About toolroute
toolroute routes AI agent tasks to an MCP server and LLM, ranking candidates using benchmark executions. It handles direct-model, single-tool, and multi-tool tasks.
Key features
- 01Recommend MCP servers and LLMs by task
- 02Route direct-model and multi-tool tasks
- 03Score quality, reliability, efficiency, cost, and trust
- 04Update scores from reported outcomes
- 05Search skills and verify model output
Use cases
- 01Choose a server and model for web search
- 02Select an LLM for coding, writing, or analysis
- 03Build an execution chain across Slack, Jira, and email
MCP support
It exposes 16 tools through an MCP server endpoint for MCP clients. Tasks and outcomes can also be handled through its HTTP API.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMEToolRoute
Routing layer for AI agents. One call returns the best MCP server and LLM for any task — scored on 132 real benchmark executions.
Quick start
Add to any MCP client (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline):
{
"mcpServers": {
"toolroute": {
"url": "https://toolroute.io/api/mcp"
}
}
}
Or via HTTP:
curl -X POST https://toolroute.io/api/route \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"task": "search the web for recent AI papers"}'
{
"approach": "mcp_server",
"recommended_skill": "exa-mcp-server",
"recommended_skill_name": "Exa MCP Server",
"recommended_model": {
"slug": "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001",
"display_name": "Claude Haiku 4.5",
"provider": "anthropic",
"tier": "cheap_chat",
"provider_model_id": "anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5-20251001",
"input_cost_per_mtok": 1.00,
"output_cost_per_mtok": 5.00
},
"confidence": 0.91,
"alternatives": ["brave-search-mcp", "tavily-mcp"],
"fallback": "brave-search-mcp"
}
recommended_modelis always an object, not a bare string — the innerslugis the canonical model identifier.
How it works
Every task falls into one of three approaches:
| Approach | When | Returns |
|---|---|---|
direct_llm | Task needs only an LLM (code, writing, analysis) | Best model + cost estimate |
mcp_server | Task needs an external tool (search, email, calendar) | Best tool + best model |
multi_tool | Compound task ("send Slack AND update Jira AND email") | Ordered orchestration chain |
Routing uses an LLM classifier (~$0.00001/call) for task understanding, then ranks candidates on a 5-dimension score:
Value Score = 0.35 × Output Quality
+ 0.25 × Reliability
+ 0.15 × Efficiency
+ 0.15 × Cost
+ 0.10 × Trust
Every reported outcome updates the scores. The routing gets more accurate as more agents use it.
Benchmark results
132 blind A/B executions across code, writing, analysis, structured output, and translation.
| ToolRoute | Fixed GPT-4o | |
|---|---|---|
| Quality wins | 6 | 0 |
| Ties | 9 | 9 |
| Losses | 0 | — |
| Avg cost | $0.001–0.01 | $0.03–0.10 |
API
| Endpoint | Method | Description |
|---|---|---|
/api/route | POST | Route a task to best MCP server + LLM (unified) |
/api/route/model | POST | Route to best LLM model only (no MCP server) |
/api/mcp | POST (JSON-RPC) | MCP server — 16 tools |
/api/mcp | GET (SSE) | SSE transport for MCP clients |
/api/report | POST | Report MCP server outcome (lightweight) |
/api/contributions | POST | Advanced MCP skill telemetry (requires skill_id or skill_slug in payload) |
/api/report/model | POST | Report LLM model outcome — use this for model telemetry, not /api/contributions |
/api/verify/model | POST | Verify model output quality |
/api/skills | GET | Search MCP server catalog |
/api/agents/register | POST | Register agent identity |
/api/agents/preferences | POST | Set routing preferences (Strategy D Phase 2 — allow_china, regulated_industries) |
/api/health | GET | Service health check (DB + uptime) |
/api/metrics | GET | Public aggregate platform metrics (no auth) |
Full reference at toolroute.io/api-docs
SDK
npm install @toolroute/sdk
import { ToolRoute } from '@toolroute/sdk'
const tr = new ToolRoute()
const rec = await tr.route({ task: 'parse this CSV and summarize it' })
// execute with rec.recommended_model ...
await tr.report({ skill: rec.recommended_skill, outcome: 'success', latency_ms: 1400 })
Self-hosting
git clone https://github.com/grossiweb/ToolRoute.git
cd ToolRoute
cp .env.local.example .env.local
npm install
npm run dev
Requires: NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL, NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY, SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY
How routing works
ToolRoute classifies each task using an LLM classifier (Gemini Flash Lite,
~$0.00001/call) with a keyword fallback. The resulting tier maps to a specific
model via src/lib/routing/tiers.ts. Live pricing and capability data come
from the models table. See docs/architecture.md
for the full picture.
Stack
Next.js 14 (App Router) · Supabase (Postgres) · Vercel
License
MIT
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.