[BUG] Fable 5 missing entirely from /model picker in CLI and VS Code on Max plan (present in Desktop/web, works via --model), v2.1.217

What's wrong

On a personal Max ($200/month) plan, Fable 5 is completely absent from the /model picker in both the Claude Code CLI and the official VS Code extension. It is not greyed out or disabled — there is simply no Fable row in the list. This differs from #73423 and #73333, where Fable appears but is disabled.

The same account shows Fable 5 normally in the /model picker of the Claude Desktop app and claude.ai web. Only the CLI and the VS Code extension are affected.

Access itself works: claude --model claude-fable-5 starts a working Fable 5 session, and /model fable inside a session selects it. So the entitlement is present. Only the picker's model list is wrong on CLI and VS Code.

Steps to reproduce

1. Personal Max plan with Fable 5 access (confirmed by the web/desktop picker and by --model claude-fable-5 working).
2. Open the CLI or the VS Code extension and run /model.
3. Fable 5 is not in the list.

What I've tried (over 20+ days)

• Full restart of the CLI and VS Code
• claude update, confirmed on the latest version (2.1.217)
• Sign out and sign back in
• Clearing local cache
• Waiting 20+ days since the July 1 Fable redeploy

None changed the picker.

Distinguishing detail (not seen in the related issues)

• No ~/.claude/policy-limits.json on the machine, so this is not the allow_cobalt_plinth: false gate from #66827.
• ~/.claude.json does not contain hasAvailableSubscription, hasOpusPlanDefault, or subscriptionType at all. These keys are absent, not false. This differs from #76237, where hasAvailableSubscription is present and false.
• oauthAccount.billingType is stripe_subscription (active Max, personal individual org).
• Not a data-retention (ZDR) block: Fable runs via --model and appears in the web and desktop pickers.

Environment

• Claude Code: 2.1.217, native install (~/.local/share/claude/versions/, not npm)
• VS Code extension: anthropic.claude-code 2.1.217
• OS: macOS (Darwin 25.6.0), Apple Silicon
• Plan: personal Claude Max, $200/month

What should happen

Fable 5 should appear in the /model picker in the CLI and VS Code, as it already does in Desktop and web for the same account. Failing an immediate server-side fix, a supported way to force the picker's model list to refresh would help.

Related issues

#73423, #73333 (Fable shown but disabled, a different symptom), #76237 (missing on Max, hasAvailableSubscription: false), #66827 (policy-limits.json gate), #80115. Filing separately because the local signature here — subscription-status keys absent entirely, no policy file — is not captured by those.

Anthropic support reference: Intercom conversation 215475190352104.