diff --git a/src/ai/ai_client.c b/src/ai/ai_client.c
index ffa3947d..c40189c8 100644
--- a/src/ai/ai_client.c
+++ b/src/ai/ai_client.c
@@ -762,44 +762,133 @@ _ai_save_models_for_provider(AIProvider* provider)
     log_debug("Saved %d models for provider '%s' to prefs", count, provider->name);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Find a JSON field value, handling both string and non-string values.
+ * For string values: "field":"value" -> returns pointer to "value"
+ * For array values: "field":[ -> returns pointer to [
+ * For object values: "field":{ -> returns pointer to {
+ * Handles optional whitespace after colon.
+ * Returns pointer to the value start, or NULL if not found.
+ */
 static const gchar*
 _find_json_field(const gchar* json, const gchar* field)
 {
-    auto_gchar gchar* key = g_strdup_printf("\"%s\":\"", field);
+    if (!json || !field) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    auto_gchar gchar* key = g_strdup_printf("\"%s\"", field);
     const gchar* pos = strstr(json, key);
     if (!pos) {
         return NULL;
     }
-    return pos + strlen(key);
+
+    /* Skip past the key */
+    pos += strlen(key);
+
+    /* Skip whitespace and find the colon */
+    while (*pos == ' ' || *pos == '\t' || *pos == '\n' || *pos == '\r') {
+        pos++;
+    }
+
+    if (*pos != ':') {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    pos++; /* skip colon */
+
+    /* Skip whitespace after colon */
+    while (*pos == ' ' || *pos == '\t' || *pos == '\n' || *pos == '\r') {
+        pos++;
+    }
+
+    return pos;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Parse models from OpenAI-compatible API response format.
+ * Expected format: {"object":"list","data":[{"id":"model1","object":"model",...},...]}
+ * Extracts only the "id" field from each model object.
+ */
 static void
 _parse_openai_models(AIProvider* provider, const gchar* json)
 {
-    /* Format: {"data": [{"id": "model1"}, {"id": "model2"}, ...]} */
-    const gchar* data_start = _find_json_field(json, "data");
-    if (!data_start) {
+    if (!json || !provider) {
         return;
     }
 
-    const gchar* obj_start = strstr(data_start, "{\"id\":");
+    /* Find the "data" array start */
+    const gchar* data_start = _find_json_field(json, "data");
+    if (!data_start || *data_start != '[') {
+        log_debug("No data array found in API response");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    /* Find all {"id":"..."} objects within the data array */
+    const gchar* obj_start = data_start;
     while (obj_start) {
-        const gchar* id_start = _find_json_field(obj_start, "id");
-        if (!id_start) {
+        /* Find next "id" field (handle both {"id": and { "id": formats) */
+        obj_start = strstr(obj_start, "\"id\"");
+        if (!obj_start) {
             break;
         }
 
-        const gchar* id_end = strchr(id_start, '"');
-        if (!id_end) {
-            break;
+        /* Verify this "id" is within an object (preceded by { or ,) */
+        const gchar* before_id = obj_start - 1;
+        while (before_id >= data_start && (*before_id == ' ' || *before_id == '\t' || *before_id == '\n' || *before_id == '\r')) {
+            before_id--;
+        }
+        if (before_id < data_start || (*before_id != '{' && *before_id != ',')) {
+            /* This "id" is not at the start of an object in the array, skip it */
+            obj_start = obj_start + 2; /* move past this "id" */
+            continue;
         }
 
