---
name: freeride
description: Manages free AI models from OpenRouter for OpenClaw. Automatically ranks models by quality, configures fallbacks for rate-limit handling, and updates openclaw.json. Use when the user mentions free AI, OpenRouter, model switching, rate limits, or wants to reduce AI costs.
---
# FreeRide - Free AI for OpenClaw
## What This Skill Does
Configures OpenClaw to use **free** AI models from OpenRouter. Sets the best free model as primary, adds ranked fallbacks so rate limits don't interrupt the user, and preserves existing config.
## Prerequisites
Before running any FreeRide command, ensure:
1. **OPENROUTER_API_KEY is set.** Check with `echo $OPENROUTER_API_KEY`. If empty, the user must get a free key at https://openrouter.ai/keys and set it:
```bash
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..."
# Or persist it:
openclaw config set env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY "sk-or-v1-..."
```
2. **The `freeride` CLI is installed.** Check with `which freeride`. If not found:
```bash
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride
pip install -e .
```
## Primary Workflow
When the user wants free AI, run these steps in order:
```bash
# Step 1: Configure best free model + fallbacks
freeride auto
# Step 2: Restart gateway so OpenClaw picks up the changes
openclaw gateway restart
```
That's it. The user now has free AI with automatic fallback switching.
Verify by telling the user to send `/status` to check the active model.
## Commands Reference
| Command | When to use it |
|---------|----------------|
| `freeride auto` | User wants free AI set up (most common) |
| `freeride auto -f` | User wants fallbacks but wants to keep their current primary model |
| `freeride auto -c 10` | User wants more fallbacks (default is 5) |
| `freeride list` | User wants to see available free models |
| `freeride list -n 30` | User wants to see all free models |
| `freeride switch <model>` | User wants a specific model (e.g. `freeride switch qwen3-coder`) |
| `freeride switch <model> -f` | Add specific model as fallback only |
| `freeride status` | Check current FreeRide configuration |
| `freeride fallbacks` | Update only the fallback models |
| `freeride refresh` | Force refresh the cached model list |
**After any command that changes config, always run `openclaw gateway restart`.**
## What It Writes to Config
FreeRide updates only these keys in `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`:
- `agents.defaults.model.primary` — e.g. `openrouter/qwen/qwen3-coder:free`
- `agents.defaults.model.fallbacks` — e.g. `["openrouter/free", "nvidia/nemotron:free", ...]`
- `agents.defaults.models` — allowlist so `/model` command shows the free models
Everything else (gateway, channels, plugins, env, customInstructions, named agents) is preserved.
The first fallback is always `openrouter/free` — OpenRouter's smart router that auto-picks the best available model based on the request.
## Watcher (Optional)
For auto-rotation when rate limited, the user can run:
```bash
freeride-watcher --daemon # Continuous monitoring
freeride-watcher --rotate # Force rotate now
freeride-watcher --status # Check rotation history
```
## Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---------|-----|
| `freeride: command not found` | `cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride && pip install -e .` |
| `OPENROUTER_API_KEY not set` | User needs a key from https://openrouter.ai/keys |
| Changes not taking effect | `openclaw gateway restart` then `/new` for fresh session |
| Agent shows 0 tokens | Check `freeride status` — primary should be `openrouter/<provider>/<model>:free` |
