diff --git a/assistant/src/memory/db-init.ts b/assistant/src/memory/db-init.ts
index 047b1badb12..9de83d08a12 100644
--- a/assistant/src/memory/db-init.ts
+++ b/assistant/src/memory/db-init.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import {
   migrateBackfillContactInteractionStats,
   migrateBackfillGuardianPrincipalId,
   migrateBackfillInlineAttachmentsToDisk,
+  migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel,
   migrateBackfillUsageCacheAccounting,
   migrateCallSessionInviteMetadata,
   migrateCallSessionMode,
@@ -422,6 +423,7 @@ export function initializeDb(): void {
     migrateCreateProviderConnections,
     migrateProviderConnectionStatusLabel,
     migrateMemoryRetrospectiveState,
+    migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel,
   ];
 
   // Run each migration step, catching and logging individual failures so one
diff --git a/assistant/src/memory/migrations/246-backfill-provider-connection-label.ts b/assistant/src/memory/migrations/246-backfill-provider-connection-label.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e351e089640
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assistant/src/memory/migrations/246-backfill-provider-connection-label.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+import { type DrizzleDb, getSqliteFrom } from "../db-connection.js";
+
+/**
+ * One-shot backfill: set `label = name` for any `provider_connections` row
+ * whose `label` is NULL (or empty after trim). Migration 244 added the
+ * `label` column as nullable with no default, so every row that existed
+ * pre-244 (and any row created against an older client that didn't yet
+ * write a label) ended up with NULL.
+ *
+ * Why this matters for users: in 0.8.x the editor modal renders Display
+ * Name from `label` and shows the empty-state placeholder ("e.g. My
+ * OpenAI") whenever it's null. Users who created connections before the
+ * label field existed open the editor and see what looks like an empty
+ * field, then conclude their data was wiped during the upgrade.
+ *
+ * The fix is to give every pre-feature row a sensible default — its own
+ * connection name. The list view already falls back to `name` when label
+ * is empty (see ProvidersSheet.swift `connectionRow`), so this brings the
+ * editor into agreement with what's already on screen.
+ *
+ * Idempotency: guarded by `memory_checkpoints` so a second boot won't
+ * re-clobber a label the user has intentionally cleared after the
+ * backfill ran. New rows created post-backfill follow the normal
+ * label-is-optional contract.
+ */
+export function migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(database: DrizzleDb): void {
+  const raw = getSqliteFrom(database);
+  const checkpointKey = "backfill_provider_connection_label";
+
+  const checkpoint = raw
+    .query(`SELECT 1 FROM memory_checkpoints WHERE key = ?`)
+    .get(checkpointKey);
+  if (checkpoint) return;
+
+  // Guard: skip if the table doesn't exist yet (first-boot edge case where
+  // migration 243 hasn't run, e.g. fresh install ordering test harness).
+  const tableExists = raw
+    .query(
+      `SELECT 1 FROM sqlite_master WHERE type = 'table' AND name = 'provider_connections'`,
+    )
+    .get();
+  if (!tableExists) {
+    raw
+      .query(
+        `INSERT OR IGNORE INTO memory_checkpoints (key, value, updated_at) VALUES (?, '1', ?)`,
+      )
+      .run(checkpointKey, Date.now());
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // Guard: also skip if the label column hasn't been added yet (migration
+  // 244 hasn't run). Treat as no-op + don't checkpoint, so the backfill
+  // runs the next time it gets a chance against a populated schema.
