{
  "title": "Model failover",
  "content": "OpenClaw handles failures in two stages:\n\n1. **Auth profile rotation** within the current provider.\n2. **Model fallback** to the next model in `agents.defaults.model.fallbacks`.\n\nThis doc explains the runtime rules and the data that backs them.\n\n## Auth storage (keys + OAuth)\n\nOpenClaw uses **auth profiles** for both API keys and OAuth tokens.\n\n* Secrets live in `~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json` (legacy: `~/.openclaw/agent/auth-profiles.json`).\n* Config `auth.profiles` / `auth.order` are **metadata + routing only** (no secrets).\n* Legacy import-only OAuth file: `~/.openclaw/credentials/oauth.json` (imported into `auth-profiles.json` on first use).\n\nMore detail: [/concepts/oauth](/concepts/oauth)\n\n* `type: \"api_key\"` → `{ provider, key }`\n* `type: \"oauth\"` → `{ provider, access, refresh, expires, email? }` (+ `projectId`/`enterpriseUrl` for some providers)\n\nOAuth logins create distinct profiles so multiple accounts can coexist.\n\n* Default: `provider:default` when no email is available.\n* OAuth with email: `provider:<email>` (for example `google-antigravity:user@gmail.com`).\n\nProfiles live in `~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json` under `profiles`.\n\nWhen a provider has multiple profiles, OpenClaw chooses an order like this:\n\n1. **Explicit config**: `auth.order[provider]` (if set).\n2. **Configured profiles**: `auth.profiles` filtered by provider.\n3. **Stored profiles**: entries in `auth-profiles.json` for the provider.\n\nIf no explicit order is configured, OpenClaw uses a round‑robin order:\n\n* **Primary key:** profile type (**OAuth before API keys**).\n* **Secondary key:** `usageStats.lastUsed` (oldest first, within each type).\n* **Cooldown/disabled profiles** are moved to the end, ordered by soonest expiry.\n\n### Session stickiness (cache-friendly)\n\nOpenClaw **pins the chosen auth profile per session** to keep provider caches warm.\nIt does **not** rotate on every request. The pinned profile is reused until:\n\n* the session is reset (`/new` / `/reset`)\n* a compaction completes (compaction count increments)\n* the profile is in cooldown/disabled\n\nManual selection via `/model …@<profileId>` sets a **user override** for that session\nand is not auto‑rotated until a new session starts.\n\nAuto‑pinned profiles (selected by the session router) are treated as a **preference**:\nthey are tried first, but OpenClaw may rotate to another profile on rate limits/timeouts.\nUser‑pinned profiles stay locked to that profile; if it fails and model fallbacks\nare configured, OpenClaw moves to the next model instead of switching profiles.\n\n### Why OAuth can “look lost”\n\nIf you have both an OAuth profile and an API key profile for the same provider, round‑robin can switch between them across messages unless pinned. To force a single profile:\n\n* Pin with `auth.order[provider] = [\"provider:profileId\"]`, or\n* Use a per-session override via `/model …` with a profile override (when supported by your UI/chat surface).\n\nWhen a profile fails due to auth/rate‑limit errors (or a timeout that looks\nlike rate limiting), OpenClaw marks it in cooldown and moves to the next profile.\nFormat/invalid‑request errors (for example Cloud Code Assist tool call ID\nvalidation failures) are treated as failover‑worthy and use the same cooldowns.\n\nCooldowns use exponential backoff:\n\n* 1 minute\n* 5 minutes\n* 25 minutes\n* 1 hour (cap)\n\nState is stored in `auth-profiles.json` under `usageStats`:\n\nBilling/credit failures (for example “insufficient credits” / “credit balance too low”) are treated as failover‑worthy, but they’re usually not transient. Instead of a short cooldown, OpenClaw marks the profile as **disabled** (with a longer backoff) and rotates to the next profile/provider.\n\nState is stored in `auth-profiles.json`:\n\n* Billing backoff starts at **5 hours**, doubles per billing failure, and caps at **24 hours**.\n* Backoff counters reset if the profile hasn’t failed for **24 hours** (configurable).\n\nIf all profiles for a provider fail, OpenClaw moves to the next model in\n`agents.defaults.model.fallbacks`. This applies to auth failures, rate limits, and\ntimeouts that exhausted profile rotation (other errors do not advance fallback).\n\nWhen a run starts with a model override (hooks or CLI), fallbacks still end at\n`agents.defaults.model.primary` after trying any configured fallbacks.\n\nSee [Gateway configuration](/gateway/configuration) for:\n\n* `auth.profiles` / `auth.order`\n* `auth.cooldowns.billingBackoffHours` / `auth.cooldowns.billingBackoffHoursByProvider`\n* `auth.cooldowns.billingMaxHours` / `auth.cooldowns.failureWindowHours`\n* `agents.defaults.model.primary` / `agents.defaults.model.fallbacks`\n* `agents.defaults.imageModel` routing\n\nSee [Models](/concepts/models) for the broader model selection and fallback overview.",
  "code_samples": [
    {
      "code": "## Billing disables\n\nBilling/credit failures (for example “insufficient credits” / “credit balance too low”) are treated as failover‑worthy, but they’re usually not transient. Instead of a short cooldown, OpenClaw marks the profile as **disabled** (with a longer backoff) and rotates to the next profile/provider.\n\nState is stored in `auth-profiles.json`:",
      "language": "unknown"
    }
  ],
  "headings": [
    {
      "level": "h2",
      "text": "Auth storage (keys + OAuth)",
      "id": "auth-storage-(keys-+-oauth)"
    },
    {
      "level": "h2",
      "text": "Profile IDs",
      "id": "profile-ids"
    },
    {
      "level": "h2",
      "text": "Rotation order",
      "id": "rotation-order"
    },
    {
      "level": "h3",
      "text": "Session stickiness (cache-friendly)",
      "id": "session-stickiness-(cache-friendly)"
    },
    {
      "level": "h3",
      "text": "Why OAuth can “look lost”",
      "id": "why-oauth-can-“look-lost”"
    },
    {
      "level": "h2",
      "text": "Cooldowns",
      "id": "cooldowns"
    },
    {
      "level": "h2",
      "text": "Billing disables",
      "id": "billing-disables"
    },
    {
      "level": "h2",
      "text": "Model fallback",
      "id": "model-fallback"
    },
    {
      "level": "h2",
      "text": "Related config",
      "id": "related-config"
    }
  ],
  "url": "llms-txt#model-failover",
  "links": []
}