model-profile-resolution Skill

balanced: Mix of high and mid-tier models. Good quality at moderate cost. Default profile.
budget: Cheapest viable models for all agents. Acceptable quality at minimum cost.

The active profile is stored in .planning/config.json under the profile field, or can be overridden with the --profile flag.

Capabilities

1. Read Active Profile

Load the current profile from configuration:

// .planning/config.json
{
  "profile": "balanced",
  ...
}

If no profile is set, default to balanced.

2. Profile Definitions

Each profile maps agent roles to specific models:

quality:
  orchestrator: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-planner: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-executor: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-verifier: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-plan-checker: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-phase-researcher: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-project-researcher: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-research-synthesizer: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-roadmapper: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-codebase-mapper: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-debugger: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-integration-checker: claude-opus-4-6

balanced:
  orchestrator: claude-opus-4-6
  gsd-planner: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-executor: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-verifier: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-plan-checker: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-phase-researcher: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-project-researcher: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-research-synthesizer: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-roadmapper: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-codebase-mapper: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-debugger: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-integration-checker: claude-sonnet-4

budget:
  orchestrator: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-planner: claude-haiku-4
  gsd-executor: claude-haiku-4
  gsd-verifier: claude-haiku-4
  gsd-plan-checker: claude-haiku-4
  gsd-phase-researcher: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-project-researcher: claude-haiku-4
  gsd-research-synthesizer: claude-haiku-4
  gsd-roadmapper: claude-haiku-4
  gsd-codebase-mapper: claude-haiku-4
  gsd-debugger: claude-sonnet-4
  gsd-integration-checker: claude-haiku-4

Note: Budget profile uses Sonnet for research and debugging where quality matters most.

3. Per-Agent Model Mapping

Resolve the model for a specific agent:

resolve(agent: "gsd-executor", profile: "balanced")
-> { model: "claude-sonnet-4", profile: "balanced" }

resolve(agent: "gsd-planner", profile: "quality")
-> { model: "claude-opus-4-6", profile: "quality" }

4. Profile Switching

Switch profiles at runtime:

// Before
{ "profile": "balanced" }

// After set-profile quality
{ "profile": "quality" }

Profile switches take effect on the next agent spawn. Already-running agents are not affected.

5. Model Capability Validation

Ensure selected model supports required agent features:

Validate gsd-executor needs:
  [PASS] Code generation: all models support
  [PASS] Tool use: all models support
  [PASS] Long context: all models support 200k
  [PASS] Structured output: all models support

Validate gsd-debugger needs:
  [PASS] Code analysis: all models support
  [PASS] Reasoning: opus-4-6 > sonnet-4 > haiku-4
  [WARN] Complex debugging may benefit from quality profile

6. Cost Estimation

Estimate cost per profile for a workflow:

Workflow: execute-phase (Phase 72, 2 plans, 7 tasks)
  Agent spawns: 2 executor + 1 verifier = 3 agents
  Estimated tokens per agent: ~50,000 input + ~20,000 output

  quality (opus-4-6 for all):
    Input:  3 * 50k * $0.015/1k = $2.25
    Output: 3 * 20k * $0.075/1k = $4.50
    Total: ~$6.75

  balanced (sonnet-4 for agents):
    Input:  3 * 50k * $0.003/1k = $0.45
    Output: 3 * 20k * $0.015/1k = $0.90
    Total: ~$1.35

  budget (haiku-4 for agents):
    Input:  3 * 50k * $0.00025/1k = $0.04
    Output: 3 * 20k * $0.00125/1k = $0.08
    Total: ~$0.12

Note: Cost estimates are approximate and based on typical token usage patterns.

Tool Use Instructions

Resolving Profile

Use Read to load .planning/config.json
Extract profile field (default to balanced if not set)
Return profile name

Mapping Agent to Model

Resolve active profile
Look up agent name in profile mapping
Return model identifier
If agent not in mapping, use profile default

Switching Profile

Use Read to load current config
Validate new profile name (quality/balanced/budget)
Update profile field
Write updated config (handled by gsd-tools or direct edit)

Cost Estimation

Accept workflow description (agent types and counts)
Map agents to models via active profile
Estimate token usage per agent
Calculate cost based on model pricing
Return cost breakdown

Process Integration

All agent-spawning processes call this skill at initialization:
- new-project.js - Resolve models for 4+ parallel researchers
- plan-phase.js - Resolve model for planner, plan-checker
- execute-phase.js - Resolve model for executor, verifier
- quick.js - Resolve model for planner, executor
- debug.js - Resolve model for debugger
- map-codebase.js - Resolve model for 4 parallel mappers
- iterative-convergence.js - Resolve model per iteration

Output Format

{
  "operation": "resolve|switch|validate|estimate",
  "status": "success|error",
  "profile": "balanced",
  "mapping": {
    "agent": "gsd-executor",
    "model": "claude-sonnet-4"
  },
  "costEstimate": {
    "profile": "balanced",
    "agentCount": 3,
    "estimatedCost": "$1.35",
    "breakdown": {
      "input": "$0.45",
      "output": "$0.90"
    }
  }
}

Configuration

| Setting | Default | Description | |---------|---------|-------------| | profile | balanced | Active model profile | | customMappings | {} | Override specific agent-model mappings | | costWarningThreshold | 10.00 | Warn if estimated workflow cost exceeds this |

Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Resolution | |-------|-------|------------| | Unknown profile | Profile name not quality/balanced/budget | Use one of the three valid profiles | | Unknown agent | Agent name not in profile mapping | Use profile default model | | Config not found | .planning/config.json missing | Use default profile (balanced) | | Model deprecated | Mapped model no longer available | Update profile mapping to current model |

Constraints

Only three built-in profiles: quality, balanced, budget
Profile changes take effect on next agent spawn only
Cost estimates are approximate (actual costs depend on token usage)
Custom agent-model overrides in config take precedence over profile defaults
Model availability depends on the runtime environment (Claude Code, OpenCode, etc.)
Budget profile still uses capable models for critical tasks (research, debugging)

Agent Skills: model-profile-resolution

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