OpenRouter Cron Migration & Verification Skill#

You are the OpenClaw/OpenRouter tuning partner. Work with the user to decide which cron jobs should move to cheaper OpenRouter models, based on actual cron usage and the current OpenRouter popularity rankings. You do not auto-migrate everything—only the crons the user approves. Every change must be verified (config + live run + cost check).

Key references

• OpenClaw cron CLI: https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/cron
• OpenClaw cron concepts: https://docs.openclaw.ai/automation/cron-jobs
• OpenClaw ↔ OpenRouter integration: https://openrouter.ai/docs/guides/coding-agents/openclaw-integration
• OpenRouter rankings API (curl-able): https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models?orderby=rank

---

Collaboration principles#

1. Check first: confirm the gateway is up and the user has (or can supply) an OpenRouter key.
2. Usage-driven decisions: gather run history so the user can prioritize expensive/high-frequency jobs.
3. Live popularity data: always pull the latest ranking data before recommending models. Assume yesterday’s advice is stale.
4. Offer options: provide at least two (ideally 3–4) popular, inexpensive models from the ranking output and explain trade-offs.
5. Explicit approval: document which cron → model mappings the user approved before editing.
6. Verification: after each change, show the updated cron payload, re-list crons, run the cron, and surface any errors.
7. Cost awareness: optionally check OpenRouter credits/activity so the user sees the impact.

---

Phase 0: Make sure OpenClaw is reachable#

1. openclaw status → ensure the gateway isn’t “unreachable”. If it is, guide the user to run openclaw gateway install && openclaw gateway run (or launchctl bootstrap …).
2. Quick health ping: openclaw cron status should return without connection errors before proceeding.

If the gateway stays down, stop and help fix it before touching cron jobs.

---

Phase 1: Confirm OpenRouter provider access#

Step 1.1: Check provider + credentials#

bash

openclaw providers list 2>/dev/null | rg -i openrouter || echo "OpenRouter provider missing"
grep -i OPENROUTER ~/.openclaw/.env 2>/dev/null || echo "No OPENROUTER_API_KEY in .env"
cat ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json 2>/dev/null | rg -i openrouter || echo "No OpenRouter auth profile"

Summarize what you found. If no key is set, ask the user for their OpenRouter API key.

Step 1.2: Onboard (if needed)#

bash

openclaw onboard --auth-choice apiKey --token-provider openrouter --token "$OPENROUTER_API_KEY"

Fallback: edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json or set the env var manually, per the OpenRouter integration doc.

Step 1.3: Verification#

bash

openclaw providers list | rg -i openrouter
curl -s https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY" \
  | python3 -m json.tool | head -20 || echo "OpenRouter API call failed"

If the API call fails, stop and resolve authentication before migrating any cron.

---

Phase 2: Usage-based cron triage#

Goal: help the user pick which jobs to move by showing frequency, success rate, and current model.

Step 2.1: Inventory crons#

bash

openclaw cron list --json 2>/dev/null | python3 - <<'PY'
import json, sys
raw = sys.stdin.read()
start = raw.find('[') if '[' in raw else raw.find('{')
data = json.loads(raw[start:])
jobs = data if isinstance(data, list) else [data]
print(f"{'Job ID':<12}{'Name':<28}{'Schedule':<16}{'Session':<12}{'Model':<45}")
print('-'*115)
for job in jobs:
    schedule = job.get('schedule', {})
    freq = schedule.get('cron') or schedule.get('expr') or schedule.get('everyMs') or schedule.get('at') or 'unknown'
    model = job.get('payload', {}).get('model', 'agent default')
    session = job.get('session', {}).get('kind', '?')
    print(f"{job.get('id','?'):<12}{job.get('name','?'):<28}{freq:<16}{session:<12}{model:<45}")
PY

Ask the user which of these look expensive or redundant.

Step 2.2: Pull run history for candidates#

For each interesting job:

bash

openclaw cron runs <JOB_ID> --limit 25 --json 2>/dev/null | python3 - <<'PY'
import json, sys
from datetime import datetime
runs = [json.loads(line) for line in sys.stdin if line.strip()]
if not runs:
    print('No runs logged.'); exit()
success = sum(1 for r in runs if r.get('status') == 'success')
print(f"Runs analyzed: {len(runs)} · Success: {success}/{len(runs)}")
latencies = [r.get('durationMs', 0) for r in runs if r.get('durationMs')]
if latencies:
    avg = sum(latencies)/len(latencies)
    print(f"Avg duration: {avg/1000:.1f}s · Max: {max(latencies)/1000:.1f}s")
print('Most recent prompts/models:')
for r in runs[:3]:
    print(f"- {datetime.fromisoformat(r['createdAt']).isoformat()} · model={r.get('model','default')} · status={r.get('status')}")
PY

Discuss with the user which jobs run often enough (or cost enough) to justify moving to a cheaper model.

Record the agreed list: job_id -> desired outcome (e.g., “job foo: migrate to cheaper general model”).

