diff --git a/pkg/agent/instance.go b/pkg/agent/instance.go
index 880725660..ec59a8e19 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/instance.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/instance.go
@@ -51,6 +51,10 @@ type AgentInstance struct {
 	// LightProvider is the concrete provider instance for the configured light model.
 	// It is only used when routing selects the light tier for a turn.
 	LightProvider providers.LLMProvider
+	// CandidateProviders maps "provider/model" keys to per-candidate LLMProvider
+	// instances. This allows each fallback model to use its own api_base and api_key
+	// from model_list, instead of inheriting the primary model's provider config.
+	CandidateProviders map[string]providers.LLMProvider
 }
 
 // NewAgentInstance creates an agent instance from config.
@@ -170,6 +174,10 @@ func NewAgentInstance(
 	// Resolve fallback candidates
 	candidates := resolveModelCandidates(cfg, defaults.Provider, model, fallbacks)
 
+	candidateProviders := make(map[string]providers.LLMProvider)
+	modelIndex := buildModelIndex(cfg)
+	populateCandidateProviders(modelIndex, cfg.WorkspacePath(), candidates, candidateProviders)
+
 	// Model routing setup: pre-resolve light model candidates at creation time
 	// to avoid repeated model_list lookups on every incoming message.
 	var router *routing.Router
@@ -194,6 +202,7 @@ func NewAgentInstance(
 					})
 					lightCandidates = resolved
 					lightProvider = lp
+					populateCandidateProviders(modelIndex, cfg.WorkspacePath(), resolved, candidateProviders)
 				}
 			}
 		} else {
@@ -225,9 +234,85 @@ func NewAgentInstance(
 		Router:                    router,
 		LightCandidates:           lightCandidates,
 		LightProvider:             lightProvider,
+		CandidateProviders:        candidateProviders,
 	}
 }
 
+// buildModelIndex returns a normalised "provider/model" → *ModelConfig lookup for
+// cfg.ModelList. First entry wins for duplicate keys. Returns nil when the list is empty.
+//
+// Uses ExtractProtocol + NormalizeProvider (not cfg.GetModelConfig) because candidates
+// hold resolved (Provider, Model) pairs that must be matched against the Model field,
+// not the model_name alias.
+func buildModelIndex(cfg *config.Config) map[string]*config.ModelConfig {
+	if cfg == nil || len(cfg.ModelList) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	index := make(map[string]*config.ModelConfig, len(cfg.ModelList))
+	for _, mc := range cfg.ModelList {
+		entry := strings.TrimSpace(mc.Model)
+		if entry == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		protocol, modelID := providers.ExtractProtocol(entry)
+		k := providers.ModelKey(providers.NormalizeProvider(protocol), modelID)
+		if _, exists := index[k]; !exists {
+			index[k] = mc
+		}
+	}
+	return index
+}
+
+// populateCandidateProviders creates an LLMProvider for each candidate using the
+// pre-built model index and stores it in out. Candidates absent from the index are
+// skipped with a warning; they inherit the primary provider's credentials at runtime.
+func populateCandidateProviders(
+	index map[string]*config.ModelConfig,
+	workspacePath string,
+	candidates []providers.FallbackCandidate,
+	out map[string]providers.LLMProvider,
+) {
+	for _, c := range candidates {
+		key := providers.ModelKey(c.Provider, c.Model)
+		if _, exists := out[key]; exists {
+			continue
+		}
+		mc, found := index[key]
+		if !found {
+			logger.WarnCF(
+				"agent",
+				"fallback provider: no model_list entry found; will inherit primary provider credentials",
+				map[string]any{"provider": c.Provider, "model": c.Model},
+			)
+			continue
+		}
+		mCopy := *mc
+		if mCopy.Workspace == "" {
+			mCopy.Workspace = workspacePath
+		}
+		p, _, err := providers.CreateProviderFromConfig(&mCopy)
+		if err == nil {
+			out[key] = p
+		} else {
+			logger.WarnCF("agent", "fallback provider: failed to create provider",
+				map[string]any{"model": mc.Model, "error": err.Error()})
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// registerCandidateProviders is the test-facing entry point that wraps
+// buildModelIndex + populateCandidateProviders in a single call.
