fix: skip model selection prompt, default to openrouter/auto (#2322)

New users don't know what LLM models are — prompting them to pick one
with no context is confusing and openrouter/auto can route to weak
models. Remove the interactive model prompt entirely; agents use their
modelDefault silently (or MODEL_ID env var for power users).

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

packages/cli/src/__tests__/do-snapshot.test.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import { afterAll, afterEach, describe, expect, it, mock } from "bun:test";
 
 mock.module("../shared/oauth", () => ({
   getOrPromptApiKey: mock(() => Promise.resolve("sk-test")),
-  getModelIdInteractive: mock(() => Promise.resolve("openrouter/auto")),
 }));
 
 // ── Import under test ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────

packages/cli/src/__tests__/junie-agent.test.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ beforeEach(() => {
 
 mock.module("../shared/oauth", () => ({
   getOrPromptApiKey: mock(() => Promise.resolve("sk-or-v1-test-key")),
-  getModelIdInteractive: mock(() => Promise.resolve("openrouter/auto")),
 }));
 
 // ── Import module under test ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

packages/cli/src/__tests__/orchestrate.test.ts

@@ -16,11 +16,9 @@ import { isNumber } from "../shared/type-guards.js";
 // ── Mock oauth + tarball (needed to avoid interactive prompts / network) ──
 
 const mockGetOrPromptApiKey = mock(() => Promise.resolve("sk-or-v1-test-key"));
-const mockGetModelIdInteractive = mock(() => Promise.resolve("openrouter/auto"));
 
 mock.module("../shared/oauth", () => ({
   getOrPromptApiKey: mockGetOrPromptApiKey,
-  getModelIdInteractive: mockGetModelIdInteractive,
 }));
 
 // ── Import the real module under test ─────────────────────────────────────
@@ -109,8 +107,6 @@ describe("runOrchestration", () => {
     });
     mockGetOrPromptApiKey.mockClear();
     mockGetOrPromptApiKey.mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve("sk-or-v1-test-key"));
-    mockGetModelIdInteractive.mockClear();
-    mockGetModelIdInteractive.mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve("openrouter/auto"));
     mockTryTarballInstall.mockClear();
     mockTryTarballInstall.mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve(false));
   });
@@ -258,43 +254,53 @@ describe("runOrchestration", () => {
     exitSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
-  // ── Model selection ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  // ── Model default ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-  it("calls getModelIdInteractive when agent.modelPrompt is true", async () => {
+  it("passes modelDefault to configure without prompting", async () => {
+    const configure = mock(() => Promise.resolve());
     const cloud = createMockCloud();
     const agent = createMockAgent({
-      modelPrompt: true,
       modelDefault: "anthropic/claude-3",
+      configure,
     });
 
     await runOrchestrationSafe(cloud, agent, "testagent");
 
-    expect(mockGetModelIdInteractive).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(mockGetModelIdInteractive).toHaveBeenCalledWith("anthropic/claude-3", "TestAgent");
+    expect(configure).toHaveBeenCalledWith("sk-or-v1-test-key", "anthropic/claude-3");
     stderrSpy.mockRestore();
     exitSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
-  it("uses 'openrouter/auto' as default model when modelDefault is not set", async () => {
+  it("uses MODEL_ID env var when modelDefault is not set", async () => {
+    const originalModelId = process.env.MODEL_ID;
+    process.env.MODEL_ID = "google/gemini-pro";
+    const configure = mock(() => Promise.resolve());
     const cloud = createMockCloud();
     const agent = createMockAgent({
-      modelPrompt: true,
-    }); // no modelDefault
+      configure,
+    });
 
     await runOrchestrationSafe(cloud, agent, "testagent");
 
-    expect(mockGetModelIdInteractive).toHaveBeenCalledWith("openrouter/auto", "TestAgent");
+    expect(configure).toHaveBeenCalledWith("sk-or-v1-test-key", "google/gemini-pro");
+    process.env.MODEL_ID = originalModelId;
     stderrSpy.mockRestore();
     exitSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
-  it("skips model selection when modelPrompt is falsy", async () => {
+  it("passes undefined modelId when neither modelDefault nor MODEL_ID is set", async () => {
+    const originalModelId = process.env.MODEL_ID;
+    delete process.env.MODEL_ID;
+    const configure = mock(() => Promise.resolve());
     const cloud = createMockCloud();
-    const agent = createMockAgent(); // modelPrompt undefined
+    const agent = createMockAgent({
+      configure,
+    });
 
     await runOrchestrationSafe(cloud, agent, "testagent");
 
