Theo's approach to running GPT-5.5 as a Claude Code subagent

Theo Browne published a guide for running GPT-5.5 as a subagent within Claude Code workflows, ranking models by cost, intelligence, and taste. The approach uses GPT-5.5 for bulk mechanical work via the Codex CLI, while reserving Claude models for user-facing tasks requiring higher taste scores. Browne provides detailed configuration instructions for integrating GPT-5.5 into Claude workflows, including wrapper agents and parallel execution with worktree isolation.

stolen from Theo Browne Rankings, higher = better. Cost reflects what I actually pay OpenAI is near-free for me due to a deal , not list price. Intelligence is how hard a problem you can hand the model unsupervised. Taste covers UI/UX, code quality, API design, and copy. | model | cost | intelligence | taste | |---|---|---|---| | gpt-5.5 | 9 | 8 | 5 | | sonnet-5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | | opus-4.8 | 4 | 7 | 8 | | fable-5 | 2 | 9 | 9 | How to apply: - These are defaults, not limits. You have standing permission to override them: if a cheaper model's output doesn't meet the bar, rerun or redo the work with a smarter model without asking. Judge the output, not the price tag. Escalating costs less than shipping mediocre work. - Cost is a tie-breaker only; when axes conflict for anything that ships, intelligence taste cost. - Don't let cost prevent you from using the right model for the job. Instead, take advantage of cheaper options to get more information and try things before moving the work to a more expensive option. - Bulk/mechanical work clear-spec implementation, data analysis, migrations : gpt-5.5 — it's effectively free. - Anything user-facing UI, copy, API design needs taste ≥ 7. - Reviews of plans/implementations: fable-5 or opus-4.8, optionally gpt-5.5 as an extra independent perspective. - Never use Haiku. - Mechanics: gpt-5.5 is only reachable through the Codex CLI — codex exec / codex review my ~/.codex/config.toml defaults to gpt-5.5 . Use the codex-implementation, codex-review, and codex-computer-use skills; for work they don't cover investigation, data analysis , run codex exec -s read-only directly with a self-contained prompt. - Claude models sonnet-5, opus-4.8, fable-5 run via the Agent/Workflow model parameter. Using gpt-5.5 inside workflows and subagents the model parameter only takes Claude models, so use a wrapper : - Spawn a thin Claude wrapper agent with model: 'sonnet', effort: 'low' whose prompt instructs it to write a self-contained codex prompt, run codex exec via Bash, and return the report use schema on the wrapper to get structured output back . - Always label these agents with a gpt-5.5: prefix, e.g. {label: 'gpt-5.5:review-auth'} — the workflow UI shows the wrapper's Claude model, so the label is the only indication the real worker is gpt-5.5. - Codex runs can exceed Bash's 10-minute timeout: pass an explicit timeout, or run in the background and poll for the report file. - Parallel gpt-5.5 implementation agents must use isolation: 'worktree' so codex edits don't collide in the shared checkout. - Workflow token budgets only count Claude tokens; codex work is free and invisible to budget.spent .