# Routing

> Routing is a workflow pattern that classifies an incoming request and directs it to a specialized prompt, tool, or model suited to that category.

- Identifier: PTL-0066
- Category: Agents & Orchestration
- Canonical URL: https://protologue.com/t/routing/
- Also known as: model routing, query routing

## Description

Routing allows separate prompts to be optimized for distinct cases, and lets easy queries go to smaller, cheaper models while hard ones go to more capable models.

## Broader terms

- [Agentic Workflow](https://protologue.com/t/agentic-workflow/)

## Related terms

- [Prompt Chaining](https://protologue.com/t/prompt-chaining/)

## Sources

- Anthropic (2024). Building effective agents. https://www.anthropic.com/research/building-effective-agents

## Cite this entry

Protologue. (2026). Routing. In Protologue: A Taxonomy of Prompting and LLM Techniques (v1.0.0, PTL-0066). https://protologue.com/t/routing/

License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)