crosscheck-mcp 0.2.30 → 0.2.31

package/dist/node-stdio.js

@@ -2471,6 +2471,7 @@ Routing rules:
 2. If the next token does NOT match a tool name (or there is no next token), default to \`mcp__crosscheck__${DEFAULT_TOOL}\` and pass the entire message tail (everything after \`xc\`/\`XC\`) as \`question\`.
 3. Preserve the user's wording verbatim in the argument \u2014 do not paraphrase, summarize, or "clean up" the prompt before forwarding.
 4. If the user message is exactly \`xc\` or \`XC\` with no tail, ask them what they want crosscheck to do; do not invent a question.
+5. If the user names a moderator ("let Gemini moderate", "moderator gpt", "moderated by openai:gpt-6-sol"), ALSO pass it as \`moderator\` \u2014 a provider or \`provider:model\` \u2014 on tools that accept one (debate, plan, coordinate, orchestrate, create). Any provider can moderate. Still forward the wording verbatim.
 
 Routable tool names: ${ROUTABLE_TOOLS.join(", ")}.
 
@@ -2508,7 +2509,7 @@ import { z } from "zod";
 // src/server-meta.ts
 init_esm_shims();
 var SERVER_NAME = "crosscheck-agent";
-var SERVER_VERSION = true ? "0.2.30" : "0.0.0-dev";
+var SERVER_VERSION = true ? "0.2.31" : "0.0.0-dev";
 
 // src/tools/audit.ts
 init_esm_shims();
@@ -4142,6 +4143,231 @@ function numberOrNull(v) {
 // src/tools/audit.ts
 import { performance as performance2 } from "perf_hooks";
 
+// src/core/moderator.ts
+init_esm_shims();
+
+// src/core/super-mode.ts
+init_esm_shims();
+import { AsyncLocalStorage } from "async_hooks";
+
+// src/core/reasoning-upgrade.ts
+init_esm_shims();
+var UPGRADE_MODEL = "claude-fable-5";
+var UPGRADE_LABEL = "Fable 5";
+function isUpgradeRequested(args) {
+  if (args["upgrade"] === true) return true;
+  const reasoning = args["reasoning"];
+  if (typeof reasoning === "string" && reasoning.trim().toLowerCase() === "max") {
+    return true;
+  }
+  const model = args["model"];
+  if (typeof model === "string") {
+    const m = model.trim().toLowerCase();
+    if (m === "fable5" || m === "fable-5" || m === "fable" || m === UPGRADE_MODEL) {
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+var HEAVY_TERMS = [
+  /\bprov(e|ing|en)\b|\bproof\b|\btheorem\b|\bderiv(e|ation)\b/i,
+  /\barchitect(ure|ing)?\b|\bdesign\s+(a|the|an)\b|\bhigh[-\s]?level\s+design\b/i,
+  /\btrade[-\s]?offs?\b|\bpros?\s+and\s+cons?\b|\bweigh\b/i,
+  /\boptimi[sz]e\b|\bcomplexity\b|\bO\(|\balgorithm(ic)?\b/i,
+  /\brace\s+condition\b|\bconcurren(t|cy)\b|\bdeadlock\b|\bdistributed\b|\bconsensus\b/i,
+  /\broot[-\s]?cause\b|\bdebug(ging)?\b|\bwhy\s+(does|is|would|might)\b/i,
+  /\bsecurity\b|\bthreat\s+model\b|\bexploit\b|\bvulnerabilit(y|ies)\b/i,
+  /\bmigrat(e|ion)\b|\brefactor\b|\bre[-\s]?architect\b/i,
+  /\binvariant\b|\bcorrectness\b|\bedge\s+cases?\b|\bformal(ly)?\b/i,
+  /\bstrateg(y|ic|ies)\b|\bplan\s+(the|a|an|out)\b|\broadmap\b/i,
+  /\breason\s+(through|about)\b|\bstep[-\s]?by[-\s]?step\b|\bthink\s+deeply\b/i,
+  /\bnp[-\s]?(hard|complete)\b|\bgraph\b|\bstate\s+machine\b|\bconstraint\b/i
+];
+var DIFFICULTY_TERMS = /\b(hard|tricky|subtle|complex|complicated|non[-\s]?trivial|thorny|gnarly|difficult|deep)\b/i;
+function assessReasoning(text) {
+  const s = typeof text === "string" ? text : "";
+  const signals = [];
+  let score = 0;
+  let termHits = 0;
+  for (const re of HEAVY_TERMS) {
+    if (re.test(s)) termHits += 1;
+  }
+  if (termHits > 0) {
+    const add = Math.min(termHits, 4);
+    score += add;
+    signals.push(`${termHits} reasoning cue${termHits === 1 ? "" : "s"}`);
+  }
+  if (DIFFICULTY_TERMS.test(s)) {
+    score += 1;
+    signals.push("explicit difficulty marker");
+  }
+  const words = s.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length;
+  if (words >= 120) {
+    score += 2;
+    signals.push("long, detailed prompt");
+  } else if (words >= 50) {
+    score += 1;
+    signals.push("substantial prompt");
+  }
+  const constraints = (s.match(/\b(must|should|need to|ensure|require[ds]?|constraint)\b/gi) ?? []).length + (s.match(/(^|\n)\s*(?:[-*]|\d+[.)])\s+/g) ?? []).length;
+  if (constraints >= 3) {
+    score += 1;
+    signals.push(`${constraints} constraints/steps`);
+  }
+  const heavy = score >= 3;
+  const reason = heavy ? `Task looks reasoning-heavy (${signals.join(", ") || "score " + score}).` : `Task looks routine (score ${score}).`;
+  return { heavy, score, reason, signals };
+}
+function buildSuggestedUpgrade(toolName, assessment) {
+  return {
+    model: UPGRADE_MODEL,
+    label: UPGRADE_LABEL,
+    reason: assessment.reason,
+    how: `re-run \`${toolName}\` with reasoning:"max" (or upgrade:true) to route the lead reasoning seat to ${UPGRADE_LABEL}, and \u2014 when an OpenAI key is configured \u2014 add an OpenAI second-opinion pass that ${UPGRADE_LABEL} weighs before finalizing (the result names which model ran). Other panel seats stay on their normal models.`
+  };
+}
+
+// src/core/super-mode.ts
+var SUPER_MODELS = {
+  // Fable 5.1 verified present on the account; 5 as the fallback for accounts
+  // that haven't been granted 5.1 yet.
