# Models

**Pick a model. Just one. Add more later.**

MateClaw doesn't care which LLM you use. It talks to every mainstream provider through five protocol adapters, supports 15+ cloud providers and 4 local runtimes, and lets you swap models at runtime without touching agent configuration. The only opinion MateClaw has is that you should **start with one and add more when you need them** — not configure everything on day one.

---

## What's supported

### Cloud providers

| Provider | Example models | Protocol | Notes |
|----------|---------------|----------|-------|
| **DashScope** (Alibaba) | Qwen-Max, Qwen-Plus, Qwen-Turbo, Qwen-VL, Qwen-Long | dashscope | Default out of the box |
| **DashScope (OpenAI-compatible)** | Qwen3.5-Plus, Qwen3.6-Plus, Qwen3 VL Plus, etc. (dot-versioned families) | openai | See "Two DashScope variants" below |
| **Bailian Token Plan** | Bailian token-bundle plan | dashscope | 7 seeded models; long tokens supported |
| **OpenAI** | GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini, GPT-5.5, o1, o3, o4-mini | openai | Standard OpenAI API |
| **OpenAI OAuth (ChatGPT Plus/Pro)** | GPT-4o, o3, o4-mini via subscription | openai | Browser-based OAuth — no API key |
| **Anthropic** | **Claude Opus 4.8 / 4.8 Fast** (1.5.0+), Claude 4.7, Claude 4.6 Sonnet, Claude 4.5 Haiku | anthropic | Native Messages API; both 4.8 variants support the `xhigh` thinking tier |
| **Anthropic Claude Code OAuth** | Claude Opus 4.8 / 4.7 / 4.6 via Claude Pro/Max/Team subscription | anthropic | Browser OAuth + manual-paste flow — no API key |
| **Google Gemini** _(native)_ | gemini-2.5-flash, gemini-3-pro-image-preview, gemini-2.5-flash-image | gemini | Native `generateContent` API (not OpenAI-compatible) — see "Native Gemini" below |
| **xAI / Grok** | Grok 3, Grok 4 | openai | OpenAI-compatible (base URL + API key); xAI brand icon in the UI |
| **DeepSeek** | deepseek-chat, deepseek-coder, **DeepSeek V4 flash + pro** (thinking-mode) | openai | OpenAI-compatible |
| **Kimi (Moonshot)** | moonshot-v1-8k/32k/128k | openai | OpenAI-compatible |
| **Zhipu AI** | GLM-5-Turbo, GLM-5V-Turbo, GLM-5, GLM-5.1, **GLM-5.2** | openai | OpenAI-compatible; CN + international standard endpoints plus two Coding Plan subscription endpoints |
| **Volcano Engine Agent Plan** _(1.8.0+)_ | GLM-5.2 (primary) and more | openai | OpenAI-compatible; agent-plan endpoint (`/api/plan/v3`) |
| **MiniMax** | abab6.5, abab5.5; expanded video catalog + CN endpoint | anthropic | Anthropic Messages API-compatible (endpoint `/anthropic`) |
| **SiliconFlow CN/INTL** | Routed inference across hosted models | openai | Two endpoints, OpenAI-compatible |
| **OpenCode** | Code-tuned routing | openai | OpenAI-compatible |
| **OpenRouter** | 200+ models with free tier | openai | Routes to any upstream with one key |
| **Any OpenAI-compatible** | Your own vLLM, etc. | openai | Custom base URL |

### Local runtimes

| Runtime | Example models | Protocol | Notes |
|---------|---------------|----------|-------|
| **Ollama** | Gemma 3/4, Qwen 3, Llama 3.1, DeepSeek R1, Mistral | ollama | **Auto-detected at startup** on `localhost:11434` |
| **LM Studio** | Any GGUF model | openai | OpenAI-compatible server |
| **llama.cpp** | Any GGUF model | openai | Via llama-server |
| **MLX** | Apple Silicon via mlx-lm | openai | mlx-lm's OpenAI-compatible server |

### Protocol adapters

Five protocols cover everything:

| Protocol | Used by |
|----------|---------|
| **OpenAI** | OpenAI, Kimi, DeepSeek, Zhipu, OpenRouter, LM Studio, llama.cpp, MLX |
| **Anthropic** | Claude family, MiniMax |
| **DashScope** | Qwen family |
| **Gemini** | Google Gemini family |
| **Ollama** | Locally hosted models via Ollama |

Any OpenAI-compatible service works — just point `base-url` at it.

