Model Router

Model Router is an AI Engineering skill for Claude Code, published by tjboudreaux in cc-thinking-skills.

969 stars133 forkson tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skillsAdded 2026/08/21+1% in starsRepository updated 2026/08/07

agent-skillsai-toolsanthropicclaudeclaude-codecritical-thinkingdecision-makingfirst-principlesmental-modelsproblem-solvingsystems-thinking

Install in seconds

Install Model Router

Copy Model Router into your Claude Code skills folder. Run the command in your terminal, or review the source on GitHub before installing.

terminal

npx degit https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/thinking-model-router ~/.claude/skills/thinking-model-router

Requires Node.js. Downloads this skill only — not the rest of the repository — into your Claude Code skills folder.

Without Node.js

git clone https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git

Clones the whole repository, then copy the skill’s own directory into your skills folder yourself.

In this catalog

Source file: skills/thinking-model-router/SKILL.md in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills
Installs to: ~/.claude/skills/thinking-model-router
Collection: One of 25 skills cataloged from this repository
Category: AI Engineering — 2451 skills

What Model Router does

Model Router maps a task’s domain and problem type to NONE or one primary thinking skill, with up to three complementary skills only when needed. Use it when the right analytical frame is unclear or several catalog skills seem plausible.

Model Router is cataloged under AI Engineering on DirSkills. Model Router comes from a repository tagged agent-skills, ai-tools, anthropic, claude and claude-code.

Documentation

README

Excerpt

Model Router

Core rule: Prefer NONE or one primary skill. Route by mechanism fit, not habit. Combine only when roles are distinct and necessary.

When to Use

The right thinking skill is unclear and you would otherwise guess or stack tools.
Several catalog skills seem plausible and you need a single primary (or explicit NONE).
High-stakes work where a wrong frame is costly and a quick domain×type match helps.

When NOT to Use

This is the opening of the README. Read the full README on GitHub.

Frequently asked about Model Router

What else does tjboudreaux publish alongside Model Router?
Model Router is one of 25 skills that DirSkills catalogs from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills, the repository it ships in. Its siblings there include Bounded Rationality, Circle Of Competence and Effectuation. Each one is a separate skill with its own page in this directory, installs the same way Model Router does, and is maintained by tjboudreaux in that same repository. The rest of the collection is listed on the tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills page.
How does Model Router compare to other AI Engineering skills?
Model Router ranks #1399 by stars among the 2451 AI Engineering skills in this catalog. The most-starred ones next to it are Architecture Decision Records, AI-First Engineering and Agentic OS. DirSkills ranks by the star count of the repository each skill ships in, so that order reflects how popular those repositories are rather than any review of Model Router against them. Open each page to compare what they document and how they install.