Model Routing

Model routing is an intelligent feature of ShuYou that helps you automatically select the most suitable model from a wide range of large language models. The system intelligently balances performance and cost based on the request content, task characteristics, and your preference settings.

No need to manually compare model performance and pricing—ShuYou automatically matches the most suitable model for each request, so you can focus on building your business logic.

Why Model Routing

In real-world applications, different tasks have different model requirements:

Simple conversations: using a high-performance model may be wasteful
Complex reasoning: a budget model may not meet quality requirements
Production environments: you must balance quality, cost, and speed
Model selection is hard: dozens of models on the market make manual selection time-consuming

Model routing solves these problems with automated decisions, intelligently matching the optimal model for each request.

Model List

On the Models page you can view all supported models and their basic information. Use the filters on the left, the search box at the top, and sorting options to quickly locate the model you need. Model cards also provide quick access to supported input/output modalities, input/output pricing, Context, Max Tokens, and other key details.

Click any model card to open its details page and view model-specific information across different providers, including performance comparisons, price comparisons, and parameter differences. For details, see the Provider Routing documentation.

Core Benefits

Benefit	Description
Intelligent decisions	Automatically analyzes request content and task characteristics to select the most suitable model
Cost optimization	Prioritizes better cost-performance models while ensuring quality
Flexible configuration	Supports custom model pools and preference strategies for different business scenarios
Transparent and controllable	Returns the actual model used for easy monitoring and optimization
Continuous optimization	Continuously improves routing strategies based on historical data

Quick Start

Basic Usage

Model routing is easy to use—simply set the model parameter to ShuYou/auto and specify the candidate model pool via model_routing_config. If you do not specify model_routing_config.available_models, the system will use the platform’s full model pool.

Models on the ShuYou platform have unique slugs. You can get a model’s slug from the Models list page: model-slug

Or from the model detail page for a specific model: model-slug

cURL Request

{
  "model": "ShuYou/auto",
  "model_routing_config": {
    "available_models": [
      "anthropic/claude-4-sonnet", // Provide the model slug
      "openai/gpt-5",
      "google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite"
    ],
    "preference": "balanced"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Explain what quantum computing is"
    }
  ]
}

OpenAI Python SDK

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.shuyou.ai/v1",
    api_key="<your ShuYou_API_KEY>"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="ShuYou/auto",  
    extra_body={  
        "model_routing_config": {  
            "available_models": [  
                "anthropic/claude-4-sonnet",  
                "openai/gpt-5",  
                "google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite"
            ],  
            "preference": "balanced"
        }  
    },  
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Explain what quantum computing is"}
    ]
)

print(f"Selected model: {response.model}")
print(f"Answer: {response.choices[0].message.content}")

The model field in the response returns the model selected by intelligent routing, making it easy to monitor and analyze routing behavior.

How It Works

`ShuYou/auto` model

ShuYou/auto is a special model identifier in ShuYou. When you specify this model, the system enables intelligent routing. Routing decision process:

Request analysis: parse prompt content, context length, task type, and other features
Model evaluation: score each model in the candidate pool
Aggregated decision: balance performance, price, and availability according to the preference strategy
Model selection: choose the optimal model and forward the request
Result return: annotate the actual model used in the response

Factors considered in routing decisions

Task complexity: simple conversation vs. complex reasoning
Context length: short dialogue vs. long document analysis
Model performance: accuracy, response speed, creativity
Model pricing: input/output token unit price
Model availability: real-time load, regional restrictions
User preference: performance / balanced / price

Configuration Parameters

`model_routing_config` object

Configure intelligent routing behavior via the model_routing_config parameter:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`available_models`	`string[]`	Yes	Candidate model list for routing
`preference`	`string`	No	Routing preference strategy, default `balanced`

`available_models` - Candidate model pool

Specify the list of models that intelligent routing can choose from. We recommend including 3–5 models across different performance and price tiers.

The model list must include at least 2 models
Mix models from different price tiers for optimal balance

`preference` - Routing preference strategy

Specify the priority strategy used in routing decisions:

`balanced` - Balanced mode (default)

Seeks the optimal balance between performance and cost; suitable for most application scenarios. Characteristics:

Prioritizes budget models for simple tasks
Automatically upgrades to high-performance models for complex tasks
Balances quality and cost

Suitable scenarios:

General-purpose apps in production environments
Mixed scenarios such as conversational assistants and content generation
Situations where you must control cost without sacrificing quality

`performance` - Performance-first mode

Prioritizes the highest-performing models; suitable for scenarios with very high output quality requirements. Characteristics:

Tends to choose top flagship models
Ensures the highest answer quality and accuracy
Relatively higher cost

