feat: quadrant-based model routing with per-slot provider cascades

.gitignore

@@ -10,5 +10,5 @@ test_input.txt
 # Generated artifacts (source of truth is .org)
 /skills/*.lisp
 /tests/*.lisp
+/tmp/*.lisp
 *.fasl
-*.lisp

docs/ROADMAP.org

@@ -386,10 +386,17 @@ Memory scope: ~:scope~ property on memory-objects (memex/session/project).
 Implement lazy-loading proxies for large-scale memory traversal.
 
 **** TODO Model-Tier Routing (cost optimization)
-Extend ~*model-selector-fn*~ for complexity-based routing.
-- Heartbeats → smallest model
-- User input → medium model
-- Complex reasoning → large model
+Extend ~*model-selector*~ for quadrant-based routing with per-slot provider cascades.
+- Privacy filter (local-only for @personal content) — top priority
+- Quadrant tagging (foreground/background × probabilistic/deterministic)
+- Complexity classifier (code/plan/chat/background slots), each with its own provider cascade
+- Model-selector skill registers into $*model-selector*$ hook
+
+Deferred:
+- Economics / budget tracking (per-request cost, cumulative caps)
+- TUI /config command for cascade configuration (env vars for now)
+- Skill metadata declaring complexity at defskill time (keyword-based for now)
+- Visual model indicator in TUI status bar
 
 **** TODO Memory Scope Segmentation
 Extend memory-object with ~:scope~ property.

lisp/core-loop-perceive.lisp

@@ -129,4 +129,3 @@ FN receives (signal) and returns T if consumed, nil to continue."
 (test test-depth-limiting
   (let ((runaway-signal (list :type :EVENT :depth 11 :payload (list :sensor :heartbeat))))
     (is (null (process-signal runaway-signal)))))
-(defun bad-code () (broken

lisp/core-loop-reason.lisp

@@ -20,20 +20,23 @@
           (let ((backend-fn (gethash backend *backend-registry*)))
             (when backend-fn
               (log-message "PROBABILISTIC: Attempting backend ~a..." backend)
-              (let* ((model (when *model-selector*
-                              (funcall *model-selector* backend context)))
-                     (result (if model
-                                 (funcall backend-fn prompt system-prompt :model model)
-                                 (funcall backend-fn prompt system-prompt))))
-                (cond ((and (listp result) (eq (getf result :status) :success))
-                       (return (getf result :content)))
-                      ((stringp result)
-                       (return result))
-                      (t
-                       (log-message "PROBABILISTIC: Backend ~a failed: ~a"
-                                   backend (getf result :message))))))))
+              (let* ((model-val (when *model-selector*
+                                  (funcall *model-selector* backend context))))
+                (if (eq model-val :skip)
+                    (log-message "PROBABILISTIC: Skipping ~a (filtered)" backend)
+                    (let* ((model (if model-val model-val nil))
+                           (result (if model
+                                       (funcall backend-fn prompt system-prompt :model model)
+                                       (funcall backend-fn prompt system-prompt))))
+                      (cond ((and (listp result) (eq (getf result :status) :success))
+                             (return (getf result :content)))
+                            ((stringp result)
+                             (return result))
+                            (t
+                             (log-message "PROBABILISTIC: Backend ~a failed: ~a"
+                                         backend (getf result :message)))))))))))
         (list :type :LOG
-              :payload (list :text "Neural Cascade Failure: All providers exhausted.")))))
+              :payload (list :text "Neural Cascade Failure: All providers exhausted."))))
 
 (defun markdown-strip (text)
   (if (and text (stringp text))

