feat(config): replace single-model config with chain-based routing

Implements escalation chains per skill with three-layer priority:
1. Caller override (model param) — no escalation
2. Per-skill chain from models.yaml
3. default_chain fallback

New APIs:
- Verifier() — fixed verifier for output validation
- LlamaSwapURL() — base URL for warm-state probing
- ChainFor(skill, override) — ordered model list for escalation

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

config/models.yaml

@@ -1,13 +1,41 @@
-# Model routing table — three-layer priority:
-# 1. model param in MCP tool call (caller override)
-# 2. per-skill entry here
-# 3. default (fallback)
-default: ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
+# Model routing chains — three-layer priority:
+# 1. model param in MCP tool call (caller override — collapses to single entry, no escalation)
+# 2. per-skill chain here
+# 3. default_chain fallback
+
+verifier: claude-sonnet-4-6   # fixed verifier for all local tiers
+
+llama_swap_url: http://koala:8080   # for warm-state probing
+
+default_chain:
+  - ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
+  - claude-sonnet-4-6
 
 skills:
-  tdd:           ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
-  review:        ollama/devstral-tuned
-  debug:         ollama/deepseek-r1-tuned
-  retrospective: ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
-  spec:          ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
-  trainer:       ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
+  tdd:
+    chain:
+      - ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
+      - claude-sonnet-4-6
+  review:
+    chain:
+      - ollama/devstral-tuned
+      - ollama/gemma4
+      - claude-sonnet-4-6
+  debug:
+    chain:
+      - ollama/deepseek-r1-tuned
+      - claude-sonnet-4-6
+  spec:
+    chain:
+      - ollama/phi4
+      - ollama/gemma4
+      - claude-sonnet-4-6
+      - claude-opus-4-6
+  retrospective:
+    chain:
+      - ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
+      - claude-sonnet-4-6
+  trainer:
+    chain:
+      - ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
+      - claude-sonnet-4-6

internal/config/models.go

@@ -7,9 +7,15 @@ import (
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
 )
 
+type skillChain struct {
+	Chain []string `yaml:"chain"`
+}
+
 type modelsFile struct {
-	Default string            `yaml:"default"`
-	Skills  map[string]string `yaml:"skills"`
+	Verifier     string                `yaml:"verifier"`
+	LlamaSwapURL string                `yaml:"llama_swap_url"`
+	DefaultChain []string              `yaml:"default_chain"`
+	Skills       map[string]skillChain `yaml:"skills"`
 }
 
 type Models struct {
@@ -28,16 +34,23 @@ func LoadModels(path string) (Models, error) {
 	return Models{data: f}, nil
 }
 
-// Resolve returns the model for a skill, respecting three-layer priority:
-// 1. override (from MCP call) — highest
-// 2. per-skill default from models.yaml
-// 3. global default
-func (m Models) Resolve(skill, override string) string {
+// Verifier returns the model name to use for all local-tier output verification.
+func (m Models) Verifier() string { return m.data.Verifier }
+
+// LlamaSwapURL returns the llama-swap base URL for warm-state probing.
+func (m Models) LlamaSwapURL() string { return m.data.LlamaSwapURL }
+
+// ChainFor returns the ordered list of model names for a skill.
+// If override is non-empty, returns a single-entry chain (no escalation).
+// Falls back to default_chain when the skill has no explicit entry.
+func (m Models) ChainFor(skill, override string) []string {
 	if override != "" {
-		return override
+		return []string{override}
 	}
-	if model, ok := m.data.Skills[skill]; ok {
-		return model
+	if sc, ok := m.data.Skills[skill]; ok && len(sc.Chain) > 0 {
+		return sc.Chain
 	}
-	return m.data.Default
+	out := make([]string, len(m.data.DefaultChain))
+	copy(out, m.data.DefaultChain)
+	return out
 }

internal/config/models_test.go

@@ -10,35 +10,71 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
-func TestModelsResolve(t *testing.T) {
-	yaml := `
-default: ollama/default-model
+const testYAML = `
+verifier: claude-sonnet-4-6
+llama_swap_url: http://koala:8080
+
+default_chain:
+  - ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
+  - claude-sonnet-4-6
+
 skills:
-  tdd: ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
-  review: ollama/devstral-tuned
+  review:
+    chain:
+      - ollama/devstral-tuned
+      - ollama/gemma4
+      - claude-sonnet-4-6
+  spec:
+    chain:
+      - ollama/phi4
+      - claude-opus-4-6
 `
+
+func writeModels(t *testing.T, content string) string {
+	t.Helper()
 	f := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "models.yaml")
-	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(f, []byte(yaml), 0644))
-
-	m, err := config.LoadModels(f)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-
-	assert.Equal(t, "ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned", m.Resolve("tdd", ""))
-	assert.Equal(t, "ollama/devstral-tuned", m.Resolve("review", ""))
-	assert.Equal(t, "ollama/default-model", m.Resolve("unknown", ""))
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(f, []byte(content), 0644))
+	return f
 }
 
-func TestModelsOverride(t *testing.T) {
-	yaml := `
-default: ollama/default-model
-skills:
-  tdd: ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned
-`
-	f := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "models.yaml")
-	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(f, []byte(yaml), 0644))
+func TestModelsVerifier(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := config.LoadModels(writeModels(t, testYAML))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "claude-sonnet-4-6", m.Verifier())
+}
 
-	m, err := config.LoadModels(f)
+func TestModelsLlamaSwapURL(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := config.LoadModels(writeModels(t, testYAML))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "http://koala:8080", m.LlamaSwapURL())
+}
+
+func TestModelsChainForSkillOverride(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := config.LoadModels(writeModels(t, testYAML))
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-	assert.Equal(t, "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6", m.Resolve("tdd", "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6"))
+	chain := m.ChainFor("review", "")
+	require.Len(t, chain, 3)
+	assert.Equal(t, "ollama/devstral-tuned", chain[0])
+	assert.Equal(t, "ollama/gemma4", chain[1])
+	assert.Equal(t, "claude-sonnet-4-6", chain[2])
+}
+
+func TestModelsChainForDefaultFallback(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := config.LoadModels(writeModels(t, testYAML))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	chain := m.ChainFor("trainer", "") // not in skills map
+	require.Len(t, chain, 2)
+	assert.Equal(t, "ollama/qwen3-coder-30b-tuned", chain[0])
+	assert.Equal(t, "claude-sonnet-4-6", chain[1])
+}
+
+func TestModelsChainForCallerOverride(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := config.LoadModels(writeModels(t, testYAML))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	chain := m.ChainFor("review", "claude-opus-4-6")
+	require.Len(t, chain, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, "claude-opus-4-6", chain[0])
 }