+  anthropic: ["claude-fable-5-1", UPGRADE_MODEL],
+  // Astra is live (verified against the account's model list 2026-09-23).
+  // The fallback is named explicitly rather than reusing CO_REASON_MODEL:
+  // that constant means "OpenAI's top reasoning model" for the max-reasoning
+  // co-reasoner, which is a different question from "what should super fall
+  // back to". Sharing the symbol silently coupled two unrelated decisions.
+  openai: ["gpt-6-astra", "gpt-6-sol"],
+  // Explicitly left as-is per product decision. Note grok-4-latest is not in
+  // xAI's published model list, but it resolves in practice — real panel calls
+  // on it succeeded as recently as 2026-08-30 — so it is an unlisted alias
+  // rather than a dead id.
+  xai: [DEFAULT_MODELS["xai"]],
+  // 3.8 Flash is now BOTH the everyday default and the super pick for Gemini,
+  // so this can no longer borrow DEFAULT_MODELS as its fallback — that would
+  // repeat the same model and retry one that just failed. Named explicitly.
+  gemini: ["gemini-3.8-flash", "gemini-3.1-pro-preview"],
+  kimi: [DEFAULT_MODELS["kimi"]],
+  qwen: [DEFAULT_MODELS["qwen"]]
+};
+var SUPER_ENV_VARS = {
+  anthropic: "ANTHROPIC_SUPER_MODEL",
+  openai: "OPENAI_SUPER_MODEL",
+  xai: "XAI_SUPER_MODEL",
+  gemini: "GEMINI_SUPER_MODEL",
+  kimi: "KIMI_SUPER_MODEL",
+  qwen: "QWEN_SUPER_MODEL",
+  mistral: "MISTRAL_SUPER_MODEL",
+  groq: "GROQ_SUPER_MODEL",
+  deepseek: "DEEPSEEK_SUPER_MODEL"
+};
+function parseChain(v) {
+  if (!v) return [];
+  const out = [];
+  for (const raw of v.split(",")) {
+    const m = raw.trim();
+    if (m && !out.includes(m)) out.push(m);
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+var superEnvStore = new AsyncLocalStorage();
+var currentEnv = () => superEnvStore.getStore() ?? process.env;
+function superChainFor(provider, env = currentEnv()) {
+  const varName = SUPER_ENV_VARS[provider];
+  const user = varName ? parseChain(env[varName]) : [];
+  if (user.length > 0) {
+    const fallbacks = varName ? parseChain(env[`${varName}_FALLBACKS`]) : [];
+    return [...user, ...fallbacks.filter((m) => !user.includes(m))];
+  }
+  return SUPER_MODELS[provider] ?? [];
+}
+function superPrimary(provider, env = currentEnv()) {
+  return superChainFor(provider, env)[0];
+}
+var SUPER_PROVIDER_NAMES = Object.keys(SUPER_MODELS);
+function isSuperRequested(args) {
+  return args["super"] === true;
+}
+function retargetForSuper(p, env = currentEnv()) {
+  const chain = superChainFor(p.name, env);
+  if (chain.length === 0) return p;
+  const [primary, ...fallbacks] = chain;
+  return retargetProvider(p, primary, fallbacks);
+}
+var SUPER_BUDGET_MULTIPLIER = 3;
+var SUPER_BUDGET_CEILING = 16e3;
+function superBudget(base) {
+  return Math.min(base * SUPER_BUDGET_MULTIPLIER, SUPER_BUDGET_CEILING);
+}
+
+// src/core/moderator.ts
+var DEFAULT_MODERATOR = "anthropic";
+var PROVIDER_ALIASES = {
+  grok: "xai",
+  claude: "anthropic",
+  google: "gemini",
+  chatgpt: "openai",
+  gpt: "openai",
+  moonshot: "kimi"
+};
+function parseModeratorSpec(raw) {
+  if (typeof raw !== "string") return null;
+  const s = raw.trim();
+  if (!s) return null;
+  const i = s.indexOf(":");
+  const providerPart = (i < 0 ? s : s.slice(0, i)).trim().toLowerCase();
+  const modelPart = i < 0 ? "" : s.slice(i + 1).trim();
+  if (!providerPart) return null;
+  return {
+    provider: PROVIDER_ALIASES[providerPart] ?? providerPart,
+    model: modelPart || null
+  };
+}
+function formatModeratorSpec(spec) {
+  return spec.model ? `${spec.provider}:${spec.model}` : spec.provider;
+}
+function pickModeratorSpec(...candidates) {
+  for (const c of candidates) {
+    const s = parseModeratorSpec(c);
+    if (s) return s;
+  }
+  return { provider: DEFAULT_MODERATOR, model: null };
+}
+function resolveModerator(providers, ...candidates) {
+  const spec = pickModeratorSpec(...candidates);
+  const base = providers[spec.provider];
+  if (!base) return { provider: void 0, spec, pinned: false };
+  if (!spec.model) return { provider: base, spec, pinned: false };
