Model selection and defaults

Choose which model answers a chat from the model picker in the message box, or with the /model command. Both read the same list of the models your company offers. This page covers what your choice changes: what Oda saves for new chats, when a switch takes effect, and what happens when a model is no longer offered.

Pick the model for a chat

Use the model picker in the message box, or type /model. The two read the same list, so they always show the same models. For the picker and its Effort control, see Chat with Oda.

You can switch at any time, including while Oda is working:

• A switch applies from the next request. A request that is already running keeps the model and effort it started with.
• The message box shows the model Oda will use next.

What Oda saves for new chats

• An accepted switch is saved as the default. New chats start on that model. If Oda refuses a switch, nothing is saved and the chat keeps the model it had.
• A model recorded when a chat is created is not saved. For example, an app that starts a chat for you can name its model: it applies to that chat's first request only and does not change the saved default.
• A preset can name a default model of its own. Chats on that preset start on it unless a different model is chosen for the chat. See Create a custom preset.

When a model is no longer offered

• A model can leave the list: the list your company offers can change, and models can be hidden from the pickers.
• Hidden models never appear in the picker or in /model.
• Hiding does not switch a model off: it still answers a request that names it.
• If a chat's model is no longer offered, the message box shows it as unavailable and asks you to choose another model before you can send.
• Which models appear is set in Settings > Models; Set up models and providers covers the list. If Oda asks you to select a model, Updates and troubleshooting has the message and what to do.

Questions, answered

Does the model I pick become the default for new chats?

Yes. When Oda accepts a switch, it saves the choice as the default, so new chats start on that model. Until you switch one, new chats start on the default model of your company's DataMind OS, Kartlos Standard.

I changed the model while Oda was working. Which model answers?

The switch applies from the next request. The request that is already running keeps the model and effort it started with, and the new model takes over from there.

Can I try a model in one chat without changing the default?

Not by switching in the picker: an accepted switch is saved as the default. A model recorded when a chat is created, for example by an app that starts the chat for you, applies to that chat's first request only and does not change the saved default.

Does switching the preset change the model of an existing chat?

Only while the chat is new. A chat follows its preset's default model until you choose a model yourself or it runs its first request; after that, a preset change does not replace the model.

Is the reasoning effort saved with the model?

The effort of the model that new chats start on is saved together with the model. If you only change the effort of a model that a preset started this chat on, the saved default stays as it was.

Why did a model disappear from the list?

It was hidden from the pickers, or it has left the list of models your company offers. Hidden models never appear in the picker or /model. See Set up models and providers.

Why does Oda ask me to select a model before I can send?

The chat's model is no longer offered, so Oda asks for a new selection first. Choose another model to carry on; Updates and troubleshooting lists the message and what to do.

What happens if Oda refuses a model switch?

Nothing is saved: the chat keeps the model it had, and the default for new chats stays as it was.