Switch a Worker's LLM model using the hiclaw CLI. The controller handles all details: model parameter resolution, openclaw.json generation, storage push, and container recreation.
Usage
hiclaw update worker --name <WORKER_NAME> --model <MODEL_ID>
Examples:
hiclaw update worker --name alice --model claude-sonnet-4-6
hiclaw update worker --name alice --model deepseek-chat
What happens
The controller automatically:
- Updates the Worker CR's
spec.model - Resolves model parameters (contextWindow, maxTokens, reasoning, input modalities) from its built-in model registry
- Regenerates
openclaw.jsonand pushes it to storage - Recreates the Worker container
You do NOT need to specify context window, reasoning, or any model parameters — the controller knows them.
On success
The CLI prints worker/<name> configured. The controller reconciles the change automatically. No manual restart is needed.
On failure
Report the CLI error output to the human admin. Common causes:
- Worker name does not exist
- Controller API is unreachable
Unknown models
If the admin requests a model not in the controller's built-in registry, the controller uses safe defaults (contextWindow=150000, maxTokens=128000, reasoning=true, input=["text"]). If the admin needs specific parameters for an unknown model, they should update the controller's model registry rather than overriding at the skill level.