| name | cheapskate |
| description | Inspect and use the catalogue-backed cheapskate/auto router, which permits only explicitly enabled models with exact zero catalogue pricing. |
| distribution | public |
Cheapskate
Select cheapskate/auto from the model picker to route through explicitly enabled models whose effective Piclaw/Pi catalogue costs are all exactly zero.
Eligibility
A physical model is eligible only when:
- the effective catalogue contains it;
- input, output, cache-read and cache-write base rates are finite zero values;
- every optional price tier also has four finite zero rates;
- its provider has configured authentication and the model is currently available;
- Settings enables the provider and model;
- the current session model scope permits it;
- its input, context and output capabilities fit the request;
- it has no active health quarantine or cooldown.
Positive, missing, malformed and unknown price metadata fails closed. A models.json model that omits cost remains unknown even when Pi normalises its displayed rates to zero. Trial credit and provider marketing do not make a positive-price model eligible. Newly discovered zero-cost models are disabled until the user enables them.
Identity
The session model remains:
cheapskate/auto
The final assistant message records the physical provider/model in responseModel and in a cheapskate.route diagnostic. Use those fields when reporting which route handled a request.