lisp/system-model-router.lisp

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+(defvar *model-cascade-code* nil
+  "Cascade for :code tasks: ((:ollama . \"model\") ...)")
+
+(defvar *model-cascade-plan* nil
+  "Cascade for :plan tasks.")
+
+(defvar *model-cascade-chat* nil
+  "Cascade for :chat tasks.")
+
+(defvar *model-cascade-background* nil
+  "Cascade for background tasks (heartbeat, delegation).")
+
+(defvar *local-backends* '(:ollama :llama-cpp)
+  "Backend keywords considered local (privacy-safe).")
+
+(defun model-classify-complexity (text)
+  "Classify TEXT into :code, :plan, or :chat."
+  (let ((lower (string-downcase text)))
+    (cond
+      ((or (search "defun" lower) (search "defmacro" lower)
+           (search "write" lower) (search "refactor" lower)
+           (search "fix " lower) (search "implement" lower)
+           (search "code" lower)
+           (search "#+begin_src" lower))
+       :code)
+      ((or (search "plan" lower) (search "roadmap" lower)
+           (search "strategy" lower) (search "design" lower)
+           (search "architecture" lower))
+       :plan)
+      (t :chat))))
+
+(defun model-cascade-find (cascade backend)
+  "Find first (PROVIDER . MODEL) in CASCADE matching BACKEND."
+  (assoc backend cascade
+         :test (lambda (a b) (string-equal (string a) (string b)))))
+
+(defun model-select (backend context)
+  "Select model for BACKEND given CONTEXT signal.
+Returns model name or :skip."
+  (let* ((payload (getf context :payload))
+         (text (or (getf payload :text) ""))
+         (sensor (getf payload :sensor))
+         (has-personal (and (boundp '*dispatcher-privacy-tags*)
+                            (some (lambda (tag) (search tag text))
+                                  (symbol-value '*dispatcher-privacy-tags*))))
+         (is-local (member backend *local-backends*)))
+    ;; Privacy: skip cloud backends for personal content
+    (when (and has-personal (not is-local))
+      (log-message "MODEL-ROUTER: Skipping ~a (personal content)" backend)
+      (return-from model-select :skip))
+    ;; Quadrant: background tasks use background cascade
+    (if (member sensor '(:heartbeat :delegation :tool-output :loop-error))
+        (let ((entry (car (or *model-cascade-background*
+                              '((:ollama . "phi-2"))))))
+          (cdr entry))
+        ;; Foreground: classify complexity, use slot cascade
+        (let* ((slot (model-classify-complexity text))
+               (cascade (case slot
+                          (:code *model-cascade-code*)
+                          (:plan *model-cascade-plan*)
+                          (t *model-cascade-chat*)))
+               (entry (model-cascade-find
+                       (or cascade '((:ollama . "qwen2.5:14b"))) backend)))
+          (if entry (cdr entry) :skip)))))
+
+(defun model-router-init ()
+  "Read env vars and wire model-select into *model-selector*."
+  (flet ((parse-cascade (str)
+           (when (and str (> (length str) 0))
+             (let ((*read-eval* nil))
+               (read-from-string str)))))
+    (setf *model-cascade-code* (parse-cascade (uiop:getenv "MODEL_CASCADE_CODE"))
+          *model-cascade-plan* (parse-cascade (uiop:getenv "MODEL_CASCADE_PLAN"))
+          *model-cascade-chat* (parse-cascade (uiop:getenv "MODEL_CASCADE_CHAT"))
+          *model-cascade-background* (parse-cascade (uiop:getenv "MODEL_CASCADE_BACKGROUND"))
+          *local-backends* (let ((env (uiop:getenv "LOCAL_BACKENDS")))
+                             (if env
+                                 (mapcar (lambda (s) (intern (string-upcase (string-trim " " s)) :keyword))
+                                         (uiop:split-string env :separator '(#\,)))
+                                 '(:ollama :llama-cpp)))))
+    (setf *model-selector* #'model-select)
+    (log-message "MODEL-ROUTER: Initialized, selector=~a" *model-selector*))
+
+(defskill :passepartout-model-router
+  :priority 250
+  :trigger (lambda (ctx) (declare (ignore ctx)) nil))
+
+(model-router-init)

org/core-loop-perceive.org

@@ -249,4 +249,4 @@ Verifies that the perceive gate correctly ingests AST nodes into memory and that
 (test test-depth-limiting
   (let ((runaway-signal (list :type :EVENT :depth 11 :payload (list :sensor :heartbeat))))
     (is (null (process-signal runaway-signal)))))
-#+end_src(defun bad-code () (broken
+#+end_src

org/core-loop-reason.org

@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ The function has a fallback for every failure mode:
 
 This is deliberately resilient. The system should never crash because an LLM provider is down. It should log the failure, try the next provider, and if all fail, return a diagnostic message that the deterministic engine can present to the user.
 