---

## Two DashScope variants

Same `sk-` API key, **two endpoints** that ship different model families:

| Item | DashScope | DashScope (OpenAI-compatible) |
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint | `dashscope.aliyuncs.com/api/v1` (native) | `dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1` (OpenAI-compatible) |
| Protocol | DashScope native | OpenAI standard (same shape as GPT-4 / DeepSeek / Kimi) |
| Built-in web search (`enable_search`) | ✅ Supported | ❌ Not supported |
| Models | Qwen-Max / Plus / Turbo / Long, Qwen-VL, Qwen3-Max, DeepSeek-V3.2, etc. | **Dot-versioned** new families: Qwen3.5-Plus, Qwen3.6-Plus, Qwen3 VL-Plus, etc. |

**Why two providers**: Alibaba publishes the dot-versioned families (`qwen3.5-*` / `qwen3.6-*` / `qwen3-vl-*`) only on the OpenAI-compatible endpoint; the native protocol returns `400 InvalidParameter` for them. The two providers **share the same sk- key** — paste it once, it works for both.

**Which to pick**:
- Want Qwen-Max / Plus / Turbo + built-in search / DeepSeek-V3.2 → **DashScope**
- Want Qwen3.5-Plus / Qwen3.6-Plus / Qwen3 vision-language → **DashScope (OpenAI-compatible)**
- **Enable both** if you want — same key, models just appear under different cards

---

## Native Gemini

::: tip New in 1.4.0
Gemini no longer rides on an OpenAI-compatibility shim — MateClaw talks to Google's **native `generateContent` API** directly.
:::

Plenty of products bolt Gemini on as "just another OpenAI-compatible endpoint" and then hit walls around system instructions, function calling, and inline images. MateClaw speaks Gemini's own protocol instead:

- **Native chat builder** — maps `systemInstruction`, `functionCall` / `functionResponse` (tool-call turns), and inline image parts (multimodal input) correctly
- **Streaming SSE parsing** — parses Gemini's streaming response format chunk by chunk
- **JSON Schema sanitizing** — automatically strips JSON Schema keywords Gemini rejects, so tool definitions aren't refused
- **Startup liveness probe** — sends a lightweight request at startup to confirm the credentials and model are reachable

Configure it under `Settings → Models → Add Provider`, pick the **Gemini** provider, paste your API key. Example models: `gemini-2.5-flash`, `gemini-3-pro-image-preview`, `gemini-2.5-flash-image`. Image generation runs through the same native path — see [Multimodal → Image generation](./multimodal#image-generation-six-providers).

---

## Adding a provider

**A fresh MateClaw install has an empty provider list. That's deliberate.**

You don't need to see 16 providers. You need **one that works.**

`Settings → Models → Add Provider` opens a drawer with the full catalog. Local runtimes (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp, MLX — no API key required) appear first; cloud providers (DashScope, OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, etc.) follow.

Three steps:

1. **Find the row you want and click Enable** — the provider joins your main list
2. **Fill in the base URL** (pre-filled for known providers) **and paste your API key** — encrypted at rest, masked in UI
3. **Save → Test Connection** — the system sends a lightweight request and reports success or error

Close the drawer and the main list shows only the providers you've enabled. **Model picker, chat page, agent editor — every place that surfaces models, surfaces only the ones you opted in.**

::: tip Existing installs (V55 migration)
Providers already in use are **not** turned off. V55 auto-marks a provider as enabled if any of these are true:
- Has a real API key configured
- Has an OAuth token
- Has been used by a chat session in the last 30 days
- Owns the current default model

Untouched, never-used placeholder providers go back into the drawer — flip them on the next time you need them.
:::

---

## Enabling / disabling a provider

Every provider card in the main list has an **Enable / Disable** toggle. **You must enable a provider before you can use it** — that's the core product contract from v1.1.0 onward.

