diff --git a/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.css b/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.css
index 128485d..bac0a8c 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.css
+++ b/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.css
@@ -242,6 +242,20 @@
   gap: 8px;
 }
 
+/* What the backend will use when nothing is chosen here. */
+.assistant-defaults {
+  display: grid;
+  gap: 2px;
+  padding: 8px 10px;
+  border: 1px solid #dbe4ee;
+  border-radius: 10px;
+  background: #f8fafc;
+}
+
+.assistant-defaults .assistant-meta {
+  margin: 0;
+}
+
 .assistant-add-credential {
   justify-self: start;
 }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.html b/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.html
index 4ad4fc1..a01163c 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.html
+++ b/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.html
@@ -43,10 +43,23 @@
       <div class="assistant-starters-head">
         <div>
           <p class="assistant-label">Assistant model</p>
+          <!-- Says what the run will use, so the panel does not have to be opened to find out. -->
+          @if (effectiveModelSummary(); as summary) {
+          <p class="assistant-copy">{{ summary }}</p>
+          } @else {
           <p class="assistant-copy">Provider credentials are managed by the backend.</p>
+          }
         </div>
+        <button
+          type="button"
+          class="assistant-section-toggle"
+          (click)="toggleModelPicker()"
+          [attr.aria-label]="modelPickerOpen() ? 'Collapse assistant model' : 'Expand assistant model'">
+          {{ modelPickerOpen() ? '−' : '+' }}
+        </button>
       </div>
 
+      @if (modelPickerOpen()) {
       <mat-checkbox
         [checked]="useDefaultConfiguration()"
         [disabled]="configurationLocked() || assistantBusy()"
@@ -58,6 +71,19 @@
       <p class="assistant-meta">The LLM configuration is locked for this session.</p>
       }
 
+      @if (useDefaultConfiguration()) {
+      <div class="assistant-defaults">
+        @if (defaultConfigurationSummary(); as summary) {
+        <p class="assistant-meta"><strong>{{ summary }}</strong></p>
+        } @else {
+        <p class="assistant-meta">The backend has not published a default provider and model.</p>
+        }
+        @for (phase of defaultPhaseModelSummary(); track phase.label) {
+        <p class="assistant-meta">{{ phase.label }}: {{ phase.model }}</p>
+        }
+      </div>
+      }
+
       @if (!useDefaultConfiguration()) {
       <div class="assistant-settings-fields">
         <mat-form-field appearance="outline">
@@ -188,6 +214,7 @@
       </div>
       }
       }
+      }
     </section>
 
     @if (assistantErrorMessage()) {
diff --git a/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.spec.ts
index 3977870..aa0c57f 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.spec.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.spec.ts
@@ -259,3 +259,145 @@ describe('FlowAssistant credentials', () => {
     expect(provider.options).toEqual([{ label: 'Gemini', value: 'Gemini' }]);
   });
 });
+
+describe('FlowAssistant quick prompts', () => {
+  function build() {
+    const assistant = {
+      getConfig: vi.fn(() => of({
+        defaultProvider: '',
+        defaultModel: '',
+        availableProvidersRetrieverUrl: '/retriever/LLM/providers',
+        availableModelsRetrieverUrl: '/retriever/LLM/models?provider={provider}',
+        defaultPhaseModels: {},
+        providerCatalogUrl: '/llm/providers'
+      })),
+      listProviders: vi.fn(() => of([])),
+      listModels: vi.fn(() => of([])),
+      areModelsOpen: vi.fn(() => of(false)),
+      listProviderCatalog: vi.fn(() => of([]))
+    };
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      providers: [
+        { provide: AssistantService, useValue: assistant },
+        { provide: NodeSettingsDialogService, useValue: { open: vi.fn((_input: unknown) => Promise.resolve(null)) } },
+        { provide: VaultService, useValue: { listSecrets: vi.fn(() => of([])) } },
+        {
+          provide: EditorStateHolder,
+          useValue: { currentFlow: vi.fn(() => null), activeFlowData: vi.fn(() => null) }
+        },
+        { provide: Authorization, useValue: { currentUser: vi.fn(() => null) } },
+        {
+          provide: AssistantSessionStore,
+          useValue: {
+            flowKey: vi.fn(() => 'flow-1'),
+            getSnapshot: vi.fn(() => null),
+            setSnapshot: vi.fn(),
+            clearSnapshot: vi.fn(),
+            cloneSnapshot: vi.fn((snapshot: unknown) => snapshot)
+          }
+        }
+      ]
+    });
+
+    return TestBed.createComponent(FlowAssistant).componentInstance as any;
+  }
+
+  afterEach(() => TestBed.resetTestingModule());
+
+  it('starts collapsed, like the other collapsible sections', () => {
+    expect(build().quickPromptsOpen()).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('starts with the assistant model panel collapsed too', () => {
+    // The signal and its toggle already existed; the template never used them, so the panel was
+    // permanently expanded and there was no way to fold it away.