+func registerCandidateProviders(
+	cfg *config.Config,
+	candidates []providers.FallbackCandidate,
+	out map[string]providers.LLMProvider,
+) {
+	if cfg == nil || len(cfg.ModelList) == 0 || len(candidates) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	populateCandidateProviders(buildModelIndex(cfg), cfg.WorkspacePath(), candidates, out)
+}
+
 // resolveAgentWorkspace determines the workspace directory for an agent.
 func resolveAgentWorkspace(agentCfg *config.AgentConfig, defaults *config.AgentDefaults) string {
 	if agentCfg != nil && strings.TrimSpace(agentCfg.Workspace) != "" {
diff --git a/pkg/agent/instance_test.go b/pkg/agent/instance_test.go
index e296a18cb..78da6ed19 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/instance_test.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/instance_test.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/pkg/config"
 	"github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/pkg/media"
+	"github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/pkg/providers"
 )
 
 func TestNewAgentInstance_UsesDefaultsTemperatureAndMaxTokens(t *testing.T) {
@@ -248,6 +249,228 @@ func TestNewAgentInstance_AllowsMediaTempDirForReadListAndExec(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestRegisterCandidateProviders_NilCfgIsNoop verifies that passing a nil
+// config does not panic and leaves the output map empty.
+func TestRegisterCandidateProviders_NilCfgIsNoop(t *testing.T) {
+	out := map[string]providers.LLMProvider{}
+	registerCandidateProviders(nil, []providers.FallbackCandidate{{Provider: "openai", Model: "gpt-4o"}}, out)
+	if len(out) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected empty map, got %d entries", len(out))
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRegisterCandidateProviders_SkipsExistingKeys verifies that a key already
+// present in the output map is not overwritten.
+func TestRegisterCandidateProviders_SkipsExistingKeys(t *testing.T) {
+	existing := &mockProvider{}
+	key := providers.ModelKey("openai", "gpt-4o")
+	out := map[string]providers.LLMProvider{key: existing}
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			{Model: "openai/gpt-4o", APIKeys: config.SimpleSecureStrings("test-key")},
+		},
+	}
+	registerCandidateProviders(cfg, []providers.FallbackCandidate{{Provider: "openai", Model: "gpt-4o"}}, out)
+
+	if out[key] != existing {
+		t.Fatal("existing provider entry was overwritten; expected it to be preserved")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRegisterCandidateProviders_MatchesBareModelName verifies that a
+// model_list entry without a provider prefix (e.g. "gpt-4o") still matches a
+// candidate whose provider is "openai" — the default protocol that
+// ExtractProtocol assigns to bare names.
+func TestRegisterCandidateProviders_MatchesBareModelName(t *testing.T) {
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+	out := map[string]providers.LLMProvider{}
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			// Bare name — no "openai/" prefix. ExtractProtocol should
+			// assign "openai" as the default protocol.
+			{Model: "gpt-4o", APIBase: "https://api.openai.com/v1", Workspace: workspace},
+		},
+	}
+	registerCandidateProviders(cfg, []providers.FallbackCandidate{{Provider: "openai", Model: "gpt-4o"}}, out)
+
+	key := providers.ModelKey("openai", "gpt-4o")
+	if out[key] == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected CandidateProviders[%q] to be populated for bare model name", key)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRegisterCandidateProviders_MatchesWithProtocolPrefix verifies that a
+// model_list entry using full "provider/model" notation (e.g.
+// "gemini/gemma-3-27b-it") is matched correctly.
+func TestRegisterCandidateProviders_MatchesWithProtocolPrefix(t *testing.T) {
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+	out := map[string]providers.LLMProvider{}
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			{
+				Model:     "gemini/gemma-3-27b-it",
+				APIKeys:   config.SimpleSecureStrings("gemini-test-key"),
+				Workspace: workspace,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	registerCandidateProviders(cfg, []providers.FallbackCandidate{{Provider: "gemini", Model: "gemma-3-27b-it"}}, out)
+
+	key := providers.ModelKey("gemini", "gemma-3-27b-it")
+	if out[key] == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected CandidateProviders[%q] to be populated for protocol-prefixed model name", key)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRegisterCandidateProviders_EmptyCandidatesIsNoop verifies the early-exit
+// path when the candidates slice is empty — no index is built and the map
+// remains unchanged.
