Openclaw Smart Router

Automatically routes AI requests to cost-optimal models based on task complexity and budget, saving 30-50% on model expenses with adaptive learning.

Save 30-50% on model costs through intelligent, automatic model selection.

What is it?

The first OpenClaw skill that automatically routes requests to optimal models based on complexity analysis and budget constraints. Stops you from wasting money on expensive models for simple tasks. Learns from your usage patterns and gets smarter over time.

Key Features

• 🎯 30-50% Cost Savings - Automatic model selection based on task complexity
• 🧠 Complexity Analysis - Scores tasks 0.0-1.0 and selects appropriate model
• 💰 Budget Awareness - Respects spending limits and cost targets
• 📊 Pattern Learning - Learns which models work best for your tasks
• 🔄 Multi-Provider - Works with Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and more
• 💸 x402 Payments - Agents can pay for unlimited routing (0.5 USDT/month)

Free vs Pro Tier

Free Tier:

• 100 routing decisions per day
• Automatic complexity analysis
• Basic model selection
• Cost tracking

Pro Tier (0.5 USDT/month):

• Unlimited routing decisions
• Advanced pattern learning
• Custom routing rules
• Detailed analytics and ROI tracking
• Budget optimization

Installation

bash

claw skill install openclaw-smart-router

Commands

bash

# View routing stats
claw router stats

# Analyze complexity
claw router analyze "Your task description..."

# View routing history
claw router history --limit=10

# Show cost savings
claw router savings

# Open dashboard
claw router dashboard

# Subscribe to Pro
claw router subscribe

How It Works

1. Intercepts requests - Hooks before each API call
2. Analyzes complexity - Scores task from 0.0 (simple) to 1.0 (expert)
3. Checks budget - Considers spending limits
4. Selects model - Chooses optimal model:
   • Simple (0.0-0.3) → Haiku/GPT-3.5
   • Medium (0.3-0.6) → Sonnet/GPT-4-Turbo
   • Complex (0.6-0.8) → Opus/GPT-4
   • Expert (0.8-1.0) → Opus/GPT-4
5. Routes request - Sends to selected model
6. Learns from result - Tracks success and adapts

Complexity Scoring

What makes a task complex?

• Context length (more context = higher complexity)
• Code presence (code analysis scores higher)
• Error messages (debugging is complex)
• Task type (writing < coding < reasoning < research)
• Question complexity (multiple parts, nested logic)
• Specificity (vague requests need stronger models)

Examples:

Simple (0.0-0.3) → Haiku:

• "What's the current time?"
• "Format this JSON"
• "Fix typo in variable name"

Medium (0.3-0.6) → Sonnet:

• "Refactor this class to use interfaces"
• "Write unit tests for this function"
• "Explain how React hooks work"

Complex (0.6-0.8) → Opus:

• "Debug this multi-threaded race condition"
• "Design a scalable caching strategy"
• "Optimize this algorithm for performance"

Expert (0.8-1.0) → Opus:

• "Design a distributed system architecture"
• "Solve this novel algorithmic problem"
• "Research and synthesize from multiple sources"

Use Cases

• Reduce model costs by 30-50% automatically
• Stop manually switching between models
• Budget-aware routing for cost control
• Learn optimal model selection from patterns
• Track spending and ROI over time

Cost Savings Examples

Example 1: Development Work

text

Without Smart Router:
- 100 requests/day to Opus
- $0.015 per request
- Monthly: $45

With Smart Router:
- 30 requests to Haiku ($0.90)
- 50 requests to Sonnet ($7.50)
- 20 requests to Opus ($9.00)
- Monthly: $17.40

Savings: $27.60/month (61%)

Example 2: Customer Support

text

Without Smart Router:
- 500 requests/day to GPT-4
- Monthly: $300

With Smart Router:
- 400 to GPT-3.5 ($24)
- 80 to GPT-4-Turbo ($24)
- 20 to GPT-4 ($12)
- Monthly: $60

Savings: $240/month (80%)

Agent Economy

Agents can autonomously evaluate if Pro tier is worth it:

• Cost: 0.5 USDT/month
• Value: Saves 30-50% on model costs
• ROI: If saves >0.5 USDT/month, it pays for itself

Example ROI:

text

Agent making 100 requests/day:
- Without router: $45/month
- With router: $17.40/month
- Savings: $27.60/month
- Pro cost: $0.50/month
- Net profit: $27.10/month
- ROI: 5,420%

Economic rationale: If routing decisions save more than 0.5 USDT/month in model costs, Pro tier pays for itself. Agent can autonomously pay via x402 without human approval.

See AGENT-PAYMENTS.md for x402 integration details.

