diff --git a/agents/coding.json b/agents/coding.json
index eda6369..a6cb80c 100644
--- a/agents/coding.json
+++ b/agents/coding.json
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@
     ],
     "postTurn": [
       "task list 2>/dev/null || true"
+    ],
+    "turnError": [
+      "$OLLIE/x/freeloader $OLLIE_SESSION_ID 2>/dev/null || true"
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/agents/default.json b/agents/default.json
index c02c77c..20ee69d 100644
--- a/agents/default.json
+++ b/agents/default.json
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@
     ],
     "postTurn": [
       "task list 2>/dev/null || true"
+    ],
+    "turnError": [
+      "$OLLIE/x/freeloader $OLLIE_SESSION_ID 2>/dev/null || true"
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/agents/devops.json b/agents/devops.json
index d1e7ba3..664b5e3 100644
--- a/agents/devops.json
+++ b/agents/devops.json
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@
     ],
     "postTurn": [
       "task list 2>/dev/null || true"
+    ],
+    "turnError": [
+      "$OLLIE/x/freeloader $OLLIE_SESSION_ID 2>/dev/null || true"
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/agents/qa.json b/agents/qa.json
index 299dc9d..91c9800 100644
--- a/agents/qa.json
+++ b/agents/qa.json
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
     ],
     "postTurn": [
       "task list 2>/dev/null || true"
+    ],
+    "turnError": [
+      "$OLLIE/x/freeloader $OLLIE_SESSION_ID 2>/dev/null || true"
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/agents/reviewer.json b/agents/reviewer.json
index 0e077ce..d9a410a 100644
--- a/agents/reviewer.json
+++ b/agents/reviewer.json
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
     ],
     "postTurn": [
       "task list 2>/dev/null || true"
+    ],
+    "turnError": [
+      "$OLLIE/x/freeloader $OLLIE_SESSION_ID 2>/dev/null || true"
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/agents/sysarchitect.json b/agents/sysarchitect.json
index 8719699..0a304ba 100644
--- a/agents/sysarchitect.json
+++ b/agents/sysarchitect.json
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
     ],
     "postTurn": [
       "task list 2>/dev/null || true"
+    ],
+    "turnError": [
+      "$OLLIE/x/freeloader $OLLIE_SESSION_ID 2>/dev/null || true"
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/agents/writer.json b/agents/writer.json
index a089b1b..ebfc822 100644
--- a/agents/writer.json
+++ b/agents/writer.json
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
     ],
     "postTurn": [
       "task list 2>/dev/null || true"
+    ],
+    "turnError": [
+      "$OLLIE/x/freeloader $OLLIE_SESSION_ID 2>/dev/null || true"
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/core b/core
index 2c9f853..78e5416 160000
--- a/core
+++ b/core
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 2c9f853a4aa6bce14b5788d97c1987edf35e9aaf
+Subproject commit 78e54165500f2b6136d9fc2e7422b7ae984dca71
diff --git a/scripts/x/freeloader b/scripts/x/freeloader
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e33df03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/x/freeloader
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# x/freeloader: turnError hook handler for free-model sessions on OpenRouter.
+#
+# Intercepts rate_limit and tool_unsupported errors on :free models, switches
+# to the next viable free model, and resubmits the previous prompt.
+#
+# Configure in an agent .json:
+#   { "hooks": { "turnError": "$OLLIE/x/freeloader $OLLIE_SESSION_ID" } }
+#
+# The hook runner sets OLLIE_ERROR_TYPE, OLLIE_MODEL, and OLLIE_SESSION_ID
+# from the payload before executing this script.
+#
+# Exit codes:
+#   0  — error was intercepted and handled (loop will not retry)
+#   1  — error not handled; normal retry/error behaviour proceeds
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+OLLIE="${OLLIE:-$HOME/mnt/ollie}"
+BLACKLIST="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/ollie/freeloader-blacklist"
+cmd=${0##*/}
+
+die() { printf '%s: %s\n' "$cmd" "$*" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+[ $# -ne 1 ] && die "usage: freeloader <session-id>"
+
+SID="$1"
+B="$OLLIE/s/$SID"
+
+[ -d "$B" ] || die "session not found: $SID"
+
+# Read context injected by the hook runner.
+error_type="${OLLIE_ERROR_TYPE:-}"
+current_model="${OLLIE_MODEL:-$(grep '^model=' "$B/cfg" 2>/dev/null | cut -d= -f2-)}"
+
+# Only handle rate_limit and tool_unsupported.
+case "$error_type" in
+    rate_limit|tool_unsupported) ;;
+    *) exit 1 ;;
+esac
+
+# Only act on :free models.
+case "$current_model" in
+    *:free) ;;
+    *) exit 1 ;;
+esac
+
+# For tool_unsupported: blacklist the current model so future sessions skip it.
+if [ "$error_type" = "tool_unsupported" ]; then
+    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$BLACKLIST")"
+    if ! grep -qxF "$current_model" "$BLACKLIST" 2>/dev/null; then
+        printf '%s\n' "$current_model" >> "$BLACKLIST"
+        printf '%s: blacklisted %s (tool_unsupported)\n' "$cmd" "$current_model" >&2
+    fi
+fi
+
+# Build candidate list: :free models not in the blacklist, excluding current.
+mapfile -t candidates < <(
+    cat "$B/models" 2>/dev/null \
+    | grep ':free' \
+    | sort \
+    | grep -vxF "$current_model" \
+    | { [ -f "$BLACKLIST" ] && grep -vxFf "$BLACKLIST" || cat; }
+)
+
+if [ ${#candidates[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+    printf '%s: no viable free models remaining\n' "$cmd" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+next_model="${candidates[0]}"
+
+# Switch model and resubmit the previous prompt.
+printf 'model %s\n' "$next_model" > "$B/ctl" || die "failed to switch model"
+prev=$(cat "$B/prompt.prev" 2>/dev/null) || die "prompt.prev not available"
+[ -z "$prev" ] && die "prompt.prev is empty"
+printf '%s\n' "$prev" > "$B/prompt" || die "failed to resubmit prompt"
+
+printf '%s: %s → %s\n' "$cmd" "$current_model" "$next_model" >&2
+exit 0