Suitable scenarios:

Critical business decision support
Professional content creation (legal, medical, finance, etc.)
Complex code generation and debugging
Academic research and data analysis

`price` - Price-first mode

Prioritizes models with the best cost-effectiveness; suitable for large-scale, cost-sensitive applications. Characteristics:

Prefers the cheapest models
Only upgrades to more expensive models when necessary
Maximizes cost efficiency

Suitable scenarios:

High-concurrency simple conversation applications
Internal tools and test environments
Education and learning scenarios
Budget-limited startup projects

Preference strategy comparison

Strategy	Performance	Cost	Suitable scenarios
`balanced`	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	Production, general apps
`performance`	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	Critical business, professional content
`price`	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	High concurrency, cost-sensitive

Best Practices

1. Configure the candidate model pool appropriately

Follow these principles when choosing candidate models: Recommended:

Include 3–5 models across different tiers
Mix flagship, mid-tier, and budget models
Consider model strengths (creativity, reasoning, speed, etc.)
Ensure all models have the necessary API keys configured

Avoid:

Only choosing models from the same tier (loses routing advantages)
Including too many models (increases decision complexity)

FAQ

Q: How much latency does intelligent routing add?

A: Routing decisions typically complete within 50–100 ms, with negligible impact for most applications. The actual request response time mainly depends on the selected model’s processing speed.

Q: How many models should the candidate pool include?

A: We recommend 3–5 models. Too few cannot fully leverage routing advantages; too many increase decision complexity with diminishing returns.

Q: What factors does intelligent routing consider?

A: The routing system considers multiple factors:

Prompt content and length
Task type (conversation, creation, reasoning, etc.)
Model performance metrics (accuracy, speed)
Model pricing
Current load and availability
Your preference setting

Q: Can I view detailed routing decision logs?

A: The response returns the actual model used (response.model). You can also view call logs in the ShuYou user console to see the routing details for each request.

Q: Can I use model routing and provider routing together?

A: Yes. Model routing chooses the most suitable model, while provider routing chooses the optimal provider for the selected model. Using both together enables end-to-end intelligent optimization. For details, see the Provider Routing documentation.

If you encounter any issues during use or have suggestions and feedback, please contact us via:

Official website: https://shuyou.ai
Technical support email: support@shuyou.ai
Business cooperation email: support@shuyou.ai
Twitter: @ShuYouAI
Discord community: http://discord.gg/vHZZzj84Bm

For more contact options and details, visit our Contact Us page.

About Us

Advanced

Observability

Model routing

Model Routing

Why Model Routing

Model List

Core Benefits

Quick Start

Basic Usage

How It Works

`ShuYou/auto` model

Factors considered in routing decisions

Configuration Parameters

`model_routing_config` object

`available_models` - Candidate model pool

`preference` - Routing preference strategy

`balanced` - Balanced mode (default)

`performance` - Performance-first mode

`price` - Price-first mode

Preference strategy comparison

Best Practices

1. Configure the candidate model pool appropriately

FAQ

Q: How much latency does intelligent routing add?

Q: How many models should the candidate pool include?

Q: What factors does intelligent routing consider?

Q: Can I view detailed routing decision logs?

Q: Can I use model routing and provider routing together?

​Model Routing

​Why Model Routing

​Model List

​Core Benefits

​Quick Start

​Basic Usage

​How It Works

​ShuYou/auto model

​Factors considered in routing decisions

​Configuration Parameters

​model_routing_config object

​available_models - Candidate model pool

​preference - Routing preference strategy

​balanced - Balanced mode (default)

​performance - Performance-first mode

​price - Price-first mode

​Preference strategy comparison

​Best Practices

​1. Configure the candidate model pool appropriately

​FAQ

​Q: How much latency does intelligent routing add?

​Q: How many models should the candidate pool include?

​Q: What factors does intelligent routing consider?

​Q: Can I view detailed routing decision logs?

​Q: Can I use model routing and provider routing together?

Model Routing

Why Model Routing

Model List

Core Benefits

Quick Start

Basic Usage

How It Works

`ShuYou/auto` model

Factors considered in routing decisions

Configuration Parameters

`model_routing_config` object

`available_models` - Candidate model pool

`preference` - Routing preference strategy

`balanced` - Balanced mode (default)

`performance` - Performance-first mode

`price` - Price-first mode

Preference strategy comparison

Best Practices

1. Configure the candidate model pool appropriately

FAQ

Q: How much latency does intelligent routing add?

Q: How many models should the candidate pool include?

Q: What factors does intelligent routing consider?

Q: Can I view detailed routing decision logs?

Q: Can I use model routing and provider routing together?