---
summary: "Inbound image/audio/video understanding (optional) with provider + CLI fallbacks"
read_when:
  - Designing or refactoring media understanding
  - Tuning inbound audio/video/image preprocessing
title: "Media understanding"
sidebarTitle: "Media understanding"
---

OpenClaw can **summarize inbound media** (image/audio/video) before the reply pipeline runs. It auto-detects when local tools or provider keys are available, and can be disabled or customized. If understanding is off, models still receive the original files/URLs as usual.

Vendor-specific media behavior is registered by vendor plugins, while OpenClaw core owns the shared `tools.media` config, fallback order, and reply-pipeline integration.

## Goals

- Optional: pre-digest inbound media into short text for faster routing + better command parsing.
- Preserve original media delivery to the model (always).
- Support **provider APIs** and **CLI fallbacks**.
- Allow multiple models with ordered fallback (error/size/timeout).

## High-level behavior

<Steps>
  <Step title="Collect attachments">
    Collect inbound attachments (`MediaPaths`, `MediaUrls`, `MediaTypes`).
  </Step>
  <Step title="Select per-capability">
    For each enabled capability (image/audio/video), select attachments per policy (default: **first**).
  </Step>
  <Step title="Choose model">
    Choose the first eligible model entry (size + capability + auth).
  </Step>
  <Step title="Fallback on failure">
    If a model fails or the media is too large, **fall back to the next entry**.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Apply success block">
    On success:

    - `Body` becomes `[Image]`, `[Audio]`, or `[Video]` block.
    - Audio sets `{{Transcript}}`; command parsing uses caption text when present, otherwise the transcript.
    - Captions are preserved as `User text:` inside the block.

  </Step>
</Steps>

If understanding fails or is disabled, **the reply flow continues** with the original body + attachments.

## Config overview

`tools.media` supports **shared models** plus per-capability overrides:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Top-level keys">
    - `tools.media.models`: shared model list (use `capabilities` to gate).
    - `tools.media.image` / `tools.media.audio` / `tools.media.video`:
      - defaults (`prompt`, `maxChars`, `maxBytes`, `timeoutSeconds`, `language`)
      - provider overrides (`baseUrl`, `headers`, `providerOptions`)
      - Deepgram audio options via `tools.media.audio.providerOptions.deepgram`
      - audio transcript echo controls (`echoTranscript`, default `false`; `echoFormat`)
      - optional **per-capability `models` list** (preferred before shared models)
      - `attachments` policy (`mode`, `maxAttachments`, `prefer`)
      - `scope` (optional gating by channel/chatType/session key)
    - `tools.media.concurrency`: max concurrent capability runs (default **2**).

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

```json5
{
  tools: {
    media: {
      models: [
        /* shared list */
      ],
      image: {
        /* optional overrides */
      },
      audio: {
        /* optional overrides */
        echoTranscript: true,
        echoFormat: '📝 "{transcript}"',
      },
      video: {
        /* optional overrides */
      },
    },
  },
}
```

### Model entries

Each `models[]` entry can be **provider** or **CLI**:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Provider entry">
    ```json5
    {
      type: "provider", // default if omitted
      provider: "openai",
      model: "gpt-5.5",
      prompt: "Describe the image in <= 500 chars.",
      maxChars: 500,
      maxBytes: 10485760,
      timeoutSeconds: 60,
      capabilities: ["image"], // optional, used for multi-modal entries
      profile: "vision-profile",
      preferredProfile: "vision-fallback",
    }
    ```
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="CLI entry">
    ```json5
    {
      type: "cli",
      command: "gemini",
      args: [
        "-m",
        "gemini-3-flash",
        "--allowed-tools",
        "read_file",
        "Read the media at {{MediaPath}} and describe it in <= {{MaxChars}} characters.",
      ],
      maxChars: 500,
      maxBytes: 52428800,
      timeoutSeconds: 120,
      capabilities: ["video", "image"],
    }
    ```

    CLI templates can also use:

    - `{{MediaDir}}` (directory containing the media file)
    - `{{OutputDir}}` (scratch dir created for this run)
    - `{{OutputBase}}` (scratch file base path, no extension)

  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Provider credentials (`apiKey`)

Provider media understanding uses the same provider auth resolution as normal
model calls: auth profiles, environment variables, then
`models.providers.<providerId>.apiKey`.

