Your Claude Code subagents probably pick their own model. I built a mod to take that back

Description and use

The subagent‑tuner mod lets users control the model and effort used by subagents in Claude Code, preventing unexpected overrides by the agent.

Problem

Subagents in Claude Code often run with a model chosen by the agent itself, overriding user‑defined defaults such as those set in CLAUDE.md or environment variables.

Outcome

The mod consistently enforces user‑defined model and effort settings for subagents, preventing unexpected overrides by the agent and providing a clear UI for manual or automatic selection.

Workflow

• Install the subagent‑tuner mod via /plugin install subagent-tuner --marketplace Kruhlikau/subagent-tuner
• Select user scope to activate the mod in the current session
• When a subagent is about to start, the mod displays a pane or dialog with the current model and effort
• Choose Manual to be prompted for model/effort or Auto to apply the saved default
• If Manual, select or change the model/effort and optionally save as default
• If Auto, the mod automatically overrides the agent’s choice with the saved default
• The subagent is launched with the overridden model/effort and a toast confirms the override

Evidence

Claude Code resolves a subagent's model in a fixed order. As the sub‑agents docs describe it, the model the calling agent puts on the call itself comes first, then the agent definition's frontmatter, then the CLAUDE_CODE_SUBAGENT_MODEL environment variable, then your main model.

Source

21 of 25 Agent calls carried model: "opus" explicitly.

Source

Auto never asks. It applies your saved default, even over a model or effort the agent set itself.

Source