OpenClaw Cost Optimization

Your OpenClaw setup is probably burning money on three things: using expensive models for trivial tasks, re-processing the same static files on every message, and loading context the agent never touches.

The default config optimizes for capability. That's fine when you're exploring. But once you're running 24/7, it's the difference between $1,500/month and $150/month or even less.

This skill audits your current setup and applies six optimizations in order of impact. Most take under 5 minutes. Combined, they cut costs by roughly 97% without reducing quality where it matters.

What Claude Gets Wrong Without This

Left to its own defaults, an OpenClaw agent will:

• Run Sonnet or Opus for "what's the weather?" — that's a Haiku job
• Load 50KB of context at session start when 8KB would do
• Send heartbeat checks to a paid API 96 times a day
• Re-process your SOUL.md and USER.md at full price on every single message
• Let a search loop burn $20 overnight with no guardrails