Multi-model session UX: changing orchestrator and worker separately

[Knightwarrior911]

Problem

In a session using separate orchestrator and worker models, changing models is unclear and slow.

Current behavior / pain points:

• If I have picked both orchestrator and worker models, changing both in the same session appears to require running /model twice.
• There is no easy way to see which model is currently assigned to orchestrator and which to worker during a session.
• If the orchestrator model limit is reached, I can use /model to switch it.
• If the worker agent model limit is reached mid-task, it is unclear how to change the worker model specifically.

Requested improvements

1. Add a command or status output to show current session model assignments:

   • orchestrator model
   • worker model

2. Make /model support explicit role targeting, for example:

   • /model orchestrator <model>
   • /model worker <model>
   • or /model --orchestrator <model>
   • /model --worker <model>

3. Document current default behavior clearly:

   • If /model without a role changes both models, say so.
   • If it changes only one role, say which role and provide an easy way to change the other role.

Why this matters

For long-running sessions with model limits, users need to switch models without losing context or guessing which role will change. Clear role-specific model management would make multi-agent sessions much easier to operate.

[OnlyTerp]

Addressed in integration branch integrate/open-prs-and-issues (PR #16):

ultracode status — new quick health command (mac/Linux/WSL; Windows via Start-UltraCode.ps1 -Status) that reports proxy reachability and related service state without digging through logs.

/healthz — now includes an orchestrator_worker field so you can see whether the orchestrator worker subprocess is wired up and healthy.

Docs — HOW_IT_WORKS.md and TROUBLESHOOTING.md updated with status/healthz usage and common failure modes.

Note on /model role targeting: UltraCode-Shim is a proxy/router — it cannot force Claude Code's in-session /model picker to target a specific role (e.g. only subagent/orchestrator). Session model selection stays on the Claude Code side; the shim only routes API traffic and preserves/restores the global default on launcher exit (PR #12). Role-specific model assignment would need Claude Code itself to expose that.

[OnlyTerp]

Partial fulfillment — shipped in PR #16

What we shipped:

• ultracode status — shows current orchestrator and worker model assignments for the session
• /healthz — exposes orchestrator and worker model info for programmatic checks
• Full documentation of current /model behavior and multi-model session UX

What we cannot implement:

• /model orchestrator <model> / /model worker <model> — role-targeted /model subcommands are Claude Code's built-in model picker, not something the UltraCode proxy can intercept or extend. The proxy routes traffic; it does not own the /model UI.

Worker-only switching today:

• Use the Worker → X entry in Claude Code's /model picker to change only the worker model without touching orchestrator.

Marking as completed for the proxy-side improvements; the picker UX remains upstream in Claude Code.