Openclaw Switch

Manage multi-provider model switching and fallback chains in OpenClaw. "OpenClaw Switch" helps users set up automatic model failover (e.g. 429 rate-limit → fallback), switch primary models, view current fallback chains, and configure heartbeat/subagent routing. Works with any provider (Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic, NVIDIA, Ollama, etc.).

The missing model manager for OpenClaw. Switch models, visualize fallback chains, and manage multi-provider setups.

Quick start

bash

# Show current model, fallback chain, heartbeat & subagent config
bash {baseDir}/scripts/openclaw-switch.sh status

# List all available models across all providers
bash {baseDir}/scripts/openclaw-switch.sh list

# Switch primary model (by number from list)
bash {baseDir}/scripts/openclaw-switch.sh switch 2

# Show fallback chain only
bash {baseDir}/scripts/openclaw-switch.sh fallback

How it works

OpenClaw natively supports model.fallbacks — when the primary model returns an error (429, 500, etc.), the next model in the chain is tried automatically. OpenClaw Switch helps users configure, visualize, and toggle this chain.

Typical setup

Register multiple providers in openclaw.json, each with its own API key:

json

{
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "provider-a": { "apiKey": "...", "models": [{ "id": "model-1" }] },
      "provider-b": { "apiKey": "...", "models": [{ "id": "model-2" }] }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "provider-a/model-1",
        "fallbacks": ["provider-b/model-2"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Use cases

• Same provider, two API keys (e.g. paid + free Gemini) — register as separate providers
• Cross-provider failover (e.g. Gemini → OpenAI → local Ollama)
• Cost optimization — route heartbeat/subagents to cheaper or free models

Security

The bundled script:

• Never transmits API keys or config data over the network
• Never logs full API keys (masks all but first 8 chars)
• Uses only bash + python3 stdlib — zero external dependencies
• Source is < 150 lines — fully auditable in 2 minutes