agent-instructions/copilot/model-guide.md

Model selection guide (Copilot CLI)

Reference for picking a model/agent per plan phase. Referenced from instructions/workflow.instructions.md rather than inlined there, so this table can be updated independently whenever the available model lineup or pricing changes.

Update this table directly when the model lineup changes — no need to touch the workflow instructions to do so.

Model	When to use it	💡 Smartness	⚡ Speed	💲 Cost
(fill in current lineup here)

Rough guidance

• Hardest, most open-ended tasks (complex refactoring, ambiguous debugging, deep architectural analysis, long multi-step reasoning): pick the highest-smartness model available, accept lower speed/higher cost.
• Routine, well-specified work (mechanical edits, bulk reads/exploration, formatting, straightforward test/lint fixes): pick a lower-cost, faster model — this is most of a typical phase's work.
• PR-feedback loops and unresolved-comment rechecks: usually mechanical; only escalate to a higher-smartness model if a review comment surfaces genuine ambiguity.
• When in doubt, the executing agent should state which tier it picked and why, so it can be verified rather than silently over- or under-spending.