OpenClaw Model Switching

1. Course Content

This course will systematically introduce the model selection working mechanism of OpenClaw and three model switching operation methods.

2. Temporarily Switch Session Model

2.1 Open TUI Session

• Input in terminal

openclaw tui

2.2 Use /model to Switch Session Model

• Enter /model in the conversation box and press Enter. For example, here we select to switch to bailian/qwen3.5-plus. Use keyboard up and down arrows to select the model, then press Enter.

3. Switch Default Model

3.1 Switch via CLI

The simplest way is to use the CLI command to set the default model directly:

• Here we take switching to bailian/qwen3.6-plus model as an example

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openclaw models set bailian/qwen3.6-plus

3.2 Switch via Configuration File

• Edit the openclaw.json configuration file to modify the Agent's default model

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  nano $HOME/.openclaw/openclaw.json
  # Or use your favorite editor, such as vim, code, etc.
  

In openclaw.json, specify the default main model through the agents.defaults.model.primary configuration item:

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{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "bailian/qwen3.5-plus"
      }
    }
  }
}

• Verify if the configuration takes effect:

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openclaw models status

4. Add Model Options List

• agents.defaults.models is the allow list/directory that controls the range of usable models in OpenClaw. When this configuration item is set, users can only use models included in the list. This list serves as the model scope control basis for both the /model command and conversation overrides.

4.1 Add Model via Configuration File

Configure agents.defaults.models in openclaw.json and add the models you want to use to the allow list:

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"agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "bailian/qwen3.5-plus"
      },
      "models": {
        "bailian/qwen3.5-plus": {},
        "bailian/MiniMax-M2.5": {},
        "bailian/glm-4.7": {}
      },
      "workspace": "/home/pi/.openclaw/workspace",
      "compaction": {
        "mode": "safeguard",
        "memoryFlush": {
          "enabled": false
        }
      }
    }
  }

4.2 Model Reference Format Specification

In OpenClaw, all model references use a unified format:

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provider/modelID

Examples:

Note: If the model ID itself contains / (such as moonshotai/kimi-k2), you must provide the complete reference in the format openrouter/moonshotai/kimi-k2.

5. Appendix: CLI Command Quick Reference