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home / skills / jeremylongshore / claude-code-plugins-plus-skills / openrouter-fallback-config

openrouter-fallback-config skill

/plugins/saas-packs/openrouter-pack/skills/openrouter-fallback-config

This skill helps you configure and manage model fallback chains for high availability in OpenRouter deployments.

npx playbooks add skill jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills --skill openrouter-fallback-config

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (10)
SKILL.md
1.7 KB
---
name: openrouter-fallback-config
description: |
  Configure model fallback chains for high availability. Use when building fault-tolerant LLM systems. Trigger with phrases like 'openrouter fallback', 'openrouter backup model', 'openrouter redundancy', 'model failover'.
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Grep
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <[email protected]>
---

# Openrouter Fallback Config

## Overview

This skill demonstrates how to configure and implement model fallback chains that automatically switch to backup models on failure.

## Prerequisites

- OpenRouter integration
- Multiple suitable models identified
- Understanding of your latency/cost requirements

## Instructions

Follow these steps to implement this skill:

1. **Verify Prerequisites**: Ensure all prerequisites listed above are met
2. **Review the Implementation**: Study the code examples and patterns below
3. **Adapt to Your Environment**: Modify configuration values for your setup
4. **Test the Integration**: Run the verification steps to confirm functionality
5. **Monitor in Production**: Set up appropriate logging and monitoring

## Output

Successful execution produces:
- Working OpenRouter integration
- Verified API connectivity
- Example responses demonstrating functionality

## Error Handling

See `{baseDir}/references/errors.md` for comprehensive error handling.

## Examples

See `{baseDir}/references/examples.md` for detailed examples.

## Resources

- [OpenRouter Documentation](https://openrouter.ai/docs)
- [OpenRouter Models](https://openrouter.ai/models)
- [OpenRouter API Reference](https://openrouter.ai/docs/api-reference)
- [OpenRouter Status](https://status.openrouter.ai)

Overview

This skill configures model fallback chains for high availability so applications automatically switch to backup models when a primary model fails. It targets engineers building fault-tolerant LLM systems and focuses on practical configuration, testing, and monitoring. The goal is predictable failover behavior with controlled latency and cost trade-offs.

How this skill works

The skill wires an OpenRouter integration to a chain of ranked models and runtime checks. It monitors request outcomes and latency, then routes requests to the next available model on error or timeout. You adapt thresholds, retries, and model selection rules to match your SLA and budget.

When to use it

  • You need automated model failover in production
  • Primary model has intermittent outages or rate limits
  • You require predictable response delivery under load
  • You want to balance cost vs. availability by tiering models
  • Implementing multi-region or multi-provider redundancy

Best practices

  • Define clear priority and tiering for models (e.g., high-quality, fallback, low-cost)
  • Set conservative timeout and retry policies to avoid cascading delays
  • Log decision points: which model was chosen and why
  • Monitor both model health and latency metrics separately
  • Test failover paths regularly with simulated errors and network faults

Example use cases

  • User-facing chatbot that must return an answer even if the premium model is down
  • Background batch processing that switches to lower-cost models under heavy load
  • Edge deployments where regional models fail and global fallback is required
  • A/B experiments that transparently route to different model tiers for resilience

FAQ

How do I pick fallback models?

Choose models that fit your accuracy and cost targets. Prioritize semantically compatible models and document expected quality degradation between tiers.

What triggers a failover?

Common triggers are API errors, HTTP timeouts, rate-limit responses, or latency breaches. Configure thresholds that reflect your SLA and avoid premature switching.

How do I test the chain?

Run integration tests that inject simulated errors and timeouts, and verify routing, retries, and logs. Include chaos tests in staging to validate production readiness.