openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Feature]: Add option to disable model pricing bootstrap to avoid startup timeout [1 participants]

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "pricing": {
        "enabled": false
      }
    }
  }
}
Alternative: Increase the default timeout or make pricing bootstrap failures silent (since they don't affect core functionality).


### Alternatives considered

Ignore the error - Works but leaves confusing error messages in logs
Wait for network improvement - Not feasible for users in regions with consistently slow external API access
Manual config editing - Risky and not user-friendly
The proposed config option is the cleanest solution as it gives users explicit control.

### Impact

Affected users/systems:

All OpenClaw users who experience network latency to external pricing APIs
Particularly users in regions with slower external API access (e.g., mainland China)
Severity: Medium (annoying, causes confusion but doesn't block core functionality)

Frequency: Every Gateway startup (if pricing bootstrap is enabled)

Consequences:

Confusing error messages in logs
Perceived startup delay or "hang"
Users may think something is broken when it's not
Extra time spent investigating the error

### Evidence/examples

openclaw-gateway | 2026-04-02T09:52:21.592+08:00 [model-pricing] pricing bootstrap failed: TimeoutError: The operation was aborted due to timeout

### Additional information

This is a quality-of-life improvement rather than a critical bug fix. The feature would:

Reduce confusion for new users
Speed up startup for users with slow external API access
Give users explicit control over this behavior
Related: Similar timeout issues may occur with other external data fetching (model catalogs, pricing updates, etc.)