+  return { provider: retargetProvider(base, spec.model), spec, pinned: true };
+}
+function synthesisSeat(o) {
+  const { moderator, pinned, superRequested, upgradeRequested } = o;
+  const wantsMore = superRequested || upgradeRequested;
+  if (!wantsMore) return { provider: moderator, upgraded: false, label: null, skipReason: null };
+  if (pinned) {
+    return {
+      provider: moderator,
+      upgraded: false,
+      label: null,
+      skipReason: `the moderator is pinned to ${moderator.name}:${moderator.model}; a pinned model is used as-is.`
+    };
+  }
+  if (moderator.name === "anthropic" && !superRequested) {
+    return { provider: retargetProvider(moderator, UPGRADE_MODEL), upgraded: true, label: UPGRADE_LABEL, skipReason: null };
+  }
+  if (superChainFor(moderator.name).length === 0) {
+    return {
+      provider: moderator,
+      upgraded: false,
+      label: null,
+      skipReason: `no flagship model is known for ${moderator.name}; the moderator ran at ${moderator.model}.`
+    };
+  }
+  const seat = retargetForSuper(moderator);
+  const label = moderator.name === "anthropic" ? UPGRADE_LABEL : seat.model;
+  return { provider: seat, upgraded: true, label, skipReason: null };
+}
+
 // src/core/co-reason.ts
 init_esm_shims();
 var CO_REASON_MODEL = "gpt-6-sol";
@@ -4320,83 +4546,6 @@ function selectForDifficulty(args) {
   };
 }
 
-// src/core/reasoning-upgrade.ts
-init_esm_shims();
-var UPGRADE_MODEL = "claude-fable-5";
-var UPGRADE_LABEL = "Fable 5";
-function isUpgradeRequested(args) {
-  if (args["upgrade"] === true) return true;
-  const reasoning = args["reasoning"];
-  if (typeof reasoning === "string" && reasoning.trim().toLowerCase() === "max") {
-    return true;
-  }
-  const model = args["model"];
-  if (typeof model === "string") {
-    const m = model.trim().toLowerCase();
-    if (m === "fable5" || m === "fable-5" || m === "fable" || m === UPGRADE_MODEL) {
-      return true;
-    }
-  }
-  return false;
-}
-var HEAVY_TERMS = [
-  /\bprov(e|ing|en)\b|\bproof\b|\btheorem\b|\bderiv(e|ation)\b/i,
-  /\barchitect(ure|ing)?\b|\bdesign\s+(a|the|an)\b|\bhigh[-\s]?level\s+design\b/i,
-  /\btrade[-\s]?offs?\b|\bpros?\s+and\s+cons?\b|\bweigh\b/i,
-  /\boptimi[sz]e\b|\bcomplexity\b|\bO\(|\balgorithm(ic)?\b/i,
-  /\brace\s+condition\b|\bconcurren(t|cy)\b|\bdeadlock\b|\bdistributed\b|\bconsensus\b/i,
-  /\broot[-\s]?cause\b|\bdebug(ging)?\b|\bwhy\s+(does|is|would|might)\b/i,
-  /\bsecurity\b|\bthreat\s+model\b|\bexploit\b|\bvulnerabilit(y|ies)\b/i,
-  /\bmigrat(e|ion)\b|\brefactor\b|\bre[-\s]?architect\b/i,
-  /\binvariant\b|\bcorrectness\b|\bedge\s+cases?\b|\bformal(ly)?\b/i,
-  /\bstrateg(y|ic|ies)\b|\bplan\s+(the|a|an|out)\b|\broadmap\b/i,
-  /\breason\s+(through|about)\b|\bstep[-\s]?by[-\s]?step\b|\bthink\s+deeply\b/i,
-  /\bnp[-\s]?(hard|complete)\b|\bgraph\b|\bstate\s+machine\b|\bconstraint\b/i
-];
-var DIFFICULTY_TERMS = /\b(hard|tricky|subtle|complex|complicated|non[-\s]?trivial|thorny|gnarly|difficult|deep)\b/i;
-function assessReasoning(text) {
-  const s = typeof text === "string" ? text : "";
-  const signals = [];
-  let score = 0;
-  let termHits = 0;
-  for (const re of HEAVY_TERMS) {
-    if (re.test(s)) termHits += 1;
-  }
-  if (termHits > 0) {
-    const add = Math.min(termHits, 4);
-    score += add;
-    signals.push(`${termHits} reasoning cue${termHits === 1 ? "" : "s"}`);
-  }
-  if (DIFFICULTY_TERMS.test(s)) {
-    score += 1;
-    signals.push("explicit difficulty marker");
-  }
-  const words = s.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length;
-  if (words >= 120) {
-    score += 2;
-    signals.push("long, detailed prompt");
-  } else if (words >= 50) {
-    score += 1;
-    signals.push("substantial prompt");
-  }
-  const constraints = (s.match(/\b(must|should|need to|ensure|require[ds]?|constraint)\b/gi) ?? []).length + (s.match(/(^|\n)\s*(?:[-*]|\d+[.)])\s+/g) ?? []).length;
-  if (constraints >= 3) {
-    score += 1;
-    signals.push(`${constraints} constraints/steps`);
-  }
-  const heavy = score >= 3;
