diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/bottom_bar/ModelsBottomBar.test.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/bottom_bar/ModelsBottomBar.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7610b3eff8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/bottom_bar/ModelsBottomBar.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import { render, type RenderOptions, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
+import ModelsBottomBar from './ModelsBottomBar';
+import { IntlTestWrapper } from '../../../../i18n/test-utils';
+
+const renderWithIntl = (ui: React.ReactElement, options?: RenderOptions) =>
+  render(ui, { wrapper: IntlTestWrapper, ...options });
+
+const createDropdownRef = (): React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement> =>
+  ({ current: document.createElement('div') }) as React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement>;
+
+let mockCurrentModel: string | null = 'config-model';
+let mockCurrentProvider: string | null = 'config-provider';
+const mockGetProviders = vi.fn();
+const mockOnModelChanged = vi.fn();
+
+vi.mock('../../../ModelAndProviderContext', () => ({
+  useModelAndProvider: () => ({
+    currentModel: mockCurrentModel,
+    currentProvider: mockCurrentProvider,
+  }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../../../ConfigContext', () => ({
+  useConfig: () => ({
+    getProviders: mockGetProviders,
+  }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../modelInterface', () => ({
+  getProviderMetadata: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ display_name: 'Config Provider' }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../predefinedModelsUtils', () => ({
+  getModelDisplayName: (model: string) => `Display ${model}`,
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../../../bottom_menu/BottomMenuAlertPopover', () => ({
+  default: () => null,
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../../../ui/dropdown-menu', () => ({
+  DropdownMenu: ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => <div>{children}</div>,
+  DropdownMenuTrigger: ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => <div>{children}</div>,
+  DropdownMenuContent: ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => <div>{children}</div>,
+  DropdownMenuItem: ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => <div>{children}</div>,
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../../localInference/ModelSettingsPanel', () => ({
+  ModelSettingsPanel: () => null,
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../../../ui/scroll-area', () => ({
+  ScrollArea: ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => <div>{children}</div>,
+}));
+
+describe('ModelsBottomBar', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    mockCurrentModel = 'config-model';
+    mockCurrentProvider = 'config-provider';
+    mockGetProviders.mockResolvedValue([]);
+  });
+
+  it('shows a loading placeholder while the active session model is still loading', async () => {
+    renderWithIntl(
+      <ModelsBottomBar
+        sessionId="session-123"
+        dropdownRef={createDropdownRef()}
+        setView={vi.fn()}
+        onModelChanged={mockOnModelChanged}
+        sessionLoaded={false}
+      />
+    );
+
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('model-loading-state')).toHaveTextContent('Loading model...');
+  });
+
+  it('shows the active session model once the session has loaded', async () => {
+    renderWithIntl(
+      <ModelsBottomBar
+        sessionId="session-123"
+        dropdownRef={createDropdownRef()}
+        setView={vi.fn()}
+        sessionModel="session-model"
+        sessionProvider="session-provider"
+        onModelChanged={mockOnModelChanged}
+        sessionLoaded={true}
+      />
+    );
+
+    expect(screen.getByText('session-model')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId('model-loading-state')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('shows the configured model when there is no active session', async () => {
+    renderWithIntl(
+      <ModelsBottomBar
+        sessionId={null}
+        dropdownRef={createDropdownRef()}
+        setView={vi.fn()}
+        onModelChanged={mockOnModelChanged}
+      />
+    );
+
+    expect(screen.getByText('config-model')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId('model-loading-state')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/bottom_bar/ModelsBottomBar.tsx b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/bottom_bar/ModelsBottomBar.tsx
index e818c64e50..40bbde729a 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/bottom_bar/ModelsBottomBar.tsx
