Model Router

Overview

Help choose the right model configuration for the job. You cannot always switch models mid-turn yourself - recommend Settings → Models / Providers presets when a change is needed.

Decision factors

Factor	Prefer
Simple edits, chatty Q&A	Fast / cheap model
Large codebase reasoning, hard bugs	Stronger reasoning model
Huge context / many files	Model with large context window
Vision / images	Vision-capable model
Strict JSON / tool-heavy loops	Models known-good with tools
On-prem / privacy	Local (Ollama / vLLM / LM Studio)

Task-based routing (modelRoutes)

Navin maps roles to named presets in Settings → Models → Task routing (modelRoutes in config). Values are preset keys (e.g. primary, economy), not free-form labels.

Automatic (preferred)

Workflow slash commands pick the routed preset for that turn:

Role	Commands (examples)
plan	/blueprint, /board
dev	/forge, /mobile, /ops
deep	/risklens
security	/fortify, /probe, /pentest, …
review	/inspect, /turbo
docs	/studio, /seo, /leads, /campaign, /atlas, /report
search	/scrape
fast	/pulse (+ Code editor assist)

So /forge uses the dev route automatically - the user does not need /pilot first.

Manual (/pilot)

Task	Suggested preset profile
search	fast, cheap, large context (web synthesis)
plan	strongest reasoning model
review / security	high-precision reasoning, low temperature
dev	best coding model, tool-reliable
fast	minimal latency for quick edits
deep	maximum capability regardless of cost

/pilot <task> switches the session preset in memory. Recommend it for free-form chat when the phase changes without a workflow command, and /checkpoint save before switching mid-task.

Workflow

1. Classify the task (shallow / standard / deep) and modality (text, code, vision).
2. Check the current model from context / Settings snapshot if available.
3. Recommend:
   • stay on current model, or
   • run the matching workflow command so auto-routing applies, or
   • switch via /model <preset> / /pilot <task>, or
   • create the missing preset and assign it under Settings → Models → Task routing.
4. Explain why in one short paragraph (cost vs quality vs latency).
5. If the user must configure a route: point them to Settings → Models → Task routing and continue with best effort on the current model until they save.

Anti-patterns

• Blindly recommending the most expensive model
• Suggesting a provider that is not configured
• Telling the user to /pilot before /forge / /blueprint when Task routing is already configured (those workflows auto-route)
• Changing approach mid-task without saying the model is the bottleneck