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Model Selection

Each chat tab picks one model for Kady. There is a single flat agent — no separate "expert" or orchestrator model. Subagents spawned with the subagent tool use the model named in their agent file (sandbox/.pi/agents/*.md) or passed per call; otherwise they fall back to Pi's default model resolution.

The choice is stored per tab, so different chats in the same project can use different models, and you can switch models between messages within a tab.

OpenRouter models

The model picker is generated from OpenRouter models that advertise tool-calling support. Kady sends tool definitions with every turn, so models that do not support the tools parameter are excluded from the dropdown.

The checked-in list lives at web/src/data/models.json, with ids prefixed as openrouter/<vendor>/<model>. The backend (server/src/agent/models.ts) resolves a picked id to a Pi Model: it prefers Pi's built-in OpenRouter entry, and otherwise synthesizes one using the context window, capabilities, and per-1M-token pricing from this catalogue. Pi computes the cost shown in the session/project meters from that pricing, so keeping models.json current keeps cost tracking (and the project spend cap) accurate. If the catalogue can't be loaded, the backend logs a startup warning and unknown models fall back to $0 pricing.

Defaults

  • The default model is openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.8.
  • Override it with DEFAULT_MODEL_ID in .env (a bare provider model id like anthropic/claude-opus-4.8, routed by DEFAULT_MODEL_PROVIDER).
  • To default to a local model, set DEFAULT_MODEL_PROVIDER=ollama and DEFAULT_MODEL_ID to a pulled model name (e.g. llama3).

Local Ollama models

Pulled Ollama models are discovered live: the backend's /ollama/models endpoint queries your local daemon (OLLAMA_BASE_URL/api/tags), and the results appear under the Local (Ollama) section of the picker as ollama/<name>. Selecting one makes Pi call your local daemon directly — no OpenRouter key required for those models.

Local models are useful for privacy and cost control, but tool-calling quality varies widely. For complex, tool-heavy tasks, frontier OpenRouter models are usually more reliable. See Local models with Ollama.