--- title: "Model fallback" canonical: "https://canmyagentuse.com/features/model-fallback" contentKind: "feature" locale: "en" description: "Switch to another model after a capacity, policy, or service failure." llmSummary: "Model fallback is documented switching to another model after a capacity, policy, or service failure. Disclosure, configuration, and opt-out behavior are recorded as qualifiers." publishedAt: "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z" updatedAt: "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z" verifiedAt: "2026-08-28" tags: ["models","routing","reliability","observability"] --- # Model fallback Model fallback is documented switching to another model after a capacity, policy, or service failure. Disclosure, configuration, and opt-out behavior are recorded as qualifiers. - HTML: https://canmyagentuse.com/features/model-fallback - JSON: https://canmyagentuse.com/api/v1/features/model-fallback.json - Markdown: https://canmyagentuse.com/features/model-fallback.md Terminology basis: **Common product term** — https://docs.x.ai/grok-bot/teams-and-enterprises. ## Current support at a glance Model fallback: 2 supported, 0 partial, 0 unsupported, 29 unreviewed across 31 cataloged products. - Reviewed current products: 2 of 31 - Supported: 2 - Partial: 0 - Unsupported: 0 - Unreviewed: 29 - Not applicable: 0 Unknown or unreviewed means insufficient published evidence; it does not mean unsupported. This row tracks whether a harness may retry or continue with a different model and what control the operator has over that change. Transparent, configurable fallback is distinct from silent automatic routing. Evidence should record triggers, candidate models, changes in context or tool compatibility, whether the operator is notified, how provenance appears in logs or exports, and whether regulated or reproducible workflows can disable fallback. ## Catalog context - Category: [models-context](/categories/models-context.md) - Terminology basis: Common product term - Aliases: model failover, automatic model routing, fallback model - Family: [Models and context](/features/models-and-context.md) - Siblings: [Automatic context compaction](/features/automatic-context-compaction.md), [Context compaction controls](/features/context-compaction-controls.md), [Context usage](/features/context-usage-visibility.md), [Context window](/features/context-window.md), [Local models](/features/local-models.md), [Model selection](/features/model-selection.md), [Output token limit](/features/output-token-limit.md), [Prompt cache controls](/features/prompt-cache-controls.md), [Prompt cache telemetry](/features/prompt-cache-telemetry.md), [Prompt caching](/features/prompt-cache-reuse.md), [Reasoning effort controls](/features/reasoning-effort-controls.md) ## Compatibility assertions Unknown means insufficient published evidence; it does not mean unsupported. ### ChatGPT (web) - Harness: [ChatGPT](/harnesses/chatgpt-web.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Claude (web) - Harness: [Claude](/harnesses/claude-web.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Gemini (web) - Harness: [Gemini](/harnesses/gemini-web.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Copilot (web) - Harness: [Copilot](/harnesses/copilot-web.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Grok (web) - Harness: [Grok](/harnesses/grok-web.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Grok Bot (desktop) - Harness: [Grok Bot](/harnesses/grok-bot-desktop.md) - current: **Supported** - Target: hosted-observation — 2026-08-28 Grok Bot desktop documentation observation; observed 2026-08-28 - Environment: hosted-default - Constraint (runtime): automatic failover is documented and the serving model appears in usage analytics, but the operator cannot configure, select, or prevent fallback - Evidence: [xAI — Grok Bot for teams and enterprises](https://docs.x.ai/grok-bot/teams-and-enterprises) — documented; observed 2026-08-28 - Qualification note 1: Evidence checked 2026-08-28: xAI documents automatic model failover for Grok Bot and says usage analytics show the model that actually served each request, including failovers. Users and administrators cannot choose models or disable fallback. ### Perplexity (web) - Harness: [Perplexity](/harnesses/perplexity-web.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Le Chat (web) - Harness: [Le Chat](/harnesses/le-chat.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Devin (web) - Harness: [Devin](/harnesses/devin-web.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Replit Agent (web) - Harness: [Replit Agent](/harnesses/replit-agent.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### ChatGPT (desktop) - Harness: [ChatGPT](/harnesses/chatgpt-desktop.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Claude (desktop) - Harness: [Claude](/harnesses/claude-desktop.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Cursor (desktop) - Harness: [Cursor](/harnesses/cursor.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### OpenWork Desktop (desktop) - Harness: [OpenWork Desktop](/harnesses/openwork-desktop.md) - current: **Unknown** ### Copilot Chat (desktop) - Harness: [Copilot Chat](/harnesses/vscode-copilot.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Chrome WebMCP origin trial (desktop) - Harness: [Chrome WebMCP origin trial](/harnesses/chrome-webmcp-preview.md) - current: **Unknown** ### Windsurf (desktop) - Harness: [Windsurf](/harnesses/windsurf.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Zed Agent (desktop) - Harness: [Zed Agent](/harnesses/zed-agent.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Continue (desktop) - Harness: [Continue](/harnesses/continue.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Cline (desktop) - Harness: [Cline](/harnesses/cline.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### JetBrains AI (desktop) - Harness: [JetBrains AI](/harnesses/jetbrains-ai.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Warp (desktop) - Harness: [Warp](/harnesses/warp.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Claude CLI (cli) - Harness: [Claude CLI](/harnesses/claude-cli.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### ChatGPT CLI (cli) - Harness: [ChatGPT CLI](/harnesses/chatgpt-cli.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Codex CLI (cli) - Harness: [Codex CLI](/harnesses/codex-cli.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### OpenCode (cli) - Harness: [OpenCode](/harnesses/opencode.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Gemini CLI (cli) - Harness: [Gemini CLI](/harnesses/gemini-cli.md) - current: **Supported** - Target: hosted-observation — 2026-08-28 Gemini CLI documentation observation; observed 2026-08-28 - Environment: local-default - Constraint (runtime): model fallback is enabled by default and can trigger after quota or server errors; the CLI normally prompts for consent before switching - Constraint (policy): a routing policy can permit silent fallback for the current turn or remainder of the session; internal utility calls have a separate silent fallback chain - Constraint (runtime): the reviewed page identifies fallback behavior but does not provide an exported per-turn routing provenance record - Evidence: [Google — Gemini CLI model routing](https://geminicli.com/docs/cli/model-routing/) — documented; observed 2026-08-28 - Qualification note 2: Evidence checked 2026-08-28: Gemini CLI enables model fallback by default after quota or server errors, normally prompts before switching, and can apply policy-authorized silent fallback for a turn or session. Some internal utility calls use a separate silent fallback chain. - preview: **Unknown** ### Aider (cli) - Harness: [Aider](/harnesses/aider.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Goose (cli) - Harness: [Goose](/harnesses/goose.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Copilot CLI (cli) - Harness: [Copilot CLI](/harnesses/copilot-cli.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown** ### Amp (cli) - Harness: [Amp](/harnesses/amp-cli.md) - current: **Unknown** - preview: **Unknown**