diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 661ab410..000a662f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -54,7 +54,9 @@ ucode claude --enable-smart-routing
 ```
 
 The flag applies only to that launch; later launches use normal model selection unless the flag is
-passed again.
+passed again. Smart routing uses the `task_v1` router by default. Power users can select another
+router for a launch by setting `SMART_ROUTER_NAME`, for example
+`SMART_ROUTER_NAME=task_v2 ucode codex --enable-smart-routing`.
 
 To configure all tools at once:
 
diff --git a/src/ucode/smart_routing/claude_routing.py b/src/ucode/smart_routing/claude_routing.py
index b755bb4d..2cd38804 100644
--- a/src/ucode/smart_routing/claude_routing.py
+++ b/src/ucode/smart_routing/claude_routing.py
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ def request_routing_decision(
     *,
     timeout: float = REQUEST_TIMEOUT_S,
 ) -> tuple[RoutingDecision | None, str | None]:
-    """Ask the workspace ``task_v1`` router for a servable Claude model.
+    """Ask the router for a servable Claude model.
 
     Offers the full ``cc`` menu; resolves the router's pick back to the
     workspace's routable id (e.g. ``system.ai.claude-opus-4-8``).
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ def request_routing_decision(
         task,
         [(arm, "claude") for arm in CLAUDE_ROUTE_ARMS],
         lambda raw_model: available.get(_normalize_model(raw_model)),
+        router_name=routing.configured_router_name(),
         timeout=timeout,
     )
 
diff --git a/src/ucode/smart_routing/codex_routing.py b/src/ucode/smart_routing/codex_routing.py
index b0e7cf18..ea048ef9 100644
--- a/src/ucode/smart_routing/codex_routing.py
+++ b/src/ucode/smart_routing/codex_routing.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 """Databricks AI Gateway routing helpers for Codex sessions and subagents.
 
 Codex-specific configuration on top of the shared :mod:`ucode.smart_routing.routing`
-core: the workspace-backed ``task_v1`` route options, the ``spawn_agent`` tool
+core: the workspace-backed route options, the ``spawn_agent`` tool
 detector, the Codex model-id translation, and the artifact paths.
 """
 
@@ -43,18 +43,19 @@ def request_routing_decision(
     timeout: float = REQUEST_TIMEOUT_S,
     log: Callable[[str], None] | None = None,
 ) -> tuple[RoutingDecision | None, str | None]:
-    """Ask the workspace ``task_v1`` router for a servable Codex model."""
+    """Ask the router for a servable Codex model."""
     available = {_normalize_model(model): model for model in available_models}
     route_options = [(model, "codex") for model in available]
     if not route_options:
         return None, "no cached model services are available"
+    router_name = routing.configured_router_name()
     if log is not None:
         payload = {
             "route_options": [
                 {"model": model, "harness": harness} for model, harness in route_options
             ],
             "task": {"prompt": task},
-            "route_selector": {"router_name": ROUTER_NAME},
+            "route_selector": {"router_name": router_name},
         }
         url = workspace.rstrip("/") + ROUTING_PATH
         log(f"[ROUTE] request POST {url}: {json.dumps(payload, separators=(',', ':'))}")
@@ -64,12 +65,13 @@ def request_routing_decision(
         task,
         route_options,
         lambda raw_model: available.get(_normalize_model(raw_model)),
+        router_name=router_name,
         timeout=timeout,
     )
 
 
 def resolve_routed_model(raw_model: str, available_models: list[str]) -> str | None:
-    """Map a ``task_v1`` arm to a model the configured workspace can serve."""
+    """Map a router arm to a model the configured workspace can serve."""
     normalized = {_normalize_model(model): model for model in available_models}
     return normalized.get(_normalize_model(raw_model))
 
diff --git a/src/ucode/smart_routing/routing.py b/src/ucode/smart_routing/routing.py
index e27401fd..0fae8be8 100644
--- a/src/ucode/smart_routing/routing.py
+++ b/src/ucode/smart_routing/routing.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 """Shared AI Gateway routing helpers for coding-agent sessions and subagents.
 
 Both the Codex and Claude Code integrations route through the workspace's
-``task_v1`` router at ``/ai-gateway/routing/v1/routes:select``. The
+configured router at ``/ai-gateway/routing/v1/routes:select``. The
 harness-agnostic mechanics live here — the gateway call, the decision shape,
 model-name normalization, and the canary/audit/decision bookkeeping. Each
 harness module (``codex_routing`` / ``claude_routing``) supplies its own route
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
+import os
 import time
 import urllib.error
 import urllib.request
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@
 from typing import Any
 
 ROUTER_NAME = "task_v1"
+ROUTER_NAME_ENV_VAR = "SMART_ROUTER_NAME"
 ROUTING_PATH = "/ai-gateway/routing/v1/routes:select"
 REQUEST_TIMEOUT_S = 30.0
 SUBAGENT_ROUTING_DISCLAIMER = (
@@ -97,6 +99,11 @@ def normalize_model(model: str) -> str:
     return tail.lower()
 
 
+def configured_router_name() -> str:
+    """Return the environment-selected router, falling back to ``task_v1``."""
