diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.test.tsx
index 1569091525..432a2a77f8 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.test.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { ModelOptionsResponse } from '@hermes/shared'
+import { fuzzyRank, modelSearchText } from '@hermes/shared'
 import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from '@tanstack/react-query'
-import { cleanup, render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react'
 import type { ReactElement } from 'react'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
@@ -150,3 +151,31 @@ describe('ModelPickerDialog download rows', () => {
     })
   })
 })
+
+describe('ModelPickerDialog search ranking', () => {
+  // Rows must come out in the order the shared fuzzyRank produces — the same
+  // helper the web and TUI pickers use — so a query ranks identically on
+  // every surface. Curated order puts the scattered match first; the ranked
+  // order does not, which is what proves the picker is not substring-filtering.
+  const MODELS = ['glm-4.6-omni', 'claude-sonnet-4', 'gpt-4o']
+
+  it('orders model rows exactly as the shared fuzzyRank does', async () => {
+    vi.mocked(requestModelOptions).mockResolvedValue({
+      providers: [{ slug: 'nous', name: 'Nous', models: MODELS, authenticated: true }]
+    })
+    renderPicker({ currentModel: 'gpt-4o', currentProvider: 'nous' })
+    await screen.findByText('gpt-4o')
+
+    const query = 'g4o'
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByRole('combobox'), { target: { value: query } })
+
+    const expected = fuzzyRank(MODELS, query, modelSearchText).map(r => r.item)
+
+    expect(expected).not.toEqual(MODELS.filter(m => expected.includes(m)))
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      const rows = screen.getAllByRole('option').map(el => el.textContent?.trim())
+
+      expect(rows).toEqual(expected)
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.tsx
index 406068751e..e6d4158090 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 import type { ModelOptionProvider, ModelPricing } from '@hermes/shared'
+import { fuzzyRank, modelSearchText } from '@hermes/shared'
 import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query'
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
 
 import { getLocalModelsStatus } from '@/hermes'
 import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { catalogProviderMatches, modelOptionsQueryKey, requestModelOptions } from '@/lib/model-options'
-import { modelSearchText } from '@/lib/model-search-text'
 import { currentPickerSelection } from '@/lib/model-status-label'
 import { foldIncludes, normalize } from '@/lib/text'
 import { useStoreSelector } from '@/lib/use-session-slice'
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ export function ModelPickerDialog({
   // Own the search term so we can filter manually. cmdk's built-in
   // shouldFilter reorders items by its fuzzy-match score (≈alphabetical with
   // an empty query), which destroys the backend's curated order. We disable
-  // it and do a plain substring filter that preserves array order — matching
-  // the `hermes model` CLI picker, which shows the curated list verbatim.
+  // it: an empty query shows the curated list verbatim (like the `hermes
+  // model` CLI picker) and a query ranks with the shared fuzzyRank.
   const [search, setSearch] = useState('')
 
   const modelOptions = useQuery({
@@ -265,8 +265,16 @@ function ModelResults({
 
   const q = normalize(search)
 
-  const matches = (provider: ModelOptionProvider, model: string) =>
-    !q || foldIncludes(modelSearchText(model), q) || foldIncludes(provider.name, q) || foldIncludes(provider.slug, q)
+  // Model rows rank with the same fuzzyRank + modelSearchText the web and TUI
+  // pickers use, so one query orders identically on every surface. A query
+  // that names the provider itself keeps its whole curated list, in order.
+  const rankModels = (provider: ModelOptionProvider, models: readonly string[]) => {
+    if (!q || foldIncludes(provider.name, q) || foldIncludes(provider.slug, q)) {
+      return [...models]
+    }
+
+    return fuzzyRank(models, q, modelSearchText).map(r => r.item)
+  }
 