-        auto_gchar gchar* model = g_strndup(id_start, id_end - id_start);
+        /* Find the colon after "id" */
+        const gchar* id_key = obj_start + 4; /* skip "id" */
+        /* Skip whitespace */
+        while (*id_key == ' ' || *id_key == '\t' || *id_key == '\n' || *id_key == '\r') {
+            id_key++;
+        }
+        if (*id_key != ':') {
+            obj_start = id_key;
+            continue;
+        }
+        id_key++; /* skip : */
+        /* Skip whitespace */
+        while (*id_key == ' ' || *id_key == '\t' || *id_key == '\n' || *id_key == '\r') {
+            id_key++;
+        }
+        if (*id_key != '"') {
+            /* "id" value is not a string, skip */
+            obj_start = id_key;
+            continue;
+        }
+        id_key++; /* skip opening quote */
+
+        /* Find the closing quote (handling escaped quotes) */
+        const gchar* id_end = id_key;
+        while (*id_end && *id_end != '"') {
+            if (*id_end == '\\' && *(id_end + 1)) {
+                id_end += 2; /* skip escaped character */
+            } else {
+                id_end++;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (!*id_end) {
+            break; /* No closing quote found */
+        }
+
+        /* Extract the model ID */
+        auto_gchar gchar* model = g_strndup(id_key, id_end - id_key);
         _add_model_if_new(provider, model);
 
-        obj_start = strstr(id_end, "{\"id\":");
-        if (obj_start) {
-            obj_start++;
+        /* Move past this object to find the next one */
+        obj_start = id_end + 1;
+
+        /* Safety: stop if we've gone past the data array */
+        if (obj_start - json > 5 * 1024 * 1024) {
+            break; /* 5MB safety limit */
         }
     }
 }
@@ -849,6 +938,30 @@ _parse_and_cache_models(AIProvider* provider, const gchar* response_json)
     _ai_save_models_for_provider(provider);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Public API: Parse model IDs from JSON response.
+ * Used by tests and internal model fetching.
+ */
+void
+ai_parse_models_from_json(AIProvider* provider, const gchar* json)
+{
+    if (!provider || !json) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    /* Clear existing models before parsing */
+    GList* curr = provider->models;
+    while (curr) {
+        g_free(curr->data);
+        curr = g_list_next(curr);
+    }
+    g_list_free(provider->models);
+    provider->models = NULL;
+
+    /* Parse using the same logic as the internal handler */
+    _parse_and_cache_models(provider, json);
+}
+
 static void
 _models_response_handler(AIProvider* provider, const gchar* response, gpointer user_data)
 {
@@ -893,20 +1006,7 @@ ai_fetch_models(const gchar* provider_name, gpointer user_data)
         return FALSE;
     }
 
-    /* If models are fresh, just display them */
-    if (provider->models_fresh && provider->models) {
-        cons_show("Cached %d models for provider '%s':", g_list_length(provider->models), provider_name);
-        GList* curr = provider->models;
-        while (curr) {
-            cons_show("  %s", (gchar*)curr->data);
-            curr = g_list_next(curr);
-        }
-        cons_show("");
-        cons_show("Use '/ai models %s --refresh' to fetch fresh models from the API.", provider_name);
-        return TRUE;
-    }
-
-    /* Fetch models in a thread */
+    /* Always fetch fresh models from API */
     ai_request_t* req = g_new0(ai_request_t, 1);
     req->provider_name = g_strdup(provider_name);
     req->user_data = user_data;
@@ -920,7 +1020,7 @@ ai_fetch_models(const gchar* provider_name, gpointer user_data)
     }
 
     g_thread_unref(thread);
-    cons_show("Fetching models for provider '%s'...", provider_name);
+    cons_show("Fetching fresh models for provider '%s'...", provider_name);
     return TRUE;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/ai/ai_client.h b/src/ai/ai_client.h
index 2d149bfd..385b8510 100644
--- a/src/ai/ai_client.h
+++ b/src/ai/ai_client.h
@@ -168,6 +168,18 @@ gboolean ai_fetch_models(const gchar* provider_name, gpointer user_data);
  */
 gboolean ai_models_are_fresh(const gchar* provider_name);
 
