What causes "Model provider '{model_provider}' not found in config" in zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw?

List the alias keys under [model_providers.*] in zeroclaw.toml and pass the exact key

zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · error · anyhow::Error

Model provider '{model_provider}' not found in config

Error message

Model provider '{model_provider}' not found in config

What it means

update_context_windows refreshes per-provider context-window metadata; with a provider override it looks the alias up in config.providers.models and bails when the key is absent. The override must be an exact alias key from the model_providers table, not a model name or a URI fragment.

Source

Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-runtime/src/doctor/mod.rs:735

        Option<String>,
        Option<usize>,
    );

    // Collect all the data we need first to avoid borrow conflicts
    let targets: Vec<ProviderTarget> = if let Some(model_provider) = provider_override {
        // Single provider - use find_by_name to look up by "type.alias" format
        if let Some((t, a, entry)) = config.providers.models.find_by_name(model_provider) {
            vec![(
                model_provider.to_string(),
                t.to_string(),
                a.to_string(),
                entry.model.clone().unwrap_or_default(),
                entry.uri.clone(),
                entry.api_key.clone(),
                entry.context_window,
            )]
        } else {
            anyhow::bail!("Model provider '{model_provider}' not found in config");
        }
    } else {
        // All providers
        config
            .providers
            .models
            .iter_entries()
            .map(|(t, a, e)| {
                (
                    format!("{t}.{a}"),
                    t.to_string(),
                    a.to_string(),
                    e.model.clone().unwrap_or_default(),
                    e.uri.clone(),
                    e.api_key.clone(),
                    e.context_window,
                )
            })

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

List the alias keys under [model_providers.*] in zeroclaw.toml and pass the exact key
Or drop the override to update context windows for all configured providers

Example fix

# before — a model name is not a provider alias
zeroclaw doctor models --provider gpt-4o

# after — use the alias key from zeroclaw.toml
zeroclaw doctor models --provider openai

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if !config.providers.models.contains_key(model_provider) {
    let known: Vec<_> = config.providers.models.keys().collect();
    anyhow::bail!("provider '{model_provider}' not in config; known aliases: {known:?}");
}

Type guard

fn is_configured_provider_alias(config: &zeroclaw_config::schema::Config, alias: &str) -> bool {
    config.providers.models.contains_key(alias)
}

Try / catch

if let Err(err) = update_context_windows(&config, Some(&alias)) {
    if err.to_string().contains("not found in config") {
        eprintln!("'{alias}' is not a model_providers key — pass the alias, not a model name");
    }
    return Err(err);
}

Prevention

Derive provider aliases from config at runtime instead of hardcoding them in scripts
Remember the override takes the table key under [model_providers.*], never the model field or URI

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a provider override with a typo'd alias; passing a model id (for example "gpt-4o") or a URI where the alias is expected; the provider was renamed in config while scripts still use the old alias.

Common situations: Automation scripts hardcoding provider aliases across config renames; confusion between the provider alias key and the model field inside it.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1f3a60724d0f62f8. Report an issue: GitHub.