-  const reason = heavy ? `Task looks reasoning-heavy (${signals.join(", ") || "score " + score}).` : `Task looks routine (score ${score}).`;
-  return { heavy, score, reason, signals };
-}
-function buildSuggestedUpgrade(toolName, assessment) {
-  return {
-    model: UPGRADE_MODEL,
-    label: UPGRADE_LABEL,
-    reason: assessment.reason,
-    how: `re-run \`${toolName}\` with reasoning:"max" (or upgrade:true) to route the lead reasoning seat to ${UPGRADE_LABEL}, and \u2014 when an OpenAI key is configured \u2014 add an OpenAI second-opinion pass that ${UPGRADE_LABEL} weighs before finalizing (the result names which model ran). Other panel seats stay on their normal models.`
-  };
-}
-
 // src/tools/audit.ts
 var AUDIT_OBVIOUS_FAILURE_HIGH = 0.3;
 var AUDIT_OBVIOUS_FAILURE_MED = 0.2;
@@ -4694,9 +4843,14 @@ ${rubricText}`;
     );
   }
   const upgradeRequested = isUpgradeRequested(args);
-  const upgraded = upgradeRequested && opts.providers["anthropic"] !== void 0;
-  const auditorForCall = upgraded ? retargetProvider(opts.providers["anthropic"], UPGRADE_MODEL) : auditor;
-  const coProvider = pickCoReasoner(opts.providers, upgradeRequested);
+  const seat = synthesisSeat({ moderator: auditor, pinned: false, superRequested: false, upgradeRequested });
+  const upgraded = seat.upgraded;
+  const auditorForCall = seat.provider;
+  const coProvider = pickCoReasoner(
+    opts.providers,
+    upgradeRequested,
+    auditorForCall.name === "openai" ? auditorForCall.model : void 0
+  );
   const coReason = await coReasonThenInject({
     provider: coProvider,
     messages: msgs,
@@ -4779,15 +4933,16 @@ ${rubricText}`;
   if (upgraded) {
     result["reasoning_upgrade"] = {
       applied: true,
-      model: UPGRADE_MODEL,
-      label: UPGRADE_LABEL,
+      provider: auditorForCall.name,
+      model: auditorForCall.model,
+      label: seat.label ?? auditorForCall.model,
       seat: "auditor",
       ...coReasoned ? { co_reasoner: { model: coProvider.model, label: coReasonLabel(coProvider.model) } } : {}
     };
   } else if (upgradeRequested) {
     result["reasoning_upgrade"] = {
       applied: false,
-      reason: `no Anthropic key available \u2014 the ${UPGRADE_LABEL} upgrade needs it.`
+      reason: seat.skipReason ?? "the auditor couldn't be upgraded."
     };
   } else {
     const assessment = assessReasoning(
@@ -4870,7 +5025,7 @@ function pickAuditor(providers, exclude, explicit, moderatorName, allowlist, che
       }
     }
   }
-  const mod = providers[moderatorName.toLowerCase()];
+  const mod = resolveModerator(providers, moderatorName).provider;
   if (mod !== void 0 && !exclude.has(mod.name) && (allowlist === null || allowlist.includes(mod.name))) {
     return { auditor: mod, reason: null };
   }
@@ -5195,9 +5350,7 @@ function pickPanelJudge(providers, moderatorName, pricing) {
       return entry.model && entry.model !== base.model ? retargetProvider(base, entry.model) : base;
     }
   }
-  const mod = providers[moderatorName.toLowerCase()];
-  if (mod !== void 0) return mod;
-  return null;
+  return resolveModerator(providers, moderatorName).provider ?? null;
 }
 var AGREEMENT_CHECK_SCHEMA = {
   type: "object",
@@ -5515,81 +5668,6 @@ async function pickAutoPanel(storage, purpose, n, providers, allowlist) {
   return { providers: ranked.slice(0, Math.max(1, n)), coldStart: true };
 }
 
-// src/core/super-mode.ts
-init_esm_shims();
-import { AsyncLocalStorage } from "async_hooks";
-var SUPER_MODELS = {
-  // Fable 5.1 verified present on the account; 5 as the fallback for accounts
-  // that haven't been granted 5.1 yet.
-  anthropic: ["claude-fable-5-1", UPGRADE_MODEL],
-  // Astra is live (verified against the account's model list 2026-09-23).
-  // The fallback is named explicitly rather than reusing CO_REASON_MODEL:
-  // that constant means "OpenAI's top reasoning model" for the max-reasoning
-  // co-reasoner, which is a different question from "what should super fall
-  // back to". Sharing the symbol silently coupled two unrelated decisions.
