Choose a model and read its usage
5 minute read · Chats & Local Agents
Choose a model for the current conversation after connecting its provider. Defaults help you start the next chat; changing a default does not rewrite the model choices in existing conversations.
- Choose what this task needs
- Keep the service tier deliberate
- Choose the provider account as well as the model
- Read usage without guessing
- Separate three different limits
- Change the model deliberately
- When usage looks stale
- Model picker and usage controls
Choose what this task needs
Use the provider icon and model picker in the composer to check which coding agent and model the conversation will use. Select a discovered or supported custom choice. Reasoning effort, service tier and thinking options appear where the model and provider support them. A control available for one provider is not necessarily available for all five.
Keep the service tier deliberate
Fast mode starts off in new chats. Enable it deliberately in a conversation only when the provider supports it and you want that service tier. Provider usage and billing rules still apply.
Linked tasks always use the standard service tier. Routine assignments use an available lighter model from the coordinator's provider and account; complex assignments can retain its stronger model when the coordinator supplies a reason. The agent cannot enable Fast mode for a linked assignment. See linked tasks.
Choose the provider account as well as the model
Provider accounts let you keep multiple profiles for the same provider with Codex and Claude Code. Other providers use their current login; do not assume all five expose the same profile controls. Give each profile a recognizable name and check its connection status. Your Vortex account, the provider, the selected account profile and the model are different choices; a provider icon alone does not identify which account will run the work.
Use the account controls to select the intended profile, then confirm the provider and model in the conversation before starting a run. Finish any required provider sign-in through the connection flow. Do not paste login tokens into chat or assume that adding another profile includes another subscription or more usage.
If the profile is signed out or unavailable, reconnect that profile and check its status before retrying. Available models and limits still depend on the provider account. Switching the visible profile is not proof that an already-running provider session has changed accounts.
Read usage without guessing
Conversation context and account allowance are different measurements. Context may be estimated. Codex and Claude can report five-hour and weekly account windows. Google Antigravity reports per-model account quotas and reset times, not conversation token counts in this integration.
Grok Build and Kimi Code show Limits not reported when their protocol supplies no quota window. This does not mean unlimited usage. Expired quota samples are not current balances.
Refresh the usage popover to inspect available values and errors. A provider eligibility or quota error belongs to that provider account; Vortex cannot change it. Vortex cloud storage is separate from your provider’s tokens.
Next: connect Codex, connect Claude Code, Vortex capacity.
Separate three different limits
| Display | What it answers | What it does not answer |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation context | How much of this model's context the current conversation uses; estimates are identified. | Your remaining paid account allowance. |
| Provider quota windows | The usage/reset information supplied by the connected provider. | How many Vortex projects you may retain. |
| Vortex cloud storage | Technical capacity for encrypted history, mail and signals. | A product count cap, included AI tokens or provider eligibility. |
Codex and Claude can report five-hour and weekly account windows. Google Antigravity exposes per-model account quotas and reset times, not conversation token counts in this integration. Grok and Kimi show Limits not reported where their protocol supplies no applicable windows. Never interpret absent information as an unlimited account.
Change the model deliberately
Open the model control in the current composer and select an available model. Review supported reasoning, thinking or service-tier settings where offered. A provider default and a conversation's saved selection are separate: changing a default should not silently rewrite earlier threads.
Before continuing an important run after changing provider settings, confirm the chosen agent and access mode. If a custom model is rejected, use a discovered supported choice and retain the error for diagnosis. Do not assume that a name accepted by one provider is valid for another.
When usage looks stale
Refresh the usage popover and read its update/reset information and errors. A sample collected before a quota reset should not be presented as a current restriction. If the provider returns a rate-limit error without a useful usage report, keep that error as the authority for the attempted run. Planning smaller tasks can reduce unnecessary context, but archiving a Vortex conversation does not reset an external provider's billing window.
Model picker and usage controls
| Control / indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Provider icon / Agent tabs | Chooses the provider whose models/accounts you are viewing. Provider availability depends on installation and sign-in. |
| Account profile | Selects the actual provider account for the conversation. Work and personal accounts can have different models and quotas. |
| Search models | Filters the models in the current picker. |
| Favorites | Shows favorited models; favoriting does not grant access to a model. |
| Model availability | Displays the provider's available/known model information. |
| Refresh models | Re-reads model availability for the selected integration. |
| Custom model ID | Sends an explicitly entered model identifier through a supported provider path. Vortex cannot guarantee the provider accepts an arbitrary name. |
| Connection settings / Install agents | Opens the setup relevant to unavailable agents/accounts. |
| Thinking / Reasoning | Chooses supported reasoning effort. Higher effort can take longer and consume more usage. |
| Fast mode | Opts into a supported faster service tier for an ordinary chat. It starts off in new chats and is prohibited for linked tasks. |
| Context indicator | Shows available conversation-context information. It is different from a provider's periodic usage quota. |
| Provider usage indicators | Show reported limits/windows and reset information. Missing or stale data is not unlimited allowance. |
For linked tasks, keep the coordinating provider and account: a lighter available model is used for straightforward bounded work; complex tasks can justify the stronger model. Starting multiple chats still consumes usage even when every task uses the standard tier. See linked task controls.