From 712588fe463da56d1a785e6130ebecfe002eee34 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Your Name <joshualitt@google.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2026 19:02:59 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] feat(core): Ship model steering by default.

---
 docs/cli/settings.md                      | 2 +-
 docs/reference/configuration.md           | 2 +-
 packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts | 2 +-
 packages/core/src/config/config.ts        | 2 +-
 schemas/settings.schema.json              | 4 ++--
 5 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/docs/cli/settings.md b/docs/cli/settings.md
index eb9ba4158e..900038df8b 100644
--- a/docs/cli/settings.md
+++ b/docs/cli/settings.md
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ they appear in the UI.
 | Use OSC 52 Paste           | `experimental.useOSC52Paste`             | Use OSC 52 for pasting. This may be more robust than the default system when using remote terminal sessions (if your terminal is configured to allow it). | `false` |
 | Use OSC 52 Copy            | `experimental.useOSC52Copy`              | Use OSC 52 for copying. This may be more robust than the default system when using remote terminal sessions (if your terminal is configured to allow it). | `false` |
 | Plan                       | `experimental.plan`                      | Enable Plan Mode.                                                                                                                                         | `true`  |
-| Model Steering             | `experimental.modelSteering`             | Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model during tool execution.                                                                              | `false` |
+| Model Steering             | `experimental.modelSteering`             | Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model during tool execution.                                                                              | `true`  |
 | Direct Web Fetch           | `experimental.directWebFetch`            | Enable web fetch behavior that bypasses LLM summarization.                                                                                                | `false` |
 | Topic & Update Narration   | `experimental.topicUpdateNarration`      | Enable the experimental Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting.                                      | `false` |
 
diff --git a/docs/reference/configuration.md b/docs/reference/configuration.md
index 7df1de61f1..34a2e84edd 100644
--- a/docs/reference/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/reference/configuration.md
@@ -1401,7 +1401,7 @@ their corresponding top-level category object in your `settings.json` file.
 - **`experimental.modelSteering`** (boolean):
   - **Description:** Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model
     during tool execution.
-  - **Default:** `false`
+  - **Default:** `true`
 
 - **`experimental.directWebFetch`** (boolean):
   - **Description:** Enable web fetch behavior that bypasses LLM summarization.
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
index 8a107c4d47..fed9a50131 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
@@ -1969,7 +1969,7 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
         label: 'Model Steering',
         category: 'Experimental',
         requiresRestart: false,
-        default: false,
+        default: true,
         description:
           'Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model during tool execution.',
         showInDialog: true,
diff --git a/packages/core/src/config/config.ts b/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
index aa3e9aa5b6..ff59ffc88f 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
@@ -1014,7 +1014,7 @@ export class Config implements McpContext, AgentLoopContext {
 
     this.experimentalJitContext = params.experimentalJitContext ?? true;
     this.topicUpdateNarration = params.topicUpdateNarration ?? false;
-    this.modelSteering = params.modelSteering ?? false;
+    this.modelSteering = params.modelSteering ?? true;
     this.injectionService = new InjectionService(() =>
       this.isModelSteeringEnabled(),
     );
diff --git a/schemas/settings.schema.json b/schemas/settings.schema.json
index f85a39bb35..c2a834a7db 100644
--- a/schemas/settings.schema.json
+++ b/schemas/settings.schema.json
@@ -2392,8 +2392,8 @@
         "modelSteering": {
           "title": "Model Steering",
           "description": "Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model during tool execution.",
-          "markdownDescription": "Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model during tool execution.\n\n- Category: `Experimental`\n- Requires restart: `no`\n- Default: `false`",
-          "default": false,
+          "markdownDescription": "Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model during tool execution.\n\n- Category: `Experimental`\n- Requires restart: `no`\n- Default: `true`",
+          "default": true,
           "type": "boolean"
         },
         "directWebFetch": {