Remote TUI uses the client’s local model preference instead of the connected server’s default model #55384

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1. opencode-agent commented on Oct 14, 2026

   

   opencode-agentBot

   on Oct 14, 2026 – with OpenCode Agent

   Contributor

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   Thanks for the report. I could reproduce this on 2.0.29, and it still happens on the latest dev (34d8ded).

   What I ran:

   • The server's config defines two models, "Server Default Model" and "Client Recent Model", and has no top-level model setting.
   • The TUI connects to that server. On the client side, its own ~/.local/state/opencode/model.json lists "Client Recent Model" as the most recent model.
   • On a new session, the TUI shows Build · Client Recent Model, while /model lists the server's models. The recording and screenshots below show this, and the script below reproduces it.

   One thing that may help in the meantime: when the server's config sets model explicitly (e.g. "model": "provider/model" in its opencode config), the TUI does show the server's model. The client's local recent list only wins when the server's default isn't set that way, for example when it falls back to the catalog or a plugin sets it.

   The likely cause is that the TUI's model choice for a new session (packages/tui/src/context/local.tsx) checks the server's config model and then the client's local recent list, but never asks the server for its own default model.

   Related: #43055, where the v2 TUI ignored the configured default model. It's the same model-choice code, but a different trigger.

   recording.mp4

   

   

   Reproduction script (drive.ts)

   // Repro for anomalyco/opencode#55384: the TUI connected to a server shows the model from the
   // *client's* local recent-model list (XDG_STATE_HOME/opencode/model.json) instead of the
   // server's default model, while /model lists the server's models.
   //
   // Server config: two models, "Server Default Model" (server default) and "Client Recent Model".
   // Client state: model.json lists "Client Recent Model" as the most recent model.
   // CASE=noconfig removes the explicit `model` from the server config, so the server default
   // comes from the catalog (GET /api/model/default) instead.
   import { Effect } from "effect"
   import { mkdir, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises"
   import { join } from "node:path"
   import { OpenCodeDriver } from "opencode-drive"
   
   const noConfig = process.env.CASE === "noconfig"
   
   const model = (name: string) => ({
     name,
     capabilities: { tools: true, input: ["text"], output: ["text"] },
     limit: { context: 128_000, output: 16_000 },
   })
   
   export default OpenCodeDriver.use(
     {
       ...(process.env.OC_DEV ? { opencode: { dev: process.env.OC_DEV } } : {}),
       tui: { recording: true, viewport: { cols: 120, rows: 36 } },
       config: {
         providers: {
           simulation: {
             name: "Simulation",
             package: "@opencode-ai/ai/providers/openai/chat",
             settings: { apiKey: "sim-key" },
             models: {
               "gpt-sim-model": model("Server Default Model"),
               "client-recent": model("Client Recent Model"),
             },
           },
         },
       },
       setup: ({ config }) =>
         Effect.sync(() => {
           if (noConfig) delete config.model
           else config.model = "simulation/gpt-sim-model"
         }),
     },
     ({ ui, artifacts, opencode }) =>
       Effect.gen(function* () {
         yield* ui.screenshot("01-before-client-preference")
         // Client-side preference file, as written by the TUI on the client machine.
         const dir = join(artifacts, "home", ".local", "state", "opencode")
         yield* Effect.promise(async () => {
           await mkdir(dir, { recursive: true })
           await writeFile(
             join(dir, "model.json"),
             JSON.stringify({ recent: [{ providerID: "simulation", modelID: "client-recent" }], favorite: [], variant: {} }),
           )
         })
         yield* Effect.sleep(1500)
         yield* ui.screenshot("02-new-session-model")
         yield* ui.press("x", { ctrl: true })
         yield* ui.press("m")
         yield* Effect.sleep(1000)
         yield* ui.screenshot("03-model-dialog")
         yield* ui.press("escape")
         yield* Effect.sleep(300)
         const frame = yield* ui.capture()
         yield* Effect.log(String((frame as any).text ?? JSON.stringify(frame)).slice(0, 4000))
       }),
   )

   Run it with opencode-drive: opencode-drive run ./drive.ts. It drives opencode from your PATH; set OC_DEV to the path of an OpenCode checkout to run that from source instead.
2. opencode-agent

   added

   reproduced

   on Oct 14, 2026
3. dajiaohuang commented on Oct 15, 2026

   

   dajiaohuang

   on Oct 15, 2026

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   I traced this on dev at d0732eadf8. The server's explicit root model already wins over client recents. With no root model, a valid client recent is deliberately selected by the TUI and sent explicitly in session.create; /api/model/default still returns a model, even when it is only the catalog's automatic fallback. A plugin can also set that endpoint's default without a root model.

   Should a remote connection's new sessions prefer every server-resolved default over a valid client recent, or should recents still win over the automatic catalog fallback? The current endpoint does not distinguish a plugin-selected default from an automatic fallback. This also intersects with the opposite precedence requested for Mini in #50620 (recents before server default); that PR is not a maintainer decision.

   I verified the config/plugin/catalog cases through the real local server endpoint, and the selection through the production TUI context harness, not a deployed terminal. Clarifying this precedence would let a fix preserve the intended last-used-model behavior rather than silently changing it for all connections.