# Cost Tier Routing

> Use BEFORE doing direct file search, bulk reads, data import/export, or routine coding edits in the main conversation. Routes work to the cheapest model that can do it correctly — haiku for search/IO, sonnet for coding, opus for orchestration/architecture. Triggers when about to call Read on >2 files, Grep/Glob across the repo, batch CSV/JSON transforms, or any "where is X / list all Y / count Z"…

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-the-artificer-of-ciphers-llc-skills-from-the-artificer-cost-tier-routing`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [The-Artificer-of-Ciphers-LLC](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/the-artificer-of-ciphers-llc)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Data & Analytics](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/data-and-analytics)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [The-Artificer-of-Ciphers-LLC](https://github.com/The-Artificer-of-Ciphers-LLC)
- **Source:** https://github.com/The-Artificer-of-Ciphers-LLC/skills-from-the-artificer/tree/main/cost-tier-routing

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-the-artificer-of-ciphers-llc-skills-from-the-artificer-cost-tier-routing
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Cost-Tier Routing

Opus tokens cost ~5x sonnet and ~25x haiku. Doing `Read` and `Grep` on opus is lighting money on fire. This skill is the discipline for routing every action to the cheapest model that can do it correctly.

> **This skill requires three companion agents** — `haiku-scout`, `haiku-importer`, and `sonnet-coder` — installed in `~/.claude/agents/`. See this package's `README.md` for the two-step install. The skill is inert without the agents because the `model:` pin lives in the agent files, not here.

## The rule

Before any of these actions in the main (opus) context, **dispatch to a subagent instead**:

| Action | Route to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| `Read` more than 1–2 files in a row | `haiku-scout` | Bulk reads burn opus context |
| `Grep` / `Glob` across the repo | `haiku-scout` | Mechanical lookup |
| "Where is X defined?" / "What references Y?" | `haiku-scout` | Pure search |
| Count LOC, list files, read a config | `haiku-scout` | Trivial IO |
| Convert/parse/split/merge data files | `haiku-importer` | Mechanical transform |
| Download + parse a fixture or seed file | `haiku-importer` | Mechanical IO |
| Write code at a known location with a known design | `sonnet-coder` | Implementation, not design |
| Refactor a function with clear constraints | `sonnet-coder` | Bounded edit |
| Run tests / typecheck after an edit | `sonnet-coder` (bundle with the edit) | Don't bounce back to opus mid-task |

Keep on opus (the orchestrator):
- Architectural decisions, tradeoff analysis
- Reading subagent reports and deciding the next step
- Synthesis across multiple subagent outputs
- User-facing explanations and recommendations

## The dispatch pattern

When you (opus) recognize a routable task:

1. **Phrase the brief like a closed ticket**, not an open question. Include: exact files/dirs, exact output format, exact verification command.
2. **Call `Agent` with the right `subagent_type`** — `haiku-scout`, `haiku-importer`, or `sonnet-coder`. The model is pinned in the agent file; do not override unless you have a specific reason.
3. **Read the report, don't redo the work.** If the subagent missed something, dispatch again with a sharpened brief — don't bail out and do it yourself on opus.
4. **Parallel where independent.** If you need three unrelated searches, fire three `haiku-scout` calls in one message.

## When to NOT route

- A single one-line `Read` of a file you're about to edit yourself — just read it.
- A trivial `Grep` (one pattern, one directory) you're about to act on immediately — just grep.
- Tasks already inside a subagent — subagents do their own work, they don't recursively dispatch the same tier.
- When the user explicitly asked you to do it directly.

The threshold is roughly: **if the action will take >3 tool calls or >1000 tokens of file content, route it.**

## Red flags (you're about to waste money)

- "Let me read these 8 files to understand the structure" → STOP, dispatch `haiku-scout` with a structural-survey brief.
- "Let me grep for all usages, then read each one" → STOP, dispatch `haiku-scout` to return paths+excerpts in one shot.
- "I'll just write this small fix" while sitting on opus → consider `sonnet-coder` if it involves >1 file or any test run.
- "Let me convert this CSV real quick" → STOP, dispatch `haiku-importer`.

## Escalation back to opus

Subagents are instructed to escalate when they hit reasoning work. When you get a report ending in `ESCALATE: ...`, that's the signal that the next step is genuinely yours. Don't push it back down — handle it on opus and re-dispatch a sharpened mechanical task if needed.

## Self-check

Before every tool call in the main context, ask: *Could a cheaper model do this exact action with the same correctness?* If yes, dispatch. If no, proceed.

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [The-Artificer-of-Ciphers-LLC](https://github.com/The-Artificer-of-Ciphers-LLC)
- **Source:** [The-Artificer-of-Ciphers-LLC/skills-from-the-artificer](https://github.com/The-Artificer-of-Ciphers-LLC/skills-from-the-artificer)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-the-artificer-of-ciphers-llc-skills-from-the-artificer-cost-tier-routing
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/the-artificer-of-ciphers-llc
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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