diff --git a/graphify/llm.py b/graphify/llm.py
index 75f637881..be38cbf72 100644
--- a/graphify/llm.py
+++ b/graphify/llm.py
@@ -272,8 +272,19 @@ def _load_custom_providers() -> dict[str, dict]:
     # the user's own global ~/.graphify/providers.json stays trusted.
     local_path = _custom_providers_path(global_=False)
     global_path = _custom_providers_path(global_=True)
+    # Running from $HOME makes the relative project-local path resolve to the
+    # global file itself. That is the user's own trusted config, not config
+    # injected by a repo, so it is not "local": warning about it is a false
+    # positive that only teaches people to export the bypass. On any stat
+    # error, resolve to "distinct" so the gate never silently relaxes.
+    try:
+        local_is_distinct = local_path.is_file() and not (
+            global_path.is_file() and local_path.samefile(global_path)
+        )
+    except OSError:
+        local_is_distinct = True
     allow_local = os.environ.get("GRAPHIFY_ALLOW_LOCAL_PROVIDERS", "").strip().lower() in ("1", "true", "yes")
-    if local_path.is_file() and not allow_local:
+    if local_is_distinct and not allow_local:
         print(
             f"[graphify] WARNING: ignoring project-local {local_path} (custom providers control "
             "where your corpus and API key are sent). Set GRAPHIFY_ALLOW_LOCAL_PROVIDERS=1 to load it.",
@@ -281,7 +292,7 @@ def _load_custom_providers() -> dict[str, dict]:
         )
 
     providers: dict[str, dict] = {}
-    paths = [local_path, global_path] if allow_local else [global_path]
+    paths = [local_path, global_path] if (allow_local and local_is_distinct) else [global_path]
     for path in paths:
         if path.is_file():
             try:
diff --git a/tests/test_provider_registry.py b/tests/test_provider_registry.py
index 0366c13ff..c4037d19c 100644
--- a/tests/test_provider_registry.py
+++ b/tests/test_provider_registry.py
@@ -109,6 +109,30 @@ def test_project_local_providers_loaded_with_optin(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     assert "lab" in loaded
 
 
+def test_local_path_that_is_the_global_file_is_not_local(tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys):
+    """Running from $HOME, ./.graphify/providers.json IS ~/.graphify/providers.json.
+
+    The user's own trusted global file must load without the project-local
+    warning — a false positive there only trains people to export the
+    GRAPHIFY_ALLOW_LOCAL_PROVIDERS bypass and disarm the F1 gate for real.
+    """
+    shared = tmp_path / ".graphify" / "providers.json"
+    shared.parent.mkdir()
+    shared.write_text(json.dumps({
+        "mine": {"base_url": "https://gateway.example/v1", "default_model": "m", "env_key": "K"}
+    }), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    from graphify import llm
+    monkeypatch.setattr(llm, "_custom_providers_path",
+                        lambda global_=True: shared if global_ else tmp_path / ".graphify" / "providers.json")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(llm, "BACKENDS", {**llm.BACKENDS})
+    monkeypatch.delenv("GRAPHIFY_ALLOW_LOCAL_PROVIDERS", raising=False)
+
+    loaded = llm._load_custom_providers()
+    assert "mine" in loaded
+    assert "ignoring project-local" not in capsys.readouterr().err
+
+
 def test_non_http_provider_base_url_rejected(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     """A provider whose base_url uses a non-http(s) scheme is skipped on load (F1)."""
     providers_file = tmp_path / "providers.json"