+    return os.environ.get(ROUTER_NAME_ENV_VAR, "").strip() or ROUTER_NAME
+
+
 def select_route(
     workspace: str,
     token: str,
@@ -104,7 +111,7 @@ def select_route(
     route_options: Iterable[tuple[str, str | None]],
     resolve: Callable[[str], str | None],
     *,
-    router_name: str = ROUTER_NAME,
+    router_name: str,
     timeout: float = REQUEST_TIMEOUT_S,
 ) -> tuple[RoutingDecision | None, str | None]:
     """POST one ``routes:select`` request and resolve the router's pick.
diff --git a/src/ucode/smart_routing/v2.py b/src/ucode/smart_routing/v2.py
index f28cea01..10c9ff31 100644
--- a/src/ucode/smart_routing/v2.py
+++ b/src/ucode/smart_routing/v2.py
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@ def _request_claude_routing_decision(
         prompt,
         [(model, "claude") for model in available],
         lambda selected: available.get(routing.normalize_model(selected)),
+        router_name=routing.configured_router_name(),
         timeout=CLAUDE_ROUTE_SELECTION_TIMEOUT_S,
     )
 
diff --git a/tests/test_claude_routing.py b/tests/test_claude_routing.py
index 9c9d5fb7..83c66e0d 100644
--- a/tests/test_claude_routing.py
+++ b/tests/test_claude_routing.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ def read(self) -> bytes:
 
 
 def test_routes_with_task_v1_claude_menu(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.delenv("SMART_ROUTER_NAME", raising=False)
     captured = {}
 
     def fake_urlopen(request, timeout):
diff --git a/tests/test_codex_routing.py b/tests/test_codex_routing.py
index 8a41e2a6..097d8969 100644
--- a/tests/test_codex_routing.py
+++ b/tests/test_codex_routing.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ def read(self) -> bytes:
 
 
 def test_routes_with_models_from_stored_state(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.delenv("SMART_ROUTER_NAME", raising=False)
     captured = {}
     task = "Refactor the parser" + "x" * 5000
 
@@ -81,6 +82,31 @@ def fake_urlopen(request, timeout):
     }
 
 
+def test_router_name_can_be_selected_with_environment_variable(monkeypatch):
+    captured = {}
+    monkeypatch.setenv("SMART_ROUTER_NAME", "  task_v2  ")
+
+    def fake_urlopen(request, timeout):
+        captured["body"] = json.loads(request.data)
+        return _Response({"route_selection": [{"route_option": {"model": "gpt-5-6-sol"}}]})
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(codex_routing.urllib.request, "urlopen", fake_urlopen)
+
+    decision, error = codex_routing.request_routing_decision(
+        WS, "token", "Refactor the parser", ["system.ai.gpt-5-6-sol"]
+    )
+
+    assert error is None
+    assert decision is not None
+    assert captured["body"]["route_selector"] == {"router_name": "task_v2"}
+
+
+def test_blank_router_name_environment_variable_uses_default(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("SMART_ROUTER_NAME", "  ")
+
+    assert codex_routing.routing.configured_router_name() == "task_v1"
+
+
 def test_router_model_is_not_substituted_when_exact_model_is_unavailable():
     model = codex_routing.resolve_routed_model(
         "gpt-5-6-luna",
diff --git a/tests/test_codex_smart_routing_v2.py b/tests/test_codex_smart_routing_v2.py
index fcfcd1ea..58e72126 100644
--- a/tests/test_codex_smart_routing_v2.py
+++ b/tests/test_codex_smart_routing_v2.py
@@ -462,15 +462,17 @@ def test_router_failure_keeps_original_model(self):
 
 
 def test_routing_request_uses_models_prompt_and_same_token(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.delenv("SMART_ROUTER_NAME", raising=False)
     captured = {}
     logged = []
 
-    def select_route(workspace, token, task, route_options, resolve, *, timeout):
+    def select_route(workspace, token, task, route_options, resolve, *, router_name, timeout):
         captured.update(
             workspace=workspace,
             token=token,
             task=task,
             route_options=list(route_options),
+            router_name=router_name,
             timeout=timeout,
         )
         return (
@@ -503,6 +505,7 @@ def select_route(workspace, token, task, route_options, resolve, *, timeout):
         "workspace": WS,
         "token": "same-oauth-token",
         "task": "Fix the parser",
+        "router_name": "task_v1",
         "timeout": codex_routing.REQUEST_TIMEOUT_S,
         "route_options": [
             ("kimi-k3-neo", "codex"),