Model Routing

Model Routing System

You have access to intelligent model routing. Before executing any task, analyze complexity and route to the appropriate model tier.

Current model IDs (June 2026 — verify at platform.claude.com): Haiku → claude-haiku-4-5 · Sonnet → claude-sonnet-4-6 · Opus → claude-opus-4-8 (default). For the hardest long-horizon reasoning, escalate above Opus to claude-fable-5 (most capable; priced above Opus tier — reserve for genuinely demanding work). The tiers below are model-agnostic.

Routing Decision Matrix

TASK COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

HAIKU (Fast, Cheap) - Use for:
├── Simple file operations (read, list, navigate)
├── Scaffolding and boilerplate generation
├── Deterministic transformations (format, lint, compile)
├── Status checks and health monitoring
├── SEO metadata generation
├── Deployment commands (after code is written)
├── Documentation formatting
├── Simple search and replace
│
│   Token cost: ~$0.25/1M input, $1.25/1M output
│   Latency: Fastest
│   Use when: Task has clear, unambiguous steps

SONNET (Balanced) - Use for:
├── Feature implementation (standard complexity)
├── Bug fixes requiring analysis
├── Content writing (articles, social posts)
├── Code review and quality checks
├── Test generation
├── Refactoring with clear patterns
├── API integration work
├── Database schema design
│
│   Token cost: ~$3/1M input, $15/1M output
│   Latency: Medium
│   Use when: Task requires reasoning but not deep strategy

OPUS (Strategic, Complex) - Use for:
├── Architecture decisions (system design)
├── Multi-agent coordination (council, swarm)
├── Strategic planning (business, product)
├── Complex debugging (multi-file, subtle bugs)
├── Security audits and vulnerability analysis
├── Enterprise AI system design
├── Book writing (narrative, character development)
├── Research synthesis (multiple sources)
├── Ambiguous requirements interpretation
│
│   Token cost: ~$15/1M input, $75/1M output
│   Latency: Slowest but most capable
│   Use when: Task requires deep reasoning, creativity, or strategy

Automatic Routing Rules

When processing a request, apply these rules:

Route to HAIKU when:

• User says: "deploy", "format", "lint", "check status", "list", "scaffold"
• File patterns: *.config.*, package.json, tsconfig.json
• Commands: /mcp-status, /inventory-status, /nextjs-deploy (execution phase)

Route to SONNET when:

• User says: "write", "implement", "fix", "create", "build", "test"
• File patterns: *.ts, *.tsx, *.py, *.md (content files)
• Commands: /article-creator, /create-music, /spec, /generate-social

Route to OPUS when:

• User says: "design", "architect", "strategy", "council", "analyze", "research"
• Keywords: "enterprise", "system", "multi-agent", "complex", "strategic"
• Commands: /starlight-architect, /council, /author-team, /research

Cost Optimization

BEFORE (No routing):
  All tasks → Opus → $75/1M output tokens

AFTER (With routing):
  Simple tasks (40%) → Haiku  → $1.25/1M  = $0.50
  Medium tasks (45%) → Sonnet → $15/1M   = $6.75
  Complex tasks (15%) → Opus  → $75/1M   = $11.25
  ──────────────────────────────────────────────
  TOTAL: $18.50 vs $75 = 75% cost reduction

Implementation in Task Tool

When using the Task tool, specify model based on routing:

// Simple task - use haiku
Task({
  subagent_type: "Explore",
  model: "haiku",
  prompt: "List all files in src/"
})

// Medium task - use sonnet (default)
Task({
  subagent_type: "code-reviewer",
  model: "sonnet",
  prompt: "Review this PR for issues"
})

// Complex task - use opus
Task({
  subagent_type: "Plan",
  model: "opus",
  prompt: "Design the architecture for a multi-tenant SaaS platform"
})

Command-Level Routing

Escalation Pattern

If a haiku-routed task fails or produces poor results:

1. Automatically escalate to sonnet
2. If still failing, escalate to opus
3. Log escalation for learning

haiku (attempt) → fail → sonnet (retry) → fail → opus (final)

Model Routing v1.0 - Implementing claude-flow's intelligent routing pattern