catch (err) {
       notifyError(err, toolsets.failedSave(key))
@@ -139,6 +141,7 @@ export function useEnvCredentials(profile?: string): UseEnvCredentials {
       await setEnvVar(key, trimmed, profile)
       patchVar(key, { is_set: true, redacted_value: redactedValue(trimmed) })
       clearLocalState(key)
+      void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['model-options'] })
       notify({ kind: 'success', message: toolsets.savedMessage(key), title: toolsets.savedTitle })
 
       return { ok: true }
@@ -162,6 +165,7 @@ export function useEnvCredentials(profile?: string): UseEnvCredentials {
       await deleteEnvVar(key, profile)
       patchVar(key, { is_set: false, redacted_value: null })
       clearLocalState(key)
+      void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['model-options'] })
       notify({ kind: 'success', title: toolsets.removedTitle, message: toolsets.removedMessage(key) })
     } catch (err) {
       notifyError(err, toolsets.failedRemove(key))
diff --git a/hermes_cli/auth.py b/hermes_cli/auth.py
index 507fd2cffd..da6b46d162 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/auth.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/auth.py
@@ -1017,7 +1017,17 @@ _VERTEX_PROVIDER_IDS = ("vertex", "google-vertex", "vertex-ai", "gcp-vertex", "v
 
 
 def _env_secret(name: str) -> bool:
-    return has_usable_secret(os.getenv(name, ""))
+    """True when *name* resolves to a usable secret in the active profile scope.
+
+    Must not read raw ``os.getenv``: under ``hermes serve`` / Desktop multiplex the
+    process environ is the *launch* profile, so a DeepSeek key pasted into another
+    profile's ``.env`` would be invisible to ``explicit_only`` Settings → Model
+    until a Bot-chat Refresh ran against that profile's own backend.
+    ``get_env_value`` is the scope-aware reader (#67027): secret scope, then the
+    current HERMES_HOME ``.env``.
+    """
+    from hermes_cli.config import get_env_value
+    return has_usable_secret(get_env_value(name) or "")
 
 
 def _explicit_env_credentials_present(normalized: str) -> bool:
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_provider_gate.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_provider_gate.py
index a85ddedb0a..d2a185065a 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_provider_gate.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_provider_gate.py
@@ -190,6 +190,38 @@ def test_stale_env_pool_entry_does_not_count_when_var_unset(tmp_path, monkeypatc
     assert is_provider_explicitly_configured("deepseek") is False
 
 
+def test_profile_dotenv_key_counts_as_explicit_when_process_env_lacks_it(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """A DeepSeek key in a named profile's .env must count under that profile's
+    secret scope even when os.environ (the launch profile) has no DeepSeek var.
+
+    Desktop Settings → Model uses explicit_only, which filters through
+    is_provider_explicitly_configured. os.getenv hid the keyed provider until
+    Refresh models ran against the bot's own backend.
+    """
+    root = tmp_path / "hermes"
+    studio = root / "profiles" / "content-studio"
+    studio.mkdir(parents=True)
+    (root / "config.yaml").write_text("model: {}\n")
+    (studio / "config.yaml").write_text("model: {}\n")
+    (studio / ".env").write_text("DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-studio-deepseek-key\n")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(root))
+    monkeypatch.delenv("DEEPSEEK_API_KEY", raising=False)
+
+    from agent import secret_scope
+    from tui_gateway import launch_profile_policy as lpp
+    monkeypatch.setattr(secret_scope, "_MULTIPLEX_ACTIVE", False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(lpp, "_snapshot", None)
+
+    from hermes_cli.auth import is_provider_explicitly_configured
+    from hermes_cli.web_server_profiles import _config_profile_scope
+
+    assert is_provider_explicitly_configured("deepseek") is False
+    with _config_profile_scope("content-studio"):
+        assert is_provider_explicitly_configured("deepseek") is True
+    with _config_profile_scope(None):
+        assert is_provider_explicitly_configured("deepseek") is False
+
+
 # ─── aws_sdk providers (Bedrock) ─────────────────────────────────────────
 #
 # Bedrock is registered with auth_type="aws_sdk" and an empty