aaif-goose/goose · error

Could not resolve model config: missing provider

Error message

Could not resolve model config: missing provider

What it means

Agent::model_config_for_session first tries the session's stored model_config; if absent it falls back to global config and requires Config::get_goose_provider() to succeed. This error means neither source has a provider: the session never persisted a model selection AND the global config (~/.config/goose/config.yaml or GOOSE_PROVIDER env) has no provider set.

Source

Thrown at crates/goose/src/agents/agent.rs:961

    pub async fn model_config_for_session(
        &self,
        session_id: &str,
    ) -> Result<goose_providers::model::ModelConfig> {
        if let Ok(session) = self
            .config
            .session_manager
            .get_session(session_id, false)
            .await
        {
            if let Some(model_config) = session.model_config {
                return Ok(model_config);
            }
        }

        let config = Config::global();
        let provider_name = config
            .get_goose_provider()
            .map_err(|_| anyhow!("Could not resolve model config: missing provider"))?;
        let model_name = config
            .get_goose_model()
            .map_err(|_| anyhow!("Could not resolve model config: missing model"))?;
        crate::model_config::model_config_from_user_config(&provider_name, &model_name)
            .map_err(|e| anyhow!("Could not resolve model config: {e}"))
    }

    /// When set, all stdio extensions will be started via `docker exec` in the specified container.
    pub async fn set_container(&self, container: Option<Container>) {
        *self.container.lock().await = container.clone();
    }

    pub async fn container(&self) -> Option<Container> {
        self.container.lock().await.clone()
    }

    /// Check if a tool is a frontend tool
    pub async fn is_frontend_tool(&self, name: &str) -> bool {

View on GitHub (pinned to 3810898a74)

Solutions

1. Run `goose configure` and pick a provider/model
2. Export GOOSE_PROVIDER (and GOOSE_MODEL) in the environment
3. Once a model is selected in the session, it is persisted as session.model_config and the global fallback is no longer needed
4. Check ~/.config/goose/config.yaml exists and contains the keys (correct GOOSE_CONFIG path if overridden)

Example fix

# before
$ goose session
Error: Could not resolve model config: missing provider

# after
$ export GOOSE_PROVIDER=anthropic GOOSE_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-5
$ goose session

let config = goose::config::Config::global();
if config.get_goose_provider().is_err() {
    anyhow::bail!("no provider configured: run `goose configure` or set GOOSE_PROVIDER");
}
// safe to resolve a model config now

fn missing_provider_config(e: &anyhow::Error) -> bool {
    e.to_string().contains("missing provider")
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling model_config_for_session for a session created before any provider was chosen (session.model_config == None) while Config::global().get_goose_provider() returns Err — i.e. the GOOSE_PROVIDER key is missing from config.

Common situations: Fresh install that never ran `goose configure`; CI/headless environment without GOOSE_PROVIDER; a config file that was reset, moved, or is unreadable so keys parse as absent.

Related errors

• Provider not set
• Could not resolve model config: missing model
• Could not resolve model config: {e}
• Could not resolve model config: {error}
• Provider rejected mode update: {e}

AI-assisted analysis of aaif-goose/goose@3810898a74 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9c658fdd7a9fc19c. Report an issue: GitHub.