Model Resolution¶

Sidekick uses a tier-based model resolution system that maps abstract tiers to provider-specific model IDs.

Resolution Flow¶

flowchart TD
    Input["Setting value"] --> RM["resolveModel()"]
    RM --> IsAuto{"'auto'?"}
    IsAuto -->|Yes| FAT["FEATURE_AUTO_TIERS<br/><small>Per-feature default tier</small>"]
    FAT --> DMM

    IsAuto -->|No| IsTier{"'fast' / 'balanced'<br/>/ 'powerful'?"}
    IsTier -->|Yes| DMM["DEFAULT_MODEL_MAPPINGS<br/><small>Provider-specific model ID</small>"]

    IsTier -->|No| IsLegacy{"'haiku' / 'sonnet'<br/>/ 'opus'?"}
    IsLegacy -->|Yes| LTM["LEGACY_TIER_MAP"] --> DMM

    IsLegacy -->|No| Pass["Passthrough<br/><small>Use as literal model ID</small>"]

Tiers¶

Tier	Use Case	Claude Model
`fast`	Low latency, frequent calls (inline completions, docs)	Haiku
`balanced`	Quality/speed tradeoff (explanations, commits, review)	Sonnet
`powerful`	Highest quality (code transforms)	Opus

Per-Feature Defaults¶

When a model setting is "auto", it resolves to the recommended tier for that feature:

Feature	Default Tier
Inline completions	fast
Documentation	fast
Code transforms	powerful
Commit messages	balanced
Explanations	balanced
Error analysis	balanced
Inline chat	balanced
Code review	balanced
PR descriptions	balanced

Legacy Names¶

For backward compatibility, legacy Claude model names are mapped to tiers:

Legacy Name	Maps To
`haiku`	fast
`sonnet`	balanced
`opus`	powerful

Literal Model IDs¶

You can bypass the tier system entirely by setting a full model ID (e.g., claude-sonnet-4-5-20250514). This is passed directly to the provider without any mapping.