+  const columns = raw
+    .query(`PRAGMA table_info(provider_connections)`)
+    .all() as Array<{ name: string }>;
+  if (!columns.some((c) => c.name === "label")) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    raw.exec("BEGIN");
+
+    raw.exec(/*sql*/ `
+      UPDATE provider_connections
+      SET label = name
+      WHERE label IS NULL OR TRIM(label) = ''
+    `);
+
+    raw
+      .query(
+        `INSERT OR IGNORE INTO memory_checkpoints (key, value, updated_at) VALUES (?, '1', ?)`,
+      )
+      .run(checkpointKey, Date.now());
+
+    raw.exec("COMMIT");
+  } catch (err) {
+    raw.exec("ROLLBACK");
+    throw err;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/assistant/src/memory/migrations/__tests__/246-backfill-provider-connection-label.test.ts b/assistant/src/memory/migrations/__tests__/246-backfill-provider-connection-label.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c5a97334328
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assistant/src/memory/migrations/__tests__/246-backfill-provider-connection-label.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+import { Database } from "bun:sqlite";
+import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+
+import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/bun-sqlite";
+
+import { getSqliteFrom } from "../../db-connection.js";
+import * as schema from "../../schema.js";
+import { migrateCreateProviderConnections } from "../243-provider-connections.js";
+import { migrateProviderConnectionStatusLabel } from "../244-provider-connection-status-label.js";
+import { migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel } from "../246-backfill-provider-connection-label.js";
+
+interface ConnectionRow {
+  name: string;
+  label: string | null;
+}
+
+function createTestDb() {
+  const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+  sqlite.exec("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL");
+  sqlite.exec("PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON");
+  return drizzle(sqlite, { schema });
+}
+
+/// Ensure the `memory_checkpoints` table exists in test DBs — it's normally
+/// provisioned by earlier infra migrations that the test harness doesn't
+/// pull in. Schema mirrors what other backfill migrations expect.
+function ensureCheckpointsTable(db: ReturnType<typeof createTestDb>): void {
+  const raw = getSqliteFrom(db);
+  raw.exec(`
+    CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS memory_checkpoints (
+      key TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+      value TEXT,
+      updated_at INTEGER
+    )
+  `);
+}
+
+/// Bring the test DB up to the state right before migration 246 runs:
+/// provider_connections table present + status/label columns added.
+function prepareSchemaThroughMigration244(
+  db: ReturnType<typeof createTestDb>,
+): void {
+  migrateCreateProviderConnections(db);
+  migrateProviderConnectionStatusLabel(db);
+  ensureCheckpointsTable(db);
+}
+
+describe("migration 246 — backfill provider_connection label", () => {
+  test("sets label = name for rows where label is NULL", () => {
+    const db = createTestDb();
+    const raw = getSqliteFrom(db);
+    prepareSchemaThroughMigration244(db);
+
+    // Insert a row with label = NULL (simulating a pre-244 connection).
+    const now = Date.now();
+    raw
+      .query(
+        `INSERT INTO provider_connections (name, provider, auth, status, label, created_at, updated_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, 'active', NULL, ?, ?)`,
+      )
+      .run("anthropic-personal", "anthropic", JSON.stringify({ type: "api_key", credential: "credential/anthropic/api_key" }), now, now);
+
+    migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(db);
+
+    const row = raw
+      .query(`SELECT name, label FROM provider_connections WHERE name = ?`)
+      .get("anthropic-personal") as ConnectionRow;
+    expect(row.label).toBe("anthropic-personal");
+  });
+
+  test("sets label = name for rows where label is empty/whitespace", () => {
+    const db = createTestDb();
+    const raw = getSqliteFrom(db);
+    prepareSchemaThroughMigration244(db);
+
+    const now = Date.now();
+    raw
+      .query(
+        `INSERT INTO provider_connections (name, provider, auth, status, label, created_at, updated_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, 'active', ?, ?, ?)`,
+      )
+      .run("openai-empty", "openai", JSON.stringify({ type: "api_key", credential: "credential/openai/api_key" }), "", now, now);
+    raw
+      .query(
+        `INSERT INTO provider_connections (name, provider, auth, status, label, created_at, updated_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, 'active', ?, ?, ?)`,
+      )
+      .run("openai-whitespace", "openai", JSON.stringify({ type: "api_key", credential: "credential/openai/api_key" }), "   ", now, now);
+
+    migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(db);
+
+    const empty = raw
+      .query(`SELECT label FROM provider_connections WHERE name = ?`)
+      .get("openai-empty") as ConnectionRow;
+    const whitespace = raw
+      .query(`SELECT label FROM provider_connections WHERE name = ?`)
+      .get("openai-whitespace") as ConnectionRow;
+    expect(empty.label).toBe("openai-empty");
+    expect(whitespace.label).toBe("openai-whitespace");
+  });
+
+  test("does NOT overwrite rows where the user has set a non-empty label", () => {
+    const db = createTestDb();
+    const raw = getSqliteFrom(db);
+    prepareSchemaThroughMigration244(db);
+
+    const now = Date.now();
+    raw
+      .query(
+        `INSERT INTO provider_connections (name, provider, auth, status, label, created_at, updated_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, 'active', ?, ?, ?)`,
+      )
+      .run("anthropic-work", "anthropic", JSON.stringify({ type: "api_key", credential: "credential/anthropic/api_key" }), "Anthropic — Work", now, now);
+
+    migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(db);
+
+    const row = raw
+      .query(`SELECT label FROM provider_connections WHERE name = ?`)
+      .get("anthropic-work") as ConnectionRow;
+    expect(row.label).toBe("Anthropic — Work");
+  });
+
+  test("is idempotent — second run does not re-clobber a later user-cleared label", () => {
+    const db = createTestDb();
+    const raw = getSqliteFrom(db);
+    prepareSchemaThroughMigration244(db);
+
+    const now = Date.now();
+    raw
+      .query(
+        `INSERT INTO provider_connections (name, provider, auth, status, label, created_at, updated_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, 'active', NULL, ?, ?)`,
+      )
+      .run("anthropic-personal", "anthropic", JSON.stringify({ type: "api_key", credential: "credential/anthropic/api_key" }), now, now);
+
+    // First run: backfills NULL → "anthropic-personal".
