💰 Save Money on Your Bot

You're using my API keys. Let's not burn through them.

The Two Models

Sonnet is 5x cheaper and handles 90% of background tasks just fine.

Step 1: Add Sonnet to Your Config

Patch your config to include both models with prompt caching:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "models": {
        "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5": {
          "alias": "sonnet",
          "params": { "cacheRetention": "long" }
        },
        "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6": {
          "alias": "opus",
          "params": { "cacheRetention": "long" }
        }
      },
      "model": {
        "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5",
        "fallbacks": ["anthropic/claude-opus-4-6"]
      }
    }
  }
}

How to Apply

• Config patch: Use gateway(action="config.patch") with the JSON above
• Edit directly: ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (or /data/.openclaw/openclaw.json in Docker)
• Restart: docker restart <container> or kill -USR1 <pid>

Step 2: Set Cron Jobs to Sonnet

Every cron job with payload.kind: "agentTurn" accepts a model field:

{
  "payload": {
    "kind": "agentTurn",
    "message": "Your task here...",
    "model": "sonnet"
  }
}

Run on Sonnet

• Morning digests and summaries
• Reminders, alerts, notifications
• Git pushes and cleanup tasks
• Health checks and monitoring
• Data syncing and dashboard updates

Keep on Opus

• Direct conversation with you
• Complex coding and debugging
• Multi-step reasoning tasks

Step 3: Prompt Caching

The cacheRetention: "long" setting gives 1-hour prompt caching. System prompts (huge in OpenClaw) get cached instead of reprocessed every turn.

With "long" caching, you'll see cacheRead in token usage instead of input, at a 90% discount.

Step 4: Use Subagents on Sonnet

When spawning background tasks:

sessions_spawn(task="...", model="sonnet")

Runs the task on Sonnet in an isolated session. Great for research, summaries, and anything that doesn't need Opus.

Quick Checklist

• Both models in agents.defaults.models with correct IDs
• cacheRetention: "long" on both models
• All cron jobs have "model": "sonnet" in payload
• Primary model set to your preference for direct chat
• Fallback configured for redundancy

Model ID Reference

Always use these exact strings. Typos will break your bot.

anthropic/claude-opus-4-6      (alias: opus)
anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5    (alias: sonnet)