openclaw/docs/concepts/model-providers.md

summary, read_when, title, sidebarTitle

summary	read_when	title	sidebarTitle
Model provider overview with example configs + CLI flows	You need a provider-by-provider model setup reference You want example configs or CLI onboarding commands for model providers	Model providers	Model providers

Reference for LLM/model providers (not chat channels like WhatsApp/Telegram). For model selection rules, see Models.

Quick rules

- Model refs use `provider/model` (example: `opencode/claude-opus-4-6`). - `agents.defaults.models` acts as an allowlist when set. - CLI helpers: `openclaw onboard`, `openclaw models list`, `openclaw models set <provider/model>`. - `models.providers.*.contextWindow` / `contextTokens` / `maxTokens` set provider-level defaults; `models.providers.*.models[].contextWindow` / `contextTokens` / `maxTokens` override them per model. - Fallback rules, cooldown probes, and session-override persistence: [Model failover](/concepts/model-failover). `openclaw configure` preserves an existing `agents.defaults.model.primary` when you add or reauth a provider. `openclaw models auth login` does the same unless you pass `--set-default`. Provider plugins may still return a recommended default model in their auth config patch, but OpenClaw treats that as "make this model available" when a primary model already exists, not "replace the current primary model."

To intentionally switch the default model, use `openclaw models set <provider/model>` or `openclaw models auth login --provider <id> --set-default`.

OpenAI model refs and agent runtimes are separate:

- `openai/<model>` selects the canonical OpenAI provider and model. The prefix alone never selects Codex.
- With provider/model runtime policy unset or `auto`, OpenAI may select Codex implicitly only for an exact official HTTPS Platform Responses or ChatGPT Responses route with no authored request override.
- Authored Completions adapters, custom endpoints, and routes with authored request behavior stay on OpenClaw. Plaintext official HTTP endpoints are rejected.
- legacy Codex model refs are legacy config that doctor rewrites to `openai/<model>`.
- Provider/model `agentRuntime.id: "openclaw"` explicitly keeps an otherwise eligible route on OpenClaw. `agentRuntime.id: "codex"` requires Codex and fails closed when the effective route is not Codex-compatible.

See [OpenAI implicit agent runtime](/providers/openai#implicit-agent-runtime) and [Codex harness](/plugins/codex-harness). If the provider/runtime split is confusing, read [Agent runtimes](/concepts/agent-runtimes) first.

Plugin auto-enable follows the same boundary: an implicitly Codex-compatible effective route can enable the Codex plugin, while explicit provider/model `agentRuntime.id: "codex"` or legacy `codex/<model>` refs require it. An `openai/*` prefix by itself does not.

Fresh OpenAI setup uses a route-specific GPT-5.6 ref: API-key setup selects
`openai/gpt-5.6` (the bare direct-API id resolves to Sol), while
ChatGPT/Codex OAuth selects exact `openai/gpt-5.6-sol` for the native Codex
catalog. Existing explicit primaries, including `openai/gpt-5.5`, are
preserved when OpenAI auth is added or refreshed. GPT-5.5 remains available
through either runtime as an explicit recovery choice for accounts without
GPT-5.6 access.

CLI runtimes use the same split: choose canonical model refs such as `anthropic/claude-*` or `google/gemini-*`, then set provider/model runtime policy to `claude-cli` or `google-gemini-cli` when you want a local CLI backend.

Legacy `claude-cli/*` and `google-gemini-cli/*` refs migrate back to canonical provider refs with the runtime recorded separately. Legacy `codex-cli/*` refs migrate to `openai/*` and use the Codex app-server route; OpenClaw no longer keeps a bundled Codex CLI backend.

Plugin-owned provider behavior

Most provider-specific logic lives in provider plugins (registerProvider(...)) while OpenClaw keeps the generic inference loop. Plugins own onboarding, model catalogs, auth env-var mapping, transport/config normalization, tool-schema cleanup, failover classification, OAuth refresh, usage reporting, thinking/reasoning profiles, and more.

The full list of provider-SDK hooks and bundled-plugin examples lives in Provider plugins. A provider that needs a totally custom request executor is a separate, deeper extension surface.

Provider-owned runner behavior lives on explicit provider hooks such as replay policy, tool-schema normalization, stream wrapping, and transport/request helpers. The legacy `ProviderPlugin.capabilities` static bag is compatibility-only and is no longer read by shared runner logic.

API key rotation

Configure multiple keys via:

- `OPENCLAW_LIVE_<PROVIDER>_KEY` (single live override, highest priority)
- `<PROVIDER>_API_KEYS` (comma or semicolon list)
- `<PROVIDER>_API_KEY` (primary key)
- `<PROVIDER>_API_KEY_*` (numbered list, e.g. `<PROVIDER>_API_KEY_1`)

For Google providers, `GOOGLE_API_KEY` is also included as fallback. Key selection order preserves priority and deduplicates values.

