The plain definition
A router is the layer that decides which model gets a request. Instead of the agent talking to exactly one endpoint, it talks to a router that can send different requests to different models or providers — by your choice, by cost, or by availability. Think of it like a switchboard between your agent and every model you might use.
Why people want one
Cost control
Route routine edits to a cheap model (GLM/DeepSeek), save the premium model for hard problems.
Reliability / failover
When one provider is rate-limited or down, the router falls back to another so you're not stuck.
No lock-in
You're not married to one vendor's pricing, limits, or outages.
Right tool per task
Different models are better at different things; a router lets you match them.
Two ways to get routing
Standalone router vs built-in
| Approach | How it works | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Bolt on a standalone router | Run a proxy in front of the agent that speaks the agent's API and fans out to models | Extra service to run/configure; another moving part |
| Built-in routing | The agent itself lets you pick provider/model as a setting | Simplest — pick in the UI, no proxy to maintain |
Built-in routing, done simply
For most people, "routing" really means: I want to pick which model runs this, and switch easily. An agent with built-in multi-model support gives you that directly — Claude, OpenAI-compatible endpoints, GLM, Kimi, DeepSeek, or a local model, chosen in the UI. No standalone router to deploy, no translating proxy, no restart-to-switch.
FAQ
What does an agent router do?
It sits between your coding agent and the models, and decides which model/provider handles each request — letting you control cost, fail over when a provider is down, and avoid lock-in to one vendor.
Do I need a separate router service?
Not if your agent has multi-model support built in. A standalone router (a proxy in front of the agent) works but adds a moving part. Built-in routing lets you just pick the model in the UI.
Which agent has built-in multi-model routing?
Wuwei has it built in: pick Claude, OpenAI-compatible endpoints, GLM/Kimi/DeepSeek, or a local model from a list and switch in a click, no separate router or proxy to run.
How is this different from claude-code-router or an OpenRouter proxy?
Tools like claude-code-router or an OpenRouter proxy are standalone routers you run in front of the agent: they intercept the agent's API and fan requests out to other models. They work, but they're an extra service to configure and keep running. A built-in router skips the proxy entirely, the model choice is just a setting inside the agent.
Is an 'omni route' or 'agent router' the same thing?
They point at the same idea: one layer that can send your requests to many models/providers instead of being locked to one. Whether it's called an omni route, an agent router, or model routing, what most people actually want is to pick the model and switch easily. A built-in model picker delivers that without any routing infrastructure.