   // Only configured providers (those with curated models) are selectable
   // here. Switching to a NOT-yet-configured provider goes through the
@@ -289,8 +297,8 @@ function ModelResults({
   return (
     <>
       {configured.map(provider => {
-        // Preserve the backend's curated order — filter in place, no re-sort.
-        const models = (provider.models ?? []).filter(m => matches(provider, m))
+        // Empty query: the backend's curated order, verbatim.
+        const models = rankModels(provider, provider.models ?? [])
         const groupDownloads = provider.slug === LOCAL_PROVIDER_SLUG ? visibleDownloads : []
 
         if (models.length === 0 && groupDownloads.length === 0) {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-search-text.ts b/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-search-text.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 2717e7aa3f..0000000000
--- a/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-search-text.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Extra tokens used only for model-picker search ranking.
- *
- * Wire IDs stay unchanged — some providers report short or brand-less ids
- * (Kimi Coding's flagship is literally `k3`) that users still search for by
- * the familiar `kimi-…` naming of sibling models.
- *
- * Keep in sync with ui-tui/src/lib/model-search-text.ts,
- * web/src/lib/model-search-text.ts, and hermes_cli/model_search.py.
- */
-const MODEL_SEARCH_ALIASES: Record<string, readonly string[]> = {
-  k3: ['kimi-k3', 'kimi'],
-  // OpenCode Zen serves the "Ox Alpha" stealth model under an opaque
-  // preview slug; let users find it by its public codename.
-  'x-preview-f-free': ['ox-alpha', 'ox']
-}
-
-/** Haystack for fuzzy/substring model search; never changes the wire id. */
-export function modelSearchText(model: string): string {
-  const id = model.trim()
-
-  if (!id) {
-    return model
-  }
-
-  const aliases = MODEL_SEARCH_ALIASES[id.toLowerCase()]
-
-  if (!aliases?.length) {
-    return id
-  }
-
-  return `${id} ${aliases.join(' ')}`
-}
diff --git a/apps/shared/package.json b/apps/shared/package.json
index c9b8318ac6..b610261962 100644
--- a/apps/shared/package.json
+++ b/apps/shared/package.json
@@ -8,10 +8,12 @@
     "./billing": "./src/billing-types.ts",
     "./billing-policy": "./src/billing-policy.ts",
     "./charge-settlement": "./src/charge-settlement.ts",
+    "./fuzzy": "./src/fuzzy.ts",
     "./gateway-events": "./src/gateway-events.ts",
-    "./skin": "./src/skin.ts",
     "./json-rpc-channel": "./src/json-rpc-channel.ts",
-    "./reconnect-backoff": "./src/reconnect-backoff.ts"
+    "./model-search-text": "./src/model-search-text.ts",
+    "./reconnect-backoff": "./src/reconnect-backoff.ts",
+    "./skin": "./src/skin.ts"
   },
   "types": "./src/index.ts",
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/lib/fuzzy.test.ts b/apps/shared/src/fuzzy.test.ts
similarity index 98%
rename from ui-tui/src/lib/fuzzy.test.ts
rename to apps/shared/src/fuzzy.test.ts
index 8edb44a9aa..4554b88259 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/lib/fuzzy.test.ts
+++ b/apps/shared/src/fuzzy.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
-import { fuzzyRank, fuzzyScore, fuzzyScoreMulti } from './fuzzy.js'
+import { fuzzyRank, fuzzyScore, fuzzyScoreMulti } from './fuzzy'
 
 describe('fuzzyScore', () => {
   it('matches a query as a subsequence (g4o → gpt-4o)', () => {
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/lib/fuzzy.ts b/apps/shared/src/fuzzy.ts
similarity index 94%
rename from ui-tui/src/lib/fuzzy.ts
rename to apps/shared/src/fuzzy.ts
index 513ebf8fb8..21b567d629 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/lib/fuzzy.ts
+++ b/apps/shared/src/fuzzy.ts
@@ -11,10 +11,8 @@
 // intentionally simple — no external dependency — but good enough to make
 // `son4` rank `claude-sonnet-4` above an incidental scattered hit.
 //
-// The WebUI ships a logically identical copy of this module at
-// web/src/lib/fuzzy.ts (only prettier formatting differs); keep the two in
-// sync. The TUI copy carries the vitest suite (the web package has no test
-// runner), so changes should be validated here.
+// Shared by the desktop, web and TUI pickers via `@hermes/shared/fuzzy` so a
+// query ranks identically on every surface.
 