+    expect(build().modelPickerOpen()).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('stays collapsed when a flow with no saved session is opened', async () => {
+    const component = build();
+    component.quickPromptsOpen.set(true);
+
+    await component.restoreSessionForFlow('flow-2');
+
+    expect(component.quickPromptsOpen()).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('FlowAssistant default configuration', () => {
+  function build(config: Record<string, unknown>) {
+    const assistant = {
+      getConfig: vi.fn(() => of(config)),
+      listProviders: vi.fn(() => of([])),
+      listModels: vi.fn(() => of([])),
+      areModelsOpen: vi.fn(() => of(false)),
+      listProviderCatalog: vi.fn(() => of([]))
+    };
+
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      providers: [
+        { provide: AssistantService, useValue: assistant },
+        { provide: NodeSettingsDialogService, useValue: { open: vi.fn((_input: unknown) => Promise.resolve(null)) } },
+        { provide: VaultService, useValue: { listSecrets: vi.fn(() => of([])) } },
+        {
+          provide: EditorStateHolder,
+          useValue: { currentFlow: vi.fn(() => null), activeFlowData: vi.fn(() => null) }
+        },
+        { provide: Authorization, useValue: { currentUser: vi.fn(() => null) } },
+        {
+          provide: AssistantSessionStore,
+          useValue: {
+            flowKey: vi.fn(() => 'flow-1'),
+            getSnapshot: vi.fn(() => null),
+            setSnapshot: vi.fn(),
+            clearSnapshot: vi.fn(),
+            cloneSnapshot: vi.fn((snapshot: unknown) => snapshot)
+          }
+        }
+      ]
+    });
+
+    const component = TestBed.createComponent(FlowAssistant).componentInstance as any;
+    component.assistantConfig.set(config);
+    return component;
+  }
+
+  afterEach(() => TestBed.resetTestingModule());
+
+  it('names the backend default while Use default configuration is on', () => {
+    // Ticking the box said a default applied without ever saying which one.
