fix(cli): avoid eager model initialization for default provider

src/deep_code_agent/cli.py

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ def _initialize_agent(args, codebase_dir: str) -> Any:
     load_dotenv()
 
     model = None
-    if any([args.model_name, args.api_key, args.base_url]) or args.model_provider:
+    if any([args.model_name, args.api_key, args.base_url]) or args.model_provider != "openai":
         model = create_chat_model(
             model_name=args.model_name,
             model_provider=args.model_provider,

tests/test_cli.py

@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 """Tests for CLI argument handling."""
 
+from types import SimpleNamespace
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import pytest
 
 from deep_code_agent import __version__
-from deep_code_agent.cli import main
+from deep_code_agent.cli import _initialize_agent, main
 
 
 def test_main_prints_version_and_exits(capsys):
@@ -17,3 +18,64 @@ def test_main_prints_version_and_exits(capsys):
     assert exc_info.value.code == 0
     captured = capsys.readouterr()
     assert captured.out.strip() == f"deep-code-agent {__version__}"
+
+
+@patch("dotenv.load_dotenv")
+@patch("deep_code_agent.code_agent.create_code_agent")
+@patch("deep_code_agent.models.llms.langchain_chat.create_chat_model")
+@patch("langgraph.checkpoint.memory.InMemorySaver")
+def test_initialize_agent_skips_model_creation_for_default_provider(
+    mock_checkpointer,
+    mock_create_chat_model,
+    mock_create_code_agent,
+    _mock_load_dotenv,
+):
+    """Default provider should defer model creation to create_code_agent."""
+    args = SimpleNamespace(
+        model_name=None,
+        model_provider="openai",
+        api_key=None,
+        base_url=None,
+        backend_type="state",
+    )
+
+    _initialize_agent(args, "/tmp/project")
+
+    mock_create_chat_model.assert_not_called()
+    mock_create_code_agent.assert_called_once()
+    assert mock_create_code_agent.call_args.kwargs["model"] is None
+    assert mock_create_code_agent.call_args.kwargs["backend_type"] == "state"
+    assert mock_create_code_agent.call_args.kwargs["checkpointer"] is mock_checkpointer.return_value
+
+
+@patch("dotenv.load_dotenv")
+@patch("deep_code_agent.code_agent.create_code_agent")
+@patch("deep_code_agent.models.llms.langchain_chat.create_chat_model")
+@patch("langgraph.checkpoint.memory.InMemorySaver")
+def test_initialize_agent_builds_model_for_explicit_provider(
+    mock_checkpointer,
+    mock_create_chat_model,
+    mock_create_code_agent,
+    _mock_load_dotenv,
+):
+    """Non-default provider should still trigger explicit model creation."""
+    args = SimpleNamespace(
+        model_name=None,
+        model_provider="anthropic",
+        api_key=None,
+        base_url=None,
+        backend_type="filesystem",
+    )
+    mock_create_chat_model.return_value = object()
+
+    _initialize_agent(args, "/tmp/project")
+
+    mock_create_chat_model.assert_called_once_with(
+        model_name=None,
+        model_provider="anthropic",
+        api_key=None,
+        base_url=None,
+    )
+    assert mock_create_code_agent.call_args.kwargs["model"] is mock_create_chat_model.return_value
+    assert mock_create_code_agent.call_args.kwargs["backend_type"] == "filesystem"
+    assert mock_create_code_agent.call_args.kwargs["checkpointer"] is mock_checkpointer.return_value