Model Migration

Security

Migrate OpenClaw from Claude subscription OAuth to a free or cheap model provider (OpenRouter, Gemini, Ollama). Use when the user says Claude stopped working, gets an auth error, mentions the Anthropic April 2026 subscription ban, or asks to switch models without paying Anthropic more.

Install

openclaw skills install claude-to-free

Model Migration Skill

Help the user migrate OpenClaw from Claude subscription OAuth to a free or cheap provider.

When to use this skill

User says Claude is blocked, not working, or requires "extra usage"
User mentions the April 2026 Anthropic harness policy change
User wants to switch to Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama, or any non-Claude provider
User asks "how do I use OpenClaw without Claude?"

Step 1 — Diagnose

Read the current config and identify what's broken:

cat ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
auth = d.get('auth',{})
profiles = auth.get('profiles',{})
model = d.get('agents',{}).get('defaults',{}).get('model',{}).get('primary','not set')
print('Current model:', model)
for name, p in profiles.items():
    print(f'Auth profile: {name} provider={p.get(\"provider\")} mode={p.get(\"mode\")}')
"

If you see provider=anthropic mode=oauth — that's the blocked profile. Proceed.

Step 2 — Recommend a path

Ask the user one question: "Do you want free (no cost) or are you okay with a small per-token charge for better quality?"

Free path (recommended for most users)

→ OpenRouter free tier — no credit card, no cost

Best free models right now:

openrouter/free — auto-picks the best free model (zero config)
openrouter/meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:free — strong general model
openrouter/qwen/qwen3-coder:free — best free coding model (262k context)
openrouter/qwen/qwen3.6-plus:free — 1M context, free

Cheap paid path ($0.10/MTok — roughly $1–5/month for typical use)

openrouter/google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite — Google's fast model, 1M context
openrouter/google/gemini-2.0-flash-001 — excellent quality/price
openrouter/meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct — same as free but reliable

Free + local path (privacy-first)

→ Ollama — runs on the user's machine, zero cost, fully private

Free direct (Gemini API)

→ Google AI Studio free tier — check current limits at aistudio.google.com (varies by account/region)

Step 3 — Migrate using OpenClaw CLI (preferred)

Use native OpenClaw commands — openclaw onboard creates the auth profile and config in one shot:

# 1. Add your provider (example: OpenRouter free)
openclaw onboard --non-interactive --accept-risk --auth-choice openrouter-api-key --openrouter-api-key YOUR_OPENROUTER_KEY --skip-channels --skip-skills --skip-search --skip-daemon --skip-health --skip-ui

# 2. Set a free model
openclaw models set openrouter/qwen/qwen3.6-plus:free

# 3. Restart
openclaw gateway restart

Or use the interactive auth helper:

openclaw models auth login --provider openrouter
# (follow prompts to paste your key)
openclaw models set openrouter/qwen/qwen3.6-plus:free
openclaw gateway restart

Get a free OpenRouter key at https://openrouter.ai/keys (no credit card required).

Step 4 — Manual config (if wizard doesn't work)

Option A: OpenRouter free (zero cost)

Get a free API key at https://openrouter.ai/keys (no credit card)
Run: openclaw onboard --non-interactive --accept-risk --auth-choice openrouter-api-key --openrouter-api-key YOUR_KEY --skip-channels --skip-skills --skip-search --skip-daemon --skip-health --skip-ui
Set model: openclaw models set openrouter/meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:free
Restart: openclaw gateway restart

Option B: Gemini direct (free tier)

Get key at https://aistudio.google.com → Get API key
Run: openclaw onboard --non-interactive --accept-risk --auth-choice gemini-api-key --gemini-api-key YOUR_KEY --skip-channels --skip-skills --skip-search --skip-daemon --skip-health --skip-ui
Set model: openclaw models set google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite
Restart: openclaw gateway restart

Option C: Ollama (local or cloud free tier)

Install: curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh (or use cloud: ollama.com)
Pull a model: ollama pull llama3.2
Run: openclaw onboard --non-interactive --auth-choice ollama --accept-risk
Set model: openclaw models set ollama/llama3.2
Restart: openclaw gateway restart

Step 5 — Verify

First, confirm the auth profile exists for the new provider:

openclaw models status

Check that the output lists the expected auth profile (e.g. openrouter, google, ollama). If it's missing, the gateway will silently fall back to the first working provider (usually Anthropic) — the model set in config doesn't matter without a matching auth profile.

If the auth profile is missing → go back to Step 3/4 and run openclaw onboard for that provider first. Then re-run openclaw models set and restart.

Only once the auth profile is confirmed, verify the active model:

openclaw models status --plain | grep -i "primary\|model"

openclaw models status verifies the configured model/auth state, not necessarily the live runtime model already attached to an existing Telegram chat session.

To verify the live runtime model, start a new chat/session (or reset the current one) and then check /status.

If the config still looks stale after confirming the auth profile exists, restart the gateway with the portable CLI command:

openclaw gateway restart

Common errors

Error	Cause	Fix
`401 Unauthorized`	Invalid API key	Re-enter key, check for typos
`model not found`	Wrong model ID	Check exact ID in guide
`connection refused`	Ollama not running	Run `ollama serve`
`RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED`	Free tier rate limit	Wait or switch to paid tier
Config not applied	Gateway cached old config	Full restart via systemd

Resources

Full guides: https://github.com/BlueBirdBack/openclaw-without-claude
Free model list: https://github.com/BlueBirdBack/openclaw-without-claude/blob/main/guides/model-comparison.md
Model-migration skill (ClawHub source): https://github.com/BlueBirdBack/openclaw-without-claude/tree/main/skills/model-migration
Need hands-on help: https://bluebirdback.com (OpenClaw rescue, $99 fixed)

Changelog

v1.0.2 (2026-04-04): Add required --accept-risk to non-interactive onboarding examples. Add --skip-health alongside --skip-daemon so the examples work on broken/stopped local gateways. Clarify that openclaw models status verifies configured state, not necessarily the live runtime model in an existing Telegram session. Switch fallback restart guidance back to portable openclaw gateway restart.
v1.0.1 (2026-04-04): Fix broken CLI commands — --auth-choice apiKey --token-provider openrouter was never valid. Updated to --auth-choice openrouter-api-key --openrouter-api-key KEY with --skip-* flags for non-interactive flow. Fixed Gemini auth from google-api-key to gemini-api-key. Added openclaw models auth login as alternative flow. Updated verification to use --plain flag.