diff --git a/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-arbitration.test.ts b/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-arbitration.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a25c7e6dc5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-arbitration.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import {
+  listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCandidatesByArbitration,
+  listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsByArbitration,
+  resolveExtensionHostRuntimeBackendOrderByArbitration,
+} from "./runtime-backend-arbitration.js";
+
+const entries = [
+  {
+    id: "capability.runtime-backend:embedding:local",
+    family: "capability.runtime-backend",
+    subsystemId: "embedding",
+    backendId: "local",
+    source: "builtin",
+    defaultRank: 0,
+    selectorKeys: ["local"],
+    capabilities: ["embed.query", "embed.batch"],
+    metadata: { autoSelectable: true },
+  },
+  {
+    id: "capability.runtime-backend:embedding:openai",
+    family: "capability.runtime-backend",
+    subsystemId: "embedding",
+    backendId: "openai",
+    source: "builtin",
+    defaultRank: 1,
+    selectorKeys: ["openai"],
+    capabilities: ["embed.query", "embed.batch"],
+    metadata: { autoSelectable: true },
+  },
+  {
+    id: "capability.runtime-backend:embedding:custom",
+    family: "capability.runtime-backend",
+    subsystemId: "embedding",
+    backendId: "custom",
+    source: "builtin",
+    defaultRank: 2,
+    selectorKeys: ["custom"],
+    capabilities: ["embed.query", "embed.batch"],
+    metadata: { autoSelectable: false },
+  },
+  {
+    id: "capability.runtime-backend:tts:edge",
+    family: "capability.runtime-backend",
+    subsystemId: "tts",
+    backendId: "edge",
+    source: "builtin",
+    defaultRank: 1,
+    selectorKeys: ["edge"],
+    capabilities: ["tts.synthesis"],
+  },
+] as const;
+
+describe("runtime backend arbitration", () => {
+  it("keeps candidates ranked by default rank inside a subsystem", () => {
+    expect(
+      listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCandidatesByArbitration({
+        entries,
+        subsystemId: "embedding",
+      }).map((entry) => entry.backendId),
+    ).toEqual(["local", "openai", "custom"]);
+  });
+
+  it("supports filtered runtime-family arbitration", () => {
+    expect(
+      listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsByArbitration({
+        entries,
+        subsystemId: "embedding",
+        include: (entry) => entry.metadata?.autoSelectable === true && entry.backendId !== "local",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual(["openai"]);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the preferred backend first without duplicating ranked entries", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveExtensionHostRuntimeBackendOrderByArbitration({
+        entries,
+        subsystemId: "embedding",
+        preferredBackendId: "openai",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual(["openai", "local", "custom"]);
+
+    expect(
+      resolveExtensionHostRuntimeBackendOrderByArbitration({
+        entries,
+        subsystemId: "embedding",
+        preferredBackendId: "fallback-only",
+        include: (entry) => entry.metadata?.autoSelectable === true,
+      }),
+    ).toEqual(["fallback-only", "local", "openai"]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-arbitration.ts b/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-arbitration.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..41f64905be3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-arbitration.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import type {
+  ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntry,
+  ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendSubsystemId,
+} from "./runtime-backend-catalog.js";
+
+type ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendArbitrationPredicate = (
+  entry: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntry,
+) => boolean;
+
+export function listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCandidatesByArbitration(params: {
+  entries: readonly ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntry[];
+  subsystemId: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendSubsystemId;
+  include?: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendArbitrationPredicate;
+}): readonly ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntry[] {
+  const include = params.include ?? (() => true);
+  return params.entries
+    .filter((entry) => entry.subsystemId === params.subsystemId && include(entry))
+    .toSorted((left, right) => left.defaultRank - right.defaultRank);
+}
+
+export function listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsByArbitration(params: {
+  entries: readonly ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntry[];
+  subsystemId: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendSubsystemId;
+  include?: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendArbitrationPredicate;
+}): readonly string[] {
+  return listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCandidatesByArbitration(params).map(
+    (entry) => entry.backendId,
+  );
+}
+
+export function resolveExtensionHostRuntimeBackendOrderByArbitration(params: {
+  entries: readonly ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntry[];
+  subsystemId: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendSubsystemId;
+  preferredBackendId: string;
+  include?: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendArbitrationPredicate;
+}): readonly string[] {
+  const ordered = listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsByArbitration(params);
+  if (!ordered.includes(params.preferredBackendId)) {
+    return [params.preferredBackendId, ...ordered];
+  }
+  return [
+    params.preferredBackendId,
+    ...ordered.filter((backendId) => backendId !== params.preferredBackendId),
+  ];
+}
diff --git a/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-catalog.ts b/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-catalog.ts
index 821ebdc4348..4416cd0500c 100644
--- a/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-catalog.ts
+++ b/src/extension-host/runtime-backend-catalog.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ import {
   normalizeExtensionHostMediaProviderId,
   resolveExtensionHostMediaRuntimeDefaultModelMetadata,
 } from "./media-runtime-backends.js";
+import {
+  listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsByArbitration,
+  resolveExtensionHostRuntimeBackendOrderByArbitration,
+} from "./runtime-backend-arbitration.js";
 import { listExtensionHostTtsRuntimeBackends } from "./tts-runtime-backends.js";
 