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/components/settings/models/bottom_bar/ModelsBottomBar.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { Sliders, Bot, Settings } from 'lucide-react';
+import { Sliders, Bot, LoaderCircle, Settings } from 'lucide-react';
 import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
 import { useModelAndProvider } from '../../../ModelAndProviderContext';
 import { SwitchModelModal } from '../subcomponents/SwitchModelModal';
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ const i18n = defineMessages({
     id: 'modelsBottomBar.currentModel',
     defaultMessage: 'Current model',
   },
+  loadingModel: {
+    id: 'modelsBottomBar.loadingModel',
+    defaultMessage: 'Loading model...',
+  },
   changeModel: {
     id: 'modelsBottomBar.changeModel',
     defaultMessage: 'Change Model',
@@ -73,10 +77,13 @@ export default function ModelsBottomBar({
   const [isLocalModelSettingsOpen, setIsLocalModelSettingsOpen] = useState(false);
   const [providerDefaultModel, setProviderDefaultModel] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
-  // Hide label while session data is still being fetched (avoids flashing
-  // the config default before the session's actual model arrives).
-  const isModelLoading = sessionId && !sessionLoaded;
+  // Show a visible loading placeholder while session metadata is still being fetched,
+  // rather than flashing the config default or leaving the footer blank.
+  const isModelLoading = Boolean(sessionId && !sessionLoaded);
   const displayModel = currentModel || providerDefaultModel || displayModelName;
+  const loadingModelLabel = intl.formatMessage(i18n.loadingModel);
+  const triggerLabel = isModelLoading ? loadingModelLabel : displayModel;
+  const menuModelLabel = isModelLoading ? loadingModelLabel : displayModelName;
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!currentProvider) return;
@@ -121,16 +128,24 @@ export default function ModelsBottomBar({
         <DropdownMenuTrigger className="flex items-center hover:cursor-pointer max-w-[180px] md:max-w-[200px] lg:max-w-[380px] min-w-0 text-text-primary/70 hover:text-text-primary transition-colors">
           <div className="flex items-center truncate max-w-[130px] md:max-w-[200px] lg:max-w-[360px] min-w-0">
             <Bot className="mr-1 h-4 w-4 flex-shrink-0" />
-            <span className={`truncate text-xs${isModelLoading ? ' opacity-0' : ''}`}>
-              {displayModel}
-            </span>
+            {isModelLoading ? (
+              <span
+                data-testid="model-loading-state"
+                className="inline-flex items-center gap-1 truncate text-xs"
+              >
+                <LoaderCircle className="h-3 w-3 animate-spin flex-shrink-0" />
+                <span className="truncate">{triggerLabel}</span>
+              </span>
+            ) : (
+              <span className="truncate text-xs">{triggerLabel}</span>
+            )}
           </div>
         </DropdownMenuTrigger>
         <DropdownMenuContent side="top" align="center" className="w-64 text-sm">
           <h6 className="text-xs text-text-primary mt-2 ml-2">{intl.formatMessage(i18n.currentModel)}</h6>
           <p className="flex items-center justify-between text-sm mx-2 pb-2 border-b mb-2">
-            {displayModelName}
-            {displayProvider && ` — ${displayProvider}`}
+            {menuModelLabel}
+            {!isModelLoading && displayProvider && ` — ${displayProvider}`}
           </p>
           <DropdownMenuItem onClick={() => setIsAddModelModalOpen(true)}>
             <span>{intl.formatMessage(i18n.changeModel)}</span>
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/i18n/messages/en.json b/ui/desktop/src/i18n/messages/en.json
index 93fa007760..8c6fcc592b 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/i18n/messages/en.json
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/i18n/messages/en.json
@@ -2315,6 +2315,9 @@
   "modelsBottomBar.currentModel": {
     "defaultMessage": "Current model"
   },
+  "modelsBottomBar.loadingModel": {
+    "defaultMessage": "Loading model..."
+  },
   "modelsBottomBar.localModelSettings": {
     "defaultMessage": "Local Model Settings"
   },
diff --git a/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/fixtures.ts b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/fixtures.ts
index 6babe19cfe..566423614e 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/fixtures.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/fixtures.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import { test as base, Page, Browser, chromium } from '@playwright/test';
-import { spawn, ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
+import { exec, spawn, ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
 import { join } from 'path';
 import { promisify } from 'util';
 