`tools.media.*.models[]` entries do not accept an inline `apiKey` field. The
`provider` value in a media model entry, such as `openai` or `moonshot`, must
have credentials available through one of the standard provider auth sources.

Minimal example:

```json5
{
  models: {
    providers: {
      openai: { apiKey: "<OPENAI_API_KEY>" },
      moonshot: { apiKey: "<MOONSHOT_API_KEY>" },
    },
  },
}
```

For the full provider auth reference, including profiles, environment
variables, and custom base URLs, see [Tools and custom providers](/gateway/config-tools).

## Defaults and limits

Recommended defaults:

- `maxChars`: **500** for image/video (short, command-friendly)
- `maxChars`: **unset** for audio (full transcript unless you set a limit)
- `maxBytes`:
  - image: **10MB**
  - audio: **20MB**
  - video: **50MB**

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Rules">
    - If media exceeds `maxBytes`, that model is skipped and the **next model is tried**.
    - Audio files smaller than **1024 bytes** are treated as empty/corrupt and skipped before provider/CLI transcription; inbound reply context receives a deterministic placeholder transcript so the agent knows the note was too small.
    - If the model returns more than `maxChars`, output is trimmed.
    - `prompt` defaults to simple "Describe the {media}." plus the `maxChars` guidance (image/video only).
    - If the active primary image model already supports vision natively, OpenClaw skips the `[Image]` summary block and passes the original image into the model instead.
    - If a Gateway/WebChat primary model is text-only, image attachments are preserved as offloaded `media://inbound/*` refs so the image/PDF tools or configured image model can still inspect them instead of losing the attachment.
    - Explicit `openclaw infer image describe --model <provider/model>` requests are different: they run that image-capable provider/model directly, including Ollama refs such as `ollama/qwen2.5vl:7b`.
    - If `<capability>.enabled: true` but no models are configured, OpenClaw tries the **active reply model** when its provider supports the capability.

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Auto-detect media understanding (default)

If `tools.media.<capability>.enabled` is **not** set to `false` and you haven't configured models, OpenClaw auto-detects in this order and **stops at the first working option**:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Active reply model">
    Active reply model when its provider supports the capability.
  </Step>
  <Step title="agents.defaults.imageModel">
    `agents.defaults.imageModel` primary/fallback refs (image only).
    Prefer `provider/model` refs. Bare refs are qualified from configured image-capable provider model entries only when the match is unique.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Local CLIs (audio only)">
    Local CLIs (if installed):

    - `sherpa-onnx-offline` (requires `SHERPA_ONNX_MODEL_DIR` with encoder/decoder/joiner/tokens)
    - `whisper-cli` (`whisper-cpp`; uses `WHISPER_CPP_MODEL` or the bundled tiny model)
    - `whisper` (Python CLI; downloads models automatically)

  </Step>
  <Step title="Gemini CLI">
    `gemini` using `read_many_files`.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Provider auth">
    - Configured `models.providers.*` entries that support the capability are tried before the bundled fallback order.
    - Image-only config providers with an image-capable model auto-register for media understanding even when they are not a bundled vendor plugin.
    - Ollama image understanding is available when selected explicitly, for example through `agents.defaults.imageModel` or `openclaw infer image describe --model ollama/<vision-model>`.