 export const EXTENSION_HOST_RUNTIME_BACKEND_FAMILY = "capability.runtime-backend";
@@ -78,9 +82,11 @@ export function listExtensionHostEmbeddingRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries(): readon
 }
 
 export function listExtensionHostEmbeddingRemoteRuntimeBackendIds(): readonly EmbeddingProviderId[] {
-  return listExtensionHostEmbeddingRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries()
-    .filter((entry) => entry.backendId !== "local" && entry.metadata?.autoSelectable === true)
-    .map((entry) => entry.backendId as EmbeddingProviderId);
+  return listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsByArbitration({
+    entries: listExtensionHostEmbeddingRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries(),
+    subsystemId: "embedding",
+    include: (entry) => entry.backendId !== "local" && entry.metadata?.autoSelectable === true,
+  }).map((entry) => entry as EmbeddingProviderId);
 }
 
 export function listExtensionHostMediaRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries(): readonly ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntry[] {
@@ -117,10 +123,11 @@ export function listExtensionHostMediaAutoRuntimeBackendIds(
   capability: MediaUnderstandingCapability,
 ): readonly string[] {
   const subsystemId = mapMediaCapabilityToSubsystem(capability);
-  return listExtensionHostMediaRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries()
-    .filter((entry) => entry.subsystemId === subsystemId && entry.metadata?.autoSelectable === true)
-    .toSorted((left, right) => left.defaultRank - right.defaultRank)
-    .map((entry) => entry.backendId);
+  return listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsByArbitration({
+    entries: listExtensionHostMediaRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries(),
+    subsystemId,
+    include: (entry) => entry.metadata?.autoSelectable === true,
+  });
 }
 
 export function resolveExtensionHostMediaRuntimeDefaultModel(params: {
@@ -163,21 +170,21 @@ export function listExtensionHostTtsRuntimeBackendIds(): readonly TtsProvider[]
 export function listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsForSubsystem(
   subsystemId: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendSubsystemId,
 ): readonly string[] {
-  return listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries()
-    .filter((entry) => entry.subsystemId === subsystemId)
-    .toSorted((left, right) => left.defaultRank - right.defaultRank)
-    .map((entry) => entry.backendId);
+  return listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsByArbitration({
+    entries: listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries(),
+    subsystemId,
+  });
 }
 
 export function resolveExtensionHostRuntimeBackendOrderForSubsystem(
   subsystemId: ExtensionHostRuntimeBackendSubsystemId,
   preferredBackendId: string,
 ): readonly string[] {
-  const ordered = listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendIdsForSubsystem(subsystemId);
-  if (!ordered.includes(preferredBackendId)) {
-    return [preferredBackendId, ...ordered];
-  }
-  return [preferredBackendId, ...ordered.filter((backendId) => backendId !== preferredBackendId)];
+  return resolveExtensionHostRuntimeBackendOrderByArbitration({
+    entries: listExtensionHostRuntimeBackendCatalogEntries(),
+    subsystemId,
+    preferredBackendId,
+  });
 }
 
 export function listExtensionHostMediaRuntimeBackendIds(
diff --git a/src/extension-host/tts-runtime-registry.ts b/src/extension-host/tts-runtime-registry.ts
index 7af49fcc99e..15449b2c0d0 100644
--- a/src/extension-host/tts-runtime-registry.ts
+++ b/src/extension-host/tts-runtime-registry.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import type { TtsProvider } from "../config/types.tts.js";
+import { resolveExtensionHostTtsRuntimeBackendOrder } from "./runtime-backend-catalog.js";
 import type { ResolvedTtsConfig } from "./tts-config.js";
 import {
   EXTENSION_HOST_TTS_RUNTIME_BACKEND_IDS,
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ export function isExtensionHostTtsProviderConfigured(
 }
 
 export function resolveExtensionHostTtsProviderOrder(primary: TtsProvider): TtsProvider[] {
-  return [primary, ...EXTENSION_HOST_TTS_PROVIDER_IDS.filter((provider) => provider !== primary)];
+  return [...resolveExtensionHostTtsRuntimeBackendOrder(primary)];
 }
 
 export function supportsExtensionHostTtsTelephony(provider: TtsProvider): boolean {