model-routing-patterns
Installation
SKILL.md
Model Routing Patterns
Three Claude tiers. Using Opus for everything is 10-40x more expensive than it needs to be. Using Haiku for everything loses accuracy on hard tasks. The craft is routing.
Model Characteristics (2026)
| Model | Latency | Cost (rel.) | Strengths | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haiku 4.5 | Fastest | 1x | Classification, extraction, simple tools, moderation | Bulk processing, triage, labels |
| Sonnet 4.6 | Medium | 3-5x | General coding, reasoning, most agent tasks | Default workhorse |
| Opus 4.7 | Slowest | 15-30x | Complex reasoning, orchestration, architecture, large context | Hard, rare, high-stakes |
Ratios are approximate and shift between releases. Re-check pricing before committing a production path.
Pattern 1 — Complexity Router (pre-classify)
Cheap model classifies the request, then routes to the right tier: