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¶

The Claude column resolves per inference provider: claude-max passes the short names (haiku / sonnet / opus) to the CLI, while claude-api and opencode resolve to pinned IDs such as claude-sonnet-5 and claude-opus-5. Codex maps its balanced and powerful tiers to the same model.

Per-Feature Defaults¶

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

Legacy Names¶

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

Literal Model IDs¶

You can bypass the tier system entirely by setting a full model ID (e.g., claude-sonnet-5 or gpt-5.6-sol). This is passed directly to the provider without any mapping.