Organization default model

Organization admins on Claude Enterprise plans can set a default model for Claude Code members from the claude.ai admin console, for the whole organization or per custom role. When one is set, the Default option resolves to that model. Requires Claude Code v2.1.196 or later.

The Default row in the /model picker shows the organization default's name with the label Org default. The label reads Org default whether the admin set the default for the whole organization or for your role. A role default covers members of that custom role and takes precedence over the organization-wide default; when several of your roles set different defaults, the most capable model applies.

The organization default is a starting point, not a restriction. These selections take precedence over it:

• the --model flag and the ANTHROPIC_MODEL environment variable
• a model value in managed settings or supplied through --settings
• a model value in your user, project, or local settings, including a model you save with /model

Admins can also configure the organization default to override user selection. With override on, it takes precedence over the model value in user, project, and local settings, so a model you save with /model applies for the current session and the organization default returns on the next launch. When your selection differs, /model shows Your organization's default (<model>) applies on restart. The --model flag, ANTHROPIC_MODEL, managed settings, and --settings still take precedence even with override on. Override is available to a limited set of organizations; ask your Anthropic account team about availability.

To limit which models members can select, use organization model restrictions or availableModels instead.

Claude Code reads the organization default once at startup, so a default the admin changes mid-session takes effect on the next launch.

When the organization default doesn't override user selection, the first interactive launch after the admin changes it clears the model key from your user settings once, so the new default applies. It changes nothing else in the file, and a model you save with /model after that launch is kept.

The organization default passes through these restriction checks before it is adopted:

• availableModels on its own doesn't apply to the organization default, so an organization default outside the allowlist still applies. When enforceAvailableModels is also set, an organization default outside the allowlist is remapped to the first allowlist entry, like any other Default
• an organization default that organization model restrictions deny for your account is replaced by the newest allowed model in its family, or a lower-cost family when every version of it is restricted
• an organization default that isn't available to your account at all is skipped, and the Default option resolves as it would without an organization default

As of v2.1.199, when the organization default is a different model family from your account type's usual default, the /model picker keeps a separate row for that usual family, so you can still switch to it for a session. In v2.1.196 through v2.1.198 that row is missing from the picker.

The organization default reaches only sessions authenticated with the Anthropic API. To set a default anywhere else, including LLM gateway deployments, use the model key in managed settings instead.