- **Disable** — the provider disappears from the model picker, chat page, and agent editor immediately. **Configuration is preserved**; flip it back on and everything is exactly where you left it.
- **If you disable the provider that owns the current default model**, the system automatically promotes a model on a still-enabled provider as the new default — no broken next-message.
- **Enable** — the provider reappears everywhere. If it has never had an API key set, you'll be prompted to configure it.

This separates "I have a key for this provider but I'm not using it today" from "I don't have this provider." Switching providers temporarily no longer means deleting configuration.

### ChatGPT OAuth — no API key needed

Have a ChatGPT Plus or Pro account? MateClaw can talk to OpenAI's chat endpoint through **browser-based OAuth** — log in the way you normally would, your subscription is used directly. GPT-4o, o3, and o4-mini become available immediately.

`Settings → Models → Add Provider → OpenAI OAuth`. A browser window opens. Token exchange happens on the backend; **credentials never leave your machine**.

### Device authorization grant — for remote / headless deployments

Browser-callback OAuth needs the IDP's redirect to land back on a `localhost` port that *your* browser can reach. That's fine when MateClaw runs on your laptop and breaks the moment you put it on a server, in a container, or on a host that doesn't expose a loopback socket to your client.

For those cases, OpenAI OAuth automatically switches to **Device Authorization Grant (RFC 8628)** — the same flow ChatGPT desktop and `gh auth login` use. No callback, no port mapping.

`Settings → Models → Add Provider → OpenAI OAuth` on a non-localhost host pops a dialog showing:

- A short **user code** (monospace, copyable)
- A **verification URL** at `auth.openai.com/codex/device` — open it in any browser on any device
- A live **countdown** until the device code expires (default 15 min)

Enter the user code in your browser, authorize, and the dialog closes itself the moment the backend's poll loop sees `COMPLETED`.

**How MateClaw decides which flow to use:**

| `mateclaw.oauth.openai.deployment-mode` | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| `auto` *(default)* | `localhost` / `127.0.0.1` / `::1` → browser callback; everything else → device code |
| `local` | Force browser callback (loopback server) |
| `device_code` | Force device code |
| `manual_paste` | Force the legacy paste-the-callback-URL flow |

If `local` mode can't bind a loopback port (port in use, sandbox refused), it falls through to `manual_paste` automatically.

**Backend endpoints:**

| Method | Path | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| `POST` | `/api/v1/oauth/openai/device/start` | Begin a session — returns `deviceAuthId`, `userCode`, `verificationUrl`, `intervalSeconds`, `expiresInSeconds` |
| `POST` | `/api/v1/oauth/openai/device/poll` | Poll one session by `deviceAuthId` — returns `PENDING` / `COMPLETED` / `EXPIRED` |
| `POST` | `/api/v1/oauth/openai/device/cancel` | Drop the session (e.g. user closed the dialog) |

The frontend respects the `intervalSeconds` OpenAI returns (typically 5 s); the server enforces a min poll interval (default 3 s) to keep load bounded. Expired sessions are swept every 5 minutes.

Token persistence and refresh use the **same code path** as the browser-callback flow, so once the dialog closes there's no behavioural difference.

### Anthropic Claude Code OAuth

Same pattern, same outcome: have a Claude Pro / Max / Team subscription? Sign in with the **same OAuth flow Claude Code itself uses** — no `sk-ant-…` API key required. Claude 4.7 / 4.6 / 4.5 Haiku come online through your subscription.

