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.