> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/nemoclaw/llms.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.nvidia.com/nemoclaw/_mcp/server. # Switch Inference Providers > Move a NemoClaw-managed sandbox to another inference provider. Move a sandbox to another provider family while keeping the OpenShell route, agent configuration, and host registry aligned. Use onboarding first when the target is neither `compatible-endpoint` nor `compatible-anthropic-endpoint` and is not registered. The compatible endpoint workflow below can register an absent custom provider from complete route metadata. ## Find a Registered Provider List the configured provider credentials when you need the exact provider ID. ```bash nemohermes credentials list ``` `inference set` also accepts installer-facing provider names such as `anthropicCompatible`, `build`, and `custom`. NemoClaw normalizes an accepted alias to its canonical OpenShell provider ID and records the canonical name in the sandbox registry. If OpenShell cannot find a requested provider other than `compatible-endpoint` or `compatible-anthropic-endpoint`, NemoClaw leaves the route and sandbox state unchanged. Run `nemohermes onboard` to register the provider, then retry the switch. For a compatible custom endpoint, pass the complete route metadata described below so NemoClaw can register the provider. ## Switch the Provider at Runtime Pass the target provider and model together. Target a non-default sandbox by name. The `shields` commands take a positional name. `inference set` takes `--sandbox `. ```bash nemohermes shields down nemohermes inference set --provider --model --sandbox nemohermes shields up ``` For Hermes, NemoClaw updates `/sandbox/.hermes/config.yaml`, including the model, base URL, API-family mode, and OpenShell proxy API-key placeholder. When the dashboard profile exists, NemoClaw also mirrors the route into `/sandbox/.hermes/profiles/dashboard-home/config.yaml`; a normal runtime route change does not rebuild or restart Hermes. If that dashboard mirror cannot be confirmed, the route and main config remain committed but the command exits nonzero. Follow [Hermes dashboard config did not converge](../../reference/troubleshooting#hermes-dashboard-config-did-not-converge) before using Dashboard Chat. A missing dashboard profile is treated as disabled and does not fail the switch. If the in-sandbox configuration sync fails after the gateway route changes, NemoClaw keeps the gateway and host registry aligned and prints a rebuild hint. Run the rebuild before relying on the running agent. Use `--no-verify` only when OpenShell cannot verify the target provider at switch time and you have already confirmed its provider and credential. This flag does not bypass shared-gateway compatibility checks. When you explicitly supply a direct compatible endpoint at `http://host.openshell.internal:`, NemoClaw skips OpenShell's host-side provider probe because that hostname resolves only inside the sandbox network. It then sends a validation request from the target sandbox before persisting the route in NemoClaw state; the request allows up to 16 output tokens. When the switch changes the API family and that request returns HTTP `400` or `404`, NemoClaw retries up to two times after delays of one and two seconds. Each retry allows another 16 output tokens. Other failures are not retried. If that request fails, NemoClaw attempts to restore the previous OpenShell selection and remove a provider that this switch created. If the error reports that rollback could not complete, rerun onboarding before using the route or retrying the switch. Endpoint-shape and shared-gateway compatibility checks still apply. ## Handle Compatible Endpoints When moving from another provider family to `compatible-endpoint` or `compatible-anthropic-endpoint`, provide the trusted endpoint URL and enough API metadata to record the complete route identity. Export the canonical credential environment variable for the target provider. Run this command within the shields-down window shown in the runtime switching workflow. ```bash export COMPATIBLE_API_KEY="" nemohermes inference set \ --provider compatible-endpoint \ --model \ --endpoint-url \ --credential-env COMPATIBLE_API_KEY \ --inference-api openai-completions \ --sandbox ``` NemoClaw validates the endpoint before it changes the route. For an HTTPS IP-literal or DNS-pinned HTTP endpoint, NemoClaw registers and verifies an absent provider before selecting the route. If OpenShell still reports the provider as absent, NemoClaw retries the switch once. If route selection fails, NemoClaw removes a newly created provider and leaves the inference selection unchanged. For a DNS-backed HTTPS endpoint, NemoClaw registers the HTTPS Pin Runtime provider before the first route attempt. Supported API-family values are `openai-completions`, `anthropic-messages`, and `openai-responses`. For a Hermes `compatible-anthropic-endpoint` target, omit `--inference-api` because NemoClaw selects `openai-completions`. An explicit different API family is rejected for that route. To switch only the model for an existing compatible provider, omit the endpoint options. NemoClaw reuses the endpoint in the sandbox registry and verifies the selected route. To change a direct compatible provider's custom endpoint or credential binding, re-run onboarding with the requested binding. `inference set` refuses to replace an existing direct binding because OpenShell does not expose the previous provider configuration required for rollback. A rebuild reuses the recorded endpoint and cannot change it. DNS-backed HTTPS routes use an HTTPS Pin Runtime binding. If that binding update fails after OpenShell selects the new route, NemoClaw attempts to restore the previously recorded provider and model. The command still exits nonzero because the binding might be partially updated. If NemoClaw cannot restore the previous selection, do not use the route until you re-run onboarding. ## Account for Shared Gateways One gateway has one live route even when NemoClaw records different intended routes for its sandboxes. Review [Use Shared Gateway Routes](use-shared-gateway-routes) before changing a provider that another registered sandbox shares. Runtime `inference set` also refuses a change that would leave another registered sandbox with a different recorded route. ## Related Topics * [View the Active Inference Route](view-active-inference-route) to inspect the route before and after a switch. * [Use Shared Gateway Routes](use-shared-gateway-routes) when multiple sandboxes use one gateway. * [Switch Models](switch-models) when the provider does not change. * [Set Up an OpenAI-Compatible Endpoint](../custom-endpoints/set-up-openai-compatible-endpoint) to register a custom route through onboarding.