`Settings → Models → Add Provider → Anthropic Claude Code OAuth`. Two flows are supported:

- **Browser callback** — local install, browser pops up, you click through, token lands in MateClaw
- **MANUAL_PASTE** — for remote-server deployments where the browser can't reach the backend, you complete the auth in your local browser and paste the token in

Anti-abuse-gate compliant: Claude Code identity is injected into the system prompt, the request shape (UA / accept headers / `system` array form / `mcp_` tool-name prefixes) matches Claude Code's wire format exactly so the requests aren't rejected.

---

## Model discovery

Providers that expose a model list (OpenAI, Ollama, LM Studio, OpenRouter, etc.) support **Model Discovery** — one click and MateClaw fetches every model the provider offers.

- `Settings → Models → [provider card] → Discover Models`
- System queries the provider's `/v1/models` endpoint
- Discovered models appear with name, context window, pricing
- Add them one by one or all at once

For OpenRouter specifically, Model Discovery surfaces the **200+ free-tier models** — pick a free model and you have a working setup with zero cost.

### Custom (self-added) providers

Compatible endpoints you create via "Add provider" (vLLM / Xinference / LocalAI / gateways) enable discovery by protocol: `openai-compatible`, `dashscope-native`, `gemini-native`, and `anthropic-messages` get the **Discover models** button by default; OAuth protocols (ChatGPT OAuth, Claude Code OAuth) do not — their discovery runs through a dedicated sign-in callback, unrelated to `baseUrl`.

If the endpoint's model-listing path is not the standard `/v1/models` (e.g. a reverse proxy adds a `/openai/v1/models` prefix), override it with a `modelsPath` entry in the provider's Generate Kwargs (JSON):

```json
{ "modelsPath": "/openai/v1/models" }
```

The sibling `completionsPath` key overrides the chat-completions path (default `/v1/chat/completions`); the two are independent. If the endpoint exposes no OpenAI-style listing at all, just use "Add model" to enter model ids manually.

### Ollama auto-detection on startup

No manual configuration needed. On startup:

1. **Ping** `http://127.0.0.1:11434`
2. **Discover** — fetch pulled models via `/v1/models`
3. **Register** — add to `mate_model_config`
4. **Enable** — auto-enable matching pre-configured models
5. **Tag rewrite** — rewrites seed `:latest` tags to actual installed versions (`deepseek-r1:latest` → `deepseek-r1:7b`), no more `model not found` 404s

If Ollama isn't running, silently skipped.

::: tip Default behavior
- Models without tool support (`deepseek-r1`, `gemma*`, `phi3/4`, etc.) won't accidentally activate as default — they're blocklisted
- Models that are not callable on DashScope native protocol are auto-purged on startup; dot-versioned Qwen families now live on the DashScope (OpenAI-compatible) provider instead
- DashScope model discovery uses protocol-aware probing, skipping non-chat modalities
:::

**Pre-configured Ollama models** (disabled until discovered, then auto-enabled):

| Model | `model_name` |
|-------|-------------|
| Gemma 3 | `gemma3:latest` |
| Gemma 4 | `gemma4:latest` |
| Qwen 3 | `qwen3:latest` |
| Llama 3.1 | `llama3.1:latest` |
| DeepSeek R1 | `deepseek-r1:latest` |
| Mistral | `mistral:latest` |

Setup:

```bash
# Install Ollama from ollama.com, then:
ollama pull gemma3
ollama pull qwen3
```

Restart MateClaw. Auto-discovered, added, enabled.

---

## Database schema

### `mate_model_provider`

| Column | Purpose |
|--------|---------|
| `id` | Primary key |
| `name` | Provider identifier |
| `display_name` | Human-readable name |
| `protocol` | `dashscope` / `openai` / `ollama` / `anthropic` / `gemini` |
| `base_url` | API base URL |
| `api_key` | Encrypted API key |
| `oauth_tokens` | OAuth tokens (ChatGPT Plus/Pro) |
| `is_local` | True for local runtimes |
| `enabled` | Provider master switch — when off, hidden from every model picker; configuration is preserved (v1.1.0+) |

