Coding Agent Model Selection

Model Comparison for Coding

Model	Speed	Code Quality	Cost	Context Window	Best For
`claude-opus-4-6`	Moderate	Excellent	$$$$	200K	Architecture, complex refactoring
`gpt-5.4`	Moderate	Excellent	$$$$	200K	Complex reasoning, planning
`claude-sonnet-4-6`	Fast	Very Good	$$$	200K	General coding, reviews
`gemini-3.1-pro-preview`	Fast	Very Good	$$$	1M	Large codebase analysis
`gpt-5-mini`	Very Fast	Good	$$	128K	Quick edits, completions
`gemini-3.5-flash`	Very Fast	Good	$$	1M	Fast iteration, search
`deepseek-v4-pro`	Moderate	Very Good	$	1M	Reasoning-heavy tasks
`deepseek-v4-flash`	Fast	Good	$	1M	Bulk generation, boilerplate

For the newer coding-oriented pool, also consider qwen-long-latest for very large repositories, minimax-m3 for large-context agent work, kimi-k2.7-code-highspeed for fast coding loops, and deepseek-v4-pro / deepseek-v4-flash, glm-5.2, step-3.7-flash, and mimo-v2.5-pro for OpenAI-compatible chat requests.

Task-Specific Recommendations

Code Generation / Scaffolding

Recommended: claude-sonnet-4-6, gemini-3.1-pro-previewThese models produce clean, well-structured code with good naming conventions. For complex multi-file scaffolding, consider claude-opus-4-6.Budget alternative: deepseek-v4-flash handles boilerplate well at a fraction of the cost.

Code Review / Refactoring

Recommended: claude-sonnet-4-6, deepseek-v4-proCode review benefits from reasoning ability. deepseek-v4-pro is particularly cost-effective here — its chain-of-thought approach catches subtle issues.For security-focused reviews: claude-opus-4-6 or gpt-5.4.

Bug Fixing / Debugging

Recommended: claude-sonnet-4-6, gpt-5-miniBug fixing is usually well-scoped — you know what’s broken. Standard-tier models handle this well. Use premium models only for complex, multi-file bugs.

Architecture Design

Recommended: claude-opus-4-6, gpt-5.4Architecture decisions benefit from the strongest reasoning. Worth the premium cost since these decisions are infrequent but high-impact.

Quick Edits / Tab Completion

Recommended: gpt-5-mini, gemini-3.5-flashSpeed is critical for interactive use. Budget models with fast response times provide the best experience. Don’t waste premium tokens on autocomplete.

Provider Selection

AI Sonar selects an available provider for the requested model automatically.

Automatic Retry

If a provider is unavailable or returns an error, AI Sonar automatically retries with another available provider:

Request: claude-sonnet-4-6
  → Provider A (primary): 503 error
  → Provider B (retry): ✓ Success

This happens transparently — your coding agent sees a normal response.

Native API Formats

When the selected model supports a native API format, AI Sonar can use that format for better compatibility:

Model Family	API Format	Base URL
Claude	Anthropic Messages	`https://api.aisonar.dev`
GPT	OpenAI Responses	`https://api.aisonar.dev/v1`
Gemini	Gemini Native API	`https://api.aisonar.dev` or `https://api.aisonar.dev/v1beta` depending on client path
DeepSeek	OpenAI Chat	`https://api.aisonar.dev/v1`

Claude Code is a strong native Anthropic path. Gemini-native APIs exist too, but Gemini CLI itself remains a best-effort compatibility path rather than a guaranteed long-term workflow.

Configuration per Tool

Claude Code

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-your-api-key"
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.aisonar.dev"

Select model: claude --model claude-sonnet-4-6Full guide →

Cursor

In Settings → Models:

API Key: sk-your-api-key
Base URL: https://api.aisonar.dev/v1
Model: claude-sonnet-4-6 or gpt-5-mini

Full guide →

Codex CLI

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-your-api-key"
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.aisonar.dev/v1"

Full guide →

Gemini CLI

export GEMINI_API_KEY="sk-your-api-key"
export GOOGLE_GEMINI_BASE_URL="https://api.aisonar.dev"

Treat this as best-effort compatibility rather than an official Gemini CLI integration.Full guide →

OpenCode

{
  "provider": "openai",
  "apiKey": "sk-your-api-key",
  "baseURL": "https://api.aisonar.dev/v1"
}

Full guide →

Compatibility Matrix

Coding Tools

Native SDKs

Frameworks & Platforms

Chat Apps

Coding Agent Model Selection

Model Comparison for Coding

Task-Specific Recommendations

Provider Selection

Automatic Retry

Native API Formats

Configuration per Tool

​Model Comparison for Coding

​Task-Specific Recommendations

​Provider Selection

​Automatic Retry

​Native API Formats

​Configuration per Tool

Model Comparison for Coding

Task-Specific Recommendations

Provider Selection

Automatic Retry

Native API Formats

Configuration per Tool