Choosing Your Model

Level: 🌱 Beginner Source: Model Config, Fast Mode

Claude Code lets you switch between models at any time. Each model has different strengths in speed, cost, and reasoning depth. Additionally, Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6 support effort levels that control how much thinking the model does before responding.

The Models at a Glance

Model	Speed	Reasoning	Cost	Best for
Haiku	Fastest	Good	Lowest	Quick lookups, simple edits, exploratory searches, sub agents doing basic research
Sonnet 4.6	Fast	Strong	Medium	Daily coding — writing features, fixing bugs, refactoring, test generation
Opus 4.6	Slower	Deepest	Highest	Complex architecture, subtle bugs, multi-file reasoning, nuanced code review

How to Switch Models

During a session: /model sonnet, /model opus, /model haiku
At startup: claude --model opus
Keyboard shortcut: Option+P (macOS) or Alt+P (Windows/Linux)
Permanently: Set "model": "opus" in your settings file

Effort Levels (Adaptive Reasoning)

Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6 support effort levels that control how deeply the model thinks before responding. This is the primary knob for tuning the speed-vs-quality tradeoff.

Effort	Thinking depth	Speed	When to use
Low	Minimal reasoning	Fastest	Straightforward tasks: rename a variable, add a log line, simple questions
Medium (Opus default)	Balanced reasoning	Moderate	Most daily work: implement features, fix known bugs, write tests
High	Deep reasoning	Slowest	Hard problems: architectural design, subtle bugs, complex multi-file changes

How to set effort level

In /model: use left/right arrow keys to adjust the effort slider
Environment variable: export CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL=low|medium|high
Settings file: set "effortLevel": "medium" in your settings
One-off deep thinking: type “ultrathink” anywhere in your prompt to set effort to high for that single turn

When to Use Each Model

Use Haiku when…

You need a quick answer and don’t need deep reasoning
You’re doing exploratory searches across a large codebase
You want a fast, cheap sub agent for file discovery and code search
You’re running many parallel non-interactive queries in scripts
The task is simple: “what does this function return?”, “find files matching X”

Example: Claude’s built-in Explore sub agent uses Haiku because it only needs to search and read files — it doesn’t need to reason deeply.

Use Sonnet 4.6 when…

You’re doing daily coding work: writing features, fixing bugs, refactoring
You want a good balance of speed and quality
You’re running tests and iterating on fixes
You need to generate boilerplate or write documentation
You’re working on a focused task with a clear scope

Example: Most developers use Sonnet as their default model. It handles the majority of coding tasks well and responds fast enough to keep you in flow.

Use Opus 4.6 when…

You’re working on a hard problem that requires deep reasoning
You need to understand complex relationships across many files
You’re designing architecture or making decisions with many tradeoffs
You’re debugging a subtle issue where the root cause isn’t obvious
You’re reviewing code for security vulnerabilities or correctness
You need Claude to self-correct and catch its own mistakes

Example: When planning a multi-service migration, Opus can reason through dependencies, ordering constraints, and rollback strategies that Sonnet might miss.

Use the `opusplan` alias when…

You want the best of both worlds: deep reasoning for planning, fast execution for coding
You’re following the “explore → plan → implement” workflow
You want Opus quality during Plan Mode, then automatic switch to Sonnet for implementation

How it works: In Plan Mode, opusplan uses Opus. When you switch to Normal Mode and start implementing, it automatically switches to Sonnet.

claude --model opusplan

Thinking About Effort + Model Together

Here’s how to think about combining model choice and effort level:

Scenario	Recommended setup	Why
Quick file lookup	Haiku	Fast and cheap; no deep reasoning needed
Rename a variable across files	Sonnet + low effort	Simple task, Sonnet is plenty capable
Implement a new API endpoint	Sonnet + medium effort	Standard feature work
Debug a race condition	Opus + medium effort	Needs deeper reasoning to trace concurrent paths
Design a caching strategy	Opus + high effort	Complex tradeoffs, needs thorough analysis
Review code for security issues	Opus + high effort	Subtle issues require careful examination
Generate test boilerplate	Sonnet + low effort	Repetitive, well-defined task
Understand unfamiliar codebase	Sonnet + medium effort (or Haiku sub agent)	Balances thoroughness with speed

Practical Tips

Start with Sonnet, escalate to Opus. Most tasks don’t need Opus. If Sonnet struggles — produces incorrect code, misses edge cases, or can’t reason through the problem — switch to Opus for that task, then switch back.

Use effort levels before switching models. Before jumping from Sonnet to Opus, try increasing Sonnet’s effort level to high first. It might be enough, and it’s faster and cheaper than Opus.

Use “ultrathink” for one-off hard prompts. If you have a single complex question in an otherwise routine session, type “ultrathink” in your prompt instead of changing your model or effort settings permanently.

Match model to sub agent purpose. When creating custom sub agents, consider their purpose:

Explorers and searchers → model: haiku
Code writers and fixers → model: sonnet or model: inherit
Reviewers and architects → model: opus

Extended context (1M tokens). For very long sessions with large codebases, Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6 support a 1 million token context window. Use sonnet[1m] or opus[1m] aliases.

Default Model Behavior by Plan

Your default model depends on your subscription:

Plan	Default model
Max / Team Premium	Opus 4.6
Pro / Team Standard	Sonnet 4.6
Enterprise	Opus 4.6 available, not default
API / Pay-as-you-go	You choose

Claude Code may automatically fall back to Sonnet if you hit an Opus usage threshold.

Next Steps

Run /model to see available models and adjust effort levels
Try opusplan for your next planning session
See the official model configuration docs for environment variables and enterprise settings
Read Starting to Work for how to choose your permission mode