OpenClaw Model Switch

Switch or repair an OpenClaw instance's model configuration by safely editing openclaw.json.

Diagnose before you edit. Model failures on OpenClaw are usually NOT the model id — they are key routing (env hijack), provider-plugin restrictions, or endpoint/model mismatch. Changing the model id without checking these first is how a 5-minute fix becomes a 2-hour debugging session. The full trap catalog with discovery commands lives in [references/troubleshooting-model-config.md](references/troubleshooting-model-config.md) — read it the moment anything errors.

Step 1 — Find the real config file(s)

Do NOT assume a hardcoded path. Candidate locations (check all, edit all that exist):

1. ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json — the gateway's live config on most installs
2. ~/.kimi/kimi-claw/openclaw.json — Kimi Claw mirror, kept in sync on some installs
3. ~/.kimi_openclaw/openclaw.json — legacy desktop path

Confirm which one the gateway actually reads: openclaw gateway status prints Config (service): <path>. If several exist, treat them as mirrors: edit all of them identically, otherwise the next sync overwrites your fix.

Step 2 — Probe the endpoint + model BEFORE touching config

Never trust a relay's model listing (GET /v1/models on new-api style relays is frequently incomplete — a model can be absent from the list yet serve fine). The only authority is a real completion probe from the host that will run the bot:

curl -sS -o /tmp/probe.json -w "HTTP %{http_code}\n" \
  -X POST "<baseUrl>/v1/messages" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <apiKey>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -d '{"model":"<model-id>","max_tokens":16,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]}'

Expected: HTTP 200 and a content array in the body. 401 Invalid token with a token you just verified works elsewhere → the wire key is being hijacked (see trap #1 in the troubleshooting reference). 503 No available channel → the model is not served for this token/group from this network (trap #3) — pick a served model or fix the relay, don't blind-switch.

Step 3 — Switch the model

python3 scripts/switch-model.py <model-id> --restart
# target a specific provider instead of the guessed one:
python3 scripts/switch-model.py k3 --provider kimi-relay --restart
# explicit config path (skips discovery):
python3 scripts/switch-model.py k3 --config ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json --restart

The script: discovers and backs up every candidate config to <config-dir>/config-backups/, adds the model definition if known, sets agents.defaults.model.primary, syncs mirror files, and restarts the gateway with --restart.

Step 4 — Verify end-to-end (mandatory)

A restarted gateway proves nothing. Run one real agent turn and read the result metadata:

openclaw agent --local --json --agent main --session-id verify-$(date +%s) -m "ping"

Success looks like: "result": "success", "fallbackUsed": false, and the gateway log shows agent model: <provider>/<model> (thinking=...). "result": "success" with fallbackUsed: true means your target failed and a fallback saved the turn — the config is still wrong.

Common failures → read the troubleshooting reference

Safety rules

• Always backup before editing (the script does this; manual edits: copy to config-backups/ first)
• Preserve existing apiKey, headers, plugin configs, and env blocks — retype only the fields you mean to change
• Validate JSON after manual edits: python3 -m json.tool openclaw.json > /dev/null
• Do not commit config files containing API keys to version control
• After changing anything, redo the Step-4 verification — and if it fails, restore the newest backup before trying something else

Resources

• scripts/switch-model.py — model switcher with config discovery, backup, mirror sync, and restart
• references/kimi-models.md — known model specs (k3, k2p6, kimi-k2.7-code) and config snippets
• references/troubleshooting-model-config.md — the trap catalog: env key hijack, plugin binary thinking, canonicalModelId, relay availability, config discovery. Read on any error.