-    expect(mockGetModelIdInteractive).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(configure).toHaveBeenCalledWith("sk-or-v1-test-key", undefined);
+    process.env.MODEL_ID = originalModelId;
     stderrSpy.mockRestore();
     exitSpy.mockRestore();
   });

packages/cli/src/shared/agent-setup.ts

@@ -568,7 +568,6 @@ function createAgents(runner: CloudRunner): Record<string, AgentConfig> {
       name: "OpenClaw",
       cloudInitTier: "full",
       preProvision: detectGithubAuth,
-      modelPrompt: true,
       modelDefault: "openrouter/auto",
       install: () =>
         installAgent(

packages/cli/src/shared/agents.ts

@@ -9,9 +9,7 @@ export type CloudInitTier = "minimal" | "node" | "bun" | "full";
 
 export interface AgentConfig {
   name: string;
-  /** If true, prompt for model selection before provisioning. */
-  modelPrompt?: boolean;
-  /** Default model ID when modelPrompt is true. */
+  /** Default model ID passed to configure() (no interactive prompt — override via MODEL_ID env var). */
   modelDefault?: string;
   /** Pre-provision hook (runs before server creation, e.g., prompt for GitHub auth). */
   preProvision?: () => Promise<void>;

packages/cli/src/shared/oauth.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import * as v from "valibot";
 import { OAUTH_CODE_REGEX } from "./oauth-constants";
 import { parseJsonWith } from "./parse";
-import { logError, logInfo, logStep, logWarn, openBrowser, prompt, validateModelId } from "./ui";
+import { logError, logInfo, logStep, logWarn, openBrowser, prompt } from "./ui";
 
 // ─── Schemas ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -285,38 +285,3 @@ export async function getOrPromptApiKey(agentSlug?: string, cloudSlug?: string):
   logError("No valid API key after 3 attempts");
   throw new Error("API key acquisition failed");
 }
-
-// ─── Model Selection ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-export async function getModelIdInteractive(defaultModel = "openrouter/auto", agentName?: string): Promise<string> {
-  // Check env var first
-  if (process.env.MODEL_ID) {
-    if (!validateModelId(process.env.MODEL_ID)) {
-      logError("MODEL_ID environment variable contains invalid characters");
-      throw new Error("Invalid MODEL_ID");
-    }
-    return process.env.MODEL_ID;
-  }
-
-  for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= 3; attempt++) {
-    process.stderr.write("\n");
-    logInfo("Browse models at: https://openrouter.ai/models");
-    if (agentName) {
-      logInfo(`Which model would you like to use with ${agentName}?`);
-    } else {
-      logInfo("Which model would you like to use?");
-    }
-
-    const modelId = (await prompt(`Enter model ID [${defaultModel}]: `)) || defaultModel;
-
-    if (!validateModelId(modelId)) {
-      logError("Invalid characters in model ID, try again");
-      continue;
-    }
-
-    return modelId;
-  }
-
-  logError("No valid model after 3 attempts");
-  throw new Error("Model selection failed");
-}

packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { generateSpawnId, saveSpawnRecord } from "../history.js";
 import { offerGithubAuth, wrapSshCall } from "./agent-setup";
 import { tryTarballInstall } from "./agent-tarball";
 import { generateEnvConfig } from "./agents";
-import { getModelIdInteractive, getOrPromptApiKey } from "./oauth";
+import { getOrPromptApiKey } from "./oauth";
 import { logInfo, logStep, logWarn, prepareStdinForHandoff, withRetry } from "./ui";
 
 export interface CloudOrchestrator {
@@ -91,11 +91,8 @@ export async function runOrchestration(
   // 3. Get API key (before provisioning so user isn't waiting)
   const apiKey = await getOrPromptApiKey(agentName, cloud.cloudName);
 
-  // 4. Model selection (if agent needs it)
-  let modelId: string | undefined;
-  if (agent.modelPrompt) {
-    modelId = await getModelIdInteractive(agent.modelDefault || "openrouter/auto", agent.name);
-  }
+  // 4. Model ID (use agent default — no interactive prompt)
+  const modelId = agent.modelDefault || process.env.MODEL_ID;
 
   // 5. Size/bundle selection
   await cloud.promptSize();