Model-aware task delegation for subagents
Right now, when I create implementation plans, I often annotate each task with the recommended model and reasoning level, for example:
- [ ] T005 Add the SwiftUI app entry point and SwiftData model container wiring in DriftApp/App/DriftApp.swift
[model: gpt-5.4-mini | reasoning: medium]
This works well for planning, but when the orchestrator spawns subagents, they currently inherit the orchestrator’s own model instead of using the task-level configuration.
That creates friction because I have to manually switch models for nearly every task.
It would be extremely useful if the orchestrator could:
Parse task metadata automatically
Spawn subagents with the requested model
Apply the specified reasoning level (
low,medium,high, etc.)Optionally fall back to the orchestrator defaults if no task-level config is provided
Example:
- [ ] T001 Create the SwiftUI iOS app project
[model: gpt-5.4-mini | reasoning: medium]
- [ ] T020 Design subscription state machine
[model: gpt-5.5 | reasoning: high]
This would enable much better cost/performance optimization:
cheap models for scaffolding and boilerplate
stronger models for architecture and critical logic
more predictable execution across large implementation plans
For agentic workflows and spec-driven development, this would be a huge productivity improvement.
Discussion in the ATmosphere