fix: respect session model override in agent runtime (#14783) (#14983)

Merged via /review-pr -> /prepare-pr -> /merge-pr.

Prepared head SHA: ec47d1a7bf4e97a5db77281567318c1565d319b5
Co-authored-by: shtse8 <8020099+shtse8@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: gumadeiras <5599352+gumadeiras@users.noreply.github.com>
Reviewed-by: @gumadeiras

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Cron: isolate scheduler errors so one bad job does not break all jobs. (#14385) Thanks @MarvinDontPanic.
 - Cron: prevent one-shot `at` jobs from re-firing on restart after skipped/errored runs. (#13878) Thanks @lailoo.
 - Heartbeat: prevent scheduler stalls on unexpected run errors and avoid immediate rerun loops after `requests-in-flight` skips. (#14901) Thanks @joeykrug.
+- Cron: honor stored session model overrides for isolated-agent runs while preserving `hooks.gmail.model` precedence for Gmail hook sessions. (#14983) Thanks @shtse8.
 - Logging/Browser: fall back to `os.tmpdir()/openclaw` for default log, browser trace, and browser download temp paths when `/tmp/openclaw` is unavailable.
 - WhatsApp: convert Markdown bold/strikethrough to WhatsApp formatting. (#14285) Thanks @Raikan10.
 - WhatsApp: allow media-only sends and normalize leading blank payloads. (#14408) Thanks @karimnaguib.

src/auto-reply/reply/model-selection.override-respected.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
+import { createModelSelectionState } from "./model-selection.js";
+
+vi.mock("../../agents/model-catalog.js", () => ({
+  loadModelCatalog: vi.fn(async () => [
+    { provider: "inferencer", id: "deepseek-v3-4bit-mlx", name: "DeepSeek V3" },
+    { provider: "kimi-coding", id: "k2p5", name: "Kimi K2.5" },
+    { provider: "anthropic", id: "claude-opus-4-5", name: "Claude Opus 4.5" },
+  ]),
+}));
+
+const defaultProvider = "inferencer";
+const defaultModel = "deepseek-v3-4bit-mlx";
+
+const makeEntry = (overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}) => ({
+  sessionId: "session-id",
+  updatedAt: Date.now(),
+  ...overrides,
+});
+
+describe("createModelSelectionState respects session model override", () => {
+  it("applies session modelOverride when set", async () => {
+    const cfg = {} as OpenClawConfig;
+    const sessionKey = "agent:main:main";
+    const sessionEntry = makeEntry({
+      providerOverride: "kimi-coding",
+      modelOverride: "k2p5",
+    });
+    const sessionStore = { [sessionKey]: sessionEntry };
+
+    const state = await createModelSelectionState({
+      cfg,
+      agentCfg: undefined,
+      sessionEntry,
+      sessionStore,
+      sessionKey,
+      defaultProvider,
+      defaultModel,
+      provider: defaultProvider,
+      model: defaultModel,
+      hasModelDirective: false,
+    });
+
+    expect(state.provider).toBe("kimi-coding");
+    expect(state.model).toBe("k2p5");
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to default when no modelOverride is set", async () => {
+    const cfg = {} as OpenClawConfig;
+    const sessionKey = "agent:main:main";
+    const sessionEntry = makeEntry();
+    const sessionStore = { [sessionKey]: sessionEntry };
+
+    const state = await createModelSelectionState({
+      cfg,
+      agentCfg: undefined,
+      sessionEntry,
+      sessionStore,
+      sessionKey,
+      defaultProvider,
+      defaultModel,
+      provider: defaultProvider,
+      model: defaultModel,
+      hasModelDirective: false,
+    });
+
+    expect(state.provider).toBe(defaultProvider);
+    expect(state.model).toBe(defaultModel);
+  });
+
+  it("respects modelOverride even when session model field differs", async () => {
+    // This tests the scenario from issue #14783: user switches model via /model,
+    // the override is stored, but session.model still reflects the last-used
+    // fallback model. The override should take precedence.
+    const cfg = {} as OpenClawConfig;
+    const sessionKey = "agent:main:main";
+    const sessionEntry = makeEntry({
+      // Last-used model (from fallback) - should NOT be used for selection
+      model: "k2p5",
+      modelProvider: "kimi-coding",
+      contextTokens: 262_000,
+      // User's explicit override - SHOULD be used
+      providerOverride: "anthropic",
+      modelOverride: "claude-opus-4-5",
+    });
+    const sessionStore = { [sessionKey]: sessionEntry };
+
+    const state = await createModelSelectionState({
+      cfg,
+      agentCfg: undefined,
+      sessionEntry,
+      sessionStore,
+      sessionKey,
+      defaultProvider,
+      defaultModel,
+      provider: defaultProvider,
+      model: defaultModel,
+      hasModelDirective: false,
+    });
+
+    // Should use the override, not the last-used model
+    expect(state.provider).toBe("anthropic");
+    expect(state.model).toBe("claude-opus-4-5");
+  });
+
+  it("uses default provider when providerOverride is not set but modelOverride is", async () => {
+    const cfg = {} as OpenClawConfig;
+    const sessionKey = "agent:main:main";
+    const sessionEntry = makeEntry({
+      modelOverride: "deepseek-v3-4bit-mlx",
+      // no providerOverride
+    });
+    const sessionStore = { [sessionKey]: sessionEntry };
+
+    const state = await createModelSelectionState({
+      cfg,
+      agentCfg: undefined,
+      sessionEntry,
+      sessionStore,
+      sessionKey,
+      defaultProvider,
+      defaultModel,
+      provider: defaultProvider,
+      model: defaultModel,
+      hasModelDirective: false,
+    });
+
+    expect(state.provider).toBe(defaultProvider);
+    expect(state.model).toBe("deepseek-v3-4bit-mlx");
+  });
+});

