Summary

startGatewayModelPricingRefresh crashes with RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded when openrouter/auto is configured as the primary model.

Versions

• OpenClaw 2026.3.22 (4dcc39c)
• Node 22, Linux (Ubuntu 24.04)

Config (relevant part)

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": { "primary": "openrouter/auto" }
    }
  }
}

Log

[model-pricing] pricing bootstrap failed: RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded

Root Cause

buildOpenRouterExactCandidates in src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.ts recurses infinitely for OpenRouter-native models.

Trace:

1. collectConfiguredModelPricingRefs normalizes openrouter/auto → { provider: "openrouter", model: "openrouter/auto" } (correct — native model keeps prefix)
2. buildOpenRouterExactCandidates({ provider: "openrouter", model: "openrouter/auto" }) checks WRAPPER_PROVIDERS.has("openrouter") && "openrouter/auto".includes("/") → true
3. parseModelRef("openrouter/auto") → { provider: "openrouter", model: "openrouter/auto" } (same ref — fixed point)
4. Recursive call with identical input → infinite loop → stack overflow

The issue is that parseModelRef for OpenRouter-native models returns the model ID with the provider prefix intact (openrouter/auto not auto), so the "unwrap nested provider" recursion never terminates.

Suggested Fix

Add a recursion guard — either a depth limit or a seen set:

function buildOpenRouterExactCandidates(ref: ModelRef, depth = 0): string[] {
  if (depth > 5) return [];
  // ... existing code ...
  // Change recursive call:
  for (const candidate of buildOpenRouterExactCandidates(nestedRef, depth + 1)) ...
}

Impact

• Gateway starts and runs fine — the error is caught and logged as a warning
• Pricing cache stays empty → usage.cost in session logs is undefined for models routed through openrouter/auto
• Does NOT affect plugins that use OpenRouter API directly for cost tracking

Repro

Set agents.defaults.model.primary to openrouter/auto and restart gateway.