 export interface FuzzyMatch {
   /** Total score; higher is better. */
diff --git a/apps/shared/src/index.ts b/apps/shared/src/index.ts
index d88f8b95ca..44ff583105 100644
--- a/apps/shared/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/shared/src/index.ts
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ export {
   DATA_URL_READ_MAX_MAX_MB,
   DATA_URL_READ_MIN_MAX_MB
 } from './data-url-read-max'
+export { type FuzzyMatch, fuzzyRank, fuzzyScore, fuzzyScoreMulti, type RankedItem } from './fuzzy'
 export {
   type ApprovalRequestPayload,
   BACKEND_EVENT_NAMES,
@@ -111,6 +112,7 @@ export {
   type WebSocketLike
 } from './json-rpc-gateway'
 export { reconnectBackoffDelayMs, type ReconnectBackoffOptions } from './reconnect-backoff'
+export { modelSearchText } from './model-search-text'
 export { skillInvocationText } from './skill-scaffold'
 export {
   type HermesSkin,
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/lib/model-search-text.test.ts b/apps/shared/src/model-search-text.test.ts
similarity index 94%
rename from ui-tui/src/lib/model-search-text.test.ts
rename to apps/shared/src/model-search-text.test.ts
index 3440127323..b4b449658a 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/lib/model-search-text.test.ts
+++ b/apps/shared/src/model-search-text.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
-import { fuzzyRank } from './fuzzy.js'
-import { modelSearchText } from './model-search-text.js'
+import { fuzzyRank } from './fuzzy'
+import { modelSearchText } from './model-search-text'
 
 describe('modelSearchText', () => {
   it('keeps ordinary model ids unchanged', () => {
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/lib/model-search-text.ts b/apps/shared/src/model-search-text.ts
similarity index 90%
rename from ui-tui/src/lib/model-search-text.ts
rename to apps/shared/src/model-search-text.ts
index 487015e4ea..e9ba9dfd13 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/lib/model-search-text.ts
+++ b/apps/shared/src/model-search-text.ts
@@ -5,8 +5,7 @@
  * (Kimi Coding's flagship is literally `k3`) that users still search for by
  * the familiar `kimi-…` naming of sibling models.
  *
- * Keep in sync with web/src/lib/model-search-text.ts and
- * hermes_cli/model_search.py.
+ * Keep in sync with the Python twin, hermes_cli/model_search.py.
  */
 const MODEL_SEARCH_ALIASES: Record<string, readonly string[]> = {
   k3: ['kimi-k3', 'kimi'],
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/components/modelPicker.tsx b/ui-tui/src/components/modelPicker.tsx
index fda9d5378b..60100ccaf1 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/components/modelPicker.tsx
+++ b/ui-tui/src/components/modelPicker.tsx
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 import { Box, Text, useInput, useStdout } from '@hermes/ink'
 import type { ModelOptionProvider, ModelOptionsResponse } from '@hermes/shared/gateway-events'
+import { fuzzyRank } from '@hermes/shared/fuzzy'
+import { modelSearchText } from '@hermes/shared/model-search-text'
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
 
 import { providerDisplayNames } from '../domain/providers.js'
 import { TUI_SESSION_MODEL_FLAG } from '../domain/slash.js'
 import type { GatewayClient } from '../gatewayClient.js'
-import { fuzzyRank } from '../lib/fuzzy.js'
-import { modelSearchText } from '../lib/model-search-text.js'
 import { asRpcResult, rpcErrorMessage } from '../lib/rpc.js'
 import type { Theme } from '../theme.js'
 
diff --git a/web/src/components/ModelPickerDialog.tsx b/web/src/components/ModelPickerDialog.tsx
index e859c7b1f0..fd3147b492 100644
--- a/web/src/components/ModelPickerDialog.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/ModelPickerDialog.tsx
@@ -11,9 +11,8 @@ import { Check, RefreshCw, Search, X } from "lucide-react";
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { createPortal } from "react-dom";
 import { cn, themedBody } from "@/lib/utils";
-import { fuzzyRank } from "@/lib/fuzzy";
 import { queryMatchesProviderOnly } from "@/lib/model-picker-filter";
-import { modelSearchText } from "@/lib/model-search-text";
+import { fuzzyRank, modelSearchText } from "@hermes/shared";
 
