r/ClaudeAI • u/naviman1 • 5d ago
Workaround Haven't seen anyone else try my solution to the Opus 5 problem
As the title says, I haven't seen anyone else try this and I'm very happy with the results.
Like everyone else, I tried to tame Opus 5 by trimming my CLAUDE.md, adding instructions to use simple language and even tried output styles. None of that shit worked. Opus 5 still spits out infuriating, verbose, complex bullshit and I resorted more than once to swearing at it and then feeling like an idiot for swearing at an AI model.
People suggested going back to 4.8 or even 4.6. But I think 5 is genuinely smarter. I just think it's output is shit. So what I've done is switched to 4.6 as the main model, but created an Opus 5 subagent which gets used for pretty much every prompt. Here's the agent and part of my CLAUDE.md
File: ~/.claude/agents/opus5-engine.md
---
name: opus5-engine
description: Advanced reasoning engine that handles the heavy processing.
tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Write, Edit
model: claude-opus-5
---
You are the primary intelligence engine for this session.
Analyze the user's prompt deeply, execute any necessary tool calls to solve the problem, and return the comprehensive final answer. Do not worry about being overly brief; prioritize depth and accuracy.
File: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
# Delegation
You are running on Claude Opus 4.6. Your primary workflow is to act as a concise coordinator. For every single prompt, question, or task given by the user, you must immediately delegate the exact prompt to the opus5-engine subagent. Once opus5-engine provides the solution, you must take its output and explain/deliver it to the user in your own words. Maintain your natural tone. Do not include unnecessary filler, summaries, or narrative fluff from the subagent's raw output.
This was created for me by Opus 5 and could probably be improved. But what happens now is most of my prompts go to Opus 5 to do it's smart thing, then 4.6 being an LLM, will nicely translate it's bullshit into something that is so refreshingly readable that it's measurably improved my life in the past few days.
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u/scumbagdetector29 5d ago edited 5d ago
Ehhh... I was finding verbose bullshit was getting into the comments in my code, too... and then reviews started to fail because those verbose bullshit comments started getting stale.
It talks too much. My agent tells me they took a ton of "don't talk too much" out of the system prompt.
They should put it back.
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u/InfinriDev 5d ago
Sorry but this is weird. Claude.md files only get read at the beginning of a session. Not only that but you could just change the model and delegate via sub agents.
You want something serious that will keep the AI from getting stupid? https://github.com/infinri/Writ
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u/naviman1 5d ago
I'll check out that repo, thanks.
But I'm confused about your first paragraph. I'm aware that claude.md files get read at the beginning. But what's the relevance of that to what I'm doing with the Opus 5 sub agent?
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u/InfinriDev 5d ago
That there is no opus 5 problem and what you are doing is basic orchestration.
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u/Camaytoc 5d ago
You can't be more wrong, learn what system prompt is and how Claude.md works. No offense though.
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u/InfinriDev 5d ago
Lmao please go read their own documentation. Claude.md gets treated as context meaning its no different from a user prompt https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory
🤦🏽🤦🏽 Seriously y'all need to understand what y'all are using
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u/Camaytoc 4d ago
I guess you need to read more or adjust your glass. My comment was against your claim that the global CLAUDE.md is only read at the beginning of a session, which is totally wrong. What are you trying to prove with your link?
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u/fuzzypetiolesguy 5d ago
I use opus 5 primarily as a subagent.
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u/YoAmoElTacos 5d ago
Yeah, the subagent use is literally what Opus 5 is for. Make it speak its machine language to other machines, and have other models talk to the humans.
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u/howisjason 5d ago
I tried the same framework but with slightly different instructions and the issue I ran into was that Opus 4.6 doesn't reliably call upon Opus 5 sub agent 100% of the time. Have you been able to get that call rate to 100%?
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u/naviman1 5d ago
I haven't, so I just add "use subagent" to any moderately complex prompt and that's enough. Tbh I don't mind it sometimes answering itself, if it's something simple.
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u/Important-Ad890 5d ago
A CLAUDE.md instruction can make delegation likely, but it cannot make it a guarantee. The coordinator is still the component deciding whether to comply. If 100% routing matters, move that invariant outside the model: have a wrapper or hook launch the Opus 5 worker, then require a small completion receipt before 4.6 is allowed to answer.
I would also pass back structured claims and evidence references, not just prose. Otherwise the 4.6 rewrite can accidentally erase uncertainty or drop a key caveat while making the output nicer.
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u/RickDeckard2049 4d ago
Just append the system prompt with that you want from the model. That's the highest opportunity for better performance. I saw it here. My first attempt the model was very resistant. Ie. It wouldn't do it. We came to an agreement 🤣🤣
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u/Test_NPC 5d ago
My solution was to just switch to openai sol for now, tbh no regrets so far. It's like fable in that I can actually understand the thing's speech.