#8258: feat: Add smart model tiering for cost optimization

## Summary - Automatically route simple queries (greetings, yes/no, short questions) to cheaper models - - Preserve expensive models for complex tasks (coding, multi-step reasoning, long-form content) - - Adds comprehensive budget guide documentation for running OpenClaw with local/cheap models ## Configuration ```json { "agents": { "defaults": { "model": { "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5", "tiering": { "enabled": true, "simple": "ollama/llama3.3" } } } } } ``` ## Features - Pattern-based complexity classification (code requests, debugging, planning) - - Configurable length threshold for complex queries (default: 500 chars) - - Custom regex patterns for domain-specific complexity rules - - Falls back to primary model for unclassified queries ## Test plan - [x] Unit tests for complexity classification (28 tests passing) - [ ] - [x] Tests for config resolution and model selection - [ ] - [x] Edge cases (empty queries, custom patterns, invalid regex) 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) <!-- greptile_comment --> <h2>Greptile Overview</h2> <h3>Greptile Summary</h3> This PR adds “smart model tiering” so the reply pipeline can automatically route simple user messages (greetings/acks/very short prompts) to a configured cheaper model, while leaving complex queries on the primary model. It introduces a new `agents.defaults.model.tiering` config block (Zod schema + UI labels/help), integrates the model switch into `resolveReplyDirectives`, and adds a new `src/agents/model-tiering.ts` module with unit tests. Docs are updated to include a new budget guide page and link it from the providers index, plus navigation is updated to surface the new doc. <h3>Confidence Score: 4/5</h3> - This PR is generally safe to merge, with a couple of schema/type consistency issues worth addressing. - Core tiering logic is self-contained and covered by unit tests, and integration is gated on the absence of an explicit model directive. Main concerns are maintainability/type drift: `TieringConfig.enabled` is required in one place but optional everywhere else, and `rateLimitStrategy` is added to the Zod schema/UI hints without corresponding TS types or runtime behavior in this PR. - src/agents/model-tiering.ts; src/config/zod-schema.agent-defaults.ts; src/config/types.agent-defaults.ts; src/config/schema.ts <!-- greptile_other_comments_section --> _{(3/5) Reply to the agent's comments like "Can you suggest a fix for this @greptileai?" or ask follow-up questions!} <!-- /greptile_comment -->