+/* ========================================================================
+ * Model Parsing (for testing)
+ * ======================================================================== */
+
+/**
+ * Parse model IDs from an OpenAI-compatible API response.
+ * Expected format: {"object":"list","data":[{"id":"model1",...},...]}
+ * @param provider The provider to add models to
+ * @param json The JSON response from the API
+ */
+void ai_parse_models_from_json(AIProvider* provider, const gchar* json);
+
 /* ========================================================================
  * Session Management
  * ======================================================================== */
diff --git a/src/command/cmd_funcs.c b/src/command/cmd_funcs.c
index f95b8cd6..adbcb57f 100644
--- a/src/command/cmd_funcs.c
+++ b/src/command/cmd_funcs.c
@@ -11134,14 +11134,16 @@ cmd_ai_switch(ProfWin* window, const char* const command, gchar** args)
 gboolean
 cmd_ai_models(ProfWin* window, const char* const command, gchar** args)
 {
-    // /ai models <provider> [--refresh]
+    // /ai models <provider> [--cached]
+    // Default: fetch fresh models from API
+    // --cached: display cached models (if available)
     if (args[1] == NULL) {
         cons_bad_cmd_usage(command);
         return TRUE;
     }
 
     const gchar* provider_name = args[1];
-    gboolean refresh = (g_strv_length(args) >= 3) && (g_strcmp0(args[2], "--refresh") == 0);
+    gboolean use_cached = (g_strv_length(args) >= 3) && (g_strcmp0(args[2], "--cached") == 0);
 
     AIProvider* provider = ai_get_provider(provider_name);
     if (!provider) {
@@ -11149,12 +11151,12 @@ cmd_ai_models(ProfWin* window, const char* const command, gchar** args)
         return TRUE;
     }
 
-    if (refresh || !ai_models_are_fresh(provider_name)) {
-        // Fetch models from API
-        ProfAiWin* aiwin = (window && window->type == WIN_AI) ? (ProfAiWin*)window : wins_get_ai();
-        ai_fetch_models(provider_name, aiwin);
-    } else {
-        // Display cached models
+    if (use_cached) {
+        // Display cached models (if available)
+        if (!provider->models) {
+            cons_show("No cached models for provider '%s'. Use '/ai models %s' to fetch from API.", provider_name, provider_name);
+            return TRUE;
+        }
         cons_show("Cached models for provider '%s':", provider_name);
         GList* curr = provider->models;
         while (curr) {
@@ -11162,7 +11164,11 @@ cmd_ai_models(ProfWin* window, const char* const command, gchar** args)
             curr = g_list_next(curr);
         }
         cons_show("");
-        cons_show("Use '/ai models %s --refresh' to fetch fresh models from the API.", provider_name);
+        cons_show("Use '/ai models %s' to fetch fresh models from the API.", provider_name);
+    } else {
+        // Default: fetch fresh models from API
+        ProfAiWin* aiwin = (window && window->type == WIN_AI) ? (ProfAiWin*)window : wins_get_ai();
+        ai_fetch_models(provider_name, aiwin);
     }
 
