When my free Google Cloud credits ran out and Gemini started rate-limiting, I rebuilt OpenClaw’s model chain into a three-tier free-and-cheap failover setup — and rethought which use cases were still worth the tokens.
Adding a quiz question was taking 2-3 minutes and getting slower over time — the fix was switching the data file from a JSON array to NDJSON so new items append in one line instead of a full rewrite.
Adding more API keys didn’t fix the slowdowns — the real issue was a key that existed in secrets but was never registered for failover, plus session pinning that kept using the same key after a restart.
An honest review after months of daily use, from when it was still called ClawdBot: genuinely useful for memory, reminders, and lightweight investing research — but with real drift and security caveats.
Watching an AI-curated information feed surface a YC ’ex technical founder’ listing made one thing click: the real skill now is building systems with AI, not just using it.
