Build an Automatic Model Failover System So One API Outage Never Takes Down Your App
Keep your app running when a model provider goes down, in about 3 hours of setup.
Time Required
3 hours, one-time setup
Expected Result
A production app that automatically fails over to a backup model when the primary provider errors out, with an alert the moment that happens.
Identify Your Single Points of Failure
Audit which production features call one model or provider directly with no backup path if that call fails.
Configure a Fallback Chain in LiteLLM
Set a fallbacks list in your LiteLLM proxy config so a failed call to your primary model automatically retries against a specified backup model once your configured retry count is exhausted.
Route Every Call Through the Proxy
Point your application's base URL at the LiteLLM proxy instead of calling providers directly, so the fallback chain and per-user rate limits apply without touching every call site in your code.
Monitor for Fallbacks Firing
Watch Helicone's per-model error-rate and request-volume views so a spike on your primary model, and a matching spike on the backup, tells you about an outage before customers report it.
Know What Doesn't Transfer
A backup model rarely matches your primary model's exact tone or output format, so test your fallback model against the same prompts beforehand rather than discovering the mismatch during a live outage. Fallbacks also add latency, since a failed attempt has to time out before the backup fires, and they don't protect you from a correlated outage across multiple providers at once.
Tools Used In This Workflow
Related Workflows
Run a Private, Compliant AI Stack Like an Enterprise IT Team
Set up a privacy-conscious AI stack that routes sensitive work locally in about two hours.
View workflowBuild a Multi-Model Routing Strategy to Cut AI Costs Like an Enterprise
Cut your AI spend without sacrificing quality in about an hour of setup.
View workflowCut Redundant AI API Costs With Response Caching
Stop paying for the same prompt twice, in about 30 minutes of setup.
View workflow