Add Quality Tier (Use Case) Skill

When adding a new quality tier that reuses an existing model (e.g., a "Budget Old Photo" tier using p-image-edit), follow these steps. This is simpler than adding a new model — no provider integration needed.

Required Files (all must be updated)

1. QualityTier type + config + scales

File: shared/types/coreflow.types.ts

Add to QualityTier union:

export type QualityTier =
  | 'auto'
  | 'quick'
  // ...
  | 'new-tier-name'; // kebab-case

Add to QUALITY_TIER_CONFIG:

'new-tier-name': {
  label: 'Tier Label',
  credits: 2,                    // Match existing model's credit cost
  modelId: 'existing-model-id',  // Reuse existing model
  description: 'Short description',
  bestFor: 'Target use case',
  smartAnalysisAlwaysOn: false,
  useCases: ['tag1', 'tag2'],    // Searchable tags for gallery filter
  previewImages: null,           // null until before/after images exist
},

Add to QUALITY_TIER_SCALES:

'new-tier-name': [],  // Match the model's supportedScales
                      // [] for enhancement-only, [2, 4] for upscale models

2. Zod validation schema

File: shared/validation/upscale.schema.ts

Add to the qualityTier z.enum array:

qualityTier: z
  .enum([
    'auto',
    'quick',
    // ...
    'new-tier-name',  // Add here
  ])
  .default('auto'),

This is the one people forget. Without it, the API returns 400 invalid_enum_value.

3. Tier categorization (FREE vs PREMIUM)

File: shared/config/model-costs.config.ts

Add to either PREMIUM_QUALITY_TIERS or FREE_QUALITY_TIERS:

// If model has tierRestriction (hobby/pro/business):
PREMIUM_QUALITY_TIERS: [
  // ...existing
  'new-tier-name',
] as const,

// If model is free tier (no tierRestriction):
FREE_QUALITY_TIERS: ['quick', 'face-restore', 'bg-removal', 'new-tier-name'] as const,

Without this, the tier won't appear in the Select Model modal (it gets filtered out).

4. (Optional) Use case assignment in model registry

File: server/services/model-registry.ts

If this tier represents a new use case for auto-selection:

Update loadUseCaseAssignments():

this.useCaseAssignments = {
  // ...existing
  newUseCase: serverEnv.MODEL_FOR_NEW_USE_CASE,
};

Update getModelForUseCase() type:

getModelForUseCase(
  useCase: 'generalUpscale' | 'portraits' | ... | 'newUseCase'
): IModelConfig | null {

5. (Optional) Env var for use case override

File: shared/config/env.ts

Add to Zod schema and fallback:

// Schema (~line 242)
MODEL_FOR_NEW_USE_CASE: z.string().default('existing-model-id'),

// Fallback (~line 362)
MODEL_FOR_NEW_USE_CASE: process.env.MODEL_FOR_NEW_USE_CASE || 'existing-model-id',

File: .env.api.example

MODEL_FOR_NEW_USE_CASE=existing-model-id

6. Tests

File: tests/unit/shared/quality-tier-config.unit.spec.ts

Add 'new-tier-name' to all hardcoded tier arrays:

• •expectedTiers list (appears twice — config and scales tests)
• •enhancementOnlyTiers list (if enhancement-only model)

Checklist

• • shared/types/coreflow.types.ts — QualityTier, QUALITY_TIER_CONFIG, QUALITY_TIER_SCALES
• • shared/validation/upscale.schema.ts — Zod enum (causes 400 if missing)
• • shared/config/model-costs.config.ts — FREE or PREMIUM tier list (invisible in modal if missing)
• • server/services/model-registry.ts — use case assignment (optional)
• • shared/config/env.ts — env var for use case (optional)
• • .env.api.example — document env var (optional)
• • tests/unit/shared/quality-tier-config.unit.spec.ts — update hardcoded tier arrays
• • Run yarn verify

Common Mistakes