> 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 full documentation content, see https://docs.nvidia.com/nemoclaw/llms-full.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.nvidia.com/nemoclaw/_mcp/server. # Switch Inference Models at Runtime > Change the active inference model without restarting the sandbox. Change the active inference model while the sandbox is running. You do not need to restart the sandbox. ## Prerequisites * A running NemoClaw sandbox. * The OpenShell CLI on your `PATH`, which NemoClaw uses under the hood. ## Switch to a Different Model Use `nemohermes inference set` with the provider and model that match the upstream you want to use. The command updates the OpenShell inference route and synchronizes the running agent config. For Hermes, it updates `/sandbox/.hermes/config.yaml` (`model.default`, `model.base_url`, and `model.provider: custom`) without rebuilding or restarting Hermes. Pass `--sandbox ` when you do not want to use the default registered sandbox. Under `nemohermes`, pass `--sandbox ` when you have registered more than one Hermes sandbox. ### NVIDIA Endpoints ```bash nemohermes inference set --provider nvidia-prod --model nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b ``` ### OpenAI ```bash nemohermes inference set --provider openai-api --model gpt-5.4 ``` ### Anthropic ```bash nemohermes inference set --provider anthropic-prod --model claude-sonnet-4-6 ``` ### Google Gemini ```bash nemohermes inference set --provider gemini-api --model gemini-2.5-flash ``` ### Compatible Endpoints If you onboarded a custom compatible endpoint, switch models with the provider created for that endpoint: ```bash nemohermes inference set --provider compatible-endpoint --model ``` ```bash nemohermes inference set --provider compatible-anthropic-endpoint --model ``` ### Hermes Provider For a NemoClaw-managed Hermes sandbox, use the Hermes alias with the registered Hermes Provider route: ```bash nemohermes inference set --provider hermes-provider --model openai/gpt-5.4-mini ``` #### Switching from Responses API to Chat Completions If onboarding selected `/v1/responses` but the agent fails at runtime, re-run onboarding so the wizard re-probes the endpoint and bakes the correct API path into the image. This can happen when the backend does not emit the streaming events OpenClaw requires. ```bash nemohermes onboard ``` Select the same provider and endpoint again. The updated streaming probe detects incomplete `/v1/responses` support and selects `/v1/chat/completions` automatically. For the compatible-endpoint provider, NemoClaw uses `/v1/chat/completions` by default, so you do not need an environment variable to keep the safe path. To opt in to `/v1/responses` for a backend you have verified end to end, set `NEMOCLAW_PREFERRED_API` before onboarding: ```bash NEMOCLAW_PREFERRED_API=openai-responses nemohermes onboard ``` `NEMOCLAW_INFERENCE_API_OVERRIDE` patches the config at container startup but does not update the Dockerfile ARG baked into the image. If you recreate the sandbox without the override environment variable, the image reverts to the original API path. A fresh `nemohermes onboard` is the reliable fix because it updates both the session and the baked image. ## Cross-Provider Switching Switching to a different provider family (for example, from NVIDIA Endpoints to Anthropic) also uses `nemohermes inference set`. The command updates both the gateway route and `/sandbox/.hermes/config.yaml`. If the Hermes config sync fails after the gateway route is updated, NemoClaw keeps the host registry aligned with the gateway and prints a rebuild hint. Run the rebuild before relying on the running agent if the warning says the image config could not be patched. ```bash nemohermes inference set --provider anthropic-prod --model claude-sonnet-4-6 --no-verify ``` Use `--no-verify` only when OpenShell cannot verify the provider at switch time but you have already confirmed the provider and credential. ## Tune Model Metadata The sandbox image bakes model metadata (context window, max output tokens, reasoning mode, and accepted input modalities) into `openclaw.json` at build time. To change these values, set the corresponding environment variables before running `nemohermes onboard` so they patch into the Dockerfile before the image builds. | Variable | Values | Default | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------- | | `NEMOCLAW_CONTEXT_WINDOW` | Positive integer (tokens) | `131072` | | `NEMOCLAW_MAX_TOKENS` | Positive integer (tokens) | `4096` | | `NEMOCLAW_REASONING` | `true` or `false` | `false` | | `NEMOCLAW_INFERENCE_INPUTS` | `text` or `text,image` | `text` | | `NEMOCLAW_AGENT_TIMEOUT` | Positive integer (seconds) | `600` | | `NEMOCLAW_AGENT_HEARTBEAT_EVERY` | Go-style duration (`30m`, `1h`, `0m` to disable) | `unset` (OpenClaw default) | NemoClaw ignores invalid values and bakes the default into the image. For Local Ollama, onboarding loads the selected model first and uses Ollama's reported runtime context length when `NEMOCLAW_CONTEXT_WINDOW` is unset. For local vLLM, onboarding uses the runtime `max_model_len` value when the server reports one and `NEMOCLAW_CONTEXT_WINDOW` is unset. Use `NEMOCLAW_INFERENCE_INPUTS=text,image` only for a model that accepts image input through the selected provider. ```bash export NEMOCLAW_CONTEXT_WINDOW=65536 export NEMOCLAW_MAX_TOKENS=8192 export NEMOCLAW_REASONING=true export NEMOCLAW_INFERENCE_INPUTS=text,image export NEMOCLAW_AGENT_TIMEOUT=1800 export NEMOCLAW_AGENT_HEARTBEAT_EVERY=0m nemohermes onboard ``` `NEMOCLAW_AGENT_TIMEOUT` controls the per-request inference timeout baked into the Hermes sandbox image. Increase it for slow local inference, such as CPU-only Ollama or vLLM on modest hardware. Direct in-sandbox edits are not the supported or durable way to change NemoClaw-managed defaults. Rebuild the sandbox with `nemohermes onboard` to apply a new value. Hermes does not use OpenClaw's `HEARTBEAT.md` wake-up mechanism. Rebuild the sandbox with `nemohermes onboard --resume` to apply build-time inference metadata changes. These variables are build-time settings. If you change them on an existing sandbox, recreate the sandbox so the new values bake into the image: ```bash nemohermes onboard --resume --recreate-sandbox ``` ## Verify the Active Model Use `nemohermes inference get` to print the provider and model the gateway is currently routing to. Run it before `nemohermes inference set` to confirm the starting state, or after a switch to verify the new route. ```console $ nemohermes inference get Provider: nvidia-prod Model: nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b ``` Pass `--json` for machine-readable output. ```console $ nemohermes inference get --json { "provider": "nvidia-prod", "model": "nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b" } ``` The command exits non-zero with `OpenShell inference route is not configured.` when the gateway has no registered inference route. Run `nemohermes onboard` to configure one. Run the status command when you also need sandbox, service, and messaging health: ```bash nemohermes status ``` The status output includes the active provider, model, and endpoint with the rest of the sandbox state. ## Notes * The host keeps provider credentials. * The sandbox continues to use `inference.local`. * `nemohermes inference set` patches the selected running Hermes sandbox config and recomputes its config hash. * Use `nemohermes onboard --resume --recreate-sandbox` for build-time settings such as context window, max tokens, reasoning mode, heartbeat cadence, or image contents. * Local Ollama and local vLLM routes use local provider tokens rather than `OPENAI_API_KEY`. Rebuilds of older local-inference sandboxes clear the stale OpenAI credential requirement automatically. ## Related Topics * [Inference Options](inference-options) for the full list of providers available during onboarding.