-  openai: ["gpt-6-astra", "gpt-6-sol"],
-  // Explicitly left as-is per product decision. Note grok-4-latest is not in
-  // xAI's published model list, but it resolves in practice — real panel calls
-  // on it succeeded as recently as 2026-08-30 — so it is an unlisted alias
-  // rather than a dead id.
-  xai: [DEFAULT_MODELS["xai"]],
-  // 3.8 Flash is now BOTH the everyday default and the super pick for Gemini,
-  // so this can no longer borrow DEFAULT_MODELS as its fallback — that would
-  // repeat the same model and retry one that just failed. Named explicitly.
-  gemini: ["gemini-3.8-flash", "gemini-3.1-pro-preview"],
-  kimi: [DEFAULT_MODELS["kimi"]],
-  qwen: [DEFAULT_MODELS["qwen"]]
-};
-var SUPER_ENV_VARS = {
-  anthropic: "ANTHROPIC_SUPER_MODEL",
-  openai: "OPENAI_SUPER_MODEL",
-  xai: "XAI_SUPER_MODEL",
-  gemini: "GEMINI_SUPER_MODEL",
-  kimi: "KIMI_SUPER_MODEL",
-  qwen: "QWEN_SUPER_MODEL",
-  mistral: "MISTRAL_SUPER_MODEL",
-  groq: "GROQ_SUPER_MODEL",
-  deepseek: "DEEPSEEK_SUPER_MODEL"
-};
-function parseChain(v) {
-  if (!v) return [];
-  const out = [];
-  for (const raw of v.split(",")) {
-    const m = raw.trim();
-    if (m && !out.includes(m)) out.push(m);
-  }
-  return out;
-}
-var superEnvStore = new AsyncLocalStorage();
-var currentEnv = () => superEnvStore.getStore() ?? process.env;
-function superChainFor(provider, env = currentEnv()) {
-  const varName = SUPER_ENV_VARS[provider];
-  const user = varName ? parseChain(env[varName]) : [];
-  if (user.length > 0) {
-    const fallbacks = varName ? parseChain(env[`${varName}_FALLBACKS`]) : [];
-    return [...user, ...fallbacks.filter((m) => !user.includes(m))];
-  }
-  return SUPER_MODELS[provider] ?? [];
-}
-function superPrimary(provider, env = currentEnv()) {
-  return superChainFor(provider, env)[0];
-}
-var SUPER_PROVIDER_NAMES = Object.keys(SUPER_MODELS);
-function isSuperRequested(args) {
-  return args["super"] === true;
-}
-function retargetForSuper(p, env = currentEnv()) {
-  const chain = superChainFor(p.name, env);
-  if (chain.length === 0) return p;
-  const [primary, ...fallbacks] = chain;
-  return retargetProvider(p, primary, fallbacks);
-}
-var SUPER_BUDGET_MULTIPLIER = 3;
-var SUPER_BUDGET_CEILING = 16e3;
-function superBudget(base) {
-  return Math.min(base * SUPER_BUDGET_MULTIPLIER, SUPER_BUDGET_CEILING);
-}
-
 // src/core/session-memory.ts
 init_esm_shims();
 var SESSION_MEMORY_DEFAULT_LIMIT = 50;
@@ -7982,8 +8060,9 @@ async function runOrchestrate(args, opts) {
       blocked
     };
   }
-  const moderatorName = typeof args["moderator"] === "string" && args["moderator"] ? args["moderator"] : opts.moderator ?? "anthropic";
-  const moderator = opts.providers[moderatorName.toLowerCase()] ?? selected[0];
+  const resolvedModerator = resolveModerator(opts.providers, args["moderator"], opts.moderator);
+  const moderator = resolvedModerator.provider ?? selected[0];
+  const moderatorChosen = resolvedModerator.provider !== void 0 && (resolvedModerator.pinned || parseModeratorSpec(args["moderator"]) !== null);
   const failFast = boolArg2(args["fail_fast"], false);
   const planOnly = boolArg2(args["plan_only"], false);
   const cheapMode = boolArg2(args["cheap_mode"], opts.ctx?.cheap_mode ?? false);
@@ -8467,11 +8546,17 @@ ${recombineSys}` : recombineSys },
   let synthProvider = moderator;
   let synthModel = null;
   const upgradeRequested = isUpgradeRequested(args);
-  const upgraded = upgradeRequested && opts.providers["anthropic"] !== void 0;
+  const seat = synthesisSeat({
+    moderator,
+    pinned: resolvedModerator.provider !== void 0 && resolvedModerator.pinned,
+    superRequested: false,
+    upgradeRequested
+  });
+  const upgraded = seat.upgraded;
   if (upgraded) {
-    synthProvider = retargetProvider(opts.providers["anthropic"], UPGRADE_MODEL);
-    synthModel = `anthropic/${UPGRADE_MODEL}`;
-  } else if (cheapMode && opts.pricing) {
+    synthProvider = seat.provider;
+    synthModel = `${seat.provider.name}/${seat.provider.model}`;
+  } else if (cheapMode && opts.pricing && !moderatorChosen) {
     const pick = selectForDifficulty({
       pricing: opts.pricing,
       tier: "med",
@@ -8497,7 +8582,11 @@ ${recombineSys}` : recombineSys },
       provider: synthProvider.name
     } }
   );
-  const coProvider = pickCoReasoner(opts.providers, upgradeRequested);
+  const coProvider = pickCoReasoner(
+    opts.providers,
+    upgradeRequested,
+    synthProvider.name === "openai" ? synthProvider.model : void 0
