diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/run.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/run.ts
index d698a9d2a..46ee973a7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/run.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/agent/run.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ export function addRunOptions(cmd: Command): Command {
     .option(
       "--provider <provider>",
       "Agent provider, or provider/model (e.g. codex or codex/gpt-5.4)",
-      "claude",
     )
     .option(
       "--model <model>",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/shared.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/shared.ts
index 1d02f9e68..3087b88a7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/shared.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/shared.ts
@@ -86,20 +86,20 @@ export function formatDurationMs(durationMs: number): string {
 function resolveScheduleTarget(args: {
   targetValue: string | undefined;
   hasExplicitProviderSelection: boolean;
-  newAgentTarget: ScheduleTarget;
+  createNewAgentTarget: () => ScheduleTarget;
 }): ScheduleTarget {
-  const { targetValue, hasExplicitProviderSelection, newAgentTarget } = args;
+  const { targetValue, hasExplicitProviderSelection, createNewAgentTarget } = args;
   const currentAgentId = process.env.PASEO_AGENT_ID?.trim();
 
   if (!targetValue) {
     if (currentAgentId && !hasExplicitProviderSelection) {
       return { type: "self", agentId: currentAgentId };
     }
-    return newAgentTarget;
+    return createNewAgentTarget();
   }
 
   if (targetValue === "new-agent") {
-    return newAgentTarget;
+    return createNewAgentTarget();
   }
 
   if (hasExplicitProviderSelection) {
@@ -155,22 +155,23 @@ export function parseScheduleCreateInput(options: {
 
   const targetValue = options.target?.trim();
   const hasExplicitProviderSelection = options.provider !== undefined;
-  const resolvedProviderModel = resolveProviderAndModel({
-    provider: options.provider,
-    defaultProvider: "claude",
-  });
-  const newAgentTarget: ScheduleTarget = {
-    type: "new-agent",
-    config: {
-      provider: resolvedProviderModel.provider,
-      cwd: process.cwd(),
-      ...(resolvedProviderModel.model ? { model: resolvedProviderModel.model } : {}),
-    },
+  const createNewAgentTarget = (): ScheduleTarget => {
+    const resolvedProviderModel = resolveProviderAndModel({
+      provider: options.provider,
+    });
+    return {
+      type: "new-agent",
+      config: {
+        provider: resolvedProviderModel.provider,
+        cwd: process.cwd(),
+        ...(resolvedProviderModel.model ? { model: resolvedProviderModel.model } : {}),
+      },
+    };
   };
   const target = resolveScheduleTarget({
     targetValue,
     hasExplicitProviderSelection,
-    newAgentTarget,
+    createNewAgentTarget,
   });
 
   const maxRuns =
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/provider-model.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/provider-model.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1ce6874db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/provider-model.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from "vitest";
+
+import { resolveProviderAndModel } from "./provider-model.js";
+
+describe("resolveProviderAndModel", () => {
+  test("requires an explicit provider when no default is supplied", () => {
+    expect(() => resolveProviderAndModel({})).toThrow(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        code: "MISSING_PROVIDER",
+        message: "Provider is required",
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  test("uses an explicit default provider when supplied by a scoped caller", () => {
+    expect(resolveProviderAndModel({ defaultProvider: "claude" })).toEqual({
+      provider: "claude",
+      model: undefined,
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("parses provider/model shorthand", () => {
+    expect(resolveProviderAndModel({ provider: "codex/gpt-5.4" })).toEqual({
+      provider: "codex",
+      model: "gpt-5.4",
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("rejects conflicting model values", () => {
+    expect(() =>
+      resolveProviderAndModel({ provider: "codex/gpt-5.4", model: "gpt-5.4-mini" }),
+    ).toThrow(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        code: "CONFLICTING_MODEL_OPTIONS",
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/provider-model.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/provider-model.ts
index 7458e6c6d..a610c396b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/utils/provider-model.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/provider-model.ts
@@ -14,9 +14,19 @@ export interface ResolvedProviderModel {
 export function resolveProviderAndModel(
   options: ResolveProviderAndModelOptions,
 ): ResolvedProviderModel {
-  const providerInput = options.provider?.trim() || options.defaultProvider || "claude";
+  const providerInput = options.provider?.trim() || options.defaultProvider;
   const modelInput = options.model?.trim();
 
+  if (!providerInput) {
+    const error: CommandError = {
+      code: "MISSING_PROVIDER",
+      message: "Provider is required",
+      details:
+        "Pass --provider <provider> or --provider <provider>/<model>. Use `paseo provider ls` to see providers and `paseo provider models <provider>` to see models.",
+    };
+    throw error;
+  }
+
   if (options.model !== undefined && !modelInput) {
     const error: CommandError = {
       code: "INVALID_MODEL",