Model Switchboard v3.0 — Safe AI Model Configuration for OpenClaw

⛔ HARD RULE: NEVER edit openclaw.json model fields directly. Always use this skill's commands. No exceptions. Ever.

Why This Exists

Editing openclaw.json directly for model changes is the #1 cause of OpenClaw gateway crashes. Wrong model type in wrong slot = instant death. No backup = hours rebuilding. This skill eliminates that entirely.

How It Works

1. Validates model format and role compatibility before any change
2. Auto-backs up config before every modification (30 rolling backups)
3. Uses OpenClaw CLI (openclaw models set) — never raw JSON
4. Blocks unsafe assignments (image-gen model as primary LLM = blocked)
5. Instant rollback if anything goes wrong
6. Canvas UI for visual model management

Quick Reference

SWITCHBOARD="$SKILL_DIR/scripts/switchboard.sh"

# View current setup
$SWITCHBOARD status

# Change models
$SWITCHBOARD set-primary "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6"
$SWITCHBOARD set-image "google/gemini-3-pro-preview"
$SWITCHBOARD add-fallback "openai/gpt-5.2"
$SWITCHBOARD remove-fallback "openai/gpt-5.2"
$SWITCHBOARD add-image-fallback "openai/gpt-5.1"

# Preview before applying
$SWITCHBOARD dry-run set-primary "openai/gpt-5.2"

# Discovery & recommendations
$SWITCHBOARD discover          # List all available models
$SWITCHBOARD recommend         # Get optimal suggestions

# Redundancy (3-deep failover)
$SWITCHBOARD redundancy        # Assess current redundancy
$SWITCHBOARD redundancy-deploy # Preview optimal config
$SWITCHBOARD redundancy-apply  # Apply optimal config
$SWITCHBOARD redundancy-apply 4  # Custom depth

# Backup & restore
$SWITCHBOARD backup            # Manual backup
$SWITCHBOARD list-backups      # Show all backups
$SWITCHBOARD restore latest    # Undo last change

# Import/Export (portable model configs)
$SWITCHBOARD export config.json
$SWITCHBOARD import config.json

# Cron model validation
$SWITCHBOARD validate-cron-models  # Check cron jobs use valid models

# Diagnostics
$SWITCHBOARD health            # Gateway + provider status
$SWITCHBOARD validate <model> <role>  # Test compatibility

Model Roles

Validation Rules

The validation engine (scripts/validate.py) enforces:

• Format: Must be provider/model-name (e.g., anthropic/claude-opus-4-6)
• Capability match: LLM roles require llm + tools capabilities
• Image roles: Require vision capability
• Hard blocks: Image-generation-only models (DALL-E, Stability) blocked from ALL LLM roles
• Registry warnings: Unknown models get a caution warning but are allowed (for OpenRouter/new models)

Known Providers

• anthropic — Claude family (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku)
• openai — GPT family
• openai-codex — Codex OAuth models
• google — Gemini family
• opencode — Zen proxy (routes to various models)
• zai — GLM family
• xai — Grok family
• openrouter — Multi-provider gateway
• groq, cerebras — Fast inference

Canvas UI

To show the visual dashboard:

# Get UI data
DATA=$($SWITCHBOARD ui)

# Present via canvas
# The UI reads window.__switchboardData JSON

The Canvas UI at ui/index.html shows:

• Primary LLM and Image model with color coding
• Fallback chains (ordered)
• Provider auth status (green/red indicators)
• Model allowlist
• Config issues with severity levels
• Backup count

For Agents: Operating Protocol

When a user asks to change model assignments:

1. Read this SKILL.md first
2. Show current status: $SWITCHBOARD status
3. Preview the change: $SWITCHBOARD dry-run <action> <model>
4. Confirm with user before applying
5. Apply: $SWITCHBOARD <action> <model>
6. Verify: Check gateway health after change

NEVER:

• Edit openclaw.json directly for model fields
• Skip the dry-run for primary model changes
• Apply without user confirmation
• Ignore validation failures

Troubleshooting

Gateway won't start:

$SWITCHBOARD restore latest
openclaw gateway restart
# Or: openclaw doctor --fix

"Model is not allowed" error: Model isn't in the allowlist. Add it or clear the list:

openclaw config set 'agents.defaults.models."provider/model"' '{"alias":"Name"}'
# Or clear: openclaw config unset agents.defaults.models

Unknown model warning: The model isn't in model-registry.json. Add it for future validation:

# Edit model-registry.json to add the model entry

File Structure

model-switchboard/
├── SKILL.md              # This file — agent instructions
├── README.md             # ClawHub publishing readme
├── model-registry.json   # Known model capabilities database
├── scripts/
│   ├── switchboard.sh    # Main CLI tool (bash)
│   └── validate.py       # Validation engine (python3, no deps)
└── ui/
    └── index.html        # Canvas dashboard (single-file, no deps)