### `mate_model_config`

| Column | Purpose |
|--------|---------|
| `id` | Primary key |
| `provider_id` | FK to `mate_model_provider` |
| `model_name` | Actual model identifier |
| `display_name` | Human-readable name |
| `temperature` | Default temperature (0.0 – 2.0) |
| `max_tokens` | Max output tokens |
| `top_p` | Top-p sampling |
| `group_name` | UI grouping (e.g., "Reasoning", "Fast", "Vision") |
| `enabled` | Whether the model is available |

### Embedding models

No `EMBEDDING_API_KEY` env vars. Embedding models are regular rows in `mate_model_config` with `model_type='embedding'`. They show up alongside chat models in `Settings → Models`. Knowledge bases pick their embedding model from a dropdown.

::: tip New in 1.4.0 ([issue #79](https://github.com/mateaix/mateclaw/issues/79))
**Embedding models from any provider.** In the embedding section of `Settings → Models`, configure an embedding model from any provider — it **reuses that provider's API key**, so there's no separate `EMBEDDING_API_KEY`. Each knowledge base picks its embedding model from a dropdown. Keyless local proxies use a no-op placeholder key; the protocol is resolved from the provider's chat-model / protocol setting, so you never hand-enter it.
:::

### Anthropic prompt caching

System prompts, agent personas, tool definitions — automatically marked with `cache_control: ephemeral` on Anthropic-compatible endpoints. First request warms the cache, every follow-up gets a cache hit. The Dashboard tracks `cache_read_tokens` / `cache_write_tokens` daily.

### Thinking depth / `reasoning_effort`

**Which models honor this parameter**: `reasoning_effort` is only valid for the OpenAI reasoning family (`gpt-5*` / `o1*` / `o3*` / `o4*`), and only when delivered through the OpenAI or Azure-OpenAI providers. Every other provider (DeepSeek, Kimi, DashScope, Ollama, self-hosted OpenAI-compatible gateways, etc.) will either error or behave oddly if this parameter reaches them.

**Three product contracts**:

1. **Chat models that don't support chain-of-thought** ignore the front-end "deep thinking = high" selector entirely — this is a capability property, not a UI setting. The thinking-depth selector automatically grays out when the current model is not reasoning-capable.
2. **`generateKwargs.reasoningEffort` at provider level** only takes effect on whitelisted providers. Setting it on DeepSeek / Kimi / other OpenAI-compatible providers is silently dropped with a WARN log; the parameter is never sent.
3. **Failover** re-checks at egress time: if the primary is GPT-5 and the fallback is DeepSeek, `reasoning_effort` is stripped before hitting DeepSeek, so leaked primary options can't 400 the fallback.

**How to enable DeepSeek thinking**: DeepSeek's thinking mode does **not** use `reasoning_effort`.

- `deepseek-reasoner`: thinking is on by default; no config needed.
- `deepseek-chat` with thinking: follow DeepSeek's official docs and set `{"thinking": {...}}` under the provider's `generateKwargs.extra_body`. **Do not** set `reasoningEffort`.

**Kimi K2.5 thinking**: the model activates thinking natively; don't set `reasoning_effort`.

**Multi-round tool calls + thinking**: thinking-capable models (DeepSeek-Reasoner / GPT-5 / Kimi K2.5 / Xiaomi MiMo) correctly round-trip historical `reasoning_content` during ReAct multi-round tool calls. Cross-user-turn history is cleared at the boundary, in-turn history is preserved — matching DeepSeek's "pass back within a turn, reset across turns" contract.

**Xiaomi MiMo thinking-mode multi-turn fix** ([issue #189](https://github.com/mateaix/mateclaw/issues/189)): MiMo's `reasoning_content` is now kept correctly across turns in thinking mode, instead of being lost on subsequent turns.

---

## Grouped model selector

When your deployment has a lot of models configured, the chat model picker groups them by provider and tag. Searchable dropdown lets you filter by name, provider, or group — "all Qwen", "all reasoning models", "everything under 7B". Groups are defined in the `group_name` column.