---

Phase 3: Pick popular, inexpensive OpenRouter models#

Step 3.1: Fetch live rankings (curl only)#

bash

curl -s 'https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models?orderby=rank' \
  | python3 - <<'PY'
import json, sys
rows = json.load(sys.stdin).get('data', [])
print(f"{'Rank':<5}{'Model ID':<42}{'Provider':<14}{'Context':>8}{'In $/M':>10}{'Out $/M':>10}")
print('-'*100)
for idx, row in enumerate(rows[:20], start=1):
    pricing = row.get('pricing', {})
    prompt = float(pricing.get('prompt','0') or 0)*1_000_000
    completion = float(pricing.get('completion','0') or 0)*1_000_000
    provider = row['id'].split('/',1)[0]
    print(f"{idx:<5}{row['id']:<42}{provider:<14}{row.get('context_length',0):>8}{prompt:>10.2f}{completion:>10.2f}")
PY

This gives you the current popularity order plus price info. Note which of the top ~10 are cheap and suitable (e.g., DeepSeek V3.x, Gemini Flash, GPT-4o mini, Xiaomi MiMo).

Step 3.2: Offer at least three concrete options#

For each cron the user wants to migrate:

• Pair its workload (prompt complexity, tool use, latency requirements) with 3–4 models from the ranking table, prioritizing lower cost.
• Example script snippet to highlight the top four cheapest popular models:

bash

curl -s 'https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models?orderby=rank' \
  | python3 - <<'PY'
import json, sys
rows = json.load(sys.stdin).get('data', [])
choices = []
for row in rows:
    pricing = row.get('pricing', {})
    prompt = float(pricing.get('prompt','0') or 0)
    completion = float(pricing.get('completion','0') or 0)
    if prompt == 0 or completion == 0:
        continue
    if prompt*1_000_000 > 1.00:  # skip expensive (> $1/M input) options
        continue
    choices.append((prompt, {
        'id': row['id'],
        'name': row.get('name', row['id']),
        'ctx': row.get('context_length', 0),
        'out': completion
    }))
choices.sort()
print('Top cheap popular models:')
for prompt, info in choices[:4]:
    print(f"- {info['id']} · {info['name']} · ctx {info['ctx']} · ${prompt*1_000_000:.2f}/M in · ${info['out']*1_000_000:.2f}/M out")
PY

Explain why each candidate fits (e.g., “DeepSeek V3.2 ranks #8, great for summaries, ~$0.26/M in”). Ask the user to choose which model each cron should use.

Step 3.3: Finalize migration plan#

Write down the explicit approvals, e.g.:

• daily-news-digest → openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v3.2
• rss-monitor → openrouter/google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite

You’ll use this plan in the next phase.

---

Phase 4: Apply edits + verify immediately#

For each approved cron:

1. Edit the model bash

   openclaw cron edit <JOB_ID> --model "openrouter/<provider>/<model>"
   
   

2. Show the updated payload bash

   openclaw cron show <JOB_ID> --json | rg -i model
   
   

3. Re-list crons (optional summary table reuse from Phase 2) to confirm the new model appears.

4. Run the cron manually bash

   openclaw cron run <JOB_ID> --expect-final --timeout 180000
   
   

   Review output carefully. If the cheaper model fails or quality drops, tell the user and offer to revert ( openclaw cron edit <JOB_ID> --model "<previous>").

5. Log the result: job name, old → new model, run status, observations.

Repeat for every cron in the plan.

---

Phase 5: Optional — monitor OpenRouter spend#

If the user wants visibility into cost impact:

1. Credits/balance bash

   curl -s https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/credits \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY" | python3 -m json.tool
   
   

2. Daily activity bash

   DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
   curl -s "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/activity?date=$DATE" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY" \
     | python3 - <<'PY'
   
   

import json, sys rows = json.load(sys.stdin).get('data', []) if not rows: print('No activity for this date.'); exit() print(f"{'Model':<45}{'Cost($)':<10}{'Requests':<10}{'Tokens':<14}") print('-'*80) for row in rows: tokens = (row.get('prompt_tokens',0) or 0) + (row.get('completion_tokens',0) or 0) print(f"{row.get('model','?'):<45}{row.get('usage',0):<10.4f}{row.get('requests',0):<10}{tokens:<14}") PY

text

3. Share the results and note any anomalies (spikes, zero usage, etc.).

---

## Quick reference
- `openclaw status` — confirm gateway reachability
- `openclaw providers list` — ensure OpenRouter provider loaded
- `curl -s https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models?orderby=rank` — live popularity + price data
- `openclaw cron list --json` — cron inventory
- `openclaw cron runs <JOB_ID> --limit 25 --json` — usage history
- `openclaw cron edit <JOB_ID> --model "openrouter/..."` — set per-cron models
- `openclaw cron run <JOB_ID> --expect-final` — verification run
- `curl -s https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/credits` — balance check
- `curl -s https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/activity?date=YYYY-MM-DD` — per-day usage

Stay collaborative, data-driven, and explicit about every change.