 /**
  * Two-stage model picker modal.
diff --git a/web/src/lib/fuzzy.ts b/web/src/lib/fuzzy.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 9794248572..0000000000
--- a/web/src/lib/fuzzy.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,192 +0,0 @@
-// Lightweight fuzzy subsequence scorer for picker filtering.
-//
-// Matches a query as an ordered subsequence of the target (so `g4o` matches
-// `gpt-4o`) and scores by match quality so callers can rank results. Higher
-// score is a better match. Returns the matched character indices so callers
-// can highlight them.
-//
-// The scoring favours, in rough order: exact full match, prefix match, matches
-// that start on a word boundary (after `-`, `_`, `/`, `.`, space, or a
-// lower→upper case transition), contiguous runs, and earlier matches. This is
-// intentionally simple — no external dependency — but good enough to make
-// `son4` rank `claude-sonnet-4` above an incidental scattered hit.
-//
-// This is a logically identical copy of ui-tui/src/lib/fuzzy.ts (only prettier
-// formatting differs); keep the two in sync. The TUI copy carries the vitest
-// suite (this `web` package has no test runner), so behavioural changes should
-// be validated there.
-
-export interface FuzzyMatch {
-  /** Total score; higher is better. */
-  score: number;
-  /** Indices into the original (non-lowercased) target that were matched. */
-  positions: number[];
-}
-
-const WORD_BOUNDARY = /[-_/.\s]/;
-
-function isBoundary(target: string, index: number): boolean {
-  if (index === 0) {
-    return true;
-  }
-
-  const prev = target[index - 1];
-
-  if (WORD_BOUNDARY.test(prev)) {
-    return true;
-  }
-
-  // camelCase / lower→upper transition (e.g. the `O` in `gptO`).
-  const cur = target[index];
-
-  return (
-    prev === prev.toLowerCase() &&
-    cur !== cur.toLowerCase() &&
-    cur === cur.toUpperCase()
-  );
-}
-
-/**
- * Score a single query token against a target. Returns null when the token is
- * not a subsequence of the target. An empty query scores 0 with no positions.
- */
-export function fuzzyScore(target: string, query: string): FuzzyMatch | null {
-  if (!query) {
-    return { score: 0, positions: [] };
-  }
-
-  const lowerTarget = target.toLowerCase();
-  const lowerQuery = query.toLowerCase();
-
-  const positions: number[] = [];
-  let score = 0;
-  let prevIndex = -1;
-  let searchFrom = 0;
-
-  for (const ch of lowerQuery) {
-    const idx = lowerTarget.indexOf(ch, searchFrom);
-
-    if (idx < 0) {
-      return null;
-    }
-
-    positions.push(idx);
-
-    // Base point for the matched character.
-    score += 1;
-
-    // Contiguous with the previous match → strong bonus.
-    if (prevIndex >= 0 && idx === prevIndex + 1) {
-      score += 5;
-    } else if (prevIndex >= 0) {
-      // Penalise the gap we had to skip (capped), so contiguous beats scattered.
-      score -= Math.min(idx - prevIndex - 1, 3);
-    }
-
-    // Word-boundary / start-of-string matches are meaningful.
-    if (isBoundary(target, idx)) {
-      score += 3;
-    }
-
-    // Matching the very first character of the target is the strongest signal.
-    if (idx === 0) {
-      score += 5;
-    }
-
-    prevIndex = idx;
-    searchFrom = idx + 1;
-  }
-
-  // Prefix bonus: the query matched a contiguous prefix of the target.
-  if (
-    positions.length &&
-    positions[0] === 0 &&
-    positions[positions.length - 1] === positions.length - 1
-  ) {
-    score += 8;
-  }
-
-  // Exact full match dominates everything else.
-  if (lowerTarget === lowerQuery) {
-    score += 20;
-  }
-
-  // Slightly prefer shorter targets when scores are otherwise close, so a
-  // query that fully prefixes a short id beats the same prefix on a long one.
-  score -= lowerTarget.length * 0.01;
-
-  return { score, positions };
-}
-
-/**
- * Score a target against a whitespace-separated, multi-token query. Every token
- * must match (AND semantics); the result aggregates per-token scores and the
- * union of matched positions. Returns null if any token fails to match.
- */
-export function fuzzyScoreMulti(
-  target: string,
-  query: string,
-): FuzzyMatch | null {
-  const tokens = query.trim().toLowerCase().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean);
-
-  if (!tokens.length) {
-    return { score: 0, positions: [] };
-  }
-
-  let score = 0;
-  const positionSet = new Set<number>();
-
-  for (const token of tokens) {
-    const match = fuzzyScore(target, token);
-
-    if (!match) {
-      return null;
-    }
-
-    score += match.score;
-
-    for (const pos of match.positions) {
-      positionSet.add(pos);
-    }
-  }
-
-  return { score, positions: [...positionSet].sort((a, b) => a - b) };
-}
-
-export interface RankedItem<T> {
-  item: T;
-  score: number;
-  positions: number[];
-}
-
-/**
- * Filter + rank a list by a fuzzy query against a derived text key. Non-matching
- * items are dropped; matches are sorted by score (descending), ties broken by
- * the original index so ordering is stable for equal scores. An empty query
- * returns every item in original order with no positions.
- */
-export function fuzzyRank<T>(
-  items: readonly T[],
-  query: string,
-  toText: (item: T) => string,
-): RankedItem<T>[] {
-  const trimmed = query.trim();
-
-  if (!trimmed) {
-    return items.map((item) => ({ item, score: 0, positions: [] }));
-  }
-
-  const ranked: Array<RankedItem<T> & { index: number }> = [];
-
-  items.forEach((item, index) => {
-    const match = fuzzyScoreMulti(toText(item), trimmed);
-
-    if (match) {
-      ranked.push({ item, score: match.score, positions: match.positions, index });
-    }
-  });
-
-  ranked.sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score || a.index - b.index);
-
-  return ranked.map(({ item, score, positions }) => ({ item, score, positions }));
-}
diff --git a/web/src/lib/model-picker-filter.ts b/web/src/lib/model-picker-filter.ts
index 6d173f8e69..7a11c629f3 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/model-picker-filter.ts
+++ b/web/src/lib/model-picker-filter.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { fuzzyScoreMulti } from "@/lib/fuzzy";
+import { fuzzyScoreMulti } from "@hermes/shared";
 