Became a real thing when agents could be bound to different models per task — a reasoning model for Plan-Execute, a fast cheap model for Chat, a vision model for image understanding.

---

## Active model switching at runtime

MateClaw uses a single **active model** as the global default. Agents that don't specify their own use it.

- **UI:** `Settings → Models → [model card] → Set as Active`
- **API:** `PUT /api/v1/models/active`

Takes effect **immediately** — no restart. Next message uses the new model. In-flight conversations unaffected.

Per-agent override supported: bind a specific agent to a specific model config.

::: tip New in 1.4.0
- **Per-conversation model selection** ([issue #150](https://github.com/mateaix/mateclaw/issues/150)): in the chat UI you can switch the model for **just the current conversation**, without touching the global active model or any other conversation. See [Chat & Messaging](./chat).
- **A single bad model id no longer evicts the whole provider**: when discovery / probing hits one invalid model identifier, only that model is skipped — the rest of the provider's models stay available.
:::

---

## Per-model testing

Every model card has a **Test** button. Click it, system sends a simple prompt, shows:

- Actual response text
- Latency
- Token usage
- Any error

Use it whenever you add a new provider or suspect a stale key.

---

## Multimodal sidecar (system-wide)

::: tip Added in 1.3.0
Lets a text-only primary model still answer questions about uploaded images. See [issue #87](https://github.com/mateaix/mateclaw/issues/87).
:::

Entry point: **Settings → Models → Multimodal sidecar**. Two independent cards:

| Card | Purpose | Status |
|------|---------|--------|
| **Vision sidecar model** | Captions an uploaded image once, then hands the structured description to the primary chat model | Live |
| **Video sidecar model** | Same idea for video | Reserved (config persisted but not yet wired in v1) |

The setting stores `mate_model_config.id` rather than `model_name` — the same `model_name` can exist under multiple providers (e.g. `qwen-vl-max` lives on both DashScope and an OpenAI-Compatible custom row), so a name-keyed setting would collide. Two setting keys:

- `default.vision_model`
- `default.video_model`

The dropdown only lists models that **actually support the relevant modality** — filtered by `ModelCapabilityService.supports(...)` on the backend; disabled providers or models without a declared vision capability never appear. Each card has its own Save button, independent of the other.

When does it fire? `MultimodalRouter` ([source](https://github.com/mateaix/mateclaw/blob/main/mateclaw-server/src/main/java/vip/mate/llm/routing/MultimodalRouter.java)) decides per turn:

- Primary already supports vision → no routing (native multimodal path)
- Primary lacks vision + vision sidecar configured → SIDECAR strategy, captions to text
- Primary lacks vision + no sidecar → skip the attachment + tell the user to configure one

For the end-user flow (badge, hint above the input box) see [Chat → Primary model can't see images? "Multimodal sidecar" routing](./chat#primary-model-cant-see-images-multimodal-sidecar-routing).

---

## Multi-model failover

::: tip OpenAI was down for 30 minutes. My AI didn't stop for a second.
During the last 30-minute DashScope rate-limit hiccup, our service uptime was 100%.

Users saw their answers come through cleanly — no red error toast, no "service unavailable, please try again." **Mid-answer, mid-token**, the runtime quietly rolled to the next healthy provider. The next token after the cut landed normally.

This isn't "automatic retry" in the engineering sense. It's **failover the user can't perceive**.
:::

Every provider you add joins an `AvailableProviderPool` that's probed at startup and re-probed on config change.