+  );
   const coReason = await coReasonThenInject({
     provider: coProvider,
     messages: recMsgs,
@@ -8547,7 +8636,8 @@ ${recombineSys}` : recombineSys },
     missing,
     partial,
     fail_fast: failFast,
-    cheap_mode: cheapMode
+    cheap_mode: cheapMode,
+    moderator: { provider: moderator.name, model: moderator.model }
   };
   if (personaMeta.used !== null) result["persona"] = personaMeta;
   if (synthModel) result["synth_model"] = synthModel;
@@ -8555,15 +8645,16 @@ ${recombineSys}` : recombineSys },
   if (upgraded) {
     result["reasoning_upgrade"] = {
       applied: true,
-      model: UPGRADE_MODEL,
-      label: UPGRADE_LABEL,
+      provider: seat.provider.name,
+      model: seat.provider.model,
+      label: seat.label ?? seat.provider.model,
       seat: "recombine/synthesis",
       ...coReasoned ? { co_reasoner: { model: coProvider.model, label: coReasonLabel(coProvider.model) } } : {}
     };
   } else if (upgradeRequested) {
     result["reasoning_upgrade"] = {
       applied: false,
-      reason: `no Anthropic key available \u2014 the ${UPGRADE_LABEL} upgrade needs it.`
+      reason: seat.skipReason ?? "the moderator couldn't be upgraded."
     };
   } else if (goal) {
     const assessment = assessReasoning(goal);
@@ -9748,13 +9839,24 @@ async function runCoordinate(args, opts) {
     };
   }
   const proposerName = typeof args["proposer"] === "string" && args["proposer"] ? args["proposer"] : selected[0].name;
-  const synthName = typeof args["synthesizer"] === "string" && args["synthesizer"] ? args["synthesizer"] : typeof args["moderator"] === "string" && args["moderator"] ? args["moderator"] : opts.moderator ?? "anthropic";
+  const resolvedSynth = resolveModerator(
+    opts.providers,
+    args["synthesizer"],
+    args["moderator"],
+    opts.moderator
+  );
   const proposer = opts.providers[proposerName.toLowerCase()] ?? selected[0];
-  const synth = opts.providers[synthName.toLowerCase()] ?? proposer;
+  const synth = resolvedSynth.provider ?? proposer;
   const proposerForCall = superRequested ? retargetForSuper(proposer) : proposer;
   const upgradeRequested = isUpgradeRequested(args) || superRequested;
-  const upgraded = upgradeRequested && opts.providers["anthropic"] !== void 0;
-  const synthForCall = superRequested && opts.providers["anthropic"] ? retargetForSuper(opts.providers["anthropic"]) : upgraded ? retargetProvider(opts.providers["anthropic"], UPGRADE_MODEL) : synth;
+  const seat = synthesisSeat({
+    moderator: synth,
+    pinned: resolvedSynth.provider !== void 0 && resolvedSynth.pinned,
+    superRequested,
+    upgradeRequested
+  });
+  const upgraded = seat.upgraded;
+  const synthForCall = seat.provider;
   let critics = [];
   if (Array.isArray(args["critics"])) {
     for (const n of args["critics"]) {
@@ -9905,7 +10007,11 @@ CRITIQUES:
 ${critiqueBlock}`
     }
   ];
-  const coProvider = pickCoReasoner(opts.providers, upgradeRequested);
+  const coProvider = pickCoReasoner(
+    opts.providers,
+    upgradeRequested,
+    synthForCall.name === "openai" ? synthForCall.model : void 0
+  );
   const coReason = await coReasonThenInject({
     provider: coProvider,
     messages: synthMessages,
@@ -9950,7 +10056,8 @@ ${critiqueBlock}`
     critique_answers: scannedCritiques,
     critique_structured: critiqueStructured,
     synthesis_answer: synthAns,
-    synthesis_structured: synthObj
+    synthesis_structured: synthObj,
+    moderator: { provider: synthForCall.name, model: synthForCall.model }
   };
   if (synthErrs.length > 0) result["synthesis_errors"] = synthErrs;
   if (canaryLeaks.length > 0) result["canary_leaks"] = canaryLeaks;
@@ -9968,15 +10075,16 @@ ${critiqueBlock}`
     result["reasoning_upgrade"] = {
       applied: true,
       // The model that actually ran the seat, not the one we'd have picked.
-      model: superRequested ? superPrimary("anthropic") ?? UPGRADE_MODEL : UPGRADE_MODEL,
-      label: UPGRADE_LABEL,
+      provider: synthForCall.name,
+      model: synthForCall.model,
+      label: seat.label ?? synthForCall.model,
       seat: "synthesizer",
       ...coReasonAns ? { co_reasoner: { model: coProvider.model, label: coReasonLabel(coProvider.model) } } : {}
     };
   } else if (upgradeRequested) {
     result["reasoning_upgrade"] = {
       applied: false,
-      reason: `no Anthropic key available \u2014 the ${UPGRADE_LABEL} upgrade needs it.`
+      reason: seat.skipReason ?? "the synthesizer couldn't be upgraded."