+    migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(db);
+    expect(
+      (raw.query(`SELECT label FROM provider_connections WHERE name = ?`).get("anthropic-personal") as ConnectionRow).label,
+    ).toBe("anthropic-personal");
+
+    // User clears the label after the backfill ran.
+    raw.query(`UPDATE provider_connections SET label = NULL WHERE name = ?`).run("anthropic-personal");
+
+    // Second run: should NOT re-clobber the user's deliberate clear, because
+    // the checkpoint was set on the first successful run.
+    migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(db);
+    expect(
+      (raw.query(`SELECT label FROM provider_connections WHERE name = ?`).get("anthropic-personal") as ConnectionRow).label,
+    ).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test("checkpoint is set after a successful run", () => {
+    const db = createTestDb();
+    const raw = getSqliteFrom(db);
+    prepareSchemaThroughMigration244(db);
+
+    migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(db);
+
+    const checkpoint = raw
+      .query(`SELECT key FROM memory_checkpoints WHERE key = ?`)
+      .get("backfill_provider_connection_label") as { key: string } | null;
+    expect(checkpoint).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(checkpoint?.key).toBe("backfill_provider_connection_label");
+  });
+
+  test("no-op when provider_connections table is absent (first-boot edge)", () => {
+    const db = createTestDb();
+    ensureCheckpointsTable(db);
+
+    // Don't run 243/244 — the table doesn't exist yet.
+    expect(() => migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(db)).not.toThrow();
+
+    // Checkpoint should still get set so we don't retry forever.
+    const raw = getSqliteFrom(db);
+    const checkpoint = raw
+      .query(`SELECT key FROM memory_checkpoints WHERE key = ?`)
+      .get("backfill_provider_connection_label");
+    expect(checkpoint).not.toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test("no-op when label column is absent (244 hasn't run yet) — no checkpoint set", () => {
+    const db = createTestDb();
+    const raw = getSqliteFrom(db);
+    migrateCreateProviderConnections(db); // 243 only, NOT 244
+    ensureCheckpointsTable(db);
+
+    expect(() => migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel(db)).not.toThrow();
+
+    // Crucially: no checkpoint should be set, so the backfill can run later
+    // once 244 has provisioned the column.
+    const checkpoint = raw
+      .query(`SELECT key FROM memory_checkpoints WHERE key = ?`)
+      .get("backfill_provider_connection_label");
+    expect(checkpoint).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/assistant/src/memory/migrations/index.ts b/assistant/src/memory/migrations/index.ts
index e038f477fd6..3bb81f47f6b 100644
--- a/assistant/src/memory/migrations/index.ts
+++ b/assistant/src/memory/migrations/index.ts
@@ -207,6 +207,7 @@ export { migrateMessageBookmarks } from "./242-message-bookmarks.js";
 export { migrateCreateProviderConnections } from "./243-provider-connections.js";
 export { migrateProviderConnectionStatusLabel } from "./244-provider-connection-status-label.js";
 export { migrateMemoryRetrospectiveState } from "./245-memory-retrospective-state.js";
+export { migrateBackfillProviderConnectionLabel } from "./246-backfill-provider-connection-label.js";
 export {
   MIGRATION_REGISTRY,
   type MigrationRegistryEntry,