When I create a custom subagent with model: inherit in the config and my parent agent is using Opus 4.5 thinking, the subagent doesn’t inherit the model. It runs on composer-1 instead.
My subagent config looks like this:
---
name: test-agent
model: inherit
description: Simple test agent for debugging subagent functionality
---
When I invoke it from the parent agent the subagent runs but uses composer-1 rather than inheriting Opus 4.5 thinking from the parent.
Steps to Reproduce
Set your main agent model to Opus 4.5 thinking
Create a custom subagent in .cursor/agents/ with model: inherit
Invoke the subagent using the Task tool or slash command
Check what model the subagent actually uses - it shows composer-1
Expected Behavior
The subagent should use the same model as the parent agent (Opus 4.5 thinking) when model: inherit is specified.
Opus 4.5 thinking (parent) but subagent defaults to composer-1
For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled
d79c1d89-09df-4e13-96e1-b24368b5866f
Additional Information
Test result:
When asked to identify its model the subagent responded: “I’m Composer, a language model trained by Cursor. I’m not GPT-4/5, Grok, Gemini, Claude Sonnet/Opus, or any other publicly known model.”
This confirms the model: inherit config is ignored and the subagent defaults to Cursor’s internal Composer model instead of inheriting Opus 4.5 thinking from the parent.
Hey @Colin , I’m not on a legacy plan. I have On-Demand Usage enabled. Still getting Composer 1 for subagents instead of the model inherit working properly.
I have access to the backend – and I can tell that you are on a request-based plan! You’ll find under https://cursor.com/dashboard?tab=usage that your conversations are tracked by a number of requests.
Once you dip into on-demand usage, or turn on Max Mode, you should see other models get used for subagents.
Thanks for checking. Here’s my On-Demand settings! I do have it enabled. Does this mean I need to actually exceed my included requests before subagents will use the selected model? Or does Max Mode need to be explicitly turned on regardless?
Also as feedback, if a user selects a premium model like Opus 4.5 thinking it should probably auto switch to on-demand usage for subagents. Having to wait until request-based limits run out doesn’t make sense when you’re already choosing to use a more expensive model.