src/cron/isolated-agent.uses-last-non-empty-agent-text-as.test.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,10 @@ async function withTempHome<T>(fn: (home: string) => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
   return withTempHomeBase(fn, { prefix: "openclaw-cron-" });
 }
 
-async function writeSessionStore(home: string) {
+async function writeSessionStore(
+  home: string,
+  entries: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> = {},
+) {
   const dir = path.join(home, ".openclaw", "sessions");
   await fs.mkdir(dir, { recursive: true });
   const storePath = path.join(dir, "sessions.json");
@@ -37,6 +40,7 @@ async function writeSessionStore(home: string) {
           lastProvider: "webchat",
           lastTo: "",
         },
+        ...entries,
       },
       null,
       2,
@@ -294,6 +298,99 @@ describe("runCronIsolatedAgentTurn", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("uses stored session override when no job model override is provided", async () => {
+    await withTempHome(async (home) => {
+      const storePath = await writeSessionStore(home, {
+        "agent:main:cron:job-1": {
+          sessionId: "existing-cron-session",
+          updatedAt: Date.now(),
+          providerOverride: "openai",
+          modelOverride: "gpt-4.1-mini",
+        },
+      });
+      const deps: CliDeps = {
+        sendMessageWhatsApp: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageTelegram: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageDiscord: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageSignal: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageIMessage: vi.fn(),
+      };
+      vi.mocked(runEmbeddedPiAgent).mockResolvedValue({
+        payloads: [{ text: "ok" }],
+        meta: {
+          durationMs: 5,
+          agentMeta: { sessionId: "s", provider: "p", model: "m" },
+        },
+      });
+
+      const res = await runCronIsolatedAgentTurn({
+        cfg: makeCfg(home, storePath),
+        deps,
+        job: makeJob({ kind: "agentTurn", message: "do it", deliver: false }),
+        message: "do it",
+        sessionKey: "cron:job-1",
+        lane: "cron",
+      });
+
+      expect(res.status).toBe("ok");
+      const call = vi.mocked(runEmbeddedPiAgent).mock.calls[0]?.[0] as {
+        provider?: string;
+        model?: string;
+      };
+      expect(call?.provider).toBe("openai");
+      expect(call?.model).toBe("gpt-4.1-mini");
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("prefers job model override over stored session override", async () => {
+    await withTempHome(async (home) => {
+      const storePath = await writeSessionStore(home, {
+        "agent:main:cron:job-1": {
+          sessionId: "existing-cron-session",
+          updatedAt: Date.now(),
+          providerOverride: "openai",
+          modelOverride: "gpt-4.1-mini",
+        },
+      });
+      const deps: CliDeps = {
+        sendMessageWhatsApp: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageTelegram: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageDiscord: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageSignal: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageIMessage: vi.fn(),
+      };
+      vi.mocked(runEmbeddedPiAgent).mockResolvedValue({
+        payloads: [{ text: "ok" }],
+        meta: {
+          durationMs: 5,
+          agentMeta: { sessionId: "s", provider: "p", model: "m" },
+        },
+      });
+
+      const res = await runCronIsolatedAgentTurn({
+        cfg: makeCfg(home, storePath),
+        deps,
+        job: makeJob({
