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A concise cheat sheet for matching Verdent Manager’s model and execution mode to the task at hand. For deeper configuration, see the dedicated pages for Subagents, BYOK, and BYOA.

Model Selection

Task TypeRecommended ModelWhy
Quick fixes, small editsClaude Haiku 4.5Fastest, lowest credit cost
General developmentClaude Sonnet 4.6Best speed/quality tradeoff
Complex architecture, deep reasoningClaude Opus 4.6Strongest reasoning
Parallel routine tasksClaude Haiku 4.5Resource-efficient across many Workers
Leave Auto mode on in the input box and Verdent picks the model for you based on task signals. Disable Auto only when you want to pin a specific model.

Execution Mode Selection

ScenarioModeWhy
Clear, well-defined taskAgent ModeDirect execution, no planning overhead
Unfamiliar codebase, explorationPlan ModeReview approach before acting
Production changes, architectural workPlan Mode → Agent ModeValidate plan, then execute
Fast iteration loopsAgent ModeMinimal friction
See Agent Mode and Plan Mode for full details.

Context Management

For large projects, keep the main context window lean:
  • Delegate to subagents@Verifier, @Fast Context, and custom subagents run in their own context; only their results return to the main agent.
  • Reference files explicitly — Use @filename to pull only what’s needed instead of loading whole directories.
  • Chunk large tasks — Start a new session at natural boundaries (per feature, per module).
  • Plan Mode first — Validate the approach before burning execution context on the wrong path.

Configuration Priority

When rules conflict, Verdent applies this priority order:
  1. Project Rules (AGENTS.md in project root) — highest priority
  2. Workspace settings — application workspace-level settings
  3. User Rules (~/.verdent/VERDENT.md) — global defaults
  4. Verdent defaults — lowest priority
See Rules for writing effective rules.

See Also

Subagents

Delegate work with isolated context windows

BYOK

Use your own provider API keys

BYOA

Run Workers on external Agent runtimes

Rules

Project and user rule files