Cron Model Fix

Diagnose and fix OpenClaw cron job model override issues where configured models are rejected and fall back to agent defaults.

When to Use This Skill

Use when:

• Cron jobs show "not allowed, falling back to agent defaults" in gateway logs
• Unexpected cloud token burn on cron jobs configured with local models
• Slow cron run times (60-180s) when local models should be used
• Model overrides in cron jobs aren't being applied
• Need to validate agent model allowlist configuration

Quick Start

# Diagnose the issue
openclaw skill run cron-model-fix --diagnose

# Apply the fix (adds missing models to allowlist)
openclaw skill run cron-model-fix --fix --model ollama/qwen3.5:0.8b

# Validate configuration
openclaw skill run cron-model-fix --validate

Root Cause

OpenClaw has three model configuration layers. ALL must include the model:

Layer 1: Provider Model Definition

Location: models.providers.<provider>.models[] Purpose: Defines model specs (context, costs, capabilities)

Layer 2: Agent Default Model

Location: agents.defaults.model.primary Purpose: Default model when none specified

Layer 3: Agent Model Allowlist ← COMMON ISSUE

Location: agents.defaults.models Purpose: WHICH MODELS ARE PERMITTED for agent/cron use

Problem: Model exists in Layer 1, but missing from Layer 3 (allowlist).

Gateway logs show:

{"subsystem":"cron"}
"payload.model 'ollama/qwen3.5:0.8b' not allowed, falling back to agent defaults"

Diagnosis

Step 1: Check Gateway Logs

tail -100 /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-*.log | grep -i "not allowed\|falling back"

If you see: "payload.model '<model>' not allowed, falling back to agent defaults" → Model is missing from agent allowlist

Step 2: Check Agent Allowlist

cat ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json | python3 -c "
import json, sys
config = json.load(sys.stdin)
models = config.get('agents', {}).get('defaults', {}).get('models', {})
print('Allowed models:')
for model in models:
    print(f'  - {model}')
"

Check if your cron model is in the list. If not, it will be rejected.

Step 3: Check Cron Job Configuration

openclaw cron list

Verify:

• Cron job has model specified in payload
• Model format matches allowlist (e.g., ollama/qwen3.5:0.8b)

The Fix

Add the model to agents.defaults.models in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "ollama/qwen3.5:cloud",
        "fallbacks": [...]
      },
      "models": {
        "ollama/glm-4.7-flash": {},
        "ollama/kimi-k2.5:cloud": {},
        "ollama/qwen2.5vl:7b": {},
        "ollama/qwen3.5:397b-cloud": {},
        "ollama/qwen3.5:4b-32K": {},
        "ollama/qwen3.5:4b-32k": {},
        "ollama/qwen3.5:9b-128k": {},
        "ollama/qwen3.5:cloud": {},
        "ollama/qwen3.5:0.8b": {},  ← ADD THIS
        "ollama/qwen3.5:2b": {}     ← Optional
      }
    }
  }
}

Manual Fix Steps

1. Edit config:

   nano ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
   

2. Add to agents.defaults.models:

   "ollama/qwen3.5:0.8b": {},
   

3. Restart gateway:

   openclaw gateway restart
   

4. Verify:

   openclaw cron runs --id <job-id> --limit 3
   

   Look for "model": "qwen3.5:0.8b" instead of qwen3.5:cloud

Automated Fix Script

Use the included script:

python3 ~/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/skills/cron-model-fix/scripts/add-model-allowlist.py --model ollama/qwen3.5:0.8b

Expected Results

Before Fix

After Fix

Validation

After applying fix, verify:

# Check for model rejection warnings
tail -50 /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-*.log | grep -i "not allowed"

# Should be EMPTY (no warnings)

# Check cron run history
openclaw cron runs --id <job-id> --limit 1

# Should show:
# "model": "qwen3.5:0.8b" (not cloud)
# "durationMs": <15000 (fast)
# "input_tokens": <50000 (low)

Common Issues

Issue: Model still not working after fix

Check:

1. Gateway restarted after config change?
2. Model format matches exactly? (e.g., ollama/qwen3.5:0.8b vs qwen3.5:0.8b)
3. Model exists in provider config (Layer 1)?

Issue: Invalid JSON after editing

Fix:

openclaw doctor --fix

Or restore from backup:

cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.backup ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Related Skills

• inbox-optimizer - Optimizes inbox scanning patterns (mesh-specific)
• healthcheck - General OpenClaw system health monitoring

References

• See references/model-config-layers.md for detailed configuration structure
• See references/troubleshooting-examples.md for real-world case studies

Version

1.0.0 - Initial release (2026-03-30)