> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trynito.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reasoning

> Choose a reasoning-capable model and Nito lets it think through a problem before answering, trading extra tokens for better quality on hard questions.

Some models can think before they answer: they work through a problem internally, then produce a final reply informed by that work. This improves quality on hard problems, and it costs more tokens and time. This page covers how to get reasoning in the plugin, a worked example, and when it is worth using.

## Reasoning Is a Property of the Model

In the plugin, reasoning is not a flag you pass. There is no `--reasoning` option. You get reasoning by choosing a reasoning-capable model. The catalog marks which models support reasoning, so browse it and pick one:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Claude Code">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    /nito:models
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Codex">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    $nito:models
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Once you select a reasoning-capable model, it thinks through your prompt on its own. See [Choosing a model](/commands/choosing-a-model) for how to pick one.

## A Worked Example

Pick a reasoning-capable model and ask it to reason step by step through a problem where the intuitive answer is wrong:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Claude Code">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    /nito:ask --model <reasoning-capable-model> Reason step by step, then answer: a bat and a ball cost $1.10, the bat costs $1.00 more than the ball, how much is the ball?
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Codex">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    $nito:ask --model <reasoning-capable-model> Reason step by step, then answer: a bat and a ball cost $1.10, the bat costs $1.00 more than the ball, how much is the ball?
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

You can run the same thing from your terminal with `nito ask`. See [Ask and Fusion from the terminal](/cli/ask-and-fusion-from-terminal).

A reasoning-capable model works through it and lands on the correct answer, \*\*$0.05 (5 cents)**, not the intuitive 10 cents. The intuitive answer fails because if the ball were 10 cents the bat would be $1.10, making the total \$1.20. Working it out step by step catches this.

## When to Use It

Reasoning trades tokens for quality. It costs more and takes longer, so use it for genuinely hard problems (math, multi-step logic, careful analysis) and leave it off for routine generation where it adds cost without improving the answer. When in doubt, browse the catalog with `models` and match the model to the difficulty of the task. See [Choosing a model](/commands/choosing-a-model).

## Related Resources

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Choosing a Model" icon="gears" href="/commands/choosing-a-model">
    Browse the catalog and pick a model that fits the task.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Ask and Continue" icon="message-captions" href="/commands/ask-and-continue">
    Send a prompt and keep the conversation going.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Features Overview" icon="square-code" href="/features">
    What Nito can do across models and commands.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>