Fix 1 — clamp, never reject (owner ruling, interlude 2026-09-22): a
model swap with a pinned thinking level must JUST WORK. The owner hit
the write-side 400 live (Claude Fable 5.1/xhigh → GLM 5.3 flash:
"z-ai/glm-5.3-flash does not support thinking level xhigh"). The
supported-level verdicts in validateChatSettings and
validateModelsSettings are DEAD — the WRITE clamps the pin to the new
model's nearest supported level (pi's clampThinkingLevel, the same
translation piEngineForSpec applies at runtime) and stores the clamped
result; the server is the truth — the record shows the clamped level
after write.
New pure helpers in model-catalog.ts, applied by ALL THREE write
routes (section, defaults, per-chat — one verdict seam, so every
surface that used the old 400 gets the clamp uniformly):
- clampModelsLevels: every slot's level clamps against the SLOT'S OWN
model (the parser already requires a model on each slot write).
- clampChatLevel: the body's own model, else the record's resolved
strong slot (the chain's fallback); no model anywhere → rides
unchecked (runtime clamps at engine build; the turn gate refuses
the model-less chat anyway).
Fix 2 — DEFAULT_THINKING_ORDER moves from config.ts to core/settings
(core barrel, AUTH_KEYS precedent — one source of truth, no drift).
The UI imports it to auto-populate a thinking level on FRESH model
picks; the ordering has no other client role. Legacy unset records
keep the runtime defaultThinkingLevel fallback at engine build
untouched. Import sites updated: agent/models.ts, tests.
Verified live on 3004: the owner's exact case stores max (not 400);
a bare chat-level write clamps to low against the strong slot's glm;
unknown provider/model still 400s with the provider list.
Tests: the level-verdict suites became clamp suites (the owner's case
pinned verbatim: xhigh→max, minimal→low, off→low, supported
pass-through, level-less slots ride); the machine-aware
expectBareLevelVerdict chain is retired — clampChatLevel takes the
strong slot as an explicit param, so the tests are pure again.
Gates: typecheck, lint, 839/839, build.
Owner reframe (2026-09-18): the model + thinking + context controls on
the home graph view and /chat/new are not a draft overlay on a baked-in
default — they ARE the settings page for the default model, and the
user's last choice IS the default. BYOK first boot has no keys and
possibly no OpenRouter, so there is NO default to show: the controls
render 'no model' ('—') until the first pick.
The flash was the deeper symptom: the surfaces rendered from client
state that started empty and fetched truth afterward, so every visit
flashed the config pin (GLM/low — a dev artifact) for a few frames.
Fix at the root: both pages are now force-dynamic server components
that read the record (readDefaultSettings → initialSettings) and hand
it to the client — the first frame shows truth. Dynamic routes aren't
cached client-side (staleTimes.dynamic = 0), so every navigation
re-reads the record; the useDefaultSettings hook keeps only save-side
state (optimistic set + PUT). The GET-on-mount and its touch-guard are
gone.
ModelControl gains noDefaultModel (the default surfaces only): unset
settings render no model/level, never the catalog pin; the thinking
menu no-ops until a model exists. Chat surfaces keep the catalog
fallback — the engine runs the config pin when a session record has no
override, so the control keeps showing what will actually run.
Renamed draft→default throughout: data/default-settings.json,
GET/PUT /api/settings/defaults, useDefaultSettings. New sessions
still inherit the default on creation exactly as before.
Live-verified: first-boot 'no model' with zero flash, picker +
Shift+Tab cycle, values held across session→/chat/new→home roundtrips
and a reload (10×100ms samples, never the old default), zero console
errors.
amosblomqvist