Default model ignored

“Every time I click "New" in the Claude Code Desktop app, the session starts on Opus 5.5, even though I want Sonnet 5.5 as my default.”

Is this your bug? What gets counted gets fixed. Pile on.

Paste this into your agent. It files your report, with your error and version.

I hit this bug: rapsheet.dev/sheets/claude-code/issues/24290/file
Follow it to file my report. Show me the text before you send.

No install. No account. Public and anonymous. The link asks your agent for one report, nothing else. What it sends

New Desktop sessions ignore chosen default model, start on Opus. Switching with /model or the model picker applies to one session only; the "model" field in ~/.claude/settings.json does not change new sessions.

Is this your bug?

File my report

Where: Desktop app
Versions: 2.1.316
Platforms: macOS
How bad: Breaks a normal workflow.

Related: Session model choice not respected

Not quite your bug?

New sessions ignore default model2 people
Session model pick becomes default6 people
No 1M Opus in Desktop2 people

Original reports2, newest first

Nov 4, 2026Claude Code Desktop: new sessions always start on Opus, no way to set a persistent default model#107257
Nov 2, 2026Code tab new sessions ignore default model and always start on Opus 5#106838