FreeRide (Prefix Fix) - Free AI for OpenClaw#

📌 This is a community fork of the original FreeRide by Shaishav Pidadi.

What's fixed: Model ID prefix routing in the format_model_for_openclaw() function. The original skill wrote fallback model IDs without the openrouter/ routing prefix, causing OpenClaw to fail with "Unknown model" errors. This fork ensures all specific models are prefixed with openrouter/ while preserving the openrouter/free smart router ID.

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#

1. OPENROUTER_API_KEY is set: bash

   export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..."
   # Or persist it:
   openclaw config set env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY "sk-or-v1-..."
   
   

2. The freeride-fix CLI is installed: bash

   cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride-prefix-fix
   pip install -e .
   
   

Primary Workflow#

bash

# Step 1: Configure best free model + fallbacks
freeride-fix auto

# Step 2: Restart gateway
openclaw gateway restart

Commands Reference#

CommandWhen to use itfreeride-fix autoAuto-select best free model (most common)freeride-fix auto -fAdd fallbacks only, keep current primaryfreeride-fix auto -c 10More fallbacks (default: 5)freeride-fix listList available free modelsfreeride-fix list -n 30Show more modelsfreeride-fix switch <model>Switch to a specific modelfreeride-fix switch <model> -fAdd as fallback onlyfreeride-fix statusCheck current configfreeride-fix fallbacksUpdate fallback modelsfreeride-fix refreshRefresh model cache

After any config change, run openclaw gateway restart.

The Bug That Was Fixed#

Before (broken):

json

{
  "primary": "openrouter/qwen/qwen3.6-plus-preview:free",  // ✅ had prefix
  "fallbacks": [
    "openrouter/free",                      // ✅ smart router (ID includes prefix)
    "nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free"  // ❌ missing openrouter/ prefix!
  ]
}

After (fixed):

json

{
  "primary": "openrouter/qwen/qwen3.6-plus-preview:free",  // ✅
  "fallbacks": [
    "openrouter/free",                      // ✅ preserved (no double-prefix)
    "openrouter/nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free"  // ✅ correct routing prefix
  ]
}

Code Change (main.py format_model_for_openclaw)#

Original (buggy):

python

if with_provider_prefix:
    return f"openrouter/{base_id}"
return base_id  # ❌ fallbacks get NO prefix → "Unknown model" error

Fixed:

python

# openrouter/free is already a fully-qualified router ID, don't double-prefix
if model_id in ("openrouter/free", "openrouter/free:free"):
    return "openrouter/free"

# All other specific models need the routing prefix
# Remove existing prefix first, normalize, then add it back
if base_id.startswith("openrouter/"):
    base_id = base_id[len("openrouter/"):]
if append_free and ":free" not in base_id:
    base_id = f"{base_id}:free"

return f"openrouter/{base_id}"  # ✅ always prefixed (except smart router)

Troubleshooting#

ProblemFixfreeride-fix: command not found``cd skills/free-ride-prefix-fix && pip install -e .``OPENROUTER_API_KEY not setGet a free key at https://openrouter.ai/keysChanges not taking effectopenclaw gateway restart then /new

Attribution#

• Original author: Shaishav Pidadi ( FreeRide)
• License: MIT (unchanged from original)
• Fix by: rongtianhua (2026-04-01)