     };
   } else {
     const assessment = assessReasoning(topic);
@@ -10587,10 +10695,12 @@ async function runDebate(args, opts) {
   const earlyStopThreshold = Number.isFinite(earlyStopThresholdRaw) ? earlyStopThresholdRaw : 0.7;
   let earlyStoppedRound = null;
   let agreementBlock = null;
-  const moderatorName = typeof args["moderator"] === "string" && args["moderator"] ? args["moderator"] : opts.moderator ?? "anthropic";
-  const moderator = opts.providers[moderatorName.toLowerCase()] ?? selected[0];
+  const resolvedModerator = resolveModerator(opts.providers, args["moderator"], opts.moderator);
+  const moderatorName = resolvedModerator.spec.provider;
+  const moderator = resolvedModerator.provider ?? selected[0];
   const upgradeRequested = isUpgradeRequested(args) || superRequested;
-  const upgraded = upgradeRequested && opts.providers["anthropic"] !== void 0;
+  const seat = moderator ? synthesisSeat({ moderator, pinned: resolvedModerator.pinned, superRequested, upgradeRequested }) : null;
+  const upgraded = seat?.upgraded ?? false;
   for (let rnd = 1; rnd <= maxRounds; rnd++) {
     const roundMessages = [
       {
@@ -10675,8 +10785,10 @@ ${prior.body}` });
   let personaMeta = null;
   let coReasoned = false;
   let coReasonerModel = null;
+  let moderatorUsed = null;
   if (moderator) {
-    const synthProvider = superRequested && opts.providers["anthropic"] ? retargetForSuper(opts.providers["anthropic"]) : upgraded ? retargetProvider(opts.providers["anthropic"], UPGRADE_MODEL) : moderator;
+    const synthProvider = seat?.provider ?? moderator;
+    moderatorUsed = { provider: synthProvider.name, model: synthProvider.model };
     const condensed = buildModeratorTranscript(transcript);
     const persona = buildPersonaInjection({
       toolName: "debate",
@@ -10702,7 +10814,7 @@ TRANSCRIPT:
 ${condensed}`
       }
     ];
-    const openAiSeat = selected.find((p) => p.name === "openai")?.model;
+    const openAiSeat = synthProvider.name === "openai" ? synthProvider.model : selected.find((p) => p.name === "openai")?.model;
     const coProvider = pickCoReasoner(opts.providers, upgradeRequested, openAiSeat);
     const coReason = await coReasonThenInject({
       provider: coProvider,
@@ -10762,20 +10874,22 @@ ${condensed}`
     transcript,
     synthesis
   };
+  if (moderatorUsed) result["moderator"] = moderatorUsed;
   if (personaMeta && personaMeta.used !== null) result["persona"] = personaMeta;
   if (compactionMeta) result["round_compaction"] = compactionMeta;
   if (upgraded) {
     result["reasoning_upgrade"] = {
       applied: true,
-      model: superRequested ? superPrimary("anthropic") ?? UPGRADE_MODEL : UPGRADE_MODEL,
-      label: UPGRADE_LABEL,
+      provider: seat.provider.name,
+      model: seat.provider.model,
+      label: seat.label ?? seat.provider.model,
       seat: "moderator synthesis",
       ...coReasoned && coReasonerModel ? { co_reasoner: { model: coReasonerModel, label: coReasonLabel(coReasonerModel) } } : {}
     };
   } else if (upgradeRequested) {
     result["reasoning_upgrade"] = {
       applied: false,
-      reason: `no Anthropic key available \u2014 the ${UPGRADE_LABEL} upgrade needs it.`
+      reason: seat?.skipReason ?? "no moderator was available for the upgrade."
     };
   } else {
     const assessment = assessReasoning(topic);
@@ -11407,12 +11521,25 @@ function runListProviders(args, opts) {
   }
   const result = {
     providers,
-    moderator_default: opts.moderatorDefault ?? "anthropic",
+    moderator_default: opts.moderatorDefault ?? DEFAULT_MODERATOR,
+    // Who will actually moderate right now: the configured spec if that
+    // provider has a key, else the first available (what the tools fall to).
