agent-router

name	agent-router
description	Route resumable external-model work through the pinned ai-cli-mcp server. Use for adversarial reviews, implementation reviews, research, and one-off delegated tasks when the user names Claude, Opus, Fable, OpenCode, 0x Alpha, Codex, or asks for an external model.

Agent router

Use the repository's pinned ai-cli-mcp@2.22.0 server for external-model work. Do not launch provider CLIs directly when the MCP server can do the job: the server owns background process tracking, session IDs, result retrieval, and provider-specific argument validation.

Every run is resumable. Start it with run, retain the returned PID, use peek only for a bounded progress sample, use wait or get_result for the authoritative outcome, and resume with the returned session_id when a provider fails or the user asks for another pass. A one-off task is still started in the background; wait immediately afterward is the blocking recipe.

Setup and health check

Before using a new checkout or machine:

1. Confirm package.json pins ai-cli-mcp exactly and pnpm-lock.yaml contains the same version.
2. Confirm root .mcp.json and .codex/config.toml invoke workspace-local pnpm exec ai-cli-mcp; never substitute an unpinned npx download.
3. Run pnpm exec ai-cli models and retain the structured output as the model-routing fact for this run.
4. Run pnpm exec ai-cli doctor for binary availability. It does not prove login, terms acceptance, quota, or provider health, so check those with the provider's own status command when a run needs them.
5. Reload/restart the MCP client after adding or changing .mcp.json or .codex/config.toml. Confirm that the ai-cli MCP tools (models, run, wait, get_result) are present in the active tool registry.
6. Perform a small background smoke run through those MCP tools in an isolated temporary worktree, wait for it, and verify that a non-empty result includes a session ID. Resume that session with a second tiny prompt before declaring the router healthy.

pnpm exec ai-cli run is useful for diagnosing the pinned package and provider authentication, but it is only the CLI façade and does not validate the MCP transport. If the MCP server is not visible to the host client, inspect Codex with codex mcp get ai-cli and Claude with claude mcp get ai-cli, then reload the client. A missing server is a setup failure; do not report the CLI façade as an MCP smoke test or fall back silently to direct provider CLIs.

CLI fallback while MCP is unavailable

Use the CLI façade temporarily when the host client has not reloaded the server:

mise exec -- pnpm exec ai-cli models
mise exec -- pnpm exec ai-cli run --cwd /absolute/worktree --model <validated-model> --prompt-file /absolute/prompt.md
mise exec -- pnpm exec ai-cli wait <pid> --timeout 300 --verbose
mise exec -- pnpm exec ai-cli result <pid> --verbose

This fallback is resumable and uses the same server-side process state. Capture the returned PID, provider/model, absolute worktree, target commit, and returned session_id; resume with run --session-id <session_id>. Label the run transport: cli-fallback and keep trying to restore MCP visibility. Never replace this with an unpinned provider CLI or claim that MCP is healthy because the fallback succeeded.

Route from facts, not guesses

An explicit user model choice always wins over a task-based preference. The router may recommend a model when the user leaves it open, but it must not substitute a preferred model after the user names one. It still validates the requested name against the live catalog and reports an unavailable or malformed route instead of silently changing providers.

Before selecting a model, call the server's models tool (or run pnpm exec ai-cli models while diagnosing the server). Treat its structured response as the catalog. The current 2.22.0 shape is:

{
  "claude": ["sonnet", "sonnet[1m]", "opus", "opusplan", "fable", "haiku"],
  "codex": ["gpt-5.4", "gpt-5.6-sol", "gpt-5.6-terra", "gpt-5.6-luna", "gpt-5.5", "gpt-5.4-mini", "gpt-5.3-codex", "gpt-5.3-codex-spark", "gpt-5.2"],
  "opencode": ["opencode"],
  "dynamicModelBackends": {
    "opencode": {
      "explicitPrefix": "oc-",
      "explicitPattern": "oc-<provider/model>"
       
    
  

Apply these mappings only after checking the live catalog:

User wording	ai-cli model	Provider rule
0x, 0x alpha, 0xAlpha	oc-opencode/x-preview-f-free	OpenCode explicit model; omit reasoning_effort.
opus	opus	Claude; use reasoning_effort: high by default.
fable	fable	Catalogued Claude model; use reasoning_effort: high and do not auto-select it.
luna	gpt-5.6-luna	Catalogued Codex model; use reasoning_effort: high.
tera, terra	gpt-5.6-terra	Catalogued Codex model; accept the user's established tera shorthand and use reasoning_effort: high.
sol	gpt-5.6-sol	Catalogued Codex model; use reasoning_effort: high.
claude:<catalog-model>	the suffix	Claude; validate the suffix against models.
codex:<catalog-model>	the suffix	Codex; validate the suffix against models and use reasoning_effort: high.
opencode:<provider>/<model>	oc-<provider>/<model>	Validate the backend with opencode models; omit reasoning_effort.

Treat Fable as an explicit high-rigor choice: use the catalogued fable model with reasoning_effort: high, keep the request direct, and never alias it to Opus.

Effort invariant: every Claude and Codex model route defaults to reasoning_effort: high, including Opus, Fable, Luna, Tera/Terra, Sol, and any future explicitly validated model from either provider. Use a higher tier only when the user explicitly requests that effort; choosing an expensive model or asking for a difficult review does not imply it. The catalogued claude-ultra and codex-ultra aliases raise effort automatically, so never use them unless the user explicitly requests that higher effort. Validate an explicit higher tier against the selected provider and never substitute or silently retry with one. OpenCode routes omit reasoning_effort because that provider does not accept it through this integration.

The oc- prefix is required by ai-cli-mcp; opencode/x-preview-f-free is the provider-native identifier, not the value passed to ai-cli. The router must translate it to oc-opencode/x-preview-f-free.

Review recipe

For an adversarial review:

1. Resolve the model with models and choose the requested provider explicitly.
2. Use an absolute isolated worktree as workFolder; include the target commit, review scope, acceptance criteria, and the instruction to report evidence with file/line references.
3. Call run with the review prompt. Do not give a review agent a mutation mandate. The ai-cli wrapper bypasses provider permissions, so isolation and a clean worktree are the safety boundary.
4. Record PID, session ID, provider, model, worktree, target commit, and status in the ignored .cache/agent-router/ run manifest.
5. Use peek for a short progress sample only. Use wait or get_result to collect the complete result.
6. On a transient provider failure, call run again with the same session_id and the same worktree. Do not start a fresh session unless the original session is unrecoverable.
7. After integration changes, run a new review against the new commit; do not ask a stale session to review a different checkout without stating the new target.

For parallel reviews, start all runs first, then wait on their PIDs together. Keep each worktree and manifest distinct. A successful process exit is not proof of a useful review; require a structured report and inspect the cited source.

Implementation recipe

Use the same lifecycle for delegated implementation, but make the prompt explicitly mutation-authorized and name the exact branch/worktree. Require the agent to preserve repository instructions, run the narrow gate, and commit only its coherent slice. Review and integrate the result locally before running external review or broader checks.

Configuration

The pinned server is declared in root .mcp.json for Claude and .codex/config.toml for Codex. Both invoke the workspace-local pnpm exec ai-cli-mcp, never an unpinned npx download. tool_timeout_sec controls the maximum individual MCP call, not server lifetime; the checked-in Codex value is one hour so a long wait can remain attached while the server itself stays a normal stdio process.