diff --git a/components/engine/engine-intent/src/main/java/org/eclipse/dirigible/components/intent/generator/IntentSettings.java b/components/engine/engine-intent/src/main/java/org/eclipse/dirigible/components/intent/generator/IntentSettings.java
index 37a8ff21b8f..ddbdf8e5db7 100644
--- a/components/engine/engine-intent/src/main/java/org/eclipse/dirigible/components/intent/generator/IntentSettings.java
+++ b/components/engine/engine-intent/src/main/java/org/eclipse/dirigible/components/intent/generator/IntentSettings.java
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 
 import com.google.gson.Gson;
 import com.google.gson.GsonBuilder;
+import com.google.gson.JsonElement;
+import com.google.gson.JsonParser;
 
 /**
  * The {@code <intent>.settings} document: the per-project recipe for turning the generated model
@@ -121,9 +123,41 @@ public static IntentSettings parse(String json) {
         if (settings == null) {
             settings = new IntentSettings();
         }
+        if (!hasUserTasksSection(json)) {
+            // A .settings scaffolded before the userTasks setting existed carries no such section -
+            // it must keep the documented ADMINISTRATOR default, exactly as scaffolding would have
+            // written it. Only an EXPLICIT userTasks block opts out (an empty candidateGroupsExtra
+            // is a deliberate "no extra groups"). Without this, every pre-existing settings file
+            // silently emitted single-group tasks that no administrator inbox could see.
+            if (settings.userTasks == null) {
+                settings.userTasks = new UserTasks();
+            }
+            if (settings.userTasks.candidateGroupsExtra == null) {
+                settings.userTasks.candidateGroupsExtra = new ArrayList<>();
+            }
+            settings.userTasks.candidateGroupsExtra.add("ADMINISTRATOR");
+        }
         return settings;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Whether the raw settings document declares a {@code userTasks} member at all (a {@code null}
+     * member counts as absent). The deserialized POJO cannot answer this - a missing section and an
+     * explicitly empty one both surface as an empty list.
+     */
+    private static boolean hasUserTasksSection(String json) {
+        if (json == null || json.isBlank()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        JsonElement root = JsonParser.parseString(json);
+        if (!root.isJsonObject()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        JsonElement userTasks = root.getAsJsonObject()
+                                    .get("userTasks");
+        return userTasks != null && !userTasks.isJsonNull();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Build the initial settings for a model: the default template recipes plus a {@code generate:true}
      * entry per discoverable trigger / resolver / form (so the developer sees the full editable list)
diff --git a/components/engine/engine-intent/src/test/java/org/eclipse/dirigible/components/intent/generator/IntentSettingsTest.java b/components/engine/engine-intent/src/test/java/org/eclipse/dirigible/components/intent/generator/IntentSettingsTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bbe6149a582
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/engine/engine-intent/src/test/java/org/eclipse/dirigible/components/intent/generator/IntentSettingsTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2010-2026 Eclipse Dirigible contributors
+ *
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v2.0 which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v20.html
+ *
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Eclipse Dirigible contributors SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0
+ */
+package org.eclipse.dirigible.components.intent.generator;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+/**
+ * The {@code userTasks.candidateGroupsExtra} default contract: a settings document that predates
+ * the section (or omits it) keeps the documented ADMINISTRATOR default, while an explicit block -
+ * including an explicitly empty list, a deliberate opt-out - means exactly what it says. Without
+ * the on-load default, every pre-existing {@code .settings} silently emitted single-group tasks
+ * invisible to administrators (GH-6338).
+ */
+class IntentSettingsTest {
+
+    @Test
+    void aSettingsFileWithoutTheUserTasksSectionKeepsTheAdministratorDefault() {
+        IntentSettings settings = IntentSettings.parse("""
+                {
+                  "generation": {},
+                  "overrides": {}
+                }
+                """);
+        assertEquals(List.of("ADMINISTRATOR"), settings.candidateGroupsExtra());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void anEmptyDocumentKeepsTheAdministratorDefault() {
+        assertEquals(List.of("ADMINISTRATOR"), IntentSettings.parse("{}")
+                                                             .candidateGroupsExtra());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void aNullUserTasksSectionCountsAsAbsent() {
+        assertEquals(List.of("ADMINISTRATOR"), IntentSettings.parse("{\"userTasks\": null}")
+                                                             .candidateGroupsExtra());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void anExplicitlyEmptyListIsADeliberateOptOut() {
+        IntentSettings settings = IntentSettings.parse("""
+                {
+                  "userTasks": { "candidateGroupsExtra": [] }
+                }
+                """);
+        assertTrue(settings.candidateGroupsExtra()
+                           .isEmpty());
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void anExplicitListIsKeptVerbatim() {
+        IntentSettings settings = IntentSettings.parse("""
+                {
+                  "userTasks": { "candidateGroupsExtra": ["Supervisor"] }
+                }
+                """);
+        assertEquals(List.of("Supervisor"), settings.candidateGroupsExtra());
+    }
+}