    Bundled fallback order:

    - Audio: OpenAI → Groq → xAI → Deepgram → OpenRouter → Google → SenseAudio → ElevenLabs → Mistral
    - Image: OpenAI → Anthropic → Google → MiniMax → MiniMax Portal → Z.AI
    - Video: Google → Qwen → Moonshot

  </Step>
</Steps>

To disable auto-detection, set:

```json5
{
  tools: {
    media: {
      audio: {
        enabled: false,
      },
    },
  },
}
```

<Note>
Binary detection is best-effort across macOS/Linux/Windows; ensure the CLI is on `PATH` (we expand `~`), or set an explicit CLI model with a full command path.
</Note>

### Proxy environment support (provider models)

When provider-based **audio** and **video** media understanding is enabled, OpenClaw honors standard outbound proxy environment variables for provider HTTP calls:

- `HTTPS_PROXY`
- `HTTP_PROXY`
- `ALL_PROXY`
- `https_proxy`
- `http_proxy`
- `all_proxy`

If no proxy env vars are set, media understanding uses direct egress. If the proxy value is malformed, OpenClaw logs a warning and falls back to direct fetch.

## Capabilities (optional)

If you set `capabilities`, the entry only runs for those media types. For shared lists, OpenClaw can infer defaults:

- `openai`, `anthropic`, `minimax`: **image**
- `minimax-portal`: **image**
- `moonshot`: **image + video**
- `openrouter`: **image + audio**
- `google` (Gemini API): **image + audio + video**
- `qwen`: **image + video**
- `mistral`: **audio**
- `zai`: **image**
- `groq`: **audio**
- `xai`: **audio**
- `deepgram`: **audio**
- Any `models.providers.<id>.models[]` catalog with an image-capable model: **image**

For CLI entries, **set `capabilities` explicitly** to avoid surprising matches. If you omit `capabilities`, the entry is eligible for the list it appears in.

## Provider support matrix (OpenClaw integrations)

| Capability | Provider integration                                                                                                         | Notes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Image      | OpenAI, OpenAI Codex OAuth, Codex app-server, OpenRouter, Anthropic, Google, MiniMax, Moonshot, Qwen, Z.AI, config providers | Vendor plugins register image support; `openai-codex/*` uses OAuth provider plumbing; `codex/*` uses a bounded Codex app-server turn; MiniMax and MiniMax OAuth both use `MiniMax-VL-01`; image-capable config providers auto-register. |
| Audio      | OpenAI, Groq, xAI, Deepgram, OpenRouter, Google, SenseAudio, ElevenLabs, Mistral                                             | Provider transcription (Whisper/Groq/xAI/Deepgram/OpenRouter STT/Gemini/SenseAudio/Scribe/Voxtral).                                                                                                                                     |
| Video      | Google, Qwen, Moonshot                                                                                                       | Provider video understanding via vendor plugins; Qwen video understanding uses the Standard DashScope endpoints.                                                                                                                        |

<Note>
**MiniMax note**

- `minimax`, `minimax-cn`, `minimax-portal`, and `minimax-portal-cn` image understanding comes from the plugin-owned `MiniMax-VL-01` media provider.
- Automatic image routing keeps using `MiniMax-VL-01` even if legacy MiniMax M2.x chat metadata claims image input.

</Note>

## Model selection guidance

- Prefer the strongest latest-generation model available for each media capability when quality and safety matter.
- For tool-enabled agents handling untrusted inputs, avoid older/weaker media models.
- Keep at least one fallback per capability for availability (quality model + faster/cheaper model).
- CLI fallbacks (`whisper-cli`, `whisper`, `gemini`) are useful when provider APIs are unavailable.
- `parakeet-mlx` note: with `--output-dir`, OpenClaw reads `<output-dir>/<media-basename>.txt` when output format is `txt` (or unspecified); non-`txt` formats fall back to stdout.

