Auto Routing

Instead of choosing a specific model, you can use a virtual model ID and let the platform select the optimal model for each request. This is useful when you want the best result without needing to track which models are available.

Virtual model IDs

Pass one of these as the model field in your request:

Model ID	What it does
`auto`	Classifies your request complexity and picks the best model for that tier
`cheapest`	Picks the lowest-cost model that can handle your request
`fastest`	Picks the smallest (fastest) model that can handle your request
`best`	Always picks the most capable model available

Quickstart

curl https://api.brightnode.cloud/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BRIGHTNODE_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "auto",
    "messages": [
      { "role": "user", "content": "Explain recursion in one sentence." }
    ]
  }'

The platform will select the best model for this request and route it transparently. The response is identical to a normal chat completion.

How `auto` works

The auto strategy classifies your request into one of three quality tiers based on signals like:

Message length — longer prompts suggest more complex tasks
Multi-turn depth — conversations with many messages benefit from stronger models
Code blocks — presence of code suggests technical tasks
System prompt complexity — detailed instructions indicate sophisticated use
Keywords — terms like “analyze”, “compare”, “step by step”, and “critique” signal complex reasoning

Tier	When it’s used	Example models
Economy	Short, simple requests	Llama 3.1 8B, Claude Haiku, Gemma 4B
Standard	Moderate complexity, basic code tasks	Llama 70B, Claude Sonnet, Qwen 32B
Premium	Complex reasoning, long context, analysis	Claude Opus, DeepSeek R1, Llama 405B

Combining with provider hints

You can combine virtual model IDs with the provider field to restrict which backends are considered:

curl https://api.brightnode.cloud/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BRIGHTNODE_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "cheapest",
    "provider": "brightnode",
    "messages": [
      { "role": "user", "content": "Hello" }
    ]
  }'

This picks the cheapest model from Brightnode’s self-hosted infrastructure only.

Response headers

When auto-routing is used, two additional headers are included in the response:

Header	Description
`x-brightnode-requested-model`	The virtual model ID you sent (e.g., `auto`)
`x-brightnode-routed-model`	The concrete model that was selected

The response body’s model field also reflects the concrete model that served the request.

Pricing

You are charged at the rate of whichever concrete model is selected. There is no additional fee for using auto-routing. Pricing for each model is listed on the Models page.

Discovery

Virtual model IDs appear in the GET /v1/models response with is_virtual: true in their metadata, so your application can discover them programmatically:

curl https://api.brightnode.cloud/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BRIGHTNODE_API_KEY" \
  | jq '.data[] | select(.metadata.is_virtual == true) | .id'

"auto"
"cheapest"
"fastest"
"best"

Get started

Inference

Bnodes

Storage

Reference

Virtual model IDs

Quickstart

How `auto` works

Combining with provider hints

Response headers

Pricing

Discovery

​Virtual model IDs

​Quickstart

​How auto works

​Combining with provider hints

​Response headers

​Pricing

​Discovery

Virtual model IDs

Quickstart

How `auto` works

Combining with provider hints

Response headers

Pricing

Discovery