# LiteLLM v1.101.0 — smarter complexity routing and a semantic MCP search

> The gateway gets a second-generation complexity router, a circuit breaker for its classifier, and semantic search over MCP tools.

- Org: BerriAI
- Date: 2026-09-15
- Category: tool, repo
- Source: https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/releases/tag/v1.101.0
- Canonical page: https://ai-tldr.dev/releases/litellm-v1-101-0/

## In short

LiteLLM v1.101.0 lands 1,902 commits on the AI gateway: a second-generation heuristic complexity router, a classifier circuit breaker, semantic tool search for the native MCP Gateway, and off-peak pricing in cost tracking.

## What it is

Heuristic v2 complexity routing headlines LiteLLM v1.101.0. The router decides which model a request should go to based on how hard the request looks, and this version also adds a classifier circuit breaker for when that decision path fails, auto-escalation for stalled complexity-router tasks, and opt-in modality-based capability routing so image requests reach a model that can actually see.

## How it works

LiteLLM sits in front of 100+ provider APIs and speaks OpenAI format to your code. The native MCP Gateway gained semantic tool search, which matters once a gateway fronts more tools than fit in one prompt. On the operations side, Prometheus metrics move to a separate process behind --prometheus_metrics_port, per-key and per-team rate-limit gauges are exposed, OpenTelemetry spans now carry the routing decision, and a new /v1/responses/input_tokens endpoint counts tokens before you spend them.

## Why it matters

This is the release where the gateway's admin surface catches up with the routing surface. Cost tracking learns time-based off-peak pricing across several providers. Access control learns configurable password policies and SSO-only login, and file uploads are restricted at /v1/files and /upload/logo. OpenAI calls can now authenticate through workload identity federation using OIDC token exchange, so a deployment can drop a long-lived API key.

## Who it's for

platform teams running a shared LLM gateway

## Try it

pip install 'litellm[proxy]'

## Quick facts

- Project: LiteLLM, by BerriAI
- Version: v1.101.0
- Released: 15 September 2026
- Commits since v1.100.0: 1,902
- Routing: Heuristic v2 complexity routing
- MCP: Semantic tool search in the native MCP Gateway
- Container base: glibc 2.44, Python 3.13

## FAQ

### What does the classifier circuit breaker in LiteLLM v1.101.0 protect against?

LiteLLM's complexity router runs a classifier to judge how hard a request is. The new circuit breaker handles the case where that classifier fails or degrades, so routing falls back gracefully instead of stalling. A companion change auto-escalates complexity-router tasks that have already stalled.

### Does LiteLLM v1.101.0 change how spending is tracked?

Yes. LiteLLM v1.101.0 adds time-based off-peak pricing support across multiple providers, so a request billed at a cheaper hour is costed at that rate. Cost tracking is also extended to guardrails and specialized services, and DataDog LLM observability gains cost dimensions.

### What security controls are new in LiteLLM v1.101.0?

This release adds configurable password policies and an SSO-only login option for the proxy, restrictions on file uploads at /v1/files and /upload/logo, and workload identity federation through OIDC token exchange for OpenAI. Per-worker admission control also rejects excess requests with a 503 instead of queueing them.

### Why move LiteLLM's Prometheus metrics to a separate port?

LiteLLM v1.101.0 serves Prometheus metrics from a separate process via --prometheus_metrics_port. Splitting the scrape endpoint off the main proxy process keeps metric collection from competing with request serving, and the release exposes new per-key and per-team rate-limit gauges on it.

## Links

- [Release Notes](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/releases/tag/v1.101.0)
- [Full Changelog](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/compare/v1.100.0...v1.101.0)
- [Repository](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm)
- [Docs](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/)