/ reference
Onboarding a Skill (Shadow → Prod)
The three skill modes (off, shadow, prod), what each does to a request, where its numbers land, and the four-step rollout from shadow to prod.
Each skill runs in one of three modes per developer key, set on the console's Optimization Skills page (/dashboard/settings). Onboard in shadow first and promote once the numbers justify it.
| Mode | Effect on your request | Where the numbers land |
|---|---|---|
off |
Not in the data path. | Absent from telemetry. |
shadow |
None — decides, records, forwards untouched. No risk. | shadow block — counterfactual only. |
prod |
Acts: cache hit served, prompt pruned, request rerouted, redacted, or refused. | Realized totals — saved, blocked, cache_hit. |
Counterfactual metrics
A shadow skill computes its full decision — cache lookup, routing pick, compaction plan, classifier score — then discards it, and the gateway stores the delta: tokens that would have been pruned, requests that would have hit cache, spend avoided, turns refused. Those dollars were still spent, so the figures project what promotion would save, never what was banked — they never join the realized totals.
Rollout
- Set the skill to
shadowon your key and save — nothing changes. - Let traffic accumulate.
- Read the projection on the console's Telemetry page, or per request in
trace.stages[]. - Flip to
prod— the skill starts acting.