- Requests are retried with the next key only on rate-limit responses (for example `429`, `rate_limit`, `quota`, `resource exhausted`, `Too many concurrent requests`, `ThrottlingException`, `concurrency limit reached`, `workers_ai ... quota limit exceeded`, or periodic usage-limit messages). - Non-rate-limit failures fail immediately; no key rotation is attempted. - When all candidate keys fail, the final error is returned from the last attempt.

Official provider plugins

Official provider plugins publish their own model catalog rows. These providers require no models.providers model entries; enable the provider plugin, set auth, and pick a model. Use models.providers only for explicit custom providers or narrow request settings such as timeouts.

OpenAI

• Provider: openai
• Auth: OPENAI_API_KEY
• Optional rotation: OPENAI_API_KEYS, OPENAI_API_KEY_1, OPENAI_API_KEY_2, plus OPENCLAW_LIVE_OPENAI_KEY (single override)
• Fresh setup default: openai/gpt-5.6; on the direct API, the bare id resolves to Sol.
• Example models: openai/gpt-5.6, openai/gpt-5.6-terra, openai/gpt-5.6-luna, openai/gpt-5.5
• Verify account/model availability with openclaw models list --provider openai if a specific install or API key behaves differently.
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice openai-api-key
• Default transport is auto; OpenClaw passes the transport choice to the shared model runtime.
• Override per model via agents.defaults.models["openai/<model>"].params.transport ("sse", "websocket", or "auto")
• OpenAI priority processing can be enabled via agents.defaults.models["openai/<model>"].params.serviceTier
• /fast and params.fastMode map direct openai/* Responses requests to service_tier=priority on api.openai.com
• Use params.serviceTier when you want an explicit tier instead of the shared /fast toggle
• Hidden OpenClaw attribution headers (originator, version, User-Agent) apply only on native OpenAI traffic to api.openai.com, not generic OpenAI-compatible proxies
• Native OpenAI routes also keep Responses store, prompt-cache hints, and OpenAI reasoning-compat payload shaping; proxy routes do not
• openai/gpt-5.3-codex-spark is available only through ChatGPT/Codex OAuth; direct OpenAI API-key and Azure API-key routes reject it

{
  agents: { defaults: { model: { primary: "openai/gpt-5.6" } } },
}

If the API organization does not expose GPT-5.6, set openai/gpt-5.5 explicitly. Normal onboarding and reauthentication preserve an existing explicit primary model; models auth login --set-default and models set are the intentional replacement paths.

Anthropic

• Provider: anthropic
• Auth: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
• Optional rotation: ANTHROPIC_API_KEYS, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_1, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_2, plus OPENCLAW_LIVE_ANTHROPIC_KEY (single override)
• Example model: anthropic/claude-opus-4-6
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice apiKey
• Direct public Anthropic requests support the shared /fast toggle and params.fastMode, including API-key and OAuth-authenticated traffic sent to api.anthropic.com; OpenClaw maps that to Anthropic service_tier (auto vs standard_only)
• Preferred Claude CLI config keeps the model ref canonical and selects the CLI backend separately: anthropic/claude-opus-4-8 with model-scoped agentRuntime.id: "claude-cli". Legacy claude-cli/claude-opus-4-7 refs still work for compatibility.

Claude CLI reuse (`claude -p`) is a sanctioned OpenClaw integration path. Anthropic setup-token auth remains supported, but OpenClaw prefers Claude CLI reuse when available.

{
  agents: { defaults: { model: { primary: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6" } } },
}

OpenAI ChatGPT/Codex OAuth

• Provider: openai
• Auth: OAuth (ChatGPT)
• Fresh native Codex app-server harness ref: openai/gpt-5.6-sol
• Native Codex app-server harness docs: Codex harness
• Legacy model refs: codex/gpt-*
• Plugin boundary: openai/* loads the OpenAI plugin; explicit runtime policy or the provider-owned effective route decides whether the native Codex app-server plugin is selected.
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice openai or openclaw models auth login --provider openai
• OpenClaw's embedded ChatGPT Responses transport defaults to auto (WebSocket-first, SSE fallback).
• agents.defaults.models["openai/<model>"].params.transport, params.serviceTier, and params.fastMode are authored embedded-request settings. They keep implicit runtime selection on OpenClaw; native Codex owns its app-server transport and service tier.
• Hidden OpenClaw attribution headers (originator, version, User-Agent) are only attached on native Codex traffic to chatgpt.com/backend-api, not generic OpenAI-compatible proxies
• The shared /fast toggle remains available as a runtime control; it is distinct from authored model params.
• The native Codex catalog can expose exact openai/gpt-5.6-sol, openai/gpt-5.6-terra, and openai/gpt-5.6-luna refs according to account access. It does not apply the direct API's bare gpt-5.6 alias client-side.
• openai/gpt-5.5 uses the Codex catalog native contextWindow = 400000 and default runtime contextTokens = 272000; override the runtime cap with models.providers.openai.models[].contextTokens
• Sign in with openai auth and use openai/gpt-5.6-sol for a fresh subscription-backed setup. Select openai/gpt-5.5 explicitly if that Codex workspace does not expose GPT-5.6.
• Use provider/model agentRuntime.id: "openclaw" to keep an otherwise eligible route on the built-in runtime. With runtime unset or auto, only an exact official HTTPS Responses/ChatGPT-compatible route with no authored request override may select Codex implicitly.
• Legacy Codex GPT refs are legacy state, not a live provider route. Use canonical openai/* refs for new agent config, and run openclaw doctor --fix to migrate old legacy Codex model refs without upgrading an existing explicit openai/gpt-5.5 selection.

