Model Pilot

Match task complexity to the right model. Quick heuristic check before expensive tasks — recommends cheaper models when quality won't suffer. Fetches live pr...

Model Pilot v2.0

Install: clawhub install model-pilot

Stop overpaying for intelligence. Match every task to the cheapest model that delivers the quality you need.

Language

Detect from user's message language. Default: English.

When to Activate

• User explicitly asks about model choice or cost
• A task is starting that will be expensive (agent judgment — don't analyze trivial tasks)
• User says "save tokens", "cheaper model", "right model?"

Do NOT activate for trivial tasks — formatting, greetings, simple lookups.

Quick Complexity Check

Before an expensive task, ask yourself:

1. What is the task? (classify)
2. What model is active?
3. Could a cheaper model handle this equally well?
4. If yes → recommend switch + estimated savings
5. If no → proceed, explain why

Tier Classification

Tier	Tasks	Model
🟢 Routine	Formatting, Q&A, reminders, greetings, file ops	Cheapest available
🟡 Intermediate	Email drafting, code review, data analysis, translations	Mid-tier
🔴 Complex	Architecture decisions, creative writing, debugging complex issues	Best available

Signal: Task needs <1000 output tokens + no creativity = Tier 1.

Live Pricing

Fetch current pricing when user asks about costs:

web_fetch https://z.ai/pricing
web_search "openai gpt-4o pricing per token"

Do NOT hardcode prices — they change frequently. Always fetch live.

Cost Estimation

Quick formula:

Estimated cost = (input_tokens / 1M × input_price) + (output_tokens / 1M × output_price)

Show to user:

Model: GLM-5-Turbo
  Input: ~5K tokens
  Output: ~2K tokens
  Estimated cost: ~$0.002
  Could use: GLM-4 (~$0.001) — saves ~50%

Quick Commands

User says	Action
"right model?"	Quick complexity check
"model cost"	Cost estimate for current task
"compare models"	Live pricing comparison
"cheaper option"	Find cheaper model for same task

Guidelines for Agent

1. Don't waste tokens analyzing cheap tasks — check only for expensive ones
2. Use live pricing — never hardcode
3. Be honest about quality — if cheaper means worse, say so
4. Keep it quick — 5 seconds of thinking max
5. Match user language

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Does NOT switch models automatically — recommends only
• Does NOT persist anything
• Does NOT access credentials
• Does NOT modify any files

More by TommoT2

• cross-check — Auto-detect and verify assumptions in your responses
• context-brief — Persistent context survival across sessions
• setup-doctor — Diagnose and fix OpenClaw setup issues

Install the full suite:

clawhub install model-pilot cross-check context-brief setup-doctor