diff --git a/home/home-darwin-work.nix b/home/home-darwin-work.nix
index 84f5c80..9074902 100644
--- a/home/home-darwin-work.nix
+++ b/home/home-darwin-work.nix
@@ -223,7 +223,10 @@ in
 
   home.roles = {
     base.enable = true;
-    development.enable = true;
+    development = {
+      enable = true;
+      allowArbitraryClaudeCodeModelSelection = true;
+    };
   };
 
   imports = [
diff --git a/home/roles/development/default.nix b/home/roles/development/default.nix
index 2efda01..c805fe8 100644
--- a/home/roles/development/default.nix
+++ b/home/roles/development/default.nix
@@ -18,6 +18,20 @@ in
 {
   options.home.roles.development = {
     enable = mkEnableOption "Enable development tools and utilities";
+
+    allowArbitraryClaudeCodeModelSelection = mkOption {
+      type = types.bool;
+      default = false;
+      description = ''
+        Whether to preserve model specifications in Claude Code humanlayer commands and agents.
+
+        When false (default), the model: line is stripped from frontmatter, allowing Claude Code
+        to use its default model selection.
+
+        When true, the model: specifications from the source files are preserved, allowing
+        commands to specify opus/sonnet/haiku explicitly.
+      '';
+    };
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
@@ -46,9 +60,11 @@ in
           filename=$(basename "$file" .md)
           dest="$HOME/.claude/commands/humanlayer:''${filename}.md"
 
-          # Copy file and remove the "model:" line from frontmatter
-          # This allows Claude Code Pro to use the default model
-          ${pkgs.gnused}/bin/sed '/^model:/d' "$file" > "$dest"
+          # Copy file and conditionally remove the "model:" line from frontmatter
+          ${if cfg.allowArbitraryClaudeCodeModelSelection
+            then "cp \"$file\" \"$dest\""
+            else "${pkgs.gnused}/bin/sed '/^model:/d' \"$file\" > \"$dest\""
+          }
         fi
       done
 
@@ -58,13 +74,19 @@ in
           filename=$(basename "$file" .md)
           dest="$HOME/.claude/agents/humanlayer:''${filename}.md"
 
-          # Copy file and remove the "model:" line from frontmatter
-          # This allows Claude Code Pro to use the default model
-          ${pkgs.gnused}/bin/sed '/^model:/d' "$file" > "$dest"
+          # Copy file and conditionally remove the "model:" line from frontmatter
+          ${if cfg.allowArbitraryClaudeCodeModelSelection
+            then "cp \"$file\" \"$dest\""
+            else "${pkgs.gnused}/bin/sed '/^model:/d' \"$file\" > \"$dest\""
+          }
         fi
       done
 
-      $DRY_RUN_CMD echo "Claude Code humanlayer commands and agents installed successfully (model selection removed)"
+      $DRY_RUN_CMD echo "Claude Code humanlayer commands and agents installed successfully${
+        if cfg.allowArbitraryClaudeCodeModelSelection
+        then " (model specifications preserved)"
+        else " (model selection removed)"
+      }"
     '';
 
     # Note: modules must be imported at top-level home config