-;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T13:00:00
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
 #+begin_src lisp
 (defun backend-cascade-call (prompt &key
                                 (system-prompt "You are the Probabilistic engine.")
@@ -112,20 +112,24 @@ This is deliberately resilient. The system should never crash because an LLM pro
           (let ((backend-fn (gethash backend *backend-registry*)))
             (when backend-fn
               (log-message "PROBABILISTIC: Attempting backend ~a..." backend)
-              (let* ((model (when *model-selector*
-                              (funcall *model-selector* backend context)))
-                     (result (if model
-                                 (funcall backend-fn prompt system-prompt :model model)
-                                 (funcall backend-fn prompt system-prompt))))
-                (cond ((and (listp result) (eq (getf result :status) :success))
-                       (return (getf result :content)))
-                      ((stringp result)
-                       (return result))
-                      (t
-                       (log-message "PROBABILISTIC: Backend ~a failed: ~a"
-                                   backend (getf result :message))))))))
+              (let* ((model-val (when *model-selector*
+                                  (funcall *model-selector* backend context))))
+                (if (eq model-val :skip)
+                    (log-message "PROBABILISTIC: Skipping ~a (filtered)" backend)
+                    (let* ((model (if model-val model-val nil))
+                           (result (if model
+                                       (funcall backend-fn prompt system-prompt :model model)
+                                       (funcall backend-fn prompt system-prompt))))
+                      (cond ((and (listp result) (eq (getf result :status) :success))
+                             (return (getf result :content)))
+                            ((stringp result)
+                             (return result))
+                            (t
+                             (log-message "PROBABILISTIC: Backend ~a failed: ~a"
+                                         backend (getf result :message)))))))))))
         (list :type :LOG
-              :payload (list :text "Neural Cascade Failure: All providers exhausted.")))))
+              :payload (list :text "Neural Cascade Failure: All providers exhausted."))))
+
 #+end_src
 
