Task Router

Smart routing layer that analyzes tasks and recommends the optimal agent to minimize Opus usage while maintaining quality.

When to Use

Always call analyze_task_routing before spawning a sub-agent. This prevents defaulting to Opus for tasks that Sonnet or Haiku can handle.

Tool: analyze_task_routing

Analyzes a task and returns the recommended agent with reasoning.

Usage:

// Before spawning
const routing = await analyze_task_routing({
  task: "Polish the analytics dashboard UI",
  context: "React + Tailwind, needs to match Command Center aesthetics"
});

// Then spawn with the recommendation
sessions_spawn({
  agentId: routing.agent,
  task: task_description,
  // ... other params
});

Routing Criteria

Haiku (DEFAULT for Simple Tasks — Feb 2, 2026 Update)

Use for:

• Simple file edits (formatting, renaming, basic refactoring)
• Quick Q&A or fact lookups
• Basic data transformations
• Status checks, summaries under 1000 words
• Repetitive tasks with clear instructions
• Single-file research summaries
• Web scraping with clear targets
• File organization/moving
• Basic API calls with known patterns
• Generating lists or enumerations
• Simple templating tasks

Try Haiku FIRST if the task:

• Has clear, specific instructions
• Doesn’t require creative judgment
• Can be validated objectively
• Follows a known pattern

Escalate to Sonnet only if:

• Task requires reasoning or judgment
• Multi-step workflows with dependencies
• Output quality needs to be nuanced

Sonnet (Default Workhorse)

Use for:

• General coding tasks (features, bug fixes, testing)
• Research and analysis
• Content generation (blog posts, docs, reports)
• Data processing and transformation
• Most API integrations
• File reorganization with logic
• Standard debugging

This should handle 70-80% of tasks.

Codex (Reasoning for Code)

Use for:

• Complex UI/UX implementation
• Architecture decisions and refactoring
• Debugging subtle/tricky bugs
• Performance optimization
• Code reviews requiring deep analysis
• Building entire features from scratch
• Complex algorithm implementation

Codex uses o1 reasoning – great for “thinking through” code problems.

Opus (Strategic Oversight)

Reserve for:

• Multi-agent coordination
• Complex strategic decisions spanning multiple domains
• Sensitive business logic requiring judgment
• Tasks requiring McKinzie’s context/preferences
• Novel problems without clear solutions
• High-stakes decisions

Opus should be rare – most work should delegate down.

Implementation Notes

• Routing uses Sonnet to analyze tasks (cheap, fast, smart enough)
• Default to Sonnet if uncertain – safer than Haiku, cheaper than Opus
• I can override the recommendation if context requires it
• Track routing decisions in session notes for improvement

Examples

// Simple edit → Haiku
analyze_task_routing({ task: "Fix indentation in config.json" })
// → { agent: "haiku", reasoning: "Simple formatting task" }

// Feature work → Sonnet
analyze_task_routing({ task: "Add email validation to signup form" })
// → { agent: "sonnet", reasoning: "Standard feature implementation" }

// Complex UI → Codex
analyze_task_routing({ task: "Build interactive data visualization with D3" })
// → { agent: "codex", reasoning: "Complex UI requiring architectural decisions" }

// Strategic → Opus
analyze_task_routing({ task: "Design routing strategy for multi-agent system" })
// → { agent: "opus", reasoning: "Meta-level strategic decision" }

Cost Impact

Typical session costs (rough estimates):

• Haiku: $0.01 – $0.10
• Sonnet: $0.10 – $1.00
• Codex: $0.50 – $5.00 (reasoning tokens)
• Opus: $2.00 – $20.00

Using this routing can save 60-80% on agent costs by preventing Opus from handling Sonnet-tier work.