+func TestRegisterCandidateProviders_EmptyCandidatesIsNoop(t *testing.T) {
+	out := map[string]providers.LLMProvider{}
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			{Model: "openai/gpt-4o", APIKeys: config.SimpleSecureStrings("key")},
+		},
+	}
+	registerCandidateProviders(cfg, nil, out)
+	if len(out) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected empty map, got %d entries", len(out))
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRegisterCandidateProviders_EmptyModelListIsNoop verifies the early-exit
+// path when model_list is empty — no provider can be created.
+func TestRegisterCandidateProviders_EmptyModelListIsNoop(t *testing.T) {
+	out := map[string]providers.LLMProvider{}
+	cfg := &config.Config{}
+	registerCandidateProviders(cfg, []providers.FallbackCandidate{{Provider: "openai", Model: "gpt-4o"}}, out)
+	if len(out) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected empty map, got %d entries", len(out))
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRegisterCandidateProviders_FirstModelListEntryWinsForDuplicates verifies
+// that when model_list contains two entries with the same normalised
+// provider/model key, the first one is used (mirrors model_list precedence).
+func TestRegisterCandidateProviders_FirstModelListEntryWinsForDuplicates(t *testing.T) {
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+	out := map[string]providers.LLMProvider{}
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			{Model: "openai/gpt-4o", APIBase: "https://first.example.com/v1", Workspace: workspace},
+			{Model: "openai/gpt-4o", APIBase: "https://second.example.com/v1", Workspace: workspace},
+		},
+	}
+	registerCandidateProviders(cfg, []providers.FallbackCandidate{{Provider: "openai", Model: "gpt-4o"}}, out)
+
+	key := providers.ModelKey("openai", "gpt-4o")
+	if out[key] == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected CandidateProviders[%q] to be populated", key)
+	}
+	// Only one entry should be registered despite two model_list entries.
+	if len(out) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 1 entry, got %d", len(out))
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRegisterCandidateProviders_UnmatchedCandidateIsSkipped verifies that a
+// candidate with no matching model_list entry is silently skipped and does not
+// cause a panic or leave a nil entry in the map.
+func TestRegisterCandidateProviders_UnmatchedCandidateIsSkipped(t *testing.T) {
+	out := map[string]providers.LLMProvider{}
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			{Model: "openai/gpt-4o", APIKeys: config.SimpleSecureStrings("key")},
+		},
+	}
+	// "anthropic/claude-3-opus" has no matching model_list entry.
+	registerCandidateProviders(cfg, []providers.FallbackCandidate{{Provider: "anthropic", Model: "claude-3-opus"}}, out)
+
+	if len(out) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected empty map for unmatched candidate, got %d entries", len(out))
+	}
+}
+
+// TestNewAgentInstance_CandidateProvidersPopulatedForCrossProviderFallbacks
+// mirrors the exact scenario from bug #2140: primary model on OpenRouter with
+// Gemini fallbacks. Each entry must get its own provider instance so that
+// fallback requests go to the correct API endpoint, not the primary's.
