diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/setup-commands.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/setup-commands.ts
index 1619a80a..0aeac724 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/setup-commands.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/setup-commands.ts
@@ -95,7 +95,6 @@ function shouldShowSetupEntryMenu(
     llmBackend?: KtxSetupLlmBackend;
     anthropicApiKeyEnv?: string;
     anthropicApiKeyFile?: string;
-    llmModel?: string;
     vertexProject?: string;
     vertexLocation?: string;
     skipLlm?: boolean;
@@ -166,7 +165,6 @@ function shouldShowSetupEntryMenu(
     'llmBackend',
     'anthropicApiKeyEnv',
     'anthropicApiKeyFile',
-    'llmModel',
     'vertexProject',
     'vertexLocation',
     'skipLlm',
@@ -229,7 +227,6 @@ export function registerSetupCommands(program: Command, context: KtxCliCommandCo
     .addOption(
       new Option('--anthropic-api-key-file <path>', 'File containing the Anthropic API key').hideHelp(),
     )
-    .addOption(new Option('--llm-model <model>', 'LLM model ID or backend model alias').hideHelp())
     .addOption(new Option('--vertex-project <project>', 'Google Vertex AI project ID, env:NAME, or file:/path').hideHelp())
     .addOption(new Option('--vertex-location <location>', 'Google Vertex AI location, env:NAME, or file:/path').hideHelp())
     .addOption(new Option('--skip-llm', 'Leave LLM setup incomplete for now').hideHelp().default(false))
@@ -420,7 +417,6 @@ export function registerSetupCommands(program: Command, context: KtxCliCommandCo
       ...(options.llmBackend ? { llmBackend: options.llmBackend } : {}),
       ...(options.anthropicApiKeyEnv ? { anthropicApiKeyEnv: options.anthropicApiKeyEnv } : {}),
       ...(options.anthropicApiKeyFile ? { anthropicApiKeyFile: options.anthropicApiKeyFile } : {}),
-      ...(options.llmModel ? { llmModel: options.llmModel } : {}),
       ...(options.vertexProject ? { vertexProject: options.vertexProject } : {}),
       ...(options.vertexLocation ? { vertexLocation: options.vertexLocation } : {}),
       skipLlm: options.skipLlm === true,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup.ts
index a991367e..46ea16ae 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup.ts
@@ -85,7 +85,6 @@ export type KtxSetupArgs =
       llmBackend?: KtxSetupLlmBackend;
       anthropicApiKeyEnv?: string;
       anthropicApiKeyFile?: string;
-      llmModel?: string;
       vertexProject?: string;
       vertexLocation?: string;
       skipLlm: boolean;
@@ -699,7 +698,6 @@ async function runKtxSetupInner(args: KtxSetupArgs, io: KtxCliIo, deps: KtxSetup
             ...(args.llmBackend ? { llmBackend: args.llmBackend } : {}),
             ...(args.anthropicApiKeyEnv ? { anthropicApiKeyEnv: args.anthropicApiKeyEnv } : {}),
             ...(args.anthropicApiKeyFile ? { anthropicApiKeyFile: args.anthropicApiKeyFile } : {}),
-            ...(args.llmModel ? { llmModel: args.llmModel } : {}),
             ...(args.vertexProject ? { vertexProject: args.vertexProject } : {}),
             ...(args.vertexLocation ? { vertexLocation: args.vertexLocation } : {}),
             forcePrompt: forcePromptSteps.has('models') || runOnly === 'models',
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/index.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/index.test.ts
index 57ac4901..eef511fb 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/index.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/index.test.ts
@@ -1136,8 +1136,6 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
           '--no-input',
           '--anthropic-api-key-env',
           'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY',
-          '--llm-model',
-          'claude-sonnet-4-6',
         ],
         setupIo.io,
         { setup },
@@ -1151,7 +1149,6 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         inputMode: 'disabled',
         cliVersion,
         anthropicApiKeyEnv: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
-        llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
         skipLlm: false,
       }),
       setupIo.io,
@@ -1175,8 +1172,6 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
           'local-gcp-project',
           '--vertex-location',
           'us-east5',
-          '--llm-model',
-          'claude-sonnet-4-6',
         ],
         setupIo.io,
         { setup },
@@ -1192,14 +1187,13 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         llmBackend: 'vertex',
         vertexProject: 'local-gcp-project',
         vertexLocation: 'us-east5',
-        llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
         skipLlm: false,
       }),
       setupIo.io,
     );
   });
 
-  it('dispatches the provider-neutral LLM model setup flag to the setup runner', async () => {
+  it('rejects the removed --llm-model setup flag', async () => {
     const setup = vi.fn(async () => 0);
     const setupIo = makeIo();
 
@@ -1218,20 +1212,10 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         setupIo.io,
         { setup },
       ),
-    ).resolves.toBe(0);
+    ).resolves.toBe(1);
 
-    expect(setup).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      expect.objectContaining({
-        command: 'run',
-        projectDir: tempDir,
-        inputMode: 'disabled',
-        cliVersion,
-        llmBackend: 'claude-code',
-        llmModel: 'opus',
-        skipLlm: false,
-      }),
-      setupIo.io,
-    );
+    expect(setup).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(setupIo.stderr()).toContain("unknown option '--llm-model'");
   });
 
   it('rejects conflicting Anthropic credential setup flags', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/setup.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/setup.test.ts
index 9b8bf689..ecb20520 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/setup.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/setup.test.ts
@@ -1305,7 +1305,6 @@ describe('setup status', () => {
           yes: true,
           cliVersion: '0.2.0',
           anthropicApiKeyEnv: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
-          llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
           skipLlm: false,
           skipEmbeddings: true,
           databaseSchemas: [],
@@ -1322,7 +1321,6 @@ describe('setup status', () => {
         projectDir: tempDir,
         inputMode: 'disabled',
         anthropicApiKeyEnv: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
-        llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
         skipLlm: false,
       }),
       testIo.io,
@@ -1347,7 +1345,6 @@ describe('setup status', () => {
           llmBackend: 'vertex',
           vertexProject: 'local-gcp-project',
           vertexLocation: 'us-east5',
-          llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
           skipLlm: false,
           skipEmbeddings: true,
           databaseSchemas: [],
@@ -1366,7 +1363,6 @@ describe('setup status', () => {
         llmBackend: 'vertex',
         vertexProject: 'local-gcp-project',
         vertexLocation: 'us-east5',
-        llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
         skipLlm: false,
       }),
       testIo.io,
@@ -1390,7 +1386,6 @@ describe('setup status', () => {
           yes: true,
           cliVersion: '0.2.0',
           anthropicApiKeyEnv: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
-          llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
           skipLlm: false,
           embeddingBackend: 'openai',
           embeddingApiKeyEnv: 'OPENAI_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
@@ -1658,7 +1653,6 @@ describe('setup status', () => {
           yes: true,
           cliVersion: '0.2.0',
           anthropicApiKeyEnv: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
-          llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
           skipLlm: false,
           embeddingBackend: 'openai',
           embeddingApiKeyEnv: 'OPENAI_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
@@ -2657,7 +2651,6 @@ describe('setup status', () => {
           yes: true,
           cliVersion: '0.2.0',
           anthropicApiKeyEnv: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
-          llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
           skipLlm: false,
           skipEmbeddings: false,
           databaseSchemas: [],