diff --git a/core/providers/loop_router.py b/core/providers/loop_router.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5b096b77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/providers/loop_router.py
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+"""P1-4: opt-in cheap-model loop routing for the agent runner.
+
+Claude Code-style tiering: most turns are short, routine tool steps that a
+cheap/fast model handles fine; only genuinely heavy reasoning deserves the
+primary model. This wrapper sits around the provider the runner already uses
+and, *when enabled*, sends lightweight turns to a cheaper provider.
+
+It is deliberately OFF by default and opt-in at construction — enabling it is a
+runtime choice, because routing quality depends on the models you pair. The
+wrapper only ever proxies; unknown attributes fall through to the primary
+provider, so nothing else in the harness changes.
+
+Decision rule (conservative, deterministic):
+- a request is "light" when the *serialized* user/system text is short and the
+  conversation has not yet produced assistant/tool turns (fresh single-shot /
+  meta turns such as a first triage, a tiny summarization call, tool-schema
+  prep). Anything longer or already mid-conversation goes to the primary model.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Any
+
+_LIGHT_MAX_CHARS = 4_000
+
+
+class TieredLoopProvider:
+    """Proxy a provider, routing light single-shot turns to a cheap provider."""
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        primary: Any,
+        light: Any,
+        *,
+        light_max_chars: int = _LIGHT_MAX_CHARS,
+        enabled: bool = True,
+    ) -> None:
+        self._primary = primary
+        self._light = light
+        self._light_max_chars = max(256, light_max_chars)
+        self._enabled = enabled
+
+    # -- public surface the runner expects -----------------------------------
+
+    async def chat_with_retry(self, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> Any:
+        provider = self._pick(args, kwargs)
+        fn = getattr(provider, "chat_with_retry", None)
+        if fn is None:  # fall back to chat()
+            fn = provider.chat
+        return await fn(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    async def chat(self, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> Any:
+        provider = self._pick(args, kwargs)
+        return await provider.chat(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    # -- helpers --------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def _pick(self, args: tuple[Any, ...], kwargs: dict[str, Any]) -> Any:
+        if not self._enabled:
+            return self._primary
+        messages = kwargs.get("messages") or (
+            args[0] if args and isinstance(args[0], list) else None
+        )
+        if not isinstance(messages, list) or not messages:
+            return self._primary
+        size = sum(
+            len(str(m.get("content", ""))) for m in messages if isinstance(m, dict)
+        )
+        has_turn = any(
+            m.get("role") in {"assistant", "tool"}
+            for m in messages
+            if isinstance(m, dict)
+        )
+        if not has_turn and size <= self._light_max_chars:
+            return self._light
+        return self._primary
+
+    def __getattr__(self, name: str) -> Any:
+        # Proxy anything we don't explicitly override to the primary provider.
+        return getattr(self._primary, name)
+
+
+__all__ = ["TieredLoopProvider"]