User scope#
~/.claude/settings.json (user scope — applies to all projects)
<project_folder>/.claude/settings.local.json (user scope — applies only to the project_folder)
Why it’s there#
It’s an explicit override you (or /model) set at some point — it is not a default. Without that line, Claude Code picks a model based on your plan/account. With it, every session in every project starts on Opus.
"opus" is a family alias, not a pinned version. It always resolves to the newest Opus available to you — today that’s Opus 4.7 (claude-opus-4-7). So you automatically move up when a new Opus ships, without editing this file. (You pin a version instead — see below.)
What the values can be#
| Value form | Example | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Family alias | "opus", "sonnet", "haiku" | Always the latest in that family |
| Version prefix | "opus-4-7" | Pins to that version line |
| Full model ID | "claude-sonnet-4-6" | Exact model, no auto-upgrade |
The three families (current generation, Claude 4.X):
- Opus —
claude-opus-4-7— most capable, what you’re on now - Sonnet —
claude-sonnet-4-6— balanced speed/capability - Haiku —
claude-haiku-4-5-20251001— fastest, cheapest, lightest Separately: Fast mode (/fast) keeps you on Opus but with faster output — it does not downgrade to a smaller model. It’s a different axis from model selection.
How to manage it#
/model— interactive picker, the normal way to switch. Recommended./config— general settings UI; model is one of the simple settings it exposes.claude --model sonnet— per-session override from the CLI, ignores the settings.json value for that run only.- Edit
~/.claude/settings.json— what’s there now; this is the user (global, all-projects) scope. Precedence (later wins): user (~/.claude/settings.json) → project (.claude/settings.json) → local (.claude/settings.local.json) → –model flag → managed/enterprise policy. A .claude/settings.json in a specific repo can override your global Opus default for just that project.
To remove the global pin and fall back to the account default, just delete the "model": "opus" line (mind the trailing comma on the line above it).