claude --continue does not preserve the original session's --model
Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Mar 9, 2026 by keenanwh Closed Apr 7, 2026
Bug
When a session is created with --model <X>, resuming it with claude --continue uses the current default model (from settings) instead of preserving the original session's model.
Repro
# Settings default is sonnet
echo "What model are you?" | claude -p --model haiku
# Responds correctly as Haiku 4.5
claude --continue
# Status bar shows Sonnet 4.6 — the default, not haiku
# Model self-identifies as Haiku (from preserved system prompt) but is actually running as Sonnet
Expected
claude --continue should resume using the same model (haiku) that was specified via --model when the session was created.
Actual
claude --continue ignores the original --model and uses the current default model from settings.
Impact
- Misleading when inspecting previous sessions (appears to be a different model than what actually ran)
- If a user created a session with a specific model for cost/capability reasons, continuing it silently switches models
Environment
- Claude Code v2.1.71
- Windows (MSYS2/bash)
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