jev-frontier-work

1# Handing hard work to a frontier model, and watching it
2 
3Frontier seats are bought for frontier work. Everything else goes to a cheap model, and
4that is not a compromise — it is the reason there is quota left when something genuinely
5hard arrives.
6 
7Two jobs here: pick the seat, then keep an eye on the run.
8 
9## 1. Pick the seat
10 
11Only for work the router called **hard**, or that reached the `escalate` lane on evidence
12(`jev lane step` said escalate: the lane below failed twice, checks keep failing, security
13code changed, or Jev was unsure). Never because a stronger model exists. If you are about to
14use a frontier seat for a rename, a lookup, a format, or a summary, stop.
15 
16```bash
17jev ladder choose       # Hermes: the jev_escalate tool, action "choose"
18```
19 
20It returns the rung to use and why. The ladder is ordered by what is already paid for,
21and it steps down as seats fill:
22 
231. **A native seat** your agent can run directly — the cheapest hard answer, because the
24   subscription is already bought and nothing has to be handed off.
252. **A delegated seat** — a frontier model behind a CLI that cannot be attached as a
26   provider. You package the context and hand it over. See below.
273. **A metered last resort** — a strong model billed per token. Real money. The decision
28   says `forced` when it lands here because everything else was full, and you should say
29   so in your report rather than quietly spending it.
30 
31**When a seat turns you away, report it:**
32 
33```bash
34…