fix(agent-core): keep profile-routed subagent model on resume and retry

.changeset/keep-subagent-routed-model.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@pythoughts/pythinker-code": patch
+---
+
+Keep a subagent on the model and effort its profile assigns when the subagent is resumed or retried, instead of reverting it to the main agent's model.

packages/agent-core/src/agent/config/index.ts

@@ -169,6 +169,11 @@ export class ConfigState {
       : createProvider(providerConfig).supportsFastMode === true;
   }
 
+  /** Whether this agent's provider can resolve `modelAlias` at all. */
+  canResolveModel(modelAlias: string | undefined): boolean {
+    return this.tryResolveProviderFor(modelAlias) !== undefined;
+  }
+
   get profileName(): string | undefined {
     return this._profileName;
   }
@@ -195,8 +200,13 @@ export class ConfigState {
   }
 
   private tryResolvedProviderConfig(): ResolvedRuntimeProvider | undefined {
+    return this.tryResolveProviderFor(this._modelAlias);
+  }
+
+  private tryResolveProviderFor(modelAlias: string | undefined): ResolvedRuntimeProvider | undefined {
+    if (modelAlias === undefined) return undefined;
     try {
-      return this.resolvedProviderConfig;
+      return this.agent.modelProvider?.resolveProviderConfig(modelAlias);
     } catch {
       return undefined;
     }

packages/agent-core/src/session/subagent-host.ts

@@ -238,10 +238,9 @@ export class SessionSubagentHost {
     const completion = this.runWithActiveChild(agentId, options, async (runOptions) => {
       this.emitSubagentSpawned(parent, agentId, profileName, runOptions);
       try {
-        child.config.update({
-          modelAlias: parent.config.modelAlias,
-          fastMode: parent.config.fastMode,
-        });
+        child.config.update(
+          this.childModelConfig(parent, child, this.tryResolveProfile(parent, profileName), runOptions),
+        );
         return await this.runPromptTurn(parent, agentId, child, profileName, runOptions);
       } catch (error) {
         this.emitSubagentFailed(parent, agentId, runOptions, error);
@@ -257,10 +256,9 @@ export class SessionSubagentHost {
     const completion = this.runWithActiveChild(agentId, options, async (runOptions) => {
       try {
         runOptions.signal.throwIfAborted();
-        child.config.update({
-          modelAlias: parent.config.modelAlias,
-          fastMode: parent.config.fastMode,
-        });
+        child.config.update(
+          this.childModelConfig(parent, child, this.tryResolveProfile(parent, profileName), runOptions),
+        );
         this.emitSubagentStarted(parent, agentId, runOptions.parentToolCallId);
         const turnId = child.turn.retry('agent-host');
         if (turnId === null) {
@@ -374,6 +372,43 @@ export class SessionSubagentHost {
     return metadata.dynamicWorkflowItem;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Model selection for a child: explicit option → profile → parent. Resume and
+   * retry re-resolve through the same precedence, so a profile that routes its
+   * subagents to another model (and provider) is not silently replaced by the
+   * parent's model on the second turn.
+   *
+   * An alias the provider cannot resolve (e.g. a typo, or a session built on
+   * SingleModelProvider) falls back to the parent's model instead of failing at
+   * generate time. fastMode stays a straight inherit: it is a preference the
+   * provider layer already drops when the active model cannot serve it.
+   */
+  private childModelConfig(
+    parent: Agent,
+    child: Agent,
+    profile: ResolvedAgentProfile | undefined,
+    options: Pick<RunSubagentOptions, 'modelAlias' | 'thinkingLevel'>,
+  ): { modelAlias: string | undefined; thinkingLevel: string | undefined; fastMode: boolean } {
+    const requested = options.modelAlias ?? profile?.model;
+    const modelAlias =
+      requested !== undefined && child.config.canResolveModel(requested)
+        ? requested
+        : parent.config.modelAlias;
+    return {
+      modelAlias,
+      thinkingLevel: options.thinkingLevel ?? profile?.effort ?? parent.config.thinkingLevel,
+      fastMode: parent.config.fastMode,
+    };
+  }
+
+  private tryResolveProfile(parent: Agent, profileName: string): ResolvedAgentProfile | undefined {
+    try {
+      return this.resolveProfile(parent, profileName);
+    } catch {
+      return undefined;
+    }
+  }
+
   private resolveProfile(parent: Agent, profileName: string): ResolvedAgentProfile {
     const configuredProfiles = this.session.agentProfiles;
     const profile =
@@ -484,9 +519,7 @@ export class SessionSubagentHost {
     child.setKaos(child.kaos.withCwd(cwd));
     child.config.update({
       cwd,
-      modelAlias: options.modelAlias ?? profile?.model ?? parent.config.modelAlias,
-      thinkingLevel: options.thinkingLevel ?? profile?.effort ?? parent.config.thinkingLevel,
-      fastMode: parent.config.fastMode,
+      ...this.childModelConfig(parent, child, profile, options),
     });
 
