# How to send quick questions to a cheap model and hard tasks to a strong one with magpie

Repo: [yetone/magpie](https://github.com/yetone/magpie) | Difficulty: Advanced | Time: 1 hour | Basis: Seen in the wild

Use intent routing so a small model reads each turn and picks the model that fits it.

**Who it is for:** Developer whose big model gets burned on simple questions like "what does this do?"

**The problem:** Every turn goes to the same expensive model, even trivial ones, which wastes quota.

**The outcome:** Simple questions go to a fast model while test-writing and heavier work go to the strong model.

## Steps

1. Create a routing group containing a fast model and a strong model
2. Turn on intent routing for the group using the setup in the intent docs at usemagpie.ai/docs/intent
3. Point your agent at the group and ask one quick question, then one bigger task
4. Open the Routing view to see which model handled each turn

## Prompt to paste into your agent

```text
Set up yetone/magpie intent routing so <FAST_MODEL> handles simple questions and <STRONG_MODEL> handles test writing. Confirm in the Routing view that two different turns went to different models.
```

## Caveat

Intent routing needs a small model of your choice to classify each turn, which adds a call per turn. Exact setup steps are in the linked docs, not the truncated README.

## Seen in the wild

- X (Oct 2026): https://x.com/i/web/status/2111671879291613637

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URL: https://dedupedai.com/use-cases/yetone-magpie/route-quick-questions-to-cheap-models/