{
  plugins: { entries: { codex: { enabled: true } } },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "openai/gpt-5.6-sol" },
    },
  },
}

{
  models: {
    providers: {
      openai: {
        models: [{ id: "gpt-5.5", contextTokens: 160000 }],
      },
    },
  },
}

Other subscription-style hosted options

MiniMax Coding Plan OAuth or API key access. Qwen Cloud provider surface plus Alibaba DashScope and Coding Plan endpoint mapping. Z.AI Coding Plan or general API endpoints.

OpenCode

• Auth: OPENCODE_API_KEY (or OPENCODE_ZEN_API_KEY)
• Zen runtime provider: opencode
• Go runtime provider: opencode-go
• Example models: opencode/claude-opus-4-6, opencode-go/kimi-k2.6
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice opencode-zen or openclaw onboard --auth-choice opencode-go

{
  agents: { defaults: { model: { primary: "opencode/claude-opus-4-6" } } },
}

Google Gemini (API key)

• Provider: google
• Auth: GEMINI_API_KEY
• Optional rotation: GEMINI_API_KEYS, GEMINI_API_KEY_1, GEMINI_API_KEY_2, GOOGLE_API_KEY fallback, and OPENCLAW_LIVE_GEMINI_KEY (single override)
• Example models: google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview, google/gemini-3.5-flash
• Compatibility: legacy OpenClaw config using google/gemini-3.1-flash-preview is normalized to google/gemini-3-flash-preview
• Alias: google/gemini-3.1-pro is accepted and normalized to Google's live Gemini API id, google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice gemini-api-key
• Thinking: /think adaptive uses Google dynamic thinking. Gemini 3/3.1 omit a fixed thinkingLevel; Gemini 2.5 sends thinkingBudget: -1.
• Direct Gemini runs also accept agents.defaults.models["google/<model>"].params.cachedContent (or legacy cached_content) to forward a provider-native cachedContents/... handle; Gemini cache hits surface as OpenClaw cacheRead

Google Vertex and Gemini CLI

• Providers: google-vertex, google-gemini-cli
• Auth: Vertex uses gcloud ADC; Gemini CLI uses its OAuth flow

Gemini CLI OAuth in OpenClaw is an unofficial integration. Some users have reported Google account restrictions after using third-party clients. Review Google terms and use a non-critical account if you choose to proceed.

Gemini CLI OAuth is shipped as part of the bundled google plugin.

```bash brew install gemini-cli ``` ```bash npm install -g @google/gemini-cli ``` ```bash openclaw plugins enable google ``` ```bash openclaw models auth login --provider google-gemini-cli --set-default ```

Default model: `google-gemini-cli/gemini-3-flash-preview`. You do **not** paste a client id or secret into `openclaw.json`. The CLI login flow stores tokens in auth profiles on the gateway host.

If requests fail after login, set `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` or `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT_ID` on the gateway host.

Gemini CLI uses stream-json by default. OpenClaw reads assistant stream messages and normalizes stats.cached into cacheRead; legacy --output-format json overrides still read reply text from response.

Z.AI (GLM)

• Provider: zai
• Auth: ZAI_API_KEY
• Example model: zai/glm-5.2
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice zai-api-key
  • Model refs use the canonical zai/* provider ID.
  • zai-api-key auto-detects the matching Z.AI endpoint; zai-coding-global, zai-coding-cn, zai-global, and zai-cn force a specific surface

Vercel AI Gateway

• Provider: vercel-ai-gateway
• Auth: AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY
• Example models: vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6, vercel-ai-gateway/moonshotai/kimi-k2.6
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice ai-gateway-api-key

Other bundled provider plugins

Provider	Id	Auth env	Example model
Arcee	arcee	ARCEEAI_API_KEY or OPENROUTER_API_KEY	arcee/trinity-large-thinking
BytