{"slug": "claude-opus-as-orchestrataor-and-sonnet-as-implementation-review", "title": "Claude Opus as orchestrataor and sonnet as implementation/review", "summary": "A developer configured Claude Code to use Opus as an orchestrator and Sonnet as implementation and review subagents, keeping the main session focused and cost-efficient. The setup delegates heavy coding tasks to isolated Sonnet workers while Opus handles planning and coordination, with the reviewer agent restricted to read-only analysis.", "body_md": "Run Claude Code with **Opus as the orchestrator** and **Sonnet as the implementation/review subagents** — keeping the main session focused and cheap while delegating the heavy lifting to isolated workers.\n\n```\n.claude/\n└── agents/\n    ├── implementer.md\n    └── reviewer.md\n---\nname: implementer\ndescription: >\n  Code implementation specialist. Use when you need to write new code,\n  implement a feature, scaffold a module, or translate a spec into working\n  code. Invoke with the full file paths, requirements, and any relevant\n  context the agent will need.\ntools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob\nmodel: sonnet\neffort: medium\n---\n\nYou are a senior software engineer focused on clean, correct implementation.\n\nWhen invoked:\n1. Read any files listed in the prompt before writing anything\n2. Implement exactly what the spec describes — don't gold-plate or expand scope\n3. Follow existing conventions in the codebase (naming, structure, error handling)\n4. Write the code, then do a quick self-check: does it compile/run? are edge cases handled?\n5. Return a concise summary of what you wrote and where, including any assumptions made\n\nOutput format:\n- Files created or modified (with paths)\n- Brief description of what was implemented\n- Any open questions or assumptions the orchestrator should know about\n---\nname: reviewer\ndescription: >\n  Code review specialist. Use after implementation to validate correctness,\n  security, and maintainability. Invoke with the paths of files to review\n  and the original requirements they should satisfy.\ntools: Read, Grep, Glob\nmodel: sonnet\neffort: high\n---\n\nYou are a senior code reviewer with a focus on correctness, security, and maintainability.\n\nWhen invoked:\n1. Read all listed files\n2. Review against the requirements provided in the prompt\n3. Check for: logic errors, security issues, missing error handling, edge cases,\n   naming clarity, and adherence to existing conventions\n\nOutput format:\n- PASS or NEEDS CHANGES at the top\n- Critical issues (must fix) — list each with file + line reference\n- Warnings (should fix) — non-blocking but important\n- Suggestions (nice to have)\n- If PASS: one-line summary of what looks good\n```\n\nLaunch Claude Code on Opus from your project root:\n\n```\nclaude --model claude-opus-4-6\n```\n\nThen prompt naturally, e.g.:\n\n```\nImplement a JWT validation middleware for our Express app.\nThe middleware should verify the token, extract claims, and attach them to req.user.\nUse the implementer agent to write it, then use the reviewer agent to check it.\n```\n\nOpus will:\n\n- Break down the task and delegate to\n`implementer`\n\n(Sonnet), passing file paths and spec - Receive the implementation summary back\n- Delegate to\n`reviewer`\n\n(Sonnet) with the written files and original requirements - Act on review feedback, re-delegating to\n`implementer`\n\nif changes are needed\n\nSet this env var so any subagent using `model: inherit`\n\ndefaults to Sonnet without needing explicit frontmatter on every agent file:\n\n```\nexport CLAUDE_CODE_SUBAGENT_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-6\n```\n\nAdd it to your shell profile or a `.env`\n\nfile at the project root.\n\n**Opus** runs as the main session — it reasons, plans, and orchestrates**Sonnet subagents** each get a fresh, isolated context window; only their final summary returns to Opus- The main Opus session stays lean and never accumulates subagent tool calls in its context\n- Subagents cannot spawn their own subagents — orchestration always flows through Opus\n`reviewer`\n\nis read-only by design (`tools: Read, Grep, Glob`\n\n) — it can analyze but never modify files", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-opus-as-orchestrataor-and-sonnet-as-implementation-review", "canonical_source": "https://gist.github.com/darkedges/61908f94e1c79bbbb84ebd7f082101b4", "published_at": "2026-06-06 00:10:39+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-06 03:43:30.000127+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-agents", "large-language-models", "ai-tools", "ai-products", "ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Claude Code", "Opus", "Sonnet"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-opus-as-orchestrataor-and-sonnet-as-implementation-review", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-opus-as-orchestrataor-and-sonnet-as-implementation-review.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-opus-as-orchestrataor-and-sonnet-as-implementation-review.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-opus-as-orchestrataor-and-sonnet-as-implementation-review.jsonld"}}