Cron Model Fix

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:

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

Layer 2: Agent Default Model

Layer 3: Agent Model Allowlist ← COMMON ISSUE

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 '' 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:

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  --limit 3
   

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  --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

References

Version

1.0.0 - Initial release (2026-03-30)

# 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

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  --limit 1
Should show:
"model": "qwen3.5:0.8b" (not cloud)
"durationMs": <15000 (fast)
"input_tokens": <50000 (low)