+    const component = build({ defaultProvider: 'InternalOllama', defaultModel: 'llama3.2:3b', defaultPhaseModels: {} });
+
+    expect(component.useDefaultConfiguration()).toBe(true);
+    expect(component.defaultConfigurationSummary()).toBe('InternalOllama \u00b7 llama3.2:3b');
+    expect(component.effectiveModelSummary()).toBe('Default: InternalOllama \u00b7 llama3.2:3b');
+  });
+
+  it('lists only the phases the backend actually overrides', () => {
+    const component = build({
+      defaultProvider: 'InternalOllama',
+      defaultModel: 'llama3.2:3b',
+      defaultPhaseModels: { planningModel: 'qwen2.5:7b', jsonModel: '  ', repairModel: undefined }
+    });
+
+    expect(component.defaultPhaseModelSummary()).toEqual([{ label: 'Planning', model: 'qwen2.5:7b' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('says nothing rather than something empty when no default was published', () => {
+    const component = build({ defaultProvider: '', defaultModel: '', defaultPhaseModels: {} });
+
+    expect(component.defaultConfigurationSummary()).toBeNull();
+    expect(component.effectiveModelSummary()).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('summarises the chosen provider and model once the default is turned off', () => {
+    const component = build({ defaultProvider: 'InternalOllama', defaultModel: 'llama3.2:3b', defaultPhaseModels: {} });
+
+    component.useDefaultConfiguration.set(false);
+    component.selectedProvider.set('Gemini');
+    component.selectedModel.set('gemini-2.5-flash');
+
+    expect(component.effectiveModelSummary()).toBe('Gemini \u00b7 gemini-2.5-flash');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.ts b/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.ts
index f73af95..8b86298 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/flow-assistant/flow-assistant.ts
@@ -84,7 +84,8 @@ export class FlowAssistant implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
   readonly credentialSaving = signal(false);
   readonly advancedModelsOpen = signal(false);
   readonly modelPickerOpen = signal(false);
-  readonly quickPromptsOpen = signal(true);
+  /** Closed on arrival, like the other collapsible sections: the prompt box is what you came for. */
+  readonly quickPromptsOpen = signal(false);
   readonly assistantErrorMessage = signal<string | null>(null);
   readonly lastFailedPrompt = signal<string | null>(null);
   readonly lastSubmittedPrompt = signal('');
@@ -205,6 +206,37 @@ export class FlowAssistant implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
   readonly currentFlow = this.editorState.currentFlow;
   readonly currentDraft = computed(() => this.sessionState()?.currentDraftFlow ?? null);
   readonly configurationLocked = computed(() => !!this.sessionState()?.id);
+  /**
+   * What the backend says it will use when nothing is chosen here. It has always been in the
+   * config payload alongside the retriever URLs; the panel just never showed it, so ticking Use
+   * default configuration told you a default applied without ever saying which.
+   */
+  readonly defaultConfigurationSummary = computed(() => {
+    const config = this.assistantConfig();
+    const parts = [config?.defaultProvider?.trim(), config?.defaultModel?.trim()].filter((part) => !!part);
+    return parts.length ? parts.join(' \u00b7 ') : null;
+  });
+
+  /** The phases the backend overrides, if any. Silence here means they all use the main model. */
+  readonly defaultPhaseModelSummary = computed(() => {
+    const phases = this.assistantConfig()?.defaultPhaseModels;
+    return [
+      { label: 'Planning', model: phases?.planningModel?.trim() },
+      { label: 'JSON', model: phases?.jsonModel?.trim() },
+      { label: 'Repair', model: phases?.repairModel?.trim() }
+    ].filter((entry): entry is { label: string; model: string } => !!entry.model);
+  });
+
+  /** What the run will use, readable with the panel collapsed. */
+  readonly effectiveModelSummary = computed(() => {
+    if (this.useDefaultConfiguration()) {
+      const summary = this.defaultConfigurationSummary();
+      return summary ? `Default: ${summary}` : null;
+    }
+    const parts = [this.selectedProvider().trim(), this.selectedModel().trim()].filter((part) => !!part);
+    return parts.length ? parts.join(' \u00b7 ') : null;
+  });
+
   readonly providerNeedsCredential = computed(() =>
     !!this.selectedProvider().trim() && !this.isInternalProvider(this.selectedProvider())
   );
@@ -892,7 +924,7 @@ export class FlowAssistant implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
     if (!snapshot) {
       this.prompt.set('');
       this.modelPickerOpen.set(false);
-      this.quickPromptsOpen.set(true);
+      this.quickPromptsOpen.set(false);
       this.sessionState.set(null);
       this.localMessages.set([]);
       this.assistantErrorMessage.set(null);