diff --git a/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-reusable.yml b/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-reusable.yml
index f578bb79..59955abb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-reusable.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-reusable.yml
@@ -63,10 +63,10 @@ on:
         default: 'standard'
         type: string
       model:
-        description: >
-          Model family — `opus` (default, recommended), `sonnet`, or `haiku`.
-          The resolver/CLI maps the family to the current version ID. An
-          operator MAY override with a concrete model ID for a one-off pin.
+        # The Claude Code CLI resolves the family client-side (`--model opus`
+        # in the analyst step) to the current version ID — never pin a
+        # version ID here. See standards/agent-standards.md.
+        description: 'Model family (`opus` recommended - Sonnet produces shallower adversarial passes) or an explicit model id override.'
         required: false
         default: 'opus'
         type: string
diff --git a/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-tests.yml
index 24c5989a..c0561a45 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-tests.yml
@@ -58,11 +58,31 @@ jobs:
         with:
           fetch-depth: 1
 
-      - name: Install bats, shellcheck, and jq
+      - name: Install bats, shellcheck, jq, and yq
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           sudo apt-get update -qq
           sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends bats shellcheck jq
+          # Install a pinned mikefarah/yq so the suite is reproducible and not
+          # dependent on whatever version ships in the runner image.
+          YQ_VERSION="v4.44.3"
+          # --proto '=https' --proto-redir '=https' enforces HTTPS on both the
+          # initial request and any redirects (GitHub releases redirect to
+          # objects.githubusercontent.com).
+          # --retry 5 --retry-delay 2 --retry-connrefused --retry-all-errors
+          # rides out the transient network/5xx blips from that redirect target
+          # that otherwise flake this suite (#739); --connect-timeout/--max-time
+          # bound each attempt so a stalled connection cannot eat the job budget.
+          curl -sSfL --proto '=https' --proto-redir '=https' --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 60 \
+            --retry 5 --retry-delay 2 --retry-connrefused --retry-all-errors \
+            "https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/download/${YQ_VERSION}/yq_linux_amd64" \
+            -o /tmp/yq_linux_amd64
+          # SHA-256 of yq_linux_amd64 for v4.44.3, hardcoded (vetted) rather than
+          # fetched from the same release, so a swapped release asset is detected.
+          # Update together with YQ_VERSION.
+          YQ_SHA256="a2c097180dd884a8d50c956ee16a9cec070f30a7947cf4ebf87d5f36213e9ed7"
+          echo "${YQ_SHA256}  /tmp/yq_linux_amd64" | sha256sum -c -
+          sudo install -m 755 /tmp/yq_linux_amd64 /usr/local/bin/yq
 
       - name: Install Python jsonschema and PyYAML
         run: 'pip install --quiet --require-hashes --only-binary :all: -r scripts/feature-ideation-tests-requirements.txt'
diff --git a/test/workflows/feature-ideation/model-input.bats b/test/workflows/feature-ideation/model-input.bats
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a0dd0976
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/workflows/feature-ideation/model-input.bats
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+# Tests for the `model` input of the reusable feature-ideation workflow
+# (issue #1210). The default must be the model FAMILY (`opus`) so the BMAD
+# Analyst auto-tracks the current Opus via the Claude Code CLI's client-side
+# alias resolution — a pinned version id must never be the default.
+
+load 'helpers/setup'
+
+WF="${TT_REPO_ROOT}/.github/workflows/feature-ideation-reusable.yml"
+
+@test "model input: default is the opus family" {
+  run yq -r '.on.workflow_call.inputs.model.default' "$WF"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [ "$output" = "opus" ]
+}
+
+@test "model input: default is not a pinned claude-* version id" {
+  run yq -r '.on.workflow_call.inputs.model.default' "$WF"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [[ "$output" != claude-* ]]
+}
+
+@test "model input: description recommends the opus family with an id override" {
+  run yq -r '.on.workflow_call.inputs.model.description' "$WF"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [ "$output" = 'Model family (`opus` recommended - Sonnet produces shallower adversarial passes) or an explicit model id override.' ]
+}
+
+@test "analyst step: model is passed via --model so the CLI resolves the family" {
+  run yq -r '.jobs[].steps[]? | select(.name == "Run Claude Code — BMAD Analyst") | .with.claude_args' "$WF"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [[ "$output" == *'--model ${{ inputs.model }}'* ]]
+}
+
+@test "analyst step: no ANTHROPIC_MODEL env bypasses the CLI's alias resolver" {
+  run yq -r '.jobs[].steps[]? | select(.name == "Run Claude Code — BMAD Analyst") | .env // {} | has("ANTHROPIC_MODEL")' "$WF"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [ "$output" = "false" ]
+}