Piramilan Suthesakumaran

Full-Stack & AI Engineer

Published March 13, 2026Updated March 13, 20261 min readBy Piramilan Suthesakumaran

How to Find All Enabled Fallback Models in OpenClaw

Use the dedicated fallbacks list command plus full model status so you can see the chain that OpenClaw will actually try at runtime.

When fallback behavior gets confusing, the fix is to inspect the active chain directly. OpenClaw exposes that chain through both the fallbacks list command and the richer status view.

Quick answer

Run openclaw models fallbacks list for the short answer and openclaw models status for the full resolved model state.

Command line steps

1. List just the fallback chain

This is the fastest way to answer 'what are my backup models right now?'

Command

BASH

$openclaw models fallbacks list

2. Inspect the full model resolver

Status shows the primary, the fallbacks, and whether auth is missing for any configured provider.

Command

BASH

$openclaw models status

3. Probe if you suspect stale auth

A fallback is only useful if the provider behind it is still reachable.

Command

BASH

$openclaw models status --probe

What to check if it still fails

  • If the fallback list is empty, you do not have backups configured yet. Add them with openclaw models fallbacks add <provider/model>.
  • If probe reports missing auth, fix the provider credentials before you trust the fallback chain.
  • If a model was selected in chat but is not in the allowlist, /model status and openclaw models status will disagree until you fix the config.

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