diff --git a/src/codex/app-server-processes.ts b/src/codex/app-server-processes.ts
index a33a1091fd6..4f4e949677f 100644
--- a/src/codex/app-server-processes.ts
+++ b/src/codex/app-server-processes.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import {
   resolveTrustedWindowsPowerShellExe,
   resolveTrustedWindowsTaskkillExe,
 } from "../lib/windows-elevation";
-import { readCodexCatalogPath } from "./catalog/parsing";
+import { activeCodexModelsCachePath, readCodexCatalogPath } from "./catalog/parsing";
 
 export const STALE_CODEX_APP_SERVER_HINT =
   "If Codex still shows an older model list, run `ocx sync --restart-codex`: it restarts the long-lived app-server "
@@ -141,6 +141,7 @@ export interface CodexAppServerProcessIo {
   /** Async batch start-time seam used by the request-path Windows collector. */
   readStartMsBatchAsync?: (pids: readonly number[]) => Promise<Map<number, number | null>>;
   catalogMtimeMs?: () => number | null;
+  modelsCacheMtimeMs?: () => number | null;
 }
 
 function execFileTextAsync(
@@ -754,6 +755,10 @@ function defaultCatalogMtimeMs(): number | null {
   }
 }
 
+function defaultModelsCacheMtimeMs(): number | null {
+  try { return statSync(activeCodexModelsCachePath()).mtimeMs; } catch { return null; }
+}
+
 function codexAppServerProcessesFromSnapshots(
   snapshots: readonly ProcessSnapshot[],
 ): CodexAppServerProcess[] {
@@ -1254,12 +1259,19 @@ export function afterCatalogWriteHandleAppServers(
     const observed = computeCodexAppServerCatalogStatus(options.io ?? {});
     const starts = new Map(observed.status.processes.map(process => [process.pid, process.startedAtMs]));
     const catalogMtimeMs = observed.status.catalogMtimeMs;
+    // Injected catalog clocks are self-contained test/probe observations. Production
+    // also includes cache-only writes, whose mtime can be newer than the catalog.
+    const cacheMtimeMs = options.io?.modelsCacheMtimeMs
+      ? options.io.modelsCacheMtimeMs()
+      : options.io?.catalogMtimeMs ? null : defaultModelsCacheMtimeMs();
+    const writeMtimeMs = catalogMtimeMs === null ? cacheMtimeMs
+      : cacheMtimeMs === null ? catalogMtimeMs : Math.max(catalogMtimeMs, cacheMtimeMs);
     const processes = observed.processes.filter(process => !excluded.has(process.pid));
-    const staleProcesses = catalogMtimeMs === null
+    const staleProcesses = writeMtimeMs === null
       ? []
       : processes.filter(process => {
         const startedAtMs = starts.get(process.pid);
-        return startedAtMs !== null && startedAtMs !== undefined && startedAtMs <= catalogMtimeMs;
+        return startedAtMs !== null && startedAtMs !== undefined && startedAtMs <= writeMtimeMs;
       });
     if (staleProcesses.length === 0) return { processes, warned: false, hint };
     options.log?.error(formatStaleCodexAppServerWarning(staleProcesses));
diff --git a/structure/runtime.md b/structure/runtime.md
index 384b6b394e6..a7a76340716 100644
--- a/structure/runtime.md
+++ b/structure/runtime.md
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ Catalog-derived reasoning-level diagnostics are escaped only at the human-output
 `ocx system codex-restart` requests a full Codex desktop-app restart and app-server restarts through the management endpoint. `src/cli/capabilities.ts` names that scope in its summary and `--yes` description; `src/cli/system-command.ts` explains the desktop interruption when confirmation is missing and sends no restart request. Human output says the restart was requested, while `--json` preserves the complete server result, including skipped or refused desktop outcomes.
 
 After a CLI catalog/cache write, advisory restart guidance compares each running Codex app-server's
-start time with the written catalog mtime. It reports only processes proven stale; a fresh or
+start time with the newest catalog or models-cache mtime. It reports only processes proven stale; a fresh or
 unreadable observation does not claim that another restart is required. Explicit
 `--restart-codex` and `--restart-app-server-only` retain their operator-consent semantics and act on
 verified matching processes regardless of the advisory freshness result.
diff --git a/tests/codex-integration/codex-app-server-processes.test.ts b/tests/codex-integration/codex-app-server-processes.test.ts
index 8f170d2f1ea..6dcef6b8afa 100644
--- a/tests/codex-integration/codex-app-server-processes.test.ts
+++ b/tests/codex-integration/codex-app-server-processes.test.ts
@@ -716,13 +716,13 @@ describe("Codex app-server process matching (#476)", () => {
         listSnapshots: () => snapshots,
         readStartMs: pid => pid === 7 ? 1_000 : 3_000,
         catalogMtimeMs: () => 2_000,
+        modelsCacheMtimeMs: () => 4_000,
       },
     });
     expect(result.warned).toBe(true);
-    expect(result.processes.map(process => process.pid)).toEqual([7]);
+    expect(result.processes.map(process => process.pid)).toEqual([7, 8]);
     expect(errors).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(errors[0]).toContain("PID: 7");
-    expect(errors[0]).not.toContain("8");
+    expect(errors[0]).toContain("PIDs: 7, 8");
   });
 
   test("afterCatalogWriteHandleAppServers stays quiet for fresh and unknown observations", () => {