+func TestNewAgentInstance_CandidateProvidersPopulatedForCrossProviderFallbacks(t *testing.T) {
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Agents: config.AgentsConfig{
+			Defaults: config.AgentDefaults{
+				Workspace:      workspace,
+				ModelName:      "mistral-small-3.1",
+				ModelFallbacks: []string{"gemma-3-27b", "gemini-images"},
+			},
+		},
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			{
+				ModelName: "mistral-small-3.1",
+				Model:     "openrouter/mistralai/mistral-small-3.1-24b-instruct:free",
+				APIBase:   "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
+				APIKeys:   config.SimpleSecureStrings("sk-or-test"),
+				Workspace: workspace,
+			},
+			{
+				ModelName: "gemma-3-27b",
+				Model:     "gemini/gemma-3-27b-it",
+				APIKeys:   config.SimpleSecureStrings("AIzaSy-test"),
+				Workspace: workspace,
+			},
+			{
+				ModelName: "gemini-images",
+				Model:     "gemini/gemini-2.5-flash-lite",
+				APIKeys:   config.SimpleSecureStrings("AIzaSy-test"),
+				Workspace: workspace,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	primaryProvider := &mockProvider{}
+	agent := NewAgentInstance(nil, &cfg.Agents.Defaults, cfg, primaryProvider)
+
+	wantKeys := []string{
+		providers.ModelKey("openrouter", "mistralai/mistral-small-3.1-24b-instruct:free"),
+		providers.ModelKey("gemini", "gemma-3-27b-it"),
+		providers.ModelKey("gemini", "gemini-2.5-flash-lite"),
+	}
+
+	for _, key := range wantKeys {
+		p, ok := agent.CandidateProviders[key]
+		if !ok {
+			t.Errorf("CandidateProviders missing key %q", key)
+			continue
+		}
+		if p == nil {
+			t.Errorf("CandidateProviders[%q] is nil", key)
+		}
+		// Each fallback must use its own provider, not the injected primary.
+		if p == primaryProvider {
+			t.Errorf(
+				"CandidateProviders[%q] is the same instance as the primary provider; fallback would inherit primary credentials",
+				key,
+			)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if t.Failed() {
+		t.Logf("CandidateProviders keys present: %v", func() []string {
+			keys := make([]string, 0, len(agent.CandidateProviders))
+			for k := range agent.CandidateProviders {
+				keys = append(keys, k)
+			}
+			return keys
+		}())
+	}
+}
+
 func TestNewAgentInstance_InvalidExecConfigDoesNotExit(t *testing.T) {
 	workspace := t.TempDir()
 
diff --git a/pkg/agent/loop.go b/pkg/agent/loop.go
index 624ff261b..092f528d4 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/loop.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/loop.go
@@ -2002,7 +2002,11 @@ turnLoop:
 					providerCtx,
 					activeCandidates,
 					func(ctx context.Context, provider, model string) (*providers.LLMResponse, error) {
-						return activeProvider.Chat(ctx, messagesForCall, toolDefsForCall, model, llmOpts)
+						candidateProvider := activeProvider
+						if cp, ok := ts.agent.CandidateProviders[providers.ModelKey(provider, model)]; ok {
+							candidateProvider = cp
+						}
+						return candidateProvider.Chat(ctx, messagesForCall, toolDefsForCall, model, llmOpts)
 					},
 				)
 				if fbErr != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/agent/loop_test.go b/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
index 9513d8aca..3d04b81cc 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
@@ -1839,6 +1839,164 @@ func TestProcessMessage_ModelRoutingUsesLightProvider(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestProcessMessage_FallbackUsesPerCandidateProvider is the loop-level test for
+// bug #2140. It verifies that when the primary model returns a rate-limit error
+// the fallback closure routes the retry to the fallback model's own provider
+// (its own api_base), not back to the primary provider's endpoint.
+func TestProcessMessage_FallbackUsesPerCandidateProvider(t *testing.T) {
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+
+	primaryCalls := 0
+	primaryServer := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		primaryCalls++
+		// Return 429 so FallbackChain classifies this as retriable and moves on.
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusTooManyRequests)
+		_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]any{
+			"error": map[string]any{
+				"message": "rate limit exceeded",
+				"type":    "rate_limit_error",
+			},
+		})
+	}))
+	defer primaryServer.Close()
+
+	fallbackCalls := 0
+	fallbackServer := newStrictChatCompletionTestServer(
+		t, "fallback", "gemma-3-27b-it", "fallback reply", &fallbackCalls,
+	)
+	defer fallbackServer.Close()
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Agents: config.AgentsConfig{
+			Defaults: config.AgentDefaults{
+				Workspace:         workspace,
+				ModelName:         "mistral-primary",
+				ModelFallbacks:    []string{"gemma-fallback"},
+				MaxTokens:         4096,
+				MaxToolIterations: 3,
+			},
+		},
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			{
+				ModelName: "mistral-primary",
+				Model:     "openrouter/mistralai/mistral-small-3.1",
+				APIBase:   primaryServer.URL,
+				APIKeys:   config.SimpleSecureStrings("primary-key"),
+				Workspace: workspace,
+			},
+			{
+				ModelName: "gemma-fallback",
+				Model:     "gemini/gemma-3-27b-it",
+				APIBase:   fallbackServer.URL,
+				APIKeys:   config.SimpleSecureStrings("fallback-key"),
+				Workspace: workspace,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	provider, _, err := providers.CreateProvider(cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("CreateProvider() error = %v", err)
+	}
+	msgBus := bus.NewMessageBus()
+	al := NewAgentLoop(cfg, msgBus, provider)
+	helper := testHelper{al: al}
+
+	resp := helper.executeAndGetResponse(t, context.Background(), bus.InboundMessage{
+		Channel:  "telegram",
+		SenderID: "user1",
+		ChatID:   "chat1",
+		Content:  "hi",
+		Peer:     bus.Peer{Kind: "direct", ID: "user1"},
+	})
+
+	if resp != "fallback reply" {
+		t.Fatalf("response = %q, want %q (fallback provider)", resp, "fallback reply")
+	}
+	if primaryCalls == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("primary server was never called; expected at least one attempt")
+	}
+	if fallbackCalls != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("fallback server calls = %d, want 1", fallbackCalls)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestProcessMessage_FallbackUsesActiveProviderWhenCandidateNotRegistered verifies
+// that when a candidate has no model_list entry it is absent from CandidateProviders
+// and the fallback closure falls back to activeProvider instead of panicking.
+func TestProcessMessage_FallbackUsesActiveProviderWhenCandidateNotRegistered(t *testing.T) {
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+
+	// Primary server: returns 429 on first call, succeeds on second.
+	// Both the primary and the unregistered fallback share this server
+	// (same api_base) so activeProvider routes both calls here.
+	callCount := 0
+	primaryServer := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		callCount++
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		if callCount == 1 {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusTooManyRequests)
+			_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]any{
+				"error": map[string]any{"message": "rate limit", "type": "rate_limit_error"},
+			})
+			return
+		}
+		// Second call (fallback via activeProvider) succeeds.
+		_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]any{
+			"choices": []map[string]any{
+				{"message": map[string]any{"content": "active provider reply"}, "finish_reason": "stop"},
+			},
+		})
+	}))
+	defer primaryServer.Close()
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Agents: config.AgentsConfig{
+			Defaults: config.AgentDefaults{
+				Workspace:         workspace,
+				ModelName:         "primary-model",
+				MaxTokens:         4096,
+				MaxToolIterations: 3,
+				// No model_list entry for this alias — absent from CandidateProviders.
+				ModelFallbacks: []string{"openrouter/fallback-model"},
+			},
+		},
+		ModelList: []*config.ModelConfig{
+			{
+				ModelName: "primary-model",
+				Model:     "openrouter/primary-model",
+				APIBase:   primaryServer.URL,
+				APIKeys:   config.SimpleSecureStrings("primary-key"),
+				Workspace: workspace,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	provider, _, err := providers.CreateProvider(cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("CreateProvider() error = %v", err)
+	}
+	msgBus := bus.NewMessageBus()
+	al := NewAgentLoop(cfg, msgBus, provider)
+
+	helper := testHelper{al: al}
+	resp := helper.executeAndGetResponse(t, context.Background(), bus.InboundMessage{
+		Channel:  "telegram",
+		SenderID: "user1",
+		ChatID:   "chat1",
+		Content:  "hi",
+		Peer:     bus.Peer{Kind: "direct", ID: "user1"},
+	})
+
+	if resp != "active provider reply" {
+		t.Fatalf("response = %q, want %q", resp, "active provider reply")
+	}
+	if callCount < 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("primary server calls = %d, want >= 2 (one 429 + one success via activeProvider)", callCount)
+	}
+}
+
 // TestToolResult_SilentToolDoesNotSendUserMessage verifies silent tools don't trigger outbound
 func TestToolResult_SilentToolDoesNotSendUserMessage(t *testing.T) {
 	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "agent-test-*")