# How to Use the `--dry-route` Flag to Preview Provider Assignments in Council of High Intelligence > Preview provider assignments in Council of High Intelligence with the --dry-route flag. See the routing table before actual deliberation begins. Learn how to use this powerful tool. - Repository: [nyk/council-of-high-intelligence](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-07-03 --- **The `--dry-route` flag outputs a routing table showing how each of the 18 council members will be assigned to specific LLM providers and models, halting execution before the actual deliberation begins.** The Council of High Intelligence is a multi-agent deliberation framework that distributes reasoning tasks across diverse LLM providers to maximize cognitive diversity. Before committing to a full council run, you can use the `--dry-route` flag to preview exactly how the system will distribute its agents across available providers, ensuring that polarity-pair members are split across different backends and that your model slots are configured correctly. ## What the `--dry-route` Flag Does When you append `--dry-route` to any council command, the system executes the **Provider Detection & Routing** phase documented in [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/SKILL.md) (lines 37‑40) and immediately terminates after printing the routing table. This checkpoint occurs after the framework detects available providers via [`scripts/detect-providers.sh`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/scripts/detect-providers.sh) but before any subagents are spawned or deliberation begins. The output displays a table mapping each council member to: - **Selected Provider** (e.g., Claude, OpenAI, Ollama) - **Chosen Model** (e.g., `opus-v1`, `gpt-4-turbo`, `llama-2-13b`) - **Execution Method** (e.g., `subagent`, `codex exec`, `ollama run`) This allows you to verify that the 18 agents are distributed according to the protocol's constraints without consuming API quota or execution time. ## Why Provider Assignment Preview Matters The routing table serves a critical validation function for the council's **multi-provider diversity** requirement. As implemented in the protocol, the system enforces a hard constraint that polarity-pair members must be split across different providers to prevent homogenized reasoning (see [`README.md`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/README.md) line 226). Using `--dry-route` lets you confirm: - **Balanced Distribution**: No single provider is unintentionally overloaded with the majority of council seats - **Constraint Satisfaction**: Opposing viewpoint pairs (polarity-pairs) are routed to different LLM backends - **Configuration Accuracy**: Your [`configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml) overrides or environment variables (e.g., `NVIDIA_API_KEY`) are correctly recognized by the auto-routing logic ## Running `--dry-route` with Different Modes The flag is additive and composes with any mode flag (`--quick`, `--duo`, `--full`, etc.). It does not alter the provider-auto-routing logic; it simply intercepts execution after the routing table generation. Preview routing for a standard full deliberation: ```bash council --dry-route "Should we adopt this feature?" ``` Combine with quick mode to verify fast-path assignments: ```bash council --quick --dry-route "Should we add caching?" ``` Test manual model overrides before committing: ```bash council --models configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml --dry-route "Is this architecture sound?" ``` ## Interpreting the Routing Table Output Typical output follows this structure: ```text Member Provider Model Exec Method ------------------------------------------------------------- council-aristotle Claude opus-v1 subagent council-socrates OpenAI gpt-4-turbo codex exec council-sun-tzu Ollama llama-2-13b ollama run ... ``` Each row indicates the exact provider and model assignment for that council member. If you see multiple high-importance agents routed to the same provider, or if polarity-pairs appear on the same backend, adjust your environment variables or model slot configuration and rerun the dry route command. ## Key Implementation Files Understanding the `--dry-route` implementation requires familiarity with these components: - **[`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/SKILL.md)** (lines 37‑40): Contains the flag specification table and defines the checkpoint where execution halts after routing table generation. - **[`scripts/detect-providers.sh`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/scripts/detect-providers.sh)**: Performs the auto-detection of installed LLM providers and available API keys that populate the routing table. - **[`README.md`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/README.md)** (line 226): Documents the constraint ensuring polarity-pair members are distributed across different providers. - **[`configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml)**: Example configuration for manually overriding auto-routing assignments; referenced when using the `--models` flag with `--dry-route`. ## Summary - The `--dry-route` flag stops execution after the **Provider Detection & Routing** phase to display a preview table of provider assignments. - It verifies that all **18 council members** are distributed across providers such that polarity-pairs are separated (a hard constraint) and load is balanced. - The flag works with any mode (`--quick`, `--full`, etc.) and manual model configurations via `--models`. - Review output from [`scripts/detect-providers.sh`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/scripts/detect-providers.sh) and adjust [`configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml) or environment variables if assignments appear incorrect. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Can I use `--dry-route` with custom model configurations? Yes. When you specify a custom model slots file using `--models`, the `--dry-route` flag will preview the assignments based on your explicit configuration rather than auto-detected providers. This is useful for verifying that your [`configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml) overrides are being respected before running the actual council. ### Does `--dry-route` validate my API keys? No. The flag only executes the routing logic defined in the provider detection phase. It does not verify that your `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_API_KEY`, or other credentials are valid or have sufficient quota. It merely confirms that the council knows which providers to assign based on availability and your configuration files. ### Why must polarity-pair members use different providers? This is a hard constraint in the Council of High Intelligence protocol designed to maximize cognitive diversity. By ensuring that opposing viewpoints (polarity-pairs) are processed by different LLM architectures and training datasets, the system prevents echo chambers and promotes robust deliberation. The `--dry-route` output lets you verify this constraint is satisfied before execution. ### How do I fix uneven provider distribution shown in the dry run? If the routing table shows too many agents assigned to one provider, you can explicitly define provider-model mappings in [`configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/configs/provider-model-slots.example.yaml) and pass it with `--models`. Alternatively, set or unset environment variables (like `NVIDIA_API_KEY` or `OLLAMA_HOST`) to include or exclude specific providers from the auto-detection logic in [`scripts/detect-providers.sh`](https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence/blob/main/scripts/detect-providers.sh).