Economy Mode

Deactivation: "turn off economy mode", "disable economy mode", or remove economyMode from config.json.

Economy Model Selection Table

When economy mode is active, Layer 3 auto-selection uses this table instead of the normal defaults:

Prefer gpt-4.1 over gpt-5-mini when the task involves structured output or agentic tool use. Prefer gpt-5-mini for pure text generation tasks where latency matters.

AGENT WORKFLOW

On Session Start

1. READ .squad/config.json
2. CHECK for economyMode: true — if present, activate economy mode for the session
3. STORE economy mode state in session context

On User Phrase Trigger

Session-only (no config change): "use economy mode", "save costs", "go cheap"

1. SET economy mode active for this session
2. ACKNOWLEDGE: ✅ Economy mode active — using cost-optimized models this session. (Layer 0 and Layer 2 preferences still apply)

Persistent: "always use economy mode", "save economy mode"

1. WRITE economyMode: true to .squad/config.json (merge, don't overwrite other fields)
2. ACKNOWLEDGE: ✅ Economy mode saved — cost-optimized models will be used until disabled.

On Every Agent Spawn (Economy Mode Active)

1. CHECK Layer 0a/0b first (agentModelOverrides, defaultModel) — if set, use that. Economy mode does NOT override Layer 0.
2. CHECK Layer 1 (session directive for a specific model) — if set, use that. Economy mode does NOT override explicit session directives.
3. CHECK Layer 2 (charter preference) — if set, use that. Economy mode does NOT override charter preferences.
4. APPLY economy table at Layer 3 instead of normal table.
5. INCLUDE 💰 in spawn acknowledgment: 🔧 {Name} ({model} · 💰 economy) — {task}

On Deactivation

Trigger phrases: "turn off economy mode", "disable economy mode", "use normal models"

1. REMOVE economyMode from .squad/config.json (if it was persisted)
2. CLEAR session economy mode state
3. ACKNOWLEDGE: ✅ Economy mode disabled — returning to standard model selection.

STOP

After updating economy mode state and including the 💰 indicator in spawn acknowledgments, this skill is done. Do NOT:

• Change Layer 0, Layer 1, or Layer 2 model choices
• Override charter-specified models
• Generate cost reports or comparisons
• Fall back to premium models via economy mode (economy mode never bumps UP)

Config Schema

.squad/config.json economy-related fields:

{
  "version": 1,
  "economyMode": true
}

• economyMode — when true, Layer 3 uses the economy table. Optional; absent = economy mode off.
• Combines with defaultModel and agentModelOverrides — Layer 0 always wins.

Anti-Patterns

• Don't override Layer 0 in economy mode. If the user set defaultModel: "claude-opus-4.6", they want quality. Economy mode only affects Layer 3 auto-selection.
• Don't silently apply economy mode. Always acknowledge when activated or deactivated.
• Don't treat economy mode as permanent by default. Session phrases activate session-only; only "always" or config.json persist it.
• Don't bump premium tasks down too far. Architecture and security reviews shift from opus to sonnet in economy mode — they do NOT go to fast/cheap models.