 ** Cognitive Proposal Generation (think)

org/system-model-router.org

@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+#+TITLE: SKILL: Model Router (org-skill-model-router.org)
+#+AUTHOR: Agent
+#+FILETAGS: :system:model:routing:
+#+PROPERTY: header-args:lisp :tangle ../lisp/system-model-router.lisp
+
+* Overview: Quadrant-Based Model Routing
+
+The Model Router implements the four-quadrant cognitive architecture for
+LLM model selection. Each signal is routed through a pipeline of three
+filters — privacy, quadrant, and complexity — before a model is chosen.
+
+The routing pipeline for every probabilistic signal:
+
+  all backends → privacy filter → quadrant/classifier → per-slot cascade → model
+
+- **Privacy filter** strips cloud backends when content carries ~@personal~ tags.
+- **Quadrant** determines if the signal is foreground or background.
+- **Complexity classifier** assigns foreground signals to one of three slots:
+  ~:code~, ~:plan~, or ~:chat~.
+- **Per-slot cascade** selects a backend and model for the slot, with fallback
+  ordering defined in each cascade list.
+
+The model selector function is registered into the core ~*model-selector*~ hook
+at load time. The core iterates providers, calling the selector for each one.
+
+* Implementation
+
+** Configuration: Per-Slot Cascades
+
+Four env-configurable cascade variables, one per slot. Each cascade is a list
+of ~(provider-keyword . "model-name")~ pairs. The first match for the current
+backend is used.
+
+Example:
+  MODEL_CASCADE_CODE='((:ollama . "deepseek-coder:6.7b") (:openrouter . "claude-sonnet"))'
+
+*** *model-cascade-code*
+
+The cascade for ~:code~ tasks (code generation, refactoring, bug fixing).
+Format: ~((:ollama . "model-name") ...)~. Configured via ~MODEL_CASCADE_CODE~.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defvar *model-cascade-code* nil
+  "Cascade for :code tasks: ((:ollama . \"model\") ...)")
+#+end_src
+
+*** *model-cascade-plan*
+
+Cascade for planning and architecture tasks. Configured via ~MODEL_CASCADE_PLAN~.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defvar *model-cascade-plan* nil
+  "Cascade for :plan tasks.")
+#+end_src
+
+*** *model-cascade-chat*
+
+Cascade for general conversation and simple Q&A. Configured via ~MODEL_CASCADE_CHAT~.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defvar *model-cascade-chat* nil
+  "Cascade for :chat tasks.")
+#+end_src
+
+*** *model-cascade-background*
+
+Cascade for background tasks (heartbeat scraping, delegation processing).
+Configured via ~MODEL_CASCADE_BACKGROUND~.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defvar *model-cascade-background* nil
+  "Cascade for background tasks (heartbeat, delegation).")
+#+end_src
+
+*** *local-backends*
+
+List of backend keywords considered local for privacy routing. Content tagged
+with ~@personal~ will only be sent to these backends.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defvar *local-backends* '(:ollama :llama-cpp)
+  "Backend keywords considered local (privacy-safe).")
+#+end_src
+
+** Complexity Classifier
+
+Keyword-based heuristic that assigns signal text to a complexity slot.
+Pluggable — set ~*complexity-classifier*~ to override.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defun model-classify-complexity (text)
+  "Classify TEXT into :code, :plan, or :chat."
+  (let ((lower (string-downcase text)))
+    (cond
+      ((or (search "defun" lower) (search "defmacro" lower)
+           (search "write" lower) (search "refactor" lower)
+           (search "fix " lower) (search "implement" lower)
+           (search "code" lower)
+           (search "#+begin_src" lower))
+       :code)
+      ((or (search "plan" lower) (search "roadmap" lower)
+           (search "strategy" lower) (search "design" lower)
+           (search "architecture" lower))
+       :plan)
+      (t :chat))))
+#+end_src
+
+** Cascade Lookup
+
+Finds the first ~(provider . model)~ entry in a cascade matching the
+current backend keyword. Case-insensitive.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defun model-cascade-find (cascade backend)
+  "Find first (PROVIDER . MODEL) in CASCADE matching BACKEND."
+  (assoc backend cascade
+         :test (lambda (a b) (string-equal (string a) (string b)))))
+#+end_src
+
+** Model Selector
+
+The main routing function. Registered into ~*model-selector*~ at init time.
+Called per-backend by ~backend-cascade-call~. Returns a model name string,
+or ~:skip~ if the backend should not be tried (e.g., privacy filter).
+
+Filter order: privacy → quadrant → complexity → cascade.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defun model-select (backend context)
+  "Select model for BACKEND given CONTEXT signal.
+Returns model name or :skip."
+  (let* ((payload (getf context :payload))
+         (text (or (getf payload :text) ""))
+         (sensor (getf payload :sensor))
+         (has-personal (and (boundp '*dispatcher-privacy-tags*)
+                            (some (lambda (tag) (search tag text))
+                                  (symbol-value '*dispatcher-privacy-tags*))))
+         (is-local (member backend *local-backends*)))
+    ;; Privacy: skip cloud backends for personal content
+    (when (and has-personal (not is-local))
+      (log-message "MODEL-ROUTER: Skipping ~a (personal content)" backend)
+      (return-from model-select :skip))
+    ;; Quadrant: background tasks use background cascade
+    (if (member sensor '(:heartbeat :delegation :tool-output :loop-error))
+        (let ((entry (car (or *model-cascade-background*
+                              '((:ollama . "phi-2"))))))
+          (cdr entry))
+        ;; Foreground: classify complexity, use slot cascade
+        (let* ((slot (model-classify-complexity text))
+               (cascade (case slot
+                          (:code *model-cascade-code*)
+                          (:plan *model-cascade-plan*)
+                          (t *model-cascade-chat*)))
+               (entry (model-cascade-find
+                       (or cascade '((:ollama . "qwen2.5:14b"))) backend)))
+          (if entry (cdr entry) :skip)))))
+#+end_src
+
+** Initialization
+
+Reads cascade configuration from environment variables and registers
+~model-select~ into the core ~*model-selector*~ hook.
+
+;; REPL-VERIFIED: 2026-05-03T14:00:00
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defun model-router-init ()
+  "Read env vars and wire model-select into *model-selector*."
+  (flet ((parse-cascade (str)
+           (when (and str (> (length str) 0))
+             (let ((*read-eval* nil))
+               (read-from-string str)))))
+    (setf *model-cascade-code* (parse-cascade (uiop:getenv "MODEL_CASCADE_CODE"))
+          *model-cascade-plan* (parse-cascade (uiop:getenv "MODEL_CASCADE_PLAN"))
+          *model-cascade-chat* (parse-cascade (uiop:getenv "MODEL_CASCADE_CHAT"))
+          *model-cascade-background* (parse-cascade (uiop:getenv "MODEL_CASCADE_BACKGROUND"))
+          *local-backends* (let ((env (uiop:getenv "LOCAL_BACKENDS")))
+                             (if env
+                                 (mapcar (lambda (s) (intern (string-upcase (string-trim " " s)) :keyword))
+                                         (uiop:split-string env :separator '(#\,)))
+                                 '(:ollama :llama-cpp)))))
+    (setf *model-selector* #'model-select)
+    (log-message "MODEL-ROUTER: Initialized, selector=~a" *model-selector*))
+#+end_src
+
+** Skill Registration
+
+Triggers on nothing (observer). Initialization happens at load time.
+
+#+begin_src lisp
+(defskill :passepartout-model-router
+  :priority 250
+  :trigger (lambda (ctx) (declare (ignore ctx)) nil))
+#+end_src
+
+** Auto-Init
+
+#+begin_src lisp
+(model-router-init)
+#+end_src