Claude Code

In the Claude Code panel in VS Code and in the claude command in your terminal, OptiFlume picks the model for each prompt and says why.

Where it works

The Claude Code panel in VS Code, and in Cursor and Windsurf, which use the same extension.
claude in any terminal.

It is on as soon as OptiFlume is installed, with nothing to set up. You keep using Claude Code exactly as before, with your own account and plan: OptiFlume changes which model each prompt runs on, nothing else.

What you see

For each prompt, OptiFlume picks the model and effort level it needs, switches to it, and tells you in one line, for example:

OptiFlume: routine change → Sonnet 5 · low

In the panel: the line appears under your prompt and the model chip shows the new model.
In the terminal: the line appears, the model changes for this session, and your prompt is sent on the new model by itself. Press Esc while it switches to keep the current model instead.

A switch never changes your saved default model. Picking a model yourself is fine too: the next prompt is still checked, and OptiFlume switches again when another model fits better.

In the VS Code panel: the one-line reason under the prompt, and the model chip changing.

In the terminal: the switch and the reason, then the prompt runs on the new model.

Keep your own model for a prompt

Start the prompt with ~, with or without a space:

~ refactor this module carefully
~explain this error

That prompt stays on the model you have selected. In the panel the ~ is removed before it is sent; with claude in a terminal it stays in the prompt, and OptiFlume tells the model to ignore it. If your prompt itself starts with a path such as ~/project, add the marker in front: ~ ~/project/app.py is failing. In the panel, a leading ! works too.

Setup, the first time

VS Code open during the install? A note asks you to restart it. Click Restart VS Code (it reloads the window). A conversation started before the install switches once you start a new one or restart.
Terminal: open a new terminal window or tab. One that was already open still runs the plain claude.
Sign in from the OptiFlume note in VS Code, or run optiflume login in a terminal.

Claude Code needs no extra permissions. The OptiFlume item in VS Code’s status bar shows the model it last chose and your plan.

Turn it off, or back on

optiflume harness off     # the panel (Claude Code and Codex)
optiflume terminal off    # claude and codex in the terminal
optiflume harness on
optiflume terminal on

Turning it off puts your editor settings back exactly as they were. The installer’s Customize step has the same two choices. To keep your own model for a single prompt instead, start it with ~.

What OptiFlume changes, and what it leaves alone

one setting in VS Code (and in Cursor and Windsurf) so the Claude Code panel uses OptiFlume;
OptiFlume’s own claude command in ~/.optiflume/bin, first on your PATH, so claude in a new terminal runs with OptiFlume (optiflume terminal off turns this off; details);
the OptiFlume Status extension, for the status bar.

Your CLAUDE.md files, memory, transcripts and sign-in stay as they are, and Claude Code’s own settings are only read, never written. Claude Code updates keep working as before. OptiFlume only uses models your Claude account can run. Uninstalling removes everything above and restores your settings.

Safety and long sessions

The Guardian, working memory and the session watchdog, and the optional Stop/Keep notice work in Claude Code as in every tool.

Privacy

OptiFlume decides on your Mac and never sends your prompts or code anywhere. Claude Code still sends your prompt to the model, as it always has. See What is stored where.

If a prompt does not switch

Run optiflume doctor: it checks the panel in each editor and the terminal command, and says what to fix.
On the free tier OptiFlume shows its pick and you switch yourself; Pro and the trial switch for you.
More in Troubleshooting.