Model Routing

Model Routing

dotforge provides explicit model selection criteria in template/rules/model-routing.md. Every bootstrapped project gets this rule.

Selection criteria

Model	Use for
haiku	File search, grepping, running tests, repetitive transforms, short factual questions
sonnet	Feature implementation, bug fixing (known root cause), code review, debugging, documentation
opus	Architecture decisions with real tradeoffs, security audits, ambiguous high-stakes tasks, production operations

Agent assignments

Agent	Model	Reason
researcher	haiku	Exploration — speed over depth
test-runner	sonnet	Writes tests — needs reasoning quality, not just execution
implementer	sonnet	Standard implementation work
code-reviewer	sonnet	Focused review of single concern
session-reviewer	sonnet	Pattern analysis, not architecture
architect	opus	Tradeoffs with lasting consequences
security-auditor	opus	Missing a vulnerability has production consequences

Escalation rule

Start with sonnet. Escalate to opus when:

• 2+ valid approaches exist with real consequences for choosing wrong
• Task touches security, data integrity, or production systems
• After 2 attempts the approach is still unclear

Agent Frontmatter Fields

Model routing in agent definitions uses these frontmatter fields:

Field	Values	Description
model	haiku, sonnet, opus	Model override
effort	normal, high, max	Reasoning budget (architect=high, security-auditor=max)
context	fork	Execute skill in isolated subagent for post-compaction safety
allowed-tools	Tool list	Use allowed-tools: — not tools: (wrong key silently ignored)

MCP operations

Operation	Model
Read (SELECT, list, get)	haiku
Write with known intent	sonnet
Migration, schema change, production operation	opus