-const execAsync = promisify(require('child_process').exec);
+const execAsync = promisify(exec);
 
 type GooseTestFixtures = {
   goosePage: Page;
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ type GooseTestFixtures = {
  */
 export const test = base.extend<GooseTestFixtures>({
   // Test-scoped fixture: launches a fresh Electron app for each test
-  goosePage: async ({}, use, testInfo) => {
+  goosePage: async ({ browserName }, providePage, testInfo) => {
+    void browserName;
     console.log(`Launching fresh Electron app for test: ${testInfo.title}`);
 
     let appProcess: ChildProcess | null = null;
@@ -80,8 +81,9 @@ export const test = base.extend<GooseTestFixtures>({
           console.log(`Connected to Electron app on attempt ${attempt} (~${(attempt * retryDelay) / 1000}s)`);
           break;
         } catch (error) {
+          const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
           if (attempt === maxRetries) {
-            throw new Error(`Failed to connect to Electron app after ${maxRetries} attempts (${(maxRetries * retryDelay) / 1000}s). Last error: ${error.message}`);
+            throw new Error(`Failed to connect to Electron app after ${maxRetries} attempts (${(maxRetries * retryDelay) / 1000}s). Last error: ${errorMessage}`);
           }
           // Wait before next retry
           await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, retryDelay));
@@ -92,26 +94,28 @@ export const test = base.extend<GooseTestFixtures>({
         throw new Error('Browser connection failed unexpectedly');
       }
 
-      // Get the electron app context and first page
-      const contexts = browser.contexts();
-      if (contexts.length === 0) {
-        throw new Error('No browser contexts found');
+      // Wait for Electron to create its first window after the CDP endpoint is up.
+      let page: Page | null = null;
+      for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= 100; attempt++) {
+        const contexts = browser.contexts();
+        page = contexts.flatMap((context) => context.pages())[0] ?? null;
+        if (page) {
+          break;
+        }
+        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 100));
       }
 
-      const pages = contexts[0].pages();
-      if (pages.length === 0) {
+      if (!page) {
         throw new Error('No windows/pages found');
       }
 
-      const page = pages[0];
-
       // Wait for page to be ready
       await page.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded');
 
       // Try to wait for networkidle
       try {
         await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle', { timeout: 10000 });
-      } catch (error) {
+      } catch {
         console.log('NetworkIdle timeout (likely due to MCP activity), continuing...');
       }
 
@@ -124,7 +128,7 @@ export const test = base.extend<GooseTestFixtures>({
       console.log('App ready, starting test...');
 
       // Provide the page to the test
-      await use(page);
+      await providePage(page);
 
     } finally {
       console.log('Cleaning up Electron app for this test...');
@@ -146,19 +150,23 @@ export const test = base.extend<GooseTestFixtures>({
               // First try SIGTERM for graceful shutdown
               process.kill(-appProcess.pid, 'SIGTERM');
               await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2000));
-            } catch (e) {
+            } catch {
               // Process might already be dead
             }
             // Then SIGKILL if still running
             try {
               process.kill(-appProcess.pid, 'SIGKILL');
-            } catch (e) {
+            } catch {
               // Process already exited
             }
           }
           console.log('Cleaned up app process');
         } catch (error) {
-          if (error.code !== 'ESRCH' && !error.message?.includes('No such process')) {
+          if (
+            error instanceof Error &&
+            !('code' in error && error.code === 'ESRCH') &&
+            !error.message.includes('No such process')
+          ) {
             console.error('Error killing app process:', error);
           }
         }
diff --git a/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/loading-state.spec.ts b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/loading-state.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..67286d54e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/desktop/tests/e2e/loading-state.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import { test, expect } from './fixtures';
+
+test.describe('Loading State', () => {
+  test('shows a model placeholder while creating a new chat session', async ({ goosePage }) => {
+    await goosePage.waitForSelector('[data-testid="chat-input"]', { timeout: 30000 });
+
+    const chatInput = await goosePage.waitForSelector('[data-testid="chat-input"]');
+    await chatInput.fill('Respond with the single word hello.');
+    await chatInput.press('Enter');
+
+    await goosePage.waitForSelector('[data-testid="loading-indicator"]', {
+      state: 'visible',
+      timeout: 10000,
+    });
+
+    const loadingModel = goosePage.locator('[data-testid="model-loading-state"]');
+    await expect(loadingModel).toHaveText(/loading model/i, { timeout: 10000 });
+
+    await goosePage.screenshot({
+      path: test.info().outputPath('loading-state-fresh-session.png'),
+      fullPage: true,
+    });
+  });
+});