Model routing / config custody / 29 SEP 2026

A model picker is a wiring job.

Changing the label in a menu can also change the endpoint, API dialect, login, tool behavior, fallback, and bill. Put the whole route on the panel.

The new tool worth opening

One knob can hide six seams

Magpie is a new open-source control for model settings across coding agents. Its README lists Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Goose, Cursor CLI, Copilot CLI, and other clients. The app can edit each client's own configuration or point clients at a local gateway that speaks OpenAI Chat Completions, OpenAI Responses, and Anthropic Messages.

That solves a real nuisance. Model choices now live in different files, use different names, and carry different effort controls. Magpie's source maps those fields per agent. Its profile code can save a named snapshot and apply it across detected clients.

Convenience increases the size of one mistake. A saved profile can change several clients at once. A gateway can translate several protocols and reuse provider access. The picker should therefore show more than a model name. It should show the route that receives prompts, the identity used there, the tool contract expected on the return trip, and the fallback that can silently serve a different model.

Treat every model switch as a patch cable. Label both ends before moving it.

01 / CLIENT

Name the caller

Record the coding agent, its configuration file, and whether it needs a restart.

02 / ROUTE

Trace the request

Write down the endpoint, API dialect, provider, and model identifier.

03 / CONTRACT

Test the return

Exercise streaming, tool calls, images, reasoning controls, and errors used by the client.

04 / EXIT

Keep the old socket

Save the prior state, set a fallback policy, and prove the native route can be restored.

Interactive makeover / model route patchbay

Patch the route before the prompt moves

A standard model dropdown hides where traffic goes and what changes with it. This native-radio patchbay selects one route and builds a four-part review sheet. It does not edit a client, add a provider, test credentials, or send a prompt.

CHOOSE ROUTEMAP LINKSRUN PROBEAPPROVE SWITCH

Patch controls

Choose one traffic route. Then select the parts that your review sheet will request.

Traffic route

Native socketThe client talks to its own configured provider without the local gateway.Open Local gatewayThe client points at Magpie, which translates and forwards the request.Selected Routing groupOne group name can choose among several models by its configured policy.Open

Include route records

Client recordAgent, config path, field, and restart rule. Route recordEndpoint, dialect, provider, and model ID. Contract probeStreaming, tools, errors, and used capabilities. Exit recordPrior state, fallback, restore, and cost check.

2 of 4 route records selectedGateway route selected

Map both ends of the gateway.

The client and route records are selected. Contract and exit records remain open. No prompt probe or provider result is attached.

MODEL ROUTE PATCHBAY / REVIEW SHEET
ROUTE=LOCAL_GATEWAY
ROUTE_EFFECT=CLIENT TO LOCAL TRANSLATOR TO PROVIDER

[x] CLIENT_RECORD
AGENT=[REQUIRED]
CONFIG_PATH=[REQUIRED]
MODEL_FIELD=[REQUIRED]
RESTART_RULE=[REQUIRED]

[x] ROUTE_RECORD
ENDPOINT=[REQUIRED]
API_DIALECT=[REQUIRED]
PROVIDER_AND_MODEL_ID=[REQUIRED]
IDENTITY_SOURCE=[REQUIRED]

[ ] CONTRACT_PROBE
STREAMING_RESULT=[REQUIRED]
TOOL_CALL_RESULT=[REQUIRED]
ERROR_RESULT=[REQUIRED]
USED_CAPABILITIES=[REQUIRED]

[ ] EXIT_RECORD
PRIOR_STATE=[REQUIRED]
FALLBACK_POLICY=[REQUIRED]
RESTORE_RESULT=[REQUIRED]
COST_CHECK=[REQUIRED]

STATUS=2 OF 4 ROUTE RECORDS SELECTED
PROMPT_PROBE=NOT RUN
PROVIDER_RESULT=NOT ATTACHED

Where the route can lie

The requested model and served model may differ

Magpie's command list includes routing groups with smart, ordered, rotating, and usage-based policies. It also supports provider fallbacks. Those controls can be useful when a provider is unavailable or near quota. They also mean the model requested by the client can differ from the model that handled the request.

The CLI exposes usage as CSV with the model asked for, sent, and served. That distinction belongs in every evaluation record. A successful response proves that a route returned something. It does not prove which model served it, whether the same model will serve the next turn, or whether tool behavior survived translation.

Profiles need the same care. The source writes profiles atomically, but applying one still changes several client settings as a unit. Save the prior state. Inspect the planned fields. Run one client-level prompt and one tool call. Then test the command that removes Magpie's wiring and returns the client to its own default.

Source log / read 29 SEP 2026

What was read and what was run

Magpie repository and READMESupported agents, configuration files, local gateway protocols, provider catalog, profiles, fallbacks, and stated config-edit behavior.github.com/yetone/magpie Magpie agent mapping sourcePer-agent fields, config paths, restart notices, gateway drift checks, and the command that returns a field to its client default.github.com/yetone/magpie/blob/main/internal/agent/agent.go Magpie profile sourceNamed multi-agent snapshots, profile storage, current-field capture, and atomic profile-file writes.github.com/yetone/magpie/blob/main/internal/profile/profile.go Magpie release feed / 0.1.431Current published version, platform assets, release checksums, and install notes. The Linux CLI asset was checksum-verified and its help and version commands ran in a temporary home.usemagpie.ai/api/latest Models.dev catalogThe public API returned 225 provider records during this pass. Magpie cites this catalog as one source for model names and capabilities.models.dev/api.json VS Code 1.139 release notesCurrent editor context: agent harnesses now run in a dedicated process, and remote Dev Container sessions extend to SSH, Tunnel, and WSL projects.code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_139

Artifact check: the checksum in Magpie's release feed matched the downloaded Linux amd64 CLI. magpie --help and magpie version returned successfully from an isolated temporary home. No agent config, provider account, or model request was changed.