+          kind: "agentTurn",
+          message: "do it",
+          model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5",
+          deliver: false,
+        }),
+        message: "do it",
+        sessionKey: "cron:job-1",
+        lane: "cron",
+      });
+
+      expect(res.status).toBe("ok");
+      const call = vi.mocked(runEmbeddedPiAgent).mock.calls[0]?.[0] as {
+        provider?: string;
+        model?: string;
+      };
+      expect(call?.provider).toBe("anthropic");
+      expect(call?.model).toBe("claude-opus-4-5");
+    });
+  });
+
   it("uses hooks.gmail.model for Gmail hook sessions", async () => {
     await withTempHome(async (home) => {
       const storePath = await writeSessionStore(home);
@@ -337,6 +434,56 @@ describe("runCronIsolatedAgentTurn", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("keeps hooks.gmail.model precedence over stored session override", async () => {
+    await withTempHome(async (home) => {
+      const storePath = await writeSessionStore(home, {
+        "agent:main:hook:gmail:msg-1": {
+          sessionId: "existing-gmail-session",
+          updatedAt: Date.now(),
+          providerOverride: "anthropic",
+          modelOverride: "claude-opus-4-5",
+        },
+      });
+      const deps: CliDeps = {
+        sendMessageWhatsApp: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageTelegram: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageDiscord: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageSignal: vi.fn(),
+        sendMessageIMessage: vi.fn(),
+      };
+      vi.mocked(runEmbeddedPiAgent).mockResolvedValue({
+        payloads: [{ text: "ok" }],
+        meta: {
+          durationMs: 5,
+          agentMeta: { sessionId: "s", provider: "p", model: "m" },
+        },
+      });
+
+      const res = await runCronIsolatedAgentTurn({
+        cfg: makeCfg(home, storePath, {
+          hooks: {
+            gmail: {
+              model: "openrouter/meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b:free",
+            },
+          },
+        }),
+        deps,
+        job: makeJob({ kind: "agentTurn", message: "do it", deliver: false }),
+        message: "do it",
+        sessionKey: "hook:gmail:msg-1",
+        lane: "cron",
+      });
+
+      expect(res.status).toBe("ok");
+      const call = vi.mocked(runEmbeddedPiAgent).mock.calls[0]?.[0] as {
+        provider?: string;
+        model?: string;
+      };
+      expect(call?.provider).toBe("openrouter");
+      expect(call?.model).toBe("meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b:free");
+    });
+  });
+
   it("wraps external hook content by default", async () => {
     await withTempHome(async (home) => {
       const storePath = await writeSessionStore(home);

src/cron/isolated-agent/run.ts

@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@ export async function runCronIsolatedAgentTurn(params: {
   };
   // Resolve model - prefer hooks.gmail.model for Gmail hooks.
   const isGmailHook = baseSessionKey.startsWith("hook:gmail:");
+  let hooksGmailModelApplied = false;
   const hooksGmailModelRef = isGmailHook
     ? resolveHooksGmailModel({
         cfg: params.cfg,
@@ -190,6 +191,7 @@ export async function runCronIsolatedAgentTurn(params: {
     if (status.allowed) {
       provider = hooksGmailModelRef.provider;
       model = hooksGmailModelRef.model;
+      hooksGmailModelApplied = true;
     }
   }
   const modelOverrideRaw =
@@ -247,6 +249,28 @@ export async function runCronIsolatedAgentTurn(params: {
     cronSession.sessionEntry.label = `Cron: ${labelSuffix}`;
   }
 
