diff --git a/electron/main/ipc-handlers.ts b/electron/main/ipc-handlers.ts
index e17640aa9..5002ca3fd 100644
--- a/electron/main/ipc-handlers.ts
+++ b/electron/main/ipc-handlers.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import {
 } from '../utils/secure-storage';
 import { getOpenClawStatus } from '../utils/paths';
 import { getSetting } from '../utils/store';
-import { saveProviderKeyToOpenClaw } from '../utils/openclaw-auth';
+import { saveProviderKeyToOpenClaw, setOpenClawDefaultModel } from '../utils/openclaw-auth';
 
 /**
  * Register all IPC handlers
@@ -228,6 +228,13 @@ function registerProviderHandlers(): void {
         }
       }
       
+      // Set the default model in OpenClaw config based on provider type
+      try {
+        setOpenClawDefaultModel(config.type);
+      } catch (err) {
+        console.warn('Failed to set OpenClaw default model:', err);
+      }
+      
       return { success: true };
     } catch (error) {
       return { success: false, error: String(error) };
diff --git a/electron/utils/openclaw-auth.ts b/electron/utils/openclaw-auth.ts
index f05fdafdf..0cc6d6156 100644
--- a/electron/utils/openclaw-auth.ts
+++ b/electron/utils/openclaw-auth.ts
@@ -161,3 +161,61 @@ export function buildProviderEnvVars(providers: Array<{ type: string; apiKey: st
   
   return env;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Provider type to default model mapping
+ * Used to set the gateway's default model when the user selects a provider
+ */
+const PROVIDER_DEFAULT_MODELS: Record<string, string> = {
+  anthropic: 'anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514',
+  openai: 'openai/gpt-4o',
+  google: 'google/gemini-2.5-pro-preview-06-05',
+  openrouter: 'openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4',
+};
+
+/**
+ * Update the OpenClaw config to use the given provider and model
+ * Writes to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
+ */
+export function setOpenClawDefaultModel(provider: string): void {
+  const configPath = join(homedir(), '.openclaw', 'openclaw.json');
+  
+  let config: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+  
+  try {
+    if (existsSync(configPath)) {
+      config = JSON.parse(readFileSync(configPath, 'utf-8'));
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.warn('Failed to read openclaw.json, creating fresh config:', err);
+  }
+  
+  const model = PROVIDER_DEFAULT_MODELS[provider];
+  if (!model) {
+    console.warn(`No default model mapping for provider "${provider}"`);
+    return;
+  }
+  
+  // Set the default model for the agents
+  const agents = (config.agents || {}) as Record<string, unknown>;
+  const defaults = (agents.defaults || {}) as Record<string, unknown>;
+  defaults.model = model;
+  agents.defaults = defaults;
+  config.agents = agents;
+  
+  // Ensure gateway mode is set
+  const gateway = (config.gateway || {}) as Record<string, unknown>;
+  if (!gateway.mode) {
+    gateway.mode = 'local';
+  }
+  config.gateway = gateway;
+  
+  // Ensure directory exists
+  const dir = join(configPath, '..');
+  if (!existsSync(dir)) {
+    mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+  }
+  
+  writeFileSync(configPath, JSON.stringify(config, null, 2), 'utf-8');
+  console.log(`Set OpenClaw default model to "${model}" for provider "${provider}"`);
+}