smart-model-switching
Auto-route tasks to the cheapest Claude model that works correctly. Three-tier progression: Haiku → Sonnet → Opus. Classify before responding. HAIKU (default): factual Q&A, greetings, reminders, status checks, lookups, simple file ops, heartbeats, casual chat, 1-2 sentence tasks. ESCALATE TO SONNET: code >10 lines, analysis, comparisons, planning, reports, multi-step reasoning, tables, long writing >3 paragraphs, summarization, research synthesis, most user conversations. ESCALATE TO OPUS: architecture decisions, complex debugging, multi-file refactoring, strategic planning, nuanced judgment, deep research, critical production decisions. Rule: If a human needs >30 seconds of focused thinking, escalate. If Sonnet struggles with complexity, go to Opus. Save 50-90% on API costs by starting cheap and escalating only when needed.