diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/providers-settings.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/providers-settings.test.tsx
index 27c029b442c..d20f71b5ab4 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/providers-settings.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/providers-settings.test.tsx
@@ -97,4 +97,31 @@ describe('ProvidersSettings', () => {
     expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Remove Qwen Code' })).toBeNull()
     expect(screen.getByText(/managed by its own CLI/)).toBeTruthy()
   })
+
+  it('renders a Keys card for a backend-tagged provider with no PROVIDER_GROUPS prefix', async () => {
+    // A provider the backend catalog tags (provider/provider_label) but that has
+    // no desktop PROVIDER_GROUPS prefix row must still render its own card —
+    // this is the GUI/CLI drift fix: membership comes from the backend, not
+    // from the hand-maintained prefix list.
+    getEnvVars.mockResolvedValue({
+      WIDGETAI_API_KEY: {
+        advanced: false,
+        category: 'provider',
+        description: 'WidgetAI direct API',
+        is_password: true,
+        is_set: false,
+        provider: 'widgetai',
+        provider_label: 'WidgetAI',
+        redacted_value: null,
+        tools: [],
+        url: 'https://widgetai.example/keys'
+      }
+    })
+    listOAuthProviders.mockResolvedValue({ providers: [] })
+
+    const { ProvidersSettings } = await import('./providers-settings')
+    render(<ProvidersSettings onClose={vi.fn()} onViewChange={vi.fn()} view="keys" />)
+
+    expect(await screen.findByText('WidgetAI')).toBeTruthy()
+  })
 })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/providers-settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/providers-settings.tsx
index 2585e13995d..e0ae46e7da1 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/providers-settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/providers-settings.tsx
@@ -45,8 +45,17 @@ export const PROVIDER_VIEWS = ['accounts', 'keys'] as const
 export type ProviderView = (typeof PROVIDER_VIEWS)[number]
 
 // Group the env catalog by provider — one ListRow per vendor plus optional
-// advanced overrides (base URL, region, etc.). Groups without a key field and
-// the "Other" bucket are skipped.
+// advanced overrides (base URL, region, etc.). Groups without a key field are
+// skipped.
+//
+// Grouping key precedence:
+//   1. Backend `provider_label` / `provider` (from the unified provider catalog
+//      in hermes_cli/provider_catalog.py) — the SAME provider identity
+//      `hermes model` uses. This is authoritative: a provider tagged by the
+//      backend always renders a card, even with no PROVIDER_GROUPS row.
+//   2. Desktop prefix match (`providerGroup`) — legacy fallback for provider
+//      env vars that predate the backend tagging.
+// Only entries that resolve to neither (the "Other" bucket) are skipped.
 function buildProviderKeyGroups(vars: Record<string, EnvVarInfo>): ProviderKeyGroup[] {
   const buckets = new Map<string, [string, EnvVarInfo][]>()
 
@@ -55,7 +64,9 @@ function buildProviderKeyGroups(vars: Record<string, EnvVarInfo>): ProviderKeyGr
       continue
     }
 
-    const name = providerGroup(key)
+    // Prefer the backend-supplied provider label/id so the Keys tab groups by
+    // the same identity the CLI picker uses; fall back to the prefix guess.
+    const name = info.provider_label?.trim() || info.provider?.trim() || providerGroup(key)
 
     if (name === 'Other') {
       continue
@@ -73,6 +84,9 @@ function buildProviderKeyGroups(vars: Record<string, EnvVarInfo>): ProviderKeyGr
       continue
     }
 
+    // Presentation overlay (priority, blurb, docs) is keyed by the prefix-based
+    // group name; when the backend introduced this provider it may have no
+    // overlay entry, so fall back to the backend/env metadata for display.
     const meta = providerMeta(name)
 
     groups.push({
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/types/hermes.ts b/apps/desktop/src/types/hermes.ts
index a497e3f10a9..b67cc3041a7 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/types/hermes.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/types/hermes.ts
@@ -108,6 +108,12 @@ export interface EnvVarInfo {
   description: string
   is_password: boolean
   is_set: boolean
+  // Backend-derived provider grouping hints (from the unified provider catalog
+  // in hermes_cli/provider_catalog.py). When present, the Keys tab groups by
+  // this provider identity — the SAME one `hermes model` uses — instead of
+  // desktop-only env-var prefix guesses. Empty for non-provider env vars.
+  provider?: string
+  provider_label?: string
   redacted_value: null | string
   tools: string[]
   url: null | string