     if (options.forkContext === true) {

packages/agent-core/test/session/subagent-host.test.ts

@@ -1371,6 +1371,106 @@ describe('SessionSubagentHost', () => {
     expect(child.agent.config.modelAlias).toBe(parent.agent.config.modelAlias);
     expect(child.agent.config.modelAlias).not.toBe('stale-model-from-initial-spawn');
   });
+
+  it('keeps a profile-routed model and effort across resume', async () => {
+    const parent = testAgent();
+    parent.configure();
+    parent.agent.permission.setMode('yolo');
+
+    const child = testAgent();
+    child.configure({ tools: ['Read'] });
+    // Register a second alias so the child's provider can resolve the model the
+    // profile routes to (in production this is a [models."..."] config entry
+    // that may point at an entirely different provider).
+    child.configureRuntimeModel({ type: 'pythinker', apiKey: 'test-key', model: 'implementer-model' });
+    child.agent.context.appendUserMessage([{ type: 'text', text: 'Earlier context' }]);
+    child.mockNextResponse({
+      type: 'text',
+      text: 'Resumed the routed subagent from its earlier context and carried the assigned task through to completion, then reported a full and detailed technical summary of every change so the parent agent can continue without repeating any prior work.',
+    });
+
+    const implementerProfile: ResolvedAgentProfile = {
+      name: 'implementer',
+      description: 'Cheap implementer routed to another model.',
+      systemPrompt: () => 'implementer system prompt',
+      tools: ['Read'],
+      model: 'implementer-model',
+      effort: 'medium',
+    };
+    child.agent.useProfile(implementerProfile);
+
+    const session = Object.assign(
+      fakeSession(parent.agent, child.agent, {
+        'agent-0': { type: 'sub', parentAgentId: 'main' },
+      }),
+      { agentProfiles: { implementer: implementerProfile } },
+    );
+    const host = new SessionSubagentHost(session, 'main');
+
+    const handle = await host.resume('agent-0', {
+      parentToolCallId: 'call_agent',
+      prompt: 'Continue from context',
+      description: 'Continue work',
+      runInBackground: false,
+      signal,
+    });
+    await handle.completion;
+
+    // Resume must re-resolve through the spawn precedence rather than copying
+    // the parent's model, or a routed implementer silently reverts to the
+    // orchestrator's (expensive) model on its second turn.
+    expect(child.agent.config.modelAlias).toBe('implementer-model');
+    expect(child.agent.config.modelAlias).not.toBe(parent.agent.config.modelAlias);
+    expect(child.agent.config.thinkingLevel).toBe('medium');
+  });
+
+  it('keeps a profile-routed model and effort across retry', async () => {
+    const parent = testAgent();
+    parent.configure();
+    parent.agent.permission.setMode('yolo');
+
+    const child = testAgent();
+    child.configure({ tools: ['Read'] });
+    child.configureRuntimeModel({ type: 'pythinker', apiKey: 'test-key', model: 'implementer-model' });
+    child.agent.context.appendUserMessage([{ type: 'text', text: 'Earlier context' }]);
+    child.mockNextResponse({
+      type: 'text',
+      text: 'Retried the routed subagent from its earlier context and carried the assigned task through to completion, then reported a full and detailed technical summary of every change so the parent agent can continue without repeating any prior work.',
+    });
+
+    const implementerProfile: ResolvedAgentProfile = {
+      name: 'implementer',
+      description: 'Cheap implementer routed to another model.',
+      systemPrompt: () => 'implementer system prompt',
+      tools: ['Read'],
+      model: 'implementer-model',
+      effort: 'medium',
+    };
+    child.agent.useProfile(implementerProfile);
+
+    const session = Object.assign(
+      fakeSession(parent.agent, child.agent, {
+        'agent-0': { type: 'sub', parentAgentId: 'main' },
+      }),
+      { agentProfiles: { implementer: implementerProfile } },
+    );
+    const host = new SessionSubagentHost(session, 'main');
+
+    const handle = await host.retry('agent-0', {
+      parentToolCallId: 'call_agent',
+      prompt: 'Continue from context',
+      description: 'Continue work',
+      runInBackground: false,
+      signal,
+    });
+    await handle.completion;
+
+    // Retry re-runs the last turn, so it must re-resolve the routed model the
+    // same way resume does instead of inheriting the parent's.
+    expect(child.agent.config.modelAlias).toBe('implementer-model');
+    expect(child.agent.config.modelAlias).not.toBe(parent.agent.config.modelAlias);
+    expect(child.agent.config.thinkingLevel).toBe('medium');
+  });
 });
 
 describe('Session resume permission parent chain', () => {