Auto Router

Stop guessing which model to pick. The Auto Router picks the best one for you—whether you care about cost, speed, or accuracy.

Stop guessing which model to pick. The Auto Router picks the best one for you—whether you care about cost, speed, or accuracy.

Why Use Auto Router?

  • Save Costs - Automatically uses cheaper models for simple queries

  • Get Faster Responses - Routes to the fastest model when speed matters

  • Guarantee Accuracy - Picks the best model for critical tasks

  • Handle Scale - No configuration hell, just works

Quick Start

{
  "model": "router/auto",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "What's the capital of France?"
    }
  ]
}

That's it — no config needed. The router classifies the query and picks the best model automatically.

If you already know the query type (e.g., Finance), skip auto-classification with router/finance:accuracy.

Under the Hood

Behind the scenes, the Auto Router uses lightweight classifiers (NVIDIA for complexity, BART for topic) combined with LangDB's routing engine. These decisions are logged in traces so you can inspect why a query was sent to a specific model.

How It Works

The Auto Router uses a two-stage classification process:

  1. Complexity Classification: Uses NVIDIA's classification model to determine if a query is high or low complexity

  2. Topic Classification: Uses Facebook's BART Large model to identify the query's topic from these categories:

    • Academia

    • Finance

    • Marketing

    • Maths

    • Programming

    • Science

    • Vision

    • Writing

Based on these classifications and your chosen optimization strategy, the router automatically selects the best model from your available options.

Router Behavior

Router Syntax
What happens

router/auto

Classifies complexity + topic. Low-complexity queries go to cheaper models; high-complexity queries go to stronger models. Then applies your optimization strategy.

router/auto:<mode>

Classifies topic only. Ignores complexity and always applies the chosen optimization (cost, accuracy, etc.) for that topic.

router/<topic>:<mode>

Skips classification. Directly routes to the specified topic with the chosen optimization mode.

Optimization Modes

Mode
What it does
Best for

balanced

Mixes accuracy, speed, and cost

General apps (default)

accuracy

Picks models with best benchmark scores

Research, compliance

cost

Routes to cheapest viable model

Support chatbots, FAQs

latency

Always picks the fastest

Real-time UIs, voice bots

throughput

Distributes across many models

High-volume pipelines

Use Cases

Cost Optimization

Perfect for FAQ bots, education apps, and high-volume content generation.

{
  "model": "router/auto:cost",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "What are your business hours?"
    }
  ]
}

Accuracy Optimization

Ideal for finance, medical, legal, and research applications.

{
  "model": "router/auto:accuracy",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Analyze this financial risk assessment"
    }
  ]
}

Latency Optimization

Great for real-time assistants, voice bots, and interactive UIs.

{
  "model": "router/auto:latency",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "What's the weather like today?"
    }
  ]
}

Balanced (General SaaS)

Works well for most business applications and integrations.

{
  "model": "router/auto",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Help me write a product description"
    }
  ]
}

Direct Category Routing

If you already know your query belongs to a specific domain, you can skip classification and directly route to a topic with your chosen optimization mode.

{
  "model": "router/finance:accuracy",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Analyze the risk factors in this financial derivative"
    }
  ]
}

Result:

  • Skips complexity + topic classification

  • Directly applies accuracy optimization for the finance topic

  • Routes to the highest-scoring finance-optimized model

Available topic shortcuts:

  • router/finance:<mode>

  • router/writing:<mode>

  • router/academia:<mode>

  • router/programming:<mode>

  • router/science:<mode>

  • router/vision:<mode>

  • router/marketing:<mode>

  • router/maths:<mode>

Where <mode> can be: balanced, accuracy, cost, latency, or throughput.

Quick Decision Guide:

  • Don't know the type? → Use router/auto

  • Know the type? → Jump straight with router/<topic>:<mode>

Advanced Configuration

Topic-Specific Routing

{
  "model": "router/auto",
  "router": {
    "topic_routing": {
      "finance": "cost",
      "writing": "latency",
      "technical": "accuracy"
    }
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Calculate the net present value of this investment"
    }
  ]
}

Best Practices

  1. Choose the Right Mode - Match optimization to your use case

  2. Monitor Performance - Use LangDB's analytics to track routing decisions

  3. Combine with Fallbacks - Add fallback models for high availability

  4. Test Different Modes - Experiment to find the best fit

Integration with Other Features

The Auto Router works seamlessly with:

  • Guardrails - Apply content filtering before routing

  • MCP Servers - Access external tools and data sources

  • Response Caching - Cache responses for frequently asked questions

  • Analytics - Track routing decisions and performance metrics

Last updated

Was this helpful?