 /**
  * True when `trimmedQuery` located the selected provider by name/slug but
diff --git a/web/src/lib/model-search-text.ts b/web/src/lib/model-search-text.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index ab64c5c7c0..0000000000
--- a/web/src/lib/model-search-text.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Extra tokens used only for model-picker search ranking.
- *
- * Wire IDs stay unchanged — some providers report short or brand-less ids
- * (Kimi Coding's flagship is literally `k3`) that users still search for by
- * the familiar `kimi-…` naming of sibling models.
- *
- * Keep in sync with ui-tui/src/lib/model-search-text.ts and
- * hermes_cli/model_search.py. Behavioural tests live in the TUI package.
- */
-const MODEL_SEARCH_ALIASES: Record<string, readonly string[]> = {
-  k3: ["kimi-k3", "kimi"],
-  // OpenCode Zen serves the "Ox Alpha" stealth model under an opaque
-  // preview slug; let users find it by its public codename.
-  "x-preview-f-free": ["ox-alpha", "ox"],
-};
-
-/** Haystack for fuzzy/substring model search; never changes the wire id. */
-export function modelSearchText(model: string): string {
-  const id = model.trim();
-  if (!id) {
-    return model;
-  }
-
-  const aliases = MODEL_SEARCH_ALIASES[id.toLowerCase()];
-  if (!aliases?.length) {
-    return id;
-  }
-
-  return `${id} ${aliases.join(" ")}`;
-}