From a8a4993ffd1b7e38f76c464c3c8c2f903af09c57 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2026 10:52:40 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] fix: trim cron model overrides and doc guidance (#711)
 (thanks @mjrussell)

---
 CHANGELOG.md                 |   1 +
 docs/automation/cron-jobs.md |   4 ++
 src/cli/cron-cli.test.ts     | 110 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 src/cli/cron-cli.ts          |  13 ++++-
 4 files changed, 125 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 src/cli/cron-cli.test.ts

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c59840b66..be2853fb2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 ### Changes
 - macOS: prompt to install the global `clawdbot` CLI when missing in local mode; install via `clawd.bot/install-cli.sh` (no onboarding) and use external launchd/CLI instead of the embedded gateway runtime.
 - Docs: add gog calendar event color IDs from `gog calendar colors`. (#715) — thanks @mjrussell.
+- Cron/CLI: trim model overrides on cron edits and document main-session guidance. (#711) — thanks @mjrussell.
 
 ## 2026.1.10
 
diff --git a/docs/automation/cron-jobs.md b/docs/automation/cron-jobs.md
index 69cd4b526..055d320a1 100644
--- a/docs/automation/cron-jobs.md
+++ b/docs/automation/cron-jobs.md
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ Isolated jobs (`agentTurn`) can override the model and thinking level:
 - `model`: Provider/model string (e.g., `anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514`) or alias (e.g., `opus`)
 - `thinking`: Thinking level (`off`, `minimal`, `low`, `medium`, `high`)
 
+Note: You can set `model` on main-session jobs too, but it changes the shared main
+session model. We recommend model overrides only for isolated jobs to avoid
+unexpected context shifts.
+
 Resolution priority:
 1. Job payload override (highest)
 2. Hook-specific defaults (e.g., `hooks.gmail.model`)
diff --git a/src/cli/cron-cli.test.ts b/src/cli/cron-cli.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..eed40041b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/cron-cli.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+import { Command } from "commander";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+const callGatewayFromCli = vi.fn(
+  async (method: string, _opts: unknown, params?: unknown) => {
+    if (method === "cron.status") return { enabled: true };
+    return { ok: true, params };
+  },
+);
+
+vi.mock("./gateway-rpc.js", async () => {
+  const actual =
+    await vi.importActual<typeof import("./gateway-rpc.js")>(
+      "./gateway-rpc.js",
+    );
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    callGatewayFromCli: (
+      method: string,
+      opts: unknown,
+      params?: unknown,
+      extra?: unknown,
+    ) => callGatewayFromCli(method, opts, params, extra),
+  };
+});
+
+vi.mock("../runtime.js", () => ({
+  defaultRuntime: {
+    log: vi.fn(),
+    error: vi.fn(),
+    exit: (code: number) => {
+      throw new Error(`__exit__:${code}`);
+    },
+  },
+}));
+
+describe("cron cli", () => {
+  it("trims model and thinking on cron add", async () => {
+    callGatewayFromCli.mockClear();
+
+    const { registerCronCli } = await import("./cron-cli.js");
+    const program = new Command();
+    program.exitOverride();
+    registerCronCli(program);
+
+    await program.parseAsync(
+      [
+        "cron",
+        "add",
+        "--name",
+        "Daily",
+        "--cron",
+        "* * * * *",
+        "--session",
+        "isolated",
+        "--message",
+        "hello",
+        "--model",
+        "  opus  ",
+        "--thinking",
+        "  low  ",
+      ],
+      { from: "user" },
+    );
+
+    const addCall = callGatewayFromCli.mock.calls.find(
+      (call) => call[0] === "cron.add",
+    );
+    const params = addCall?.[2] as {
+      payload?: { model?: string; thinking?: string };
+    };
+
+    expect(params?.payload?.model).toBe("opus");
+    expect(params?.payload?.thinking).toBe("low");
+  });
+
+  it("omits empty model and thinking on cron edit", async () => {
+    callGatewayFromCli.mockClear();
+
+    const { registerCronCli } = await import("./cron-cli.js");
+    const program = new Command();
+    program.exitOverride();
+    registerCronCli(program);
+
+    await program.parseAsync(
+      [
+        "cron",
+        "edit",
+        "job-1",
+        "--message",
+        "hello",
+        "--model",
+        "   ",
+        "--thinking",
+        "  ",
+      ],
+      { from: "user" },
+    );
+
+    const updateCall = callGatewayFromCli.mock.calls.find(
+      (call) => call[0] === "cron.update",
+    );
+    const patch = updateCall?.[2] as {
+      patch?: { payload?: { model?: string; thinking?: string } };
+    };
+
+    expect(patch?.patch?.payload?.model).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(patch?.patch?.payload?.thinking).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/cli/cron-cli.ts b/src/cli/cron-cli.ts
index 9c18c925e..62c2e6a17 100644
--- a/src/cli/cron-cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli/cron-cli.ts
@@ -646,15 +646,22 @@ export function registerCronCli(program: Command) {
               text: String(opts.systemEvent),
             };
           } else if (opts.message) {
+            const model =
+              typeof opts.model === "string" && opts.model.trim()
+                ? opts.model.trim()
+                : undefined;
+            const thinking =
+              typeof opts.thinking === "string" && opts.thinking.trim()
+                ? opts.thinking.trim()
+                : undefined;
             const timeoutSeconds = opts.timeoutSeconds
               ? Number.parseInt(String(opts.timeoutSeconds), 10)
               : undefined;
             patch.payload = {
               kind: "agentTurn",
               message: String(opts.message),
-              model: typeof opts.model === "string" ? opts.model : undefined,
-              thinking:
-                typeof opts.thinking === "string" ? opts.thinking : undefined,
+              model,
+              thinking,
               timeoutSeconds:
                 timeoutSeconds && Number.isFinite(timeoutSeconds)
                   ? timeoutSeconds