     return TRUE;
diff --git a/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.c b/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.c
index 8416ce1e..7c1cf16c 100644
--- a/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.c
+++ b/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.c
@@ -644,3 +644,226 @@ test_ai_models_are_fresh_initial(void** state)
     gboolean fresh_perplexity = ai_models_are_fresh("perplexity");
     assert_true(fresh_perplexity == TRUE || fresh_perplexity == FALSE); /* Just verify no crash */
 }
+
+/* ========================================================================
+ * Model Parsing Tests
+ * ======================================================================== */
+
+void
+test_ai_parse_models_openai_format(void** state)
+{
+    /* Test parsing OpenAI-compatible API response format */
+    /* Format: {"object":"list","data":[{"id":"model1",...},...]} */
+    ai_client_init();
+
+    AIProvider* provider = ai_add_provider("test", "https://test.api.com/v1", NULL);
+
+    /* JSON response from Perplexity/OpenAI API */
+    const gchar* json = "{\"object\":\"list\","
+                        "\"data\":["
+                        "{\"id\":\"anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"anthropic\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"anthropic/claude-opus-4-5\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"anthropic\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"google/gemini-3-flash-preview\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"google\"}"
+                        "]}";
+
+    ai_parse_models_from_json(provider, json);
+
+    /* Verify models were parsed correctly */
+    assert_int_equal(4, g_list_length(provider->models));
+
+    /* Check specific models */
+    GList* models = provider->models;
+    assert_string_equal("anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5", models->data);
+    models = g_list_next(models);
+    assert_string_equal("anthropic/claude-opus-4-5", models->data);
+    models = g_list_next(models);
+    assert_string_equal("openai/gpt-5", models->data);
+    models = g_list_next(models);
+    assert_string_equal("google/gemini-3-flash-preview", models->data);
+
+    ai_provider_unref(provider);
+    ai_client_shutdown();
+}
+
+void
+test_ai_parse_models_perplexity_format(void** state)
+{
+    /* Test parsing actual Perplexity API response with all models from curl test */
+    ai_client_init();
+
+    AIProvider* provider = ai_add_provider("perplexity", "https://api.perplexity.ai/", NULL);
+
+    const gchar* json = "{\"object\":\"list\","
+                        "\"data\":["
+                        "{\"id\":\"anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"anthropic\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"anthropic/claude-opus-4-5\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"anthropic\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"anthropic/claude-opus-4-6\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"anthropic\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"anthropic/claude-opus-4-7\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"anthropic\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"anthropic\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"anthropic\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"google/gemini-3-flash-preview\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"google\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"google\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"nvidia\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5-mini\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5.1\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5.2\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5.4\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5.4-mini\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5.4-nano\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"openai/gpt-5.5\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"openai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"perplexity/sonar\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"perplexity\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"xai/grok-4-1-fast-non-reasoning\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"xai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"xai/grok-4.20-multi-agent\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"xai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"xai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"xai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"xai/grok-4.20-reasoning\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"xai\"},"
+                        "{\"id\":\"xai/grok-4.3\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"xai\"}"
+                        "]}";
+
+    ai_parse_models_from_json(provider, json);
+
+    /* Verify all 23 models were parsed correctly */
+    assert_int_equal(23, g_list_length(provider->models));
+
+    /* Verify NO field names or owned_by values are in the model list */
+    /* The bug was that "id", "object", "model", "created", "owned_by" and provider names
+     * like "anthropic", "google", "openai", "nvidia", "perplexity", "xai" were extracted */
+    GList* models = provider->models;
+    while (models) {
+        const gchar* model = (const gchar*)models->data;
+        /* These should never be model IDs */
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "id") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "object") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "model") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "created") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "owned_by") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "list") == 0);
+        /* These are owned_by values, not model IDs */
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "anthropic") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "google") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "openai") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "nvidia") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "perplexity") == 0);
+        assert_false(g_strcmp0(model, "xai") == 0);
