Create a Smart Route

You can start a route four ways, then finish it in a short composer or in the full editor. This page covers both, and how to edit, copy and delete routes later.

Prepare the router

Every route needs the router: a small model that runs on your machine and reads each request. You set it up once per machine.

1. Open Smart Routes.
2. Click Prepare router.
3. Pick a Local runtime: MLX, llama.cpp or Ollama. Each one shows whether it’s Installed and running, Installed, or whether Nexus can install it.
4. Click Prepare router, or Install and prepare if the runtime isn’t installed yet.

Nexus installs the runtime if needed, sets up the router model and starts it. When it says The router is ready, you can create routes.

Until the router is ready, routes still work: every request goes to the fallback.

Start a new route

Click New Smart Route. The drawer offers four ways to start.

Start	What you do	Good for
Describe it	Write one sentence, such as “coding on a local model, hard problems in the cloud, quick questions on something small”. Pick which models it may use under Uses … models, then click Suggest.	A quick first draft.
Pick types of work	Click common kinds of work: Coding, Writing, Summaries, Translation, Research, Complex reasoning, or Something else. Nexus adds a choice for each, with a model.	The fastest start.
Use a template	Pick a ready-made route. Search templates finds one; Refresh templates gets the latest list. Each template shows its choices, rules and budget. Pick a model for each.	Common setups, such as a coding assistant or a support desk.
From scratch	An empty route in the full editor.	You know exactly what you want.

Describe it sends your sentence to a model

The sentence goes to the model under Drafted by. Pick a local model there if the text must stay on your machine.

Finish in the composer

After Describe it, Pick types of work or a template, the composer shows the draft:

1. Route name. Apps call the route by the address under it, Apps call it as @route/<slug>.
2. Sends each request to: one row per choice. Each row has a name, a description of what it handles, and a model. A route can have up to 12 choices. Click the chips under Add to add more.
3. Everything else: the fallback, for requests that match no choice.
4. In a conversation: how follow-up messages are routed. See Conversations.
5. Click Check routing to test sample requests. See Test and monitor.
6. Click Create route.

At your plan’s route limit, the button says Create turned off: the route is saved but not running.

Open full editor moves the draft into the full editor, with every field. Start over goes back to the four ways to start.

The full editor

The full editor opens from Open full editor, from From scratch, or from Edit on a route.

Field	What it does
Name	What the Console shows.
Route slug	The stable address. Apps call it as @route/ plus this slug. Changing it breaks apps that use the old one.
Guidance goal	What Nexus watches and suggests for this route: Balanced, More local, Faster replies or Better answers. It doesn’t change where requests go. See Routing choices.
Rules Pro	Exact tests that run before the router, plus the Monthly budget. See Conditional rules.
When a target is struggling Pro	Guards. See Budgets and guards.
Routing choices	One per kind of work: Choice name, When to use it and Target model or pool. Add choice adds another.
Default fallback	Gets requests when Nexus can’t select or use a routing choice. Pick a dependable general model or a preset.
Image fallback target	Used for image requests when the default fallback can’t handle images. Use the default fallback keeps them on the default. Required when image choices are used and the default fallback can’t generate images.
In a conversation	Switch when the task changes, Keep the first model or Route every message. See Conversations.
Data Protection Pro	Which paths are checked for sensitive data. See Data Protection.
Enabled	Whether the route runs. A turned-off route keeps its settings.

A target can be a model, a preset, or a Smart Balancer pool. With a pool, the route picks the kind of model and the pool picks the machine.

Click Save changes when you’re done.

Manage routes

The Routes tab lists your routes under Route packs. Each row shows the address, how many lanes it has, and its Data Protection coverage, such as All paths protected.

Action	Where	What it does
Try in chat	On the row	Opens Chat Lab with this route as the model.
Edit	On the row	Opens the full editor.
Copy route id	Next to the address	Copies @route/<slug>.
Find gaps	Row menu	Groups requests no choice caught. See Routing choices.
Guidance goal	Row menu	Sets what Nexus watches and suggests.
Duplicate	Row menu	Copies the route, to try a change without touching the original.
Validate	Row menu	Checks that every target exists and can serve. It says This route is valid, or lists the warnings.
Delete	Row menu	Deletes the route. Apps that call it get an error.

If something goes wrong

You see	Do this
Every request goes to the fallback	Prepare the router, and add at least two choices.
Not supported on this machine for a runtime	Pick another local runtime for the router.
Set it up yourself first	Install that runtime yourself, or pick one Nexus can install.
Create turned off	You’re at your plan’s route limit. Turn another route off, or upgrade.
Validation warns that a target is unavailable	Start the model, or pick another target. Until then, its requests go to the fallback.
Model shows … is not running in the composer	Load the model, or pick a running one.