## Attachment policy

Per-capability `attachments` controls which attachments are processed:

<ParamField path="mode" type='"first" | "all"' default="first">
  Whether to process the first selected attachment or all of them.
</ParamField>
<ParamField path="maxAttachments" type="number" default="1">
  Cap the number processed.
</ParamField>
<ParamField path="prefer" type='"first" | "last" | "path" | "url"'>
  Selection preference among candidate attachments.
</ParamField>

When `mode: "all"`, outputs are labeled `[Image 1/2]`, `[Audio 2/2]`, etc.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="File-attachment extraction behavior">
    - Extracted file text is wrapped as **untrusted external content** before it is appended to the media prompt.
    - The injected block uses explicit boundary markers like `<<<EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT id="...">>>` / `<<<END_EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT id="...">>>` and includes a `Source: External` metadata line.
    - This attachment-extraction path intentionally omits the long `SECURITY NOTICE:` banner to avoid bloating the media prompt; the boundary markers and metadata still remain.
    - If a file has no extractable text, OpenClaw injects `[No extractable text]`.
    - If a PDF falls back to rendered page images in this path, the media prompt keeps the placeholder `[PDF content rendered to images; images not forwarded to model]` because this attachment-extraction step forwards text blocks, not the rendered PDF images.

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Config examples

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Shared models + overrides">
    ```json5
    {
      tools: {
        media: {
          models: [
            { provider: "openai", model: "gpt-5.5", capabilities: ["image"] },
            {
              provider: "google",
              model: "gemini-3-flash-preview",
              capabilities: ["image", "audio", "video"],
            },
            {
              type: "cli",
              command: "gemini",
              args: [
                "-m",
                "gemini-3-flash",
                "--allowed-tools",
                "read_file",
                "Read the media at {{MediaPath}} and describe it in <= {{MaxChars}} characters.",
              ],
              capabilities: ["image", "video"],
            },
          ],
          audio: {
            attachments: { mode: "all", maxAttachments: 2 },
          },
          video: {
            maxChars: 500,
          },
        },
      },
    }
    ```
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Audio + video only">
    ```json5
    {
      tools: {
        media: {
          audio: {
            enabled: true,
            models: [
              { provider: "openai", model: "gpt-4o-mini-transcribe" },
              {
                type: "cli",
                command: "whisper",
                args: ["--model", "base", "{{MediaPath}}"],
              },
            ],
          },
          video: {
            enabled: true,
            maxChars: 500,
            models: [
              { provider: "google", model: "gemini-3-flash-preview" },
              {
                type: "cli",
                command: "gemini",
                args: [
                  "-m",
                  "gemini-3-flash",
                  "--allowed-tools",
                  "read_file",
                  "Read the media at {{MediaPath}} and describe it in <= {{MaxChars}} characters.",
                ],
              },
            ],
          },
        },
      },
    }
    ```
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Image-only">
    ```json5
    {
      tools: {
        media: {
          image: {
            enabled: true,
            maxBytes: 10485760,
            maxChars: 500,
            models: [
              { provider: "openai", model: "gpt-5.5" },
              { provider: "anthropic", model: "claude-opus-4-6" },
              {
                type: "cli",
                command: "gemini",
                args: [
                  "-m",
                  "gemini-3-flash",
                  "--allowed-tools",
                  "read_file",
                  "Read the media at {{MediaPath}} and describe it in <= {{MaxChars}} characters.",
                ],
              },
            ],
          },
        },
      },
    }
    ```
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Multi-modal single entry">
    ```json5
    {
      tools: {
        media: {
          image: {
            models: [
              {
                provider: "google",
                model: "gemini-3.1-pro-preview",
                capabilities: ["image", "video", "audio"],
              },
            ],
          },
          audio: {
            models: [
              {
                provider: "google",
                model: "gemini-3.1-pro-preview",
                capabilities: ["image", "video", "audio"],
              },
            ],
          },
          video: {
            models: [
              {
                provider: "google",
                model: "gemini-3.1-pro-preview",
                capabilities: ["image", "video", "audio"],
              },
            ],
          },
        },
      },
    }
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Status output

When media understanding runs, `/status` includes a short summary line:

```
📎 Media: image ok (openai/gpt-5.4) · audio skipped (maxBytes)
```

This shows per-capability outcomes and the chosen provider/model when applicable.

## Notes

- Understanding is **best-effort**. Errors do not block replies.
- Attachments are still passed to models even when understanding is disabled.
- Use `scope` to limit where understanding runs (e.g. only DMs).

## Related

- [Configuration](/gateway/configuration)
- [Image & media support](/nodes/images)
