freeride
Manages free AI models from OpenRouter for OpenClaw. Automatically ranks models by quality, configures fallbacks for rate-limit handling, and updates openclaw.json. Use when the user mentions free AI, OpenRouter, model switching, rate limits, or wants to reduce AI costs.
npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill free-ride --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# FreeRide - Free AI for OpenClaw ## 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 Before running any FreeRide command, ensure: 1. **OPENROUTER_API_KEY is set.** Check with `echo $OPENROUTER_API_KEY`. If empty, the user must get a free key at https://openrouter.ai/keys and set it: ```bash export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..." # Or persist it: openclaw config set env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY "sk-or-v1-..." ``` 2. **The `freeride` CLI is installed.** Check with `which freeride`. If not found: ```bash cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride pip install -e . ``` ## Primary Workflow When the user wants free AI, run these steps in order: ```bash # Step 1: Configure best free model + fallbacks freeride auto # Step 2: Restart gateway so OpenClaw picks up the changes openclaw gateway restart ``` That's it. The user now has free AI with automatic fallback switching. Verify by telling the user to send `/status` to check the active model. ## Commands Reference | Command | When to use it | |---------|------------
- What This Skill Does
- Prerequisites
- Primary Workflow
- Commands Reference
- What It Writes to Config
- Watcher (Optional)
- Troubleshooting
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..." openclaw config set env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY "sk-or-v1-..." cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride pip install -e . Step 1: Configure best free model + fallbacks freeride auto Step 2: Restart gateway so OpenClaw picks up the changes openclaw gateway restart freeride-watcher --daemon # Continuous monitoring freeride-watcher --rotate # Force rotate now
What does the freeride skill do?
Manages free AI models from OpenRouter for OpenClaw. Automatically ranks models by quality, configures fallbacks for rate-limit handling, and updates openclaw.json. Use when the user mentions free AI, OpenRouter, model switching, rate limits, or wants to reduce AI costs.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill free-ride --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From majiayu000/claude-skill-registry, a repository with 534 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.