Pattern Learning

Smart Router learns from your usage:

Example Learning:

text

Pattern detected: "Debug Python errors"
History: Haiku failed 3 times, Sonnet succeeded 5 times
Learning: Always use Sonnet+ for Python debugging

Next time: "Debug this Python error..."
→ Automatically routes to Sonnet instead of Haiku

What it learns:

• Task-based patterns (debugging, refactoring, writing)
• Complexity patterns (what works at different levels)
• Budget patterns (when to downgrade, when quality matters)
• Provider patterns (which providers work best for your tasks)

Integration with Other Tools

Memory System

• Stores routing patterns as persistent memories
• Recalls successful model selections across sessions
• Maximum learning efficiency

Context Optimizer

• Combine for 60-80% total cost reduction
• Compress context (40-60% token savings)
• Route to cheaper model (30-50% cost savings)
• Together = maximum efficiency

Cost Governor

• Smart Router optimizes model selection
• Cost Governor enforces hard spending limits
• Together = maximum cost control

bash

# Install full efficiency suite
claw skill install openclaw-memory
claw skill install openclaw-context-optimizer
claw skill install openclaw-smart-router

Privacy

• All data stored locally in ~/.openclaw/openclaw-smart-router/
• No external servers or telemetry
• Routing happens locally (no API calls)
• Open source - audit the code yourself

Dashboard

Access web UI at http://localhost:9093:

• Real-time routing decisions
• Complexity distribution chart
• Model selection breakdown
• Cost savings over time
• ROI calculation
• Pattern learning insights
• Budget tracking
• License status

ROI Tracking

Smart Router automatically calculates return on investment:

bash

$ claw router savings

Cost Analysis (Last 30 Days)
────────────────────────────────
Routing decisions: 2,847
Average complexity: 0.45

Model distribution:
- Haiku: 42% ($3.60)
- Sonnet: 49% ($21.00)
- Opus: 9% ($11.12)

Total actual cost: $35.72
Without Smart Router: $128.12
Savings: $92.40 (72%)

Pro cost: $0.50/month
Net profit: $91.90/month
ROI: 18,380% 🎉

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• OpenClaw v2026.1.30+
• OS: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Optional: OpenClaw Memory System (recommended)
• Optional: OpenClaw Context Optimizer (highly recommended)

API Reference

bash

# Analyze complexity
POST /api/analyze
{
  "agent_wallet": "0x...",
  "query": "Task description...",
  "context_length": 1500
}

# Response:
{
  "complexity": 0.65,
  "recommended_model": "claude-sonnet-4-5",
  "recommended_provider": "anthropic",
  "estimated_cost": 0.008,
  "reasoning": "Medium complexity code task"
}

# Get routing stats
GET /api/stats?agent_wallet=0x...

# Get savings analysis
GET /api/savings?agent_wallet=0x...

# Get learned patterns
GET /api/patterns?agent_wallet=0x...

# x402 payment endpoints
POST /api/x402/subscribe
POST /api/x402/verify
GET /api/x402/license/:wallet

Budget Awareness

Smart Router respects your spending limits:

Budget levels:

• Per-request max ($0.50 default)
• Daily limit ($5.00 default)
• Monthly limit ($100.00 default)

Budget strategies:

• Conservative: Prefer cheaper models when viable
• Balanced: Use recommended model, respect hard limits
• Quality-First: Prioritize best model, soft budget constraints

Budget constraint handling:

text

IF daily_limit_reached:
  → Downgrade to cheapest viable model
  → Warn user about constraint
  → Log budget event

Supported Models

Anthropic:

• claude-haiku-4-5 (simple)
• claude-sonnet-4-5 (medium)
• claude-opus-4-5 (complex)

OpenAI:

• gpt-3.5-turbo (simple)
• gpt-4-turbo (medium)
• gpt-4 (complex)

Google:

• gemini-1.5-flash (simple)
• gemini-1.5-pro (medium/complex)

Custom providers:

• Easily configure your own models and costs

Statistics Example

text

Smart Router Stats (30 Days)
────────────────────────────────
Total decisions: 2,847
Avg complexity: 0.45

Complexity breakdown:
- Simple (0.0-0.3): 42%
- Medium (0.3-0.6): 37%
- Complex (0.6-0.8): 15%
- Expert (0.8-1.0): 6%

Model distribution:
- Haiku: 1,200 (42%)
- Sonnet: 1,400 (49%)
- Opus: 247 (9%)

Cost: $35.72 (vs $128.12 without)
Savings: 72% ($92.40/month)

Pattern learning:
- 23 patterns identified
- 94% success rate
- 342 pattern applications

Economic Rationale

Should you upgrade to Pro?

Calculate your potential savings:

text

Current requests/day × Avg cost per request = Monthly cost
Apply 30-50% savings = Amount saved
If saved amount > 0.5 USDT/month → Pro pays for itself

Typical savings:

• Light usage (10-20 req/day): $3-8/month → $2.50-7.50 profit
• Medium usage (50-100 req/day): $20-45/month → $19.50-44.50 profit
• Heavy usage (200+ req/day): $100+/month → $99.50+ profit

ROI gets better with scale.

Links

• Full Documentation
• Routing Guide
• Agent Payments Guide
• GitHub Repository
• ClawHub Page

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Built by the OpenClaw community | First smart model router with x402 payments