+        models = g_list_next(models);
+    }
+
+    /* Verify first and last model IDs */
+    models = provider->models;
+    assert_string_equal("anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5", models->data);
+    models = g_list_last(models);
+    assert_string_equal("xai/grok-4.3", models->data);
+
+    ai_provider_unref(provider);
+    ai_client_shutdown();
+}
+
+void
+test_ai_parse_models_array_format(void** state)
+{
+    /* Test parsing simple array format: ["model1", "model2", ...] */
+    ai_client_init();
+
+    AIProvider* provider = ai_add_provider("test", "https://test.api.com/v1", NULL);
+
+    const gchar* json = "[\"model1\", \"model2\", \"model3\"]";
+
+    ai_parse_models_from_json(provider, json);
+
+    assert_int_equal(3, g_list_length(provider->models));
+
+    GList* models = provider->models;
+    assert_string_equal("model1", models->data);
+    models = g_list_next(models);
+    assert_string_equal("model2", models->data);
+    models = g_list_next(models);
+    assert_string_equal("model3", models->data);
+
+    ai_provider_unref(provider);
+    ai_client_shutdown();
+}
+
+void
+test_ai_parse_models_empty_json(void** state)
+{
+    /* Test parsing empty/invalid JSON */
+    ai_client_init();
+
+    AIProvider* provider = ai_add_provider("test", "https://test.api.com/v1", NULL);
+
+    ai_parse_models_from_json(provider, "");
+    assert_null(provider->models);
+    assert_int_equal(0, g_list_length(provider->models));
+
+    ai_parse_models_from_json(provider, "{\"invalid\": true}");
+    assert_null(provider->models);
+    assert_int_equal(0, g_list_length(provider->models));
+
+    ai_provider_unref(provider);
+    ai_client_shutdown();
+}
+
+void
+test_ai_parse_models_null_handling(void** state)
+{
+    /* Test NULL handling */
+    ai_client_init();
+
+    AIProvider* provider = ai_add_provider("test", "https://test.api.com/v1", NULL);
+
+    /* NULL json should not crash */
+    ai_parse_models_from_json(provider, NULL);
+    assert_null(provider->models);
+
+    ai_provider_unref(provider);
+    ai_client_shutdown();
+}
+
+void
+test_ai_parse_models_escaped_quotes(void** state)
+{
+    /* Test parsing model IDs with escaped quotes */
+    ai_client_init();
+
+    AIProvider* provider = ai_add_provider("test", "https://test.api.com/v1", NULL);
+
+    const gchar* json = "{\"object\":\"list\","
+                        "\"data\":["
+                        "{\"id\":\"test/model\\\"with\\\"quotes\",\"object\":\"model\",\"created\":0,\"owned_by\":\"test\"}"
+                        "]}";
+
+    ai_parse_models_from_json(provider, json);
+
+    assert_int_equal(1, g_list_length(provider->models));
+    /* Model ID should have the escaped quotes handled */
+    GList* models = provider->models;
+    assert_non_null(models);
+
+    ai_provider_unref(provider);
+    ai_client_shutdown();
+}
+
+void
+test_ai_parse_models_with_whitespace(void** state)
+{
+    /* Test parsing JSON with whitespace after colons */
+    ai_client_init();
+
+    AIProvider* provider = ai_add_provider("test", "https://test.api.com/v1", NULL);
+
+    /* JSON with spaces after colons (common in formatted JSON) */
+    const gchar* json = "{ \"object\": \"list\", "
+                        "\"data\": [ "
+                        "{ \"id\": \"model-with-spaces\", \"object\": \"model\", \"created\": 0, \"owned_by\": \"test\" }"
+                        "]}";
+
+    ai_parse_models_from_json(provider, json);
+
+    assert_int_equal(1, g_list_length(provider->models));
+    GList* models = provider->models;
+    assert_string_equal("model-with-spaces", models->data);
+
+    ai_provider_unref(provider);
+    ai_client_shutdown();
+}
diff --git a/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.h b/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.h
index 90d1d0b6..4e6db394 100644
--- a/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.h
+++ b/tests/unittests/test_ai_client.h
@@ -47,6 +47,14 @@ void test_ai_set_provider_setting(void** state);
 void test_ai_get_provider_setting(void** state);
 /* Model caching tests */
 void test_ai_models_are_fresh_initial(void** state);
+/* Model parsing tests */
+void test_ai_parse_models_openai_format(void** state);
+void test_ai_parse_models_perplexity_format(void** state);
+void test_ai_parse_models_array_format(void** state);
+void test_ai_parse_models_empty_json(void** state);
+void test_ai_parse_models_null_handling(void** state);
+void test_ai_parse_models_escaped_quotes(void** state);
+void test_ai_parse_models_with_whitespace(void** state);
 /* AI autocomplete integration tests */
 void test_ai_start_provider_autocomplete_only_on_exact(void** state);
 void test_ai_models_find_null_session(void** state);
diff --git a/tests/unittests/unittests.c b/tests/unittests/unittests.c
index 9dceef57..af459a3a 100644
--- a/tests/unittests/unittests.c
+++ b/tests/unittests/unittests.c
@@ -697,6 +697,14 @@ main(int argc, char* argv[])
         cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_get_provider_setting, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),
         /* Model caching tests */
         cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_models_are_fresh_initial, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),
+        /* Model parsing tests */
+        cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_parse_models_openai_format),
+        cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_parse_models_perplexity_format),
+        cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_parse_models_array_format),
+        cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_parse_models_empty_json),
+        cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_parse_models_null_handling),
+        cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_parse_models_escaped_quotes),
+        cmocka_unit_test(test_ai_parse_models_with_whitespace),
         /* AI autocomplete integration tests */
         cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_start_provider_autocomplete_only_on_exact, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),
         cmocka_unit_test_setup_teardown(test_ai_models_find_null_session, ai_client_setup, ai_client_teardown),