- **Automatic fallback** — if the primary provider returns an `AUTH_ERROR`, `BILLING`, `MODEL_NOT_FOUND`, `NETWORK`, or `5xx`, the runtime rolls forward to the next provider in the chain instead of bubbling up the error
- **Per-agent priority** — bind an agent to "OpenAI first, then Anthropic, then DashScope" via the drag-to-reorder editor in `Settings → Models`
- **Live pool state** — green / amber / red badges show each provider's health
- **5-protocol probe** — DashScope, OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic, Gemini, Ollama-style
- **Manual reprobe + auto-reprobe on config change** — no restart after rotating a key
- **Egress sanitizer** — provider-specific options (e.g., `reasoning_effort` for OpenAI reasoning models) are stripped at egress when failing over to a provider that doesn't support them, so leaked options can't 400 the fallback
- **UI distinguishes 401 from session expiry** — provider auth errors and user session expiry now show different messages with different remediation

### Policy-driven error recovery and rate-limit-aware backoff (2.0.0+)

Failover decides *who to switch to*; 2.0.0 also makes *how each error recovers* a matter of **classification-as-policy** — every error type carries its recovery attributes (retryable, compress context, rotate, fall back), and the retry loop consumes the policy instead of scattering if-chains. The key semantics:

- **"Server overloaded" and "my key is rate-limited" are treated differently.** A new OVERLOADED class: 503/529-style **server overload** means everyone is queuing — switching providers just burns the whole chain for nothing (and single-key users have nowhere to switch) — so the right move is **back off on the same provider**; a 429 on **your own key** is what deserves a fast rotation. These used to be conflated with opposite policies.
- **When the provider says when it recovers, we believe it.** `Retry-After` / ratelimit-reset response headers used to go only to logs; they now **feed directly into backoff duration and health cooldown** — no more blind backoff against a known rate-limit window.
- **Eviction is a TTL cooldown, not a death sentence.** Providers hard-evicted for auth failures or billing now get TTL-based readmission (swap in a new key or top up the account and the system heals itself, no restart required); a provider-stated recovery time overrides the default.
- **Randomized jitter prevents retry storms.** Concurrent conversations hitting the same rate-limited provider back off with randomized jitter (±30% on the overload backoff tiers, exponential backoff plus a random component on the generic path) — no more lockstep mass retries that keep re-triggering the limit.

### Preferred provider drives the primary model (1.5.0)

Before 1.5.0, "per-agent priority" only affected the **failover order** — the primary model was still the global default. 1.5.0 makes that preference **actually decide primary-model selection**. The full precedence is:

1. **A conversation-pinned model wins** — the chat-header ModelSelector bound a model to this conversation, so it's used (see [per-conversation model selection](./chat#per-conversation-model-selection))
2. **then the per-agent model override (`modelName`)** — the employee has a model pinned on it
3. **then the global default model**
4. **only when none of those are set does preferred-provider routing kick in** — picking the preferred provider's primary model

Preferred-provider routing has a **capability gate**: if the employee's bound skills declare a need like `requires-model: vision`, routing first picks a provider that can satisfy those modalities; only if none can does it fall back unconstrained. Preferences are stored in `mate_agent_provider_preference` (ascending `sortOrder` = higher priority).

---

## Configuration via API

```bash
# List enabled providers (what the main list shows)
curl http://localhost:18088/api/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"

# List the full catalog (including disabled) — what the Add Provider drawer uses
curl http://localhost:18088/api/v1/models/catalog \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"

# Enable a provider
curl -X POST http://localhost:18088/api/v1/models/{providerId}/enable \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"

# Disable a provider (auto-switches default model if needed)
curl -X POST http://localhost:18088/api/v1/models/{providerId}/disable \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"

# Add a model configuration
curl -X POST http://localhost:18088/api/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "providerId": 1,
    "modelName": "qwen-plus",
    "displayName": "Qwen Plus",
    "temperature": 0.7,
    "maxTokens": 4096,
    "groupName": "Fast",
    "enabled": true
  }'

# Set active model
curl -X PUT http://localhost:18088/api/v1/models/active \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"providerId": "openai", "model": "gpt-4o"}'

# Discover models
curl -X POST http://localhost:18088/api/v1/models/{providerId}/discover \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"

# Test connection
curl -X POST http://localhost:18088/api/v1/models/{providerId}/test-connection \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"
```

---

## Everything goes through the UI

::: tip
**Model configuration is 100% UI-driven.** There's no `spring.ai.*` YAML you need to touch. All providers, all API keys, all model configs, all switching — it all lives in `Settings → Models`, backed by the `mate_model_provider` and `mate_model_config` database tables.
:::

The UI handles everything you'd otherwise do in YAML, plus several things YAML can't do:

- **Add a provider** — pick a type, paste a key, save. Encrypted at rest, masked in the UI.
- **Test connection** — verify a provider before you trust it in production.
- **Discover models** — for providers that support `/v1/models`, one click pulls the whole list.
- **Per-model test** — send a test prompt and see the exact response, latency, and token usage.
- **Switch active model at runtime** — no restart, no config reload, takes effect on the next message.
- **Per-agent override** — bind a specific agent to a specific model config.

LLM API keys are **no longer read from environment variables** — setting `DASHSCOPE_API_KEY` / `OPENAI_API_KEY` and similar has no effect. Every provider, key, and model lives in the UI. A fresh install starts with no providers configured; add your first one under `Settings → Models → Add Provider`.

### Reference: which Qwen model to pick

If you're on DashScope, here's the rough shape of the lineup:

| Model | Context | Best for |
|-------|---------|----------|
| `qwen-max` | 32K | Complex reasoning, analysis |
| `qwen-plus` | 32K | General-purpose |
| `qwen-turbo` | 8K | Fast responses |
| `qwen-vl-max` | 32K | Vision + language |
| `qwen-long` | 1M | Very long documents |

---

## Per-model context windows (2.1.0+)

MateClaw no longer treats every model as a global 128K window. Runtime resolution follows **operator override → live local-model probe or provider limit-error cache → built-in model catalog → the existing global fallback**. To avoid I/O, model-list rendering shows only override or catalog values; unknown models still use the caller's global default. The result budgets system prompts, memory, Wiki context, history, and tool schemas.

- known models, including GLM-5V-Turbo and Kimi coding aliases, use catalogued windows;
- custom/private models can declare an accurate maximum input-token count in model management;
- the API is `PUT /api/v1/models/{providerId}/models/context-window` with `modelId` and `maxInputTokens`; null or non-positive clears the override;
- workspace members reading provider binding choices receive only id/display name, never keys or connection settings.

The OpenAI-compatible path also preserves `integer` / `number` in tool JSON Schemas. Only non-reserved top-level `generateKwargs` entries pass through to the request body; temperature, token limits, `topP`, `reasoningEffort`, search, headers, and path keys use one consistent reserved-key reader. Unknown nested `chatOptions` keys are not forwarded, and `reasoningEffort` is sent only to explicitly supported model families.

---

## Next

- [Configuration](./config) — full config reference
- [Agents](./agents) — how agents use models
- [Admin Console](./console) — UI for model management

## Model probes and cancellation (3.0.0)

A probe requires a valid completed response; connection success or empty output does not prove model availability. Stopping generation cancels HTTP calls owned by the request and prevents subsequent failover.

## Context budgets and request preparation (3.0.0)

The native AgentScope runtime continues to call the existing Spring AI/provider adapters. `PromptBudget` estimates the effective request without changing its prompt or options, using Spring AI's native option combination to inherit defaults when runtime options are partial.

- Count messages (including structured tool-call content), effective tool callback schemas and one output reserve.
- A non-null runtime callback list replaces default callbacks; an explicitly empty list contributes no inherited tool schemas.
- Reserve the declared output maximum, including OpenAI `maxCompletionTokens`; retain a provider-specific runtime maximum as a conservative floor when generic options cannot represent it. Use the caller's fallback only when no maximum is available.
- Use long arithmetic for totals so a large output limit cannot overflow into an apparently safe request.

Initial preparation, structured-compaction retries and empty-response retries share this estimate. Summary-model calls check the same components before claiming their call budget or reaching the provider. Existing call limits, usage accounting, cancellation and Goal protections remain in force.

These are local safety estimates, not exact tokenizer or billing measurements. A provider can still reject a request, and fitting a context window does not establish that the answer is correct.