diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 8be8692..d77b5ff 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ NVIDIA_API_KEY="your_nvidia_nim_key_here"
 
 # Cascade order (first available provider wins)
 # Default (if unset): openrouter,openai,anthropic,groq,gemini-api,deepseek,nvidia
-PROVIDER_CASCADE="openrouter,openai,anthropic,groq,gemini,deepseek"
+PROVIDER_CASCADE="deepseek,openrouter,openai,anthropic,groq,gemini,nvidia"
 
 # =============================================================================
 # LOCAL LLM (generic OpenAI-compatible endpoint)