v1.0.0 to v1.1.0

56 added, 20 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: model-routing

description: Intelligent model selection — routes tasks to Haiku (fast/cheap), Sonnet (balanced), or Opus (complex/strategic) by analyzing task complexity. Use when deciding which model to run, optimizing cost vs quality, or building a tiered routing layer.

triggers:

- model

- routing

- optimize

- cost

- haiku

- sonnet

- opus

priority: high

- version: 1.0.0

+ version: 1.1.0

source: claude-flow

---

# 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](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/models/overview)):**

- > 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.

+ > **Current model IDs and pricing — Last verified: 2026-08-28. Re-verify at

+ > [platform.claude.com](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/models/overview) before trusting

+ > these again; they have moved more than once in 2026.**

+ > Haiku → `claude-haiku-4-5` ($1.00 / $5.00 per 1M input/output) · Sonnet → `claude-sonnet-5`

+ > ($2.00 / $10.00) · Opus → `claude-opus-5` ($5.00 / $25.00, default).

+ > For the hardest long-horizon reasoning, escalate above Opus to **`claude-fable-5`** ($10.00 / $50.00 —

+ > most capable; thinking is always on, no disabling it; reserve for genuinely demanding work).

+ > Model IDs are complete as written — never append a date suffix. The tiers below are model-agnostic.

## Routing Decision Matrix

```

TASK COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

- HAIKU (Fast, Cheap) - Use for:

+ HAIKU (Fast, Cheap) - claude-haiku-4-5 - 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

+ │ Token cost: $1.00/1M input, $5.00/1M output

│ Latency: Fastest

│ Use when: Task has clear, unambiguous steps

- SONNET (Balanced) - Use for:

+ SONNET (Balanced) - claude-sonnet-5 - 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

+ │ Token cost: $2.00/1M input, $10.00/1M output

│ Latency: Medium

│ Use when: Task requires reasoning but not deep strategy

- OPUS (Strategic, Complex) - Use for:

+ OPUS (Strategic, Complex) - claude-opus-5 - 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

+ │ Token cost: $5.00/1M input, $25.00/1M output

+ │ Latency: Slower; most capable of the routine tiers

│ Use when: Task requires deep reasoning, creativity, or strategy

+ FABLE (Hardest, escalation only) - claude-fable-5 - Use for:

+ ├── Long-horizon agentic work where Opus already fell short

+ ├── The single hardest step in an otherwise-Opus-routed task

+ │

+ │ Token cost: $10.00/1M input, $50.00/1M output

+ │ Latency: Slowest; thinking is always on (cannot be disabled)

+ │ Use when: Opus-tier reasoning wasn't enough — this is a ceiling, not a starting point

```

## 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`

+ ### Escalate to FABLE when:

+ - Opus already ran on the task and the result fell short

+ - The task is genuinely the hardest tier — long-horizon agentic work, not routine strategy

+ - Never route here first; Fable is a ceiling for escalation, not a default

## Cost Optimization

```

BEFORE (No routing):

- All tasks → Opus → $75/1M output tokens

+ All tasks → Opus → $25.00/1M 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

+ Simple tasks (40%) → Haiku → $5.00/1M = $2.00

+ Medium tasks (45%) → Sonnet → $10.00/1M = $4.50

+ Complex tasks (15%) → Opus → $25.00/1M = $3.75

──────────────────────────────────────────────

- TOTAL: $18.50 vs $75 = 75% cost reduction

+ TOTAL: $10.25 vs $25.00 = 59% cost reduction

```

## Implementation in Task Tool

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

```javascript

// 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

| Command | Default Model | Rationale |

|---------|---------------|-----------|

| `/acos` | sonnet | Router needs reasoning |

| `/article-creator` | sonnet | Content creation |

| `/create-music` | sonnet | Creative work |

| `/infogenius` | sonnet | Research + creation |

| `/starlight-architect` | **opus** | Strategic design |

| `/council` | **opus** | Multi-perspective |

| `/research` | sonnet | Information synthesis |

| `/spec` | sonnet | Feature planning |

| `/nextjs-deploy` | haiku | Execution |

| `/mcp-status` | haiku | Status check |

| `/inventory-status` | haiku | Status check |

| `/publish` | haiku | Execution |

| `/polish-content` | sonnet | Editing |

| `/review-content` | sonnet | Quality check |

## 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

+ 3. If opus itself falls short on a genuinely hard task, escalate to Fable — last resort, not a retry habit

+ 4. Log escalation for learning

```

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

+ haiku (attempt) → fail → sonnet (retry) → fail → opus (retry) → fail (rare) → fable (last resort)

```

+ ## Relationship to other routing configs

+ This skill is the estate's **model-facts reference** — current model IDs, context windows, and

+ per-token pricing. It is not the only routing config in the estate, and on task-class routing

+ decisions it does not have the final word:

+ - **`starlight-evals/routing-table.json`** is the **evidence-derived source of truth for task-class

+ routing** — which tier a task class should hit, backed by eval-round evidence and confidence

+ scores rather than the judgment calls in this file. Where its `route` for a task class disagrees

+ with the "Route to X when" rules above, the table wins.

+ - **`agentic-ops-hub/fleet/model-routing.json`** and a referenced `~/.starlight/routing.toml` are

+ operational routing configs elsewhere in the estate. They route by abstract tier name (`opus`,

+ `sonnet`, ...) and should resolve those names against this skill (or the evals table) rather than

+ hardcoding their own model IDs or pricing.

+ - This skill's job stays narrow: keep the model IDs, context windows, and pricing above correct and

+ current. It is not merged with the other three configs here — this section exists only so the next

+ agent knows which source to trust when they disagree.

---

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

+ *Model Routing v1.1 - Implementing claude-flow's intelligent routing pattern. Last verified: 2026-08-28.*