Automated summary
This skill defines a confidence-based model tier escalation system for agents (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus) with strict tier progression rules and escalation signals.
Strengths
- Clear agent tier hierarchy with specific roles
- Precise and actionable escalation signals
- No-skip-tier rule prevents wasteful escalation
- Diagnostic protocol before escalating
Limitations
- Requires manual agent setup
- Does not cover infrastructure errors
- May add latency for complex tasks
When managing a pipeline of agents with varying capabilities and you want to balance cost and reliability.
For simple or one-off tasks that don't warrant a multi-agent infrastructure.
Security analysis
SafeThe skill defines internal escalation rules for agent tasks. It does not instruct any destructive, exfiltrating, or obfuscated actions. No network or system commands are used. It is purely a meta-instruction for agent orchestration.
No concerns found
How this analysis is madeExamples
I am using a Haiku agent and it failed to fix the test failures in this task. Please escalate to Sonnet with the original prompt and the reason: 'Code introduces new test failures that Haiku could not resolve in one retry.'Set up model escalation for my project: use Haiku for documentation, Sonnet for coding, and Opus for architecture. Never skip tiers and log escalations to claude-mem.name: escalation description: "Confidence-based model tier escalation for agent tasks. Defines when to escalate from Haiku to Sonnet to Opus, escalation signals, and the never-skip-tiers rule. Use when an agent fails or underperforms."
Model Escalation
Escalation Tiers
Haiku (junior-coder, docs, explainer, optimizer)
↓ on failure
Sonnet (coder, tech-lead, reviewer, qa, architect, explorer)
↓ on failure
Opus (senior-coder, planner, red-teamer)
Never Skip Tiers
- ALWAYS try the next tier first before jumping to Opus
- Haiku → Sonnet → Opus (never Haiku → Opus directly)
- Each tier gets ONE attempt before escalation
- Exception: if the task is known to require Opus (architecture, cross-cutting), start there
Escalation Signals
Escalate to the next tier when:
- Test failures: Agent's code fails tests and agent can't fix in one retry
- Clippy warnings: Agent introduces warnings it can't resolve
- Wrong output schema: Agent produces output that doesn't match expected format
- Tech-lead BLOCKED twice: Tech-lead rejects the same agent's work twice on the same task
- Task timeout: Agent exceeds expected completion time by 2x
- Repeated hook blocks: Agent triggers enforcement hooks 3+ times on the same operation
Do NOT Escalate When
- Task is simply large (break it down instead)
- Agent needs more context (add skills/instructions instead)
- Infrastructure error (retry, don't escalate)
- First-time failure on a reasonable task (retry once at same tier)
Escalation Protocol
- Diagnose the failure (see
capability-diagnosticskill) - Determine if it's a model capability issue (Step 3 of diagnostic)
- If yes: re-assign task to next tier agent with original prompt + "Previous attempt failed because: [reason]"
- If no: fix the actual issue (context, tools, spec) and retry at same tier
Tracking
- Log escalations to claude-mem: "Escalated [task type] from [tier] to [tier] because [reason]"
- After 3+ escalations of the same task type → update agent-routing defaults
- The optimizer agent reviews escalation patterns periodically
From the file to a first result
The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.
View the source and supporting filesThis download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.
1. Download the file
Download SKILL.mdFrom the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.
Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.
mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64/download' --output '.skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64/SKILL.md'2. Check prerequisites
Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.
No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.
The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.
3. Load the skill
After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.
Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/escalation' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64' '.claude/skills/escalation'OpenSkills
OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.
Official OpenSkills installationopenskills install './.skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64'openskills read 'confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64'Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.
For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.
openskills syncManual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.
4. Try a first task
Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:
Read .skill-downloads/confidence-based-model-tier-escalation-mm5t8a64/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.
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