Smart Routing Decision Framework

When This Activates

Use this framework BEFORE starting complex work to determine the best model:

• Should this use Opus (architecture), Sonnet (default), or Haiku (exploration)?
• Local Ollama is ONLY for non-critical tasks (commit messages, Enchanted API)

IMPORTANT: Local LLM is NOT for Critical Work

DO NOT route development tasks to local Ollama. Local is only appropriate for:

• Commit message generation
• PR description drafts
• Enchanted/mobile API access
• Personal tinkering

Quick Decision Matrix

Model Selection Guide

Use Opus when:

• Greenfield architecture decisions
• Multiple valid approaches with non-obvious trade-offs
• High cost to reverse if wrong choice
• Cross-cutting concerns (security, scalability, performance)

Use Sonnet when (DEFAULT):

• ALL implementation work
• Bug fixes and debugging
• Feature additions
• Refactoring
• Code review
• Most planning tasks (75%)

Use Haiku when:

• File/code exploration
• Simple lookups (“where is X?”)
• Documentation updates
• Simple formatting

Use Local ONLY when:

• Commit messages (mlx commit)
• PR descriptions (mlx pr)
• Enchanted app queries
• Personal experimentation

Tool-Need Detection

Any task requiring tools should use Claude (never local):

• edit, modify, change, update, fix (file operations) → Sonnet
• create file, write file, new file → Sonnet
• commit, push, pull request → Sonnet (local for msg only)
• run test, execute, build, deploy → Sonnet
• install, npm, pip, yarn → Sonnet

Simple Question Patterns

For quick lookups, use Haiku:

• “what is/does/are…” → Haiku
• “where is/are/do…” → Haiku
• “find”, “search”, “look for”, “locate” → Haiku

For reasoning questions, use Sonnet:

• “how does/do/to…” → Sonnet
• “why does/is/do…” → Sonnet
• “explain”, “describe” (complex) → Sonnet

Workflow

1. Default to Sonnet for all development work
2. Use Haiku only for simple exploration/lookups
3. Use Opus only for complex architecture decisions
4. Use Local only for commit messages and non-critical tasks

MCP Tools (All Use Claude)

Memory tools (use with appropriate Claude model):

• memory_query – Instant hybrid search (Haiku OK)
• memory_functions – Function lookup (Haiku OK)
• smart_read – File reading (Sonnet for analysis)
• smart_edit – File editing (Sonnet always)

Local tools (non-critical ONLY):

• local_ask – ONLY for commit messages, personal queries
• local_review – NOT for critical code review

Quality Over Cost

• Critical work: Always use Claude (Sonnet default)
• Architecture: Use Opus – worth the cost for high-stakes decisions
• Exploration: Haiku is cheap and good enough
• Trivial: Local is fine for commit messages only