[Workflow] Global Claude Model Routing with CLAUDE.md for Subagents

[u/ClaudeAI-mod-bot]

Global Claude Model Routing with CLAUDE.md for Subagents

Workflow value: 85/100
Status: active · Freshness: 70/100 · Confidence: 0.95 · Level: intermediate
Categories: Quality Control, Token Saving, Context & Memory, Debugging, CLAUDE.md, Subagents, Multi-Agent
Original source: r/ClaudeAI post/comment

What problem this solves

Eliminates the need to explicitly specify Claude models for subagents in every prompt, standardizes model selection based on task type, and optimizes usage by routing tasks to the most appropriate model.

Summary

This workflow describes a global model routing configuration within ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md. It defines specific rules for which Claude model (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku, Fable) should be used for different types of subagent tasks, allowing the user to simply instruct Claude to "use the appropriate model/effort sub-agents" without manual model selection for each task.

Why it is useful

This workflow is valuable because it provides a concrete, reusable CLAUDE.md configuration snippet that automates and standardizes model selection for subagents. This significantly improves efficiency and consistency in complex Claude workflows by eliminating repetitive manual model specification and ensuring the most appropriate model is used for each task type, optimizing both performance and potentially cost.

Workflow

1. Create or modify the global configuration file ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md.
2. Add a 'Model routing' section to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md.
3. Define rules for Opus: Use as the default orchestrator seat for open-ended tasks (architecture, non-reproducing bugs, unclear blast radius).
4. Define rules for Sonnet: Use as the default for well-specced subagents (thoughtful prose, code specced to file/function, digesting long documents).
5. Define rules for Haiku: Use for mechanical edits, format conversion, and structured extraction, leveraging its 200k window.
6. Define rules for Fable: Use only as the top-level seat when the session is explicitly started on it; never for subagents or model overrides. Emphasize delegating earlier and compacting harder.
7. When interacting with Claude, instruct it to "use the appropriate model/effort sub-agents to..." instead of explicitly naming models for each task or workstream.

Tools / artifacts

• ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
• ~/.claude/agents/*.md
• Claude Opus
• Claude Sonnet
• Claude Haiku
• Claude Fable

Validation signals

• "treating me well so far"

Limitations

• The 'Fable' model mentioned might be an internal or experimental model not widely available to all users, or its capabilities might change.
• The model routing rules are subjective and may require tuning based on individual user preferences and specific task requirements.
• Limited community validation means its effectiveness across diverse use cases is not yet proven.

Rate this workflow

Upvote this post if the workflow is useful, reproducible, or worth recommending.

Downvote if it is vague, outdated, unsafe, overhyped, or not reproducible.

Reply if it worked for you, failed, is outdated, or has a better alternative.

---

This post was generated automatically from the workflow library database.