TheWatcher01 Skill: Free LLM Provider Rotation
Free Provider Landscape (March 2026)
| Provider | Free Models | Speed | Rate Limit | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | 26+ free models | Varies | Per-model | Variety, fallback |
| Groq | llama-3.1-8b, llama-3.3-70b | ~560-280 tps | 1K RPM | Speed, daily use |
| Ollama | Any local model | CPU: ~10 tps | None | Always-on fallback |
| Cerebras | Llama 3.3 70B | Very fast | Free tier | Quick tasks |
Top Free Models on OpenRouter (March 2026)
| Model | Context | Speed | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
openai/gpt-oss-120b:free |
131K | ~500 tps | General, reasoning |
meta-llama/llama-4-scout-17b-16e-instruct:free |
131K | ~750 tps | Fast tasks |
nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-30b-a3b:free |
256K | Fast | Agent tasks |
arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free |
128K | Medium | Creative, agent |
openai/gpt-oss-20b:free |
131K | ~1000 tps | Ultra-fast |
ZeroClaw Free Tier Configuration
# ~/.zeroclaw/config.toml
# Primary: OpenRouter (free tier)
# Set ZEROCLAW_API_KEY=<openrouter-key>
default_provider = "openrouter"
default_model = "openai/gpt-oss-120b:free"
# Fallback chain: Groq → Ollama
[reliability]
fallback_providers = ["groq", "ollama"]
provider_retries = 2
# Groq provider (set GROQ_API_KEY env var)
[model_providers.groq]
name = "groq"
base_url = "https://api.groq.com/openai/v1"
# Ollama local (no API key, always free)
[model_providers.ollama]
name = "ollama"
base_url = "http://127.0.0.1:11434"
# Model routes for manual control
[[model_routes]]
hint = "fast"
provider = "groq"
model = "llama-3.1-8b-instant"
[[model_routes]]
hint = "local"
provider = "ollama"
model = "llama3.2:3b"
[[model_routes]]
hint = "smart"
provider = "openrouter"
model = "openai/gpt-oss-120b:free"
How to Get Free API Keys
OpenRouter (primary — 26+ free models)
- Go to https://openrouter.ai/
- Sign up (GitHub login OK)
- API Keys → Create key
- Free models: filter by
$0/M tokens - Usage: generous free tier, no credit card
Groq (ultra-fast, free tier)
- Go to https://console.groq.com/
- Sign up → API Keys → Create
- Free: 1K RPM, 30K RPD for most models
- Set
GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_...
Cerebras (optional, very fast)
- https://cloud.cerebras.ai/ → Sign up
- Free tier available
- Set
CEREBRAS_API_KEY=...
Ollama Management (local, always free)
# List installed models
ollama list
# Pull models (GPU-first, CPU fallback configured)
ollama pull llama3.2:3b # 2GB — fast, good for general tasks
ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:7b # 4.7GB — best free code model
ollama pull nomic-embed-text # 274MB — embeddings (free!)
# Test GPU or CPU usage
ollama run llama3.2:3b "test" 2>&1 | head -5
journalctl -u ollama | grep "inference compute"
# GPU: "id=gpu0 library=cuda ..."
# CPU: "id=cpu library=cpu ..."
# Ollama API
curl http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/generate -d '{
"model": "llama3.2:3b",
"prompt": "Hello",
"stream": false
}'
Rate Limit Handling
When you hit a rate limit (429 error):
- ZeroClaw auto-falls to next provider in
fallback_providers - If all cloud providers rate-limited → Ollama (local, no limit)
Manual routing:
# Force local model
zeroclaw agent -m "hint:local explain this code: ..."
# Force fast model
zeroclaw agent -m "hint:fast summarize this document: ..."
Inject API Keys via Infisical
# Store keys in Infisical (self-hosted)
infisical secrets set ZEROCLAW_API_KEY="or-..." --env=dev
infisical secrets set GROQ_API_KEY="gsk_..." --env=dev
# Run daemon with injected secrets
infisical run --env=dev -- zeroclaw daemon
# Verify
infisical secrets list --env=dev
Model Selection Guide
Task type → Recommended model (free)
Code generation/review → openai/gpt-oss-120b:free OR groq:llama-3.1-8b-instant
Quick Q&A / routing → groq:llama-3.1-8b-instant (fastest)
Long document analysis → openai/gpt-oss-120b:free (131K context)
Always-available / offline → ollama:llama3.2:3b
Embeddings (RAG) → ollama:nomic-embed-text (free, local)