model-route

name	model-route
description	Advisor for selecting optimal Claude model tier (Opus/Sonnet/Haiku) for a specific task. Use before launching an agent team, before a multi-file refactor, or when deciding whether to switch from Opus to Haiku for transactional work (commits, formatting). Analyzes reasoning depth, blast radius, domain expertise, output length, correctness cost.
auto-activate	false

Model Route Advisor

Recommend the optimal Claude model for a given task based on Osmani's multi-model routing principle. Analyzes task complexity, token budget, and parallelization opportunities to suggest the best model allocation.

Trigger: When user types /model-route or /model-route "<task description>"

Arguments

• $ARGUMENTS — optional task description in quotes. If omitted, prompt the user to describe what they want to do.

Policy Context

Check your project's CLAUDE.md for any model selection policy. The routing recommendation is advisory — it shows what the optimal allocation WOULD be under a cost-optimized policy. The user decides whether to follow it or stick with their preferred model.

Routing Matrix

Tier 1: Opus (highest capability, highest cost)

Route to Opus when the task involves:

• Architecture decisions or system design
• Complex debugging across multiple files
• Security review or adversarial analysis
• Planning and plan-reviewer verification
• Paper writing, scientific argumentation
• Interpreting eval results or research claims
• Self-critic and validation waves
• Any task where a wrong answer is expensive to fix

Token estimate: 10K-50K per task (high reasoning depth)

Tier 2: Sonnet (strong capability, moderate cost)

Route to Sonnet when the task involves:

• Implementing a well-defined plan (code already designed)
• Writing boilerplate or mechanical code changes
• Routine refactoring with clear patterns
• Data migration or format conversion scripts
• Adding tests for existing code (test patterns clear)
• Subagent work with structured output requirements

Token estimate: 5K-20K per task (less reasoning, more generation)

Tier 3: Haiku (fast, lowest cost)

Route to Haiku when the task involves:

• Commit message generation
• File formatting and linting
• Simple lookups (find a function, check a value)
• Mechanical git operations (push, tag, branch)
• Generating structured data from templates
• Simple text transformations

Token estimate: 1K-5K per task (minimal reasoning needed)

Workflow

Step 1: Analyze the Task

Parse the task description and classify it along these dimensions:

Dimension	Low	High
Reasoning depth	Mechanical, pattern-following	Novel, requires inference
Blast radius	Single file, reversible	Multi-file, hard to undo
Domain expertise	Generic programming	HPC/CUDA/research-specific
Output length	Short (< 500 tokens)	Long (> 2K tokens)
Correctness cost	Easy to verify, cheap to retry	Hard to verify, expensive if wrong

Step 2: Generate Recommendation

Present the recommendation in this format:

=== MODEL ROUTE: <task summary> ===

Recommended: <MODEL> (<tier>)

Reasoning:
  - <dimension 1>: <assessment> -> <model implication>
  - <dimension 2>: <assessment> -> <model implication>
  - <dimension 3>: <assessment> -> <model implication>

Token estimate: ~<N>K tokens
Cost estimate: ~$<X.XX> (at current pricing)

Project policy: see CLAUDE.md (this recommendation is advisory)

Step 3: Suggest Parallelization (if applicable)

If the task can be decomposed, suggest splitting:

Parallelization opportunity:
  Instead of 1 Opus call (~40K tokens, ~$X.XX):
  - 3 Sonnet subagents (~15K each, ~$X.XX total)
  - Each handles: <subtask description>
  - Savings: ~<N>% cost, ~<N>x faster (parallel execution)

Only suggest parallelization when subtasks are genuinely independent and don't need shared state or sequential reasoning.

Step 4: Note Alternatives

If the task sits at a boundary between tiers:

Alternative approaches:
  a) <Model A>: <tradeoff> (e.g., "Opus for safety, +$0.50")
  b) <Model B>: <tradeoff> (e.g., "Haiku for speed, risk of shallow analysis")
  c) <Split>: <tradeoff> (e.g., "Opus for planning + Sonnet for implementation")

Project-Specific Routing Rules

Override the general matrix based on your project's needs. Examples:

Task	Suggested Model	Reason
Architecture decisions	Opus	Wrong decisions are expensive to fix
Paper / scientific writing	Opus	Deep reasoning required
Commit + push	Haiku	Mechanical git operations
/validate waves	Opus	Self-critic requires adversarial reasoning
/catchup briefing	Haiku	Mechanical: run git commands, format output
Boilerplate generation	Sonnet	Pattern-following, no deep reasoning

Context Management

This skill is pure analysis — no file reads, no subagents, no bash commands. It analyzes the task description and produces a recommendation. Total output: ~20 lines.