Overview
Premium-model context is the scarcest resource in a session. These three CLIs route
bulk I/O and predictable generation to a cheap long-context worker; the premium model
consumes the short answer instead of the raw files. Install + provider config:
README.md in this directory (~1-minute setup, any
/v1/chat/completions provider).
Routing rules (the rules save the tokens; the CLIs just execute)
| Situation | Do this |
|---|---|
| Would read 3+ files, or one file >~400 lines, to answer a question | llm-ask <files...> -q "..." — read the answer, not the files |
| Need tests / fixtures / config scaffold / doc template from a spec | llm-write -r <ref> -s "<spec>" -o <path> — then review and edit; never trust blind |
| Long transcript needs to become doc updates | llm-extract <transcript.jsonl> --sections summary,decisions,todos |
| A mechanical step repeats ≥3× identically (same transform over many items) | Write a throwaway scripts/<name>.sh and run that — automate the repetition in code; don't spend model tokens re-prompting the same operation |
Never delegate
- Architectural or design decisions
- Debugging — cheap models miss subtle bugs
- Anything touching auth, payments, PII, deletion, or production data
- Final commits and PR descriptions
If a delegated answer looks wrong or thin, re-read the sources yourself rather than trusting the worker. Worker output is untrusted by default: the worker drafts, the premium model reviews and makes the edits.
Cost reference
Asking a cheap worker to summarize a ~12k-token doc runs ~125× cheaper than the same read on a frontier model, at quality that's fine for "summarize / find facts" — which is why the >400-line / 3-file thresholds pay for themselves almost immediately.
Common mistakes
- Delegating a judgment question because it happens to involve big files — split it:
llm-askextracts the facts, the premium model judges. - Passing files containing real credentials — redact first; workers don't get secrets.
- Treating
llm-writeoutput as done — it ships boilerplate, you ship correctness.