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Opus 5.5 main model, medium subagents
Usage that lasts longer: Opus 5.5 as main model, Opus 5.5 on medium as default subagent; hard-coded model IDs found first.
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CLAUDE_CODE_SUBAGENT_MODEL=opusmodel: opus
effort: mediumNext Set the variable, put the lines in each subagent definition, and send the prompt to Claude Code.
If you want your usage to last longer, you can switch your main model straight to Opus 5.5. Its listed price is only 40% of Fable 5.1’s, and it’s ahead on benchmarks too: 58 vs 53 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, both at max effort.
Your subagents should switch too. I’d make Opus 5.5 at medium effort your default subagent: on the official coding eval, medium scores as well as max at less than a fifth of the cost. Reading code, looking up docs and running tests usually don’t need a higher effort level.
Anything using the opus alias upgrades automatically. Hard-coded model IDs don’t. Hand this to Claude Code and have it review everything before changing anything:
Check this project, plus the settings, agents, and skills under ~/.claude:
1. For every subagent definition, change model to the alias opus and set effort to medium. List any subagents that need a higher effort level separately, with the reason.
2. Find hard-coded model IDs in AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, skills, and scripts, like claude-opus-5 and claude-fable-5-1. Switch the ones that can use the opus alias. Go through anything hard-coded to Fable one by one, and flag the ones you're unsure about for me to decide.
3. Check whether environment variables like CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL are set. They override a subagent's own effort setting.
Show me the list and proposed changes first. Don't edit any files until I confirm. Finally, add a rule to AGENTS.md: if the same problem fails twice in a row, stop and tell me what you tried and why it failed, and I'll decide whether to switch to Fable.After the changes, run /tasks to check which model each subagent is actually running.
Part of a playbook
Quota and modelsQuota runs out early: effort and models per job, the cache timed, API costs cut.OpenShare this tip