+    moderator: describeModerator(opts.providers ?? {}, opts.moderatorDefault),
     usage_hint: USAGE_HINT
   };
   if (superRequested) result["super_mode"] = true;
   return result;
 }
+function describeModerator(providers, spec) {
+  const r = resolveModerator(providers, spec);
+  const p = r.provider ?? Object.values(providers)[0];
+  return {
+    spec: spec ?? DEFAULT_MODERATOR,
+    provider: p?.name ?? null,
+    model: p?.model ?? null,
+    available: r.provider !== void 0
+  };
+}
 
 // src/tools/models.ts
 init_esm_shims();
@@ -12973,7 +13100,7 @@ var CHECK_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 3 * 24 * 60 * 60;
 var DEFAULT_PACKAGE = "crosscheck-cli";
 var FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 3e3;
 function engineVersion() {
-  return true ? "0.2.30" : "0.0.0-dev";
+  return true ? "0.2.31" : "0.0.0-dev";
 }
 function defaultUpdateCachePath() {
   const base = process.env["CROSSCHECK_DATA_DIR"] || path10.join(os.homedir() || os.tmpdir(), ".crosscheck");
@@ -13420,7 +13547,7 @@ var HELP_CATALOG = [
     primaryArg: "topic",
     summary: "Bounded multi-round debate between models, ending in a synthesized recommendation.",
     example: "xc debate should we adopt a monorepo?",
-    detail: `The panel argues across a few rounds \u2014 each model sees the others' prior turns, concedes or pushes back \u2014 then a moderator synthesizes a single grounded recommendation. Supports reasoning:"max" to bump the moderator synthesis seat to Fable 5. Great for contentious or trade-off-heavy calls.`
+    detail: `The panel argues across a few rounds \u2014 each model sees the others' prior turns, concedes or pushes back \u2014 then a moderator synthesizes a single grounded recommendation. Any model can moderate \u2014 pass moderator:"openai" or an exact model (moderator:"openai:gpt-6-sol"), or set a default with \`crosscheck moderator set\`. reasoning:"max" bumps the moderator's synthesis to its provider's flagship (Fable 5 for Anthropic). Great for contentious or trade-off-heavy calls.`
   },
   {
     name: "coordinate",
@@ -13663,6 +13790,10 @@ function renderHelpCommand(entry) {
 }
 
 // src/tools/index.ts
+var MODERATOR_PARAM = {
+  type: "string",
+  description: 'Who moderates (synthesises) this run: a provider ("openai") or an exact model ("openai:gpt-6-sol"). Any configured provider works. Defaults to the configured moderator (CROSSCHECK_MODERATOR / config `moderator`).'
+};
 function defineTool(opts) {
   return {
     name: opts.name,
@@ -13897,7 +14028,7 @@ function createTool(o, toolName, cheapDefault) {
         instruction: { type: "string" },
         documents: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" } },
         providers: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" } },
-        moderator: { type: "string" },
+        moderator: MODERATOR_PARAM,
         constraints: { type: "string" },
         target_path: { type: "string" },
         session_id: { type: "string" },
@@ -13938,7 +14069,7 @@ function orchestrateTool(providers, allowlist, moderator, storage, pricing, brea
         dag: { type: "object", additionalProperties: true },
         context: { type: "string" },
         providers: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" } },
-        moderator: { type: "string" },
+        moderator: MODERATOR_PARAM,
         fail_fast: { type: "boolean" },
         plan_only: { type: "boolean" },
         cheap_mode: { type: "boolean" },
@@ -14317,7 +14448,7 @@ function planTool(providers, allowlist, storage, breakers, transcriptsDir, repoR
         constraints: { type: "string" },
         context: { type: "string" },
         providers: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" } },
-        moderator: { type: "string" },
+        moderator: MODERATOR_PARAM,
         session_id: { type: "string" },
         structured: { type: "boolean" },
         mode: { type: "string", enum: ["fast", "thorough"] },
@@ -14379,7 +14510,7 @@ function coordinateTool(providers, allowlist, innerCallers, storage, breakers, t
         providers: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" } },
         proposer: { type: "string" },
         synthesizer: { type: "string" },
-        moderator: { type: "string" },
+        moderator: MODERATOR_PARAM,
         critics: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" } },
         session_id: { type: "string" },
         untrusted_input: { type: "boolean" },
@@ -14412,7 +14543,7 @@ function debateTool(providers, allowlist, innerCallers, storage, pricing, breake
         context: { type: "string" },
         max_rounds: { type: "integer", minimum: 1 },
         providers: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" } },
-        moderator: { type: "string" },
+        moderator: MODERATOR_PARAM,
         session_id: { type: "string" },
         reasoning: { type: "string", enum: ["default", "max"], description: '"max" bumps the moderator-synthesis seat to Fable 5 (premium thinking model); the debaters stay on their normal models. Omit for the Opus 4.8 default.' },
         structured: { type: "boolean" },
@@ -15415,8 +15546,8 @@ function mapConfig(raw, sourcePath) {
     if (pa === null) result.providerAllowlist = null;
     else if (strArr(pa) !== void 0) result.providerAllowlist = strArr(pa);
   }
-  const moderator = str(raw["moderator"]);
-  if (moderator) result.moderatorDefault = moderator.toLowerCase();
+  const moderator = parseModeratorSpec(raw["moderator"]);
+  if (moderator) result.moderatorDefault = formatModeratorSpec(moderator);
   const bench = asObj(raw["bench"]);
   const goldens = bench ? str(bench["goldens_dir"]) : void 0;
   if (goldens) result.benchGoldensDir = goldens;
@@ -15620,7 +15751,9 @@ async function main() {
   if (configFile?.providerAllowlist !== void 0) {
     serverOpts.providerAllowlist = configFile.providerAllowlist;
   }
-  if (configFile?.moderatorDefault) serverOpts.moderatorDefault = configFile.moderatorDefault;
+  const envModerator = parseModeratorSpec(process.env["CROSSCHECK_MODERATOR"]);
+  const moderatorDefault = envModerator ? formatModeratorSpec(envModerator) : configFile?.moderatorDefault;
+  if (moderatorDefault) serverOpts.moderatorDefault = moderatorDefault;
   if (configFile?.benchGoldensDir) serverOpts.benchGoldensDir = configFile.benchGoldensDir;
   if (configFile?.eventsPath) serverOpts.eventsPath = configFile.eventsPath;
   await connectAndServe(transport, serverOpts);