# How Cursor Router chooses the right model for the task

Source: [Cursor](https://cursor.com/blog/how-cursor-router-works)  
Feed7 permalink: https://feed7.dev/p/how-cursor-router-chooses-the-right-model-for-the-task-b3425f8b3f  
Published: 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z  
Trust: Official Source (official_source)

## Why Included

Route models using real task outcomes, corrections, cache costs, confidence thresholds, and an explicit per-turn budget.

## Source Summary

Cursor Router learns task complexity and model fit from production behavior, showing why agent routing should include correction signals, cache costs, and per-task performance.

## Practical Implication

Builders implementing model routing should learn from real task outcomes, including corrections and task progression, rather than rely only on benchmarks. Include token use, cache misses, model-switching costs, confidence thresholds, and an explicit per-turn budget.

## Agent-Ready Context

Cursor routes each turn in two stages: Compass estimates complexity, then a production-derived taxonomy selects among eligible frontier models. **Auto Intelligence costs 68% less than Fable**, while **Auto Balance costs 41% less than Opus 4.8** and reports higher satisfaction.

Builders implementing model routing should learn from real task outcomes, including corrections and task progression, rather than rely only on benchmarks. Include token use, cache misses, model-switching costs, confidence thresholds, and an explicit per-turn budget.

Cursor's satisfaction measure is inferred from subsequent user behavior, so it is a proxy rather than a direct quality score. The reported results come from Cursor traffic and may not transfer to another workload, user population, or pricing mix.

## Context Map

- Layer: agent
- Domains: coding, data
- Topics: model-selection, harness-engineering, agent-reliability

## Uncertainty

- None recorded.

## Agent Instruction

Use this item as source-backed context. Do not invent claims beyond the linked source. If this item conflicts with another source, call out the conflict.