| name | model-orchestrator |
| description | Intelligent model load balancer for OpenClaw crons — distributes across providers by complexity and cost. Use when optimizing model selection for crons, balancing provider load, or troubleshooting model routing. |
Model Orchestrator
Intelligent model load balancer for OpenClaw crons. Distributes crons across providers based on task complexity, provider health, quota status, and cost.
Architecture
Tier System
- Tier 1 (Simple): Runs bash scripts, reports HEARTBEAT_OK → cheapest available
- Tier 2 (Medium): Reads output, screens content, makes simple decisions → mid-tier
- Tier 3 (Complex): Strategy, analysis, creative, long context → smartest available
Provider Priority (per tier)
| Tier | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary | Emergency |
|---|
| T1 | MiniMax | Flash 3 | Kimi | (pause) |
| T2 | Flash 3 | Kimi | MiniMax | (pause) |
| T3 | Opus | Sonnet | Kimi | Flash 3 |
Provider Billing Models
IMPORTANT: Not all providers use credit-based billing. Know the model before diagnosing.
| Provider | Billing Model | "Down" Diagnosis |
|---|
| Z.ai (GLM) | Rate-limit / quota system (like Anthropic/OpenAI). $360/yr Coding Max plan. NOT credits. Error 1113 ("余额不足") = quota exhausted for current period, NOT empty balance. Resets periodically. Check dashboard: https://open.bigmodel.cn/ | |
| Anthropic | Rate-limit tiers (tokens/min, requests/min). Cooldown = temporary. | |
| OpenAI | Rate-limit tiers. Monthly spend caps optional. | |
| Google | Rate-limit per model per minute. Free tier available. | |
| MiniMax | API credits (actual balance). | |
| Kimi | Rate-limit system. | |
Rule: When a provider returns quota/limit errors, report it as "quota limit hit — resets on [date]" NOT "balance depleted / needs top-up." Check the dashboard for reset timing before recommending action.
Crisis Mode
When 2+ providers are down:
- Move ALL T1 crons to surviving cheap provider
- PAUSE T2 crons that aren't critical
- Keep only critical T3 crons running
- Log everything for recovery
Recovery
- Scrape provider dashboards for quota reset times
- Create one-shot
at crons to check recovery
- Auto-redistribute when providers come back
Files
state/cron-tiers.json — cron ID → tier mapping + metadatastate/provider-status.json — compact current provider health/quota snapshot (backward-compatible)state/provider-tracking.json — detailed provider registry: status, source, checks, quota payloads, staleness, temp-model registrystate/switches.log — audit trail of all model switchesscripts/orchestrate.sh — main orchestrator (run daily or on-demand)scripts/check-provider.sh — test a single providerscripts/scrape-quota.sh — scrape dashboards for quota info