+  // Respect session model override — check session.modelOverride before falling
+  // back to the default config model. This ensures /model changes are honoured
+  // by cron and isolated agent runs.
+  if (!modelOverride && !hooksGmailModelApplied) {
+    const sessionModelOverride = cronSession.sessionEntry.modelOverride?.trim();
+    if (sessionModelOverride) {
+      const sessionProviderOverride =
+        cronSession.sessionEntry.providerOverride?.trim() || resolvedDefault.provider;
+      const resolvedSessionOverride = resolveAllowedModelRef({
+        cfg: cfgWithAgentDefaults,
+        catalog: await loadCatalog(),
+        raw: `${sessionProviderOverride}/${sessionModelOverride}`,
+        defaultProvider: resolvedDefault.provider,
+        defaultModel: resolvedDefault.model,
+      });
+      if (!("error" in resolvedSessionOverride)) {
+        provider = resolvedSessionOverride.ref.provider;
+        model = resolvedSessionOverride.ref.model;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   // Resolve thinking level - job thinking > hooks.gmail.thinking > agent default
   const hooksGmailThinking = isGmailHook
     ? normalizeThinkLevel(params.cfg.hooks?.gmail?.thinking)

src/cron/isolated-agent/session.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
+
+vi.mock("../../config/sessions.js", () => ({
+  loadSessionStore: vi.fn(),
+  resolveStorePath: vi.fn().mockReturnValue("/tmp/test-store.json"),
+}));
+
+import { loadSessionStore } from "../../config/sessions.js";
+import { resolveCronSession } from "./session.js";
+
+describe("resolveCronSession", () => {
+  it("preserves modelOverride and providerOverride from existing session entry", () => {
+    vi.mocked(loadSessionStore).mockReturnValue({
+      "agent:main:cron:test-job": {
+        sessionId: "old-session-id",
+        updatedAt: 1000,
+        modelOverride: "deepseek-v3-4bit-mlx",
+        providerOverride: "inferencer",
+        thinkingLevel: "high",
+        model: "k2p5",
+      },
+    });
+
+    const result = resolveCronSession({
+      cfg: {} as OpenClawConfig,
+      sessionKey: "agent:main:cron:test-job",
+      agentId: "main",
+      nowMs: Date.now(),
+    });
+
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.modelOverride).toBe("deepseek-v3-4bit-mlx");
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.providerOverride).toBe("inferencer");
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.thinkingLevel).toBe("high");
+    // The model field (last-used model) should also be preserved
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.model).toBe("k2p5");
+  });
+
+  it("handles missing modelOverride gracefully", () => {
+    vi.mocked(loadSessionStore).mockReturnValue({
+      "agent:main:cron:test-job": {
+        sessionId: "old-session-id",
+        updatedAt: 1000,
+        model: "claude-opus-4-5",
+      },
+    });
+
+    const result = resolveCronSession({
+      cfg: {} as OpenClawConfig,
+      sessionKey: "agent:main:cron:test-job",
+      agentId: "main",
+      nowMs: Date.now(),
+    });
+
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.modelOverride).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.providerOverride).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("handles no existing session entry", () => {
+    vi.mocked(loadSessionStore).mockReturnValue({});
+
+    const result = resolveCronSession({
+      cfg: {} as OpenClawConfig,
+      sessionKey: "agent:main:cron:new-job",
+      agentId: "main",
+      nowMs: Date.now(),
+    });
+
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.modelOverride).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.providerOverride).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result.sessionEntry.model).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});

src/cron/isolated-agent/session.ts

@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ export function resolveCronSession(params: {
     thinkingLevel: entry?.thinkingLevel,
     verboseLevel: entry?.verboseLevel,
     model: entry?.model,
+    modelOverride: entry?.modelOverride,
+    providerOverride: entry?.providerOverride,
     contextTokens: entry?.contextTokens,
     sendPolicy: entry?.sendPolicy,
     lastChannel: entry?.lastChannel,