MANDATORY FIRST STEP for Red requests that may create, update, delete, post, email, or batch-write company data. Classify and route a user request between Red's two main behaviours: action (perform the accounting workflow) and help (manual Big Red Cloud instructions). Also returns connection, read, unsupported_action, or unknown when those specialised modes apply. Pass the user's complete original message — never only a confirmation word such as yes or delete it when starting a new action. Action mode always returns a non-empty preferredTools list, allowedTools, and an opaque short-lived routeToken — pass that routeToken on every subsequent transactional tool call for the permitted workflow, including after lookup and preview. unsupported_action means Red cannot map the request to an enabled workflow — explain that to the user; do not invent a routeToken. Help mode runs the unified help search, returns manual resources, sets blockTransactionalTools true, and never issues a transactional routeToken. How-to wording (how do I, how can I, show me how, tell me how, where do I, what are the steps, manual steps for, red-help, /red-help) → mode help. Explicit action wording (add a customer, create a sales invoice, delete customer ABC, can you add a customer for me) → mode action with routeToken. A routeToken does not replace preview-before-posting or user confirmation (confirmWrite). Help mode does not persist — each brc_route_request call is classified independently unless returning confirmation continuation for a pending preview. Read-only classification and help search. Does not require a connected company. When a company is already connected, pass connectionRef silently so the routeToken can bind to that connection and survive MCP session rotation.