{"skill":{"slug":"free-ride-1-0-4","displayName":"Free Ride 1.0.4","summary":"Manages free AI models from OpenRouter for OpenClaw. Automatically ranks models by quality, configures fallbacks for rate-limit handling, and updates opencla...","description":"---\nname: freeride\ndescription: Manages free AI models from OpenRouter for OpenClaw. Automatically ranks models by quality, configures fallbacks for rate-limit handling, and updates openclaw.json. Use when the user mentions free AI, OpenRouter, model switching, rate limits, or wants to reduce AI costs.\n---\n\n# FreeRide - Free AI for OpenClaw\n\n## What This Skill Does\n\nConfigures OpenClaw to use **free** AI models from OpenRouter. Sets the best free model as primary, adds ranked fallbacks so rate limits don't interrupt the user, and preserves existing config.\n\n## Prerequisites\n\nBefore running any FreeRide command, ensure:\n\n1. **OPENROUTER_API_KEY is set.** Check with `echo $OPENROUTER_API_KEY`. If empty, the user must get a free key at https://openrouter.ai/keys and set it:\n   ```bash\n   export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=\"sk-or-v1-...\"\n   # Or persist it:\n   openclaw config set env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY \"sk-or-v1-...\"\n   ```\n\n2. **The `freeride` CLI is installed.** Check with `which freeride`. If not found:\n   ```bash\n   cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride\n   pip install -e .\n   ```\n\n## Primary Workflow\n\nWhen the user wants free AI, run these steps in order:\n\n```bash\n# Step 1: Configure best free model + fallbacks\nfreeride auto\n\n# Step 2: Restart gateway so OpenClaw picks up the changes\nopenclaw gateway restart\n```\n\nThat's it. The user now has free AI with automatic fallback switching.\n\nVerify by telling the user to send `/status` to check the active model.\n\n## Commands Reference\n\n| Command | When to use it |\n|---------|----------------|\n| `freeride auto` | User wants free AI set up (most common) |\n| `freeride auto -f` | User wants fallbacks but wants to keep their current primary model |\n| `freeride auto -c 10` | User wants more fallbacks (default is 5) |\n| `freeride list` | User wants to see available free models |\n| `freeride list -n 30` | User wants to see all free models |\n| `freeride switch <model>` | User wants a specific model (e.g. `freeride switch qwen3-coder`) |\n| `freeride switch <model> -f` | Add specific model as fallback only |\n| `freeride status` | Check current FreeRide configuration |\n| `freeride fallbacks` | Update only the fallback models |\n| `freeride refresh` | Force refresh the cached model list |\n\n**After any command that changes config, always run `openclaw gateway restart`.**\n\n## What It Writes to Config\n\nFreeRide updates only these keys in `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`:\n\n- `agents.defaults.model.primary` — e.g. `openrouter/qwen/qwen3-coder:free`\n- `agents.defaults.model.fallbacks` — e.g. `[\"openrouter/free\", \"nvidia/nemotron:free\", ...]`\n- `agents.defaults.models` — allowlist so `/model` command shows the free models\n\nEverything else (gateway, channels, plugins, env, customInstructions, named agents) is preserved.\n\nThe first fallback is always `openrouter/free` — OpenRouter's smart router that auto-picks the best available model based on the request.\n\n## Watcher (Optional)\n\nFor auto-rotation when rate limited, the user can run:\n\n```bash\nfreeride-watcher --daemon    # Continuous monitoring\nfreeride-watcher --rotate    # Force rotate now\nfreeride-watcher --status    # Check rotation history\n```\n\n## Troubleshooting\n\n| Problem | Fix |\n|---------|-----|\n| `freeride: command not found` | `cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride && pip install -e .` |\n| `OPENROUTER_API_KEY not set` | User needs a key from https://openrouter.ai/keys |\n| Changes not taking effect | `openclaw gateway restart` then `/new` for fresh session |\n| Agent shows 0 tokens | Check `freeride status` — primary should be `openrouter/<provider>/<model>:free` |","tags":{"latest":"1.0.0"},"stats":{"comments":0,"downloads":663,"installsAllTime":22,"installsCurrent":22,"stars":0,"versions":1},"createdAt":1773441910161,"updatedAt":1778491894093},"latestVersion":{"version":"1.0.0","createdAt":1773441910161,"changelog":"FreeRide 1.0.0 initial release\n\n- Enables OpenClaw to use free AI models from OpenRouter, with ranked fallbacks for rate-limit resilience.\n- Automatically detects and sets up the best free model as primary and manages fallback switching.\n- Preserves user’s OpenClaw config except for necessary model keys.\n- Provides CLI commands to list, switch, and manage free models with clear usage instructions.\n- Includes troubleshooting guidance and optional watcher for automatic model rotation.\n- Requires user to set their OPENROUTER_API_KEY and install the freeride CLI.","license":"MIT-0"},"metadata":null,"owner":{"handle":"taron-ai","userId":"s17fxjd65bczzt9ycavqbn21dn83gh4t","displayName":"Taron M.","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/2797777?v=4"},"moderation":null}