mode-router

name	mode-router
disable-model-invocation	true
description	Administer the per-prompt caveman/ponytail router — show status, force a mode, or turn routing off.

mode-router

A UserPromptSubmit hook (hooks/route.js) fires on every prompt. In auto mode it makes the model classify the request and invoke exactly one mode skill: coding task → ponytail (minimal code), everything else → caveman (terse output). The mode applies on top of any other skill the turn dispatches — never instead of it. The hook only routes; the two skills own their behavior. This skill reads and flips the control file that picks the mode.

Control file

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mode-router/state.json (or ~/.config/mode-router/state.json):

{ "mode": "auto" }

mode is one of: auto (default — model routes per request), caveman (force terse everywhere, regardless of request type), ponytail (force minimal-code everywhere), off (inject nothing). Missing or invalid → auto.

Operations

1. Status — read the control file (report auto if absent) and state the active mode plus the auto routing rule. Done when the user knows which mode is in force.
2. Set mode — write { "mode": "<value>" } to the control file, creating the directory if needed. Reject any value outside the four above. Done when the file holds the requested value.

Changes take effect on the next prompt — the hook re-reads the file every turn.

Routing behavior

route.js is the single source of truth for the exact routing and precedence rules, and injects them into every turn. For how slash commands, precedence over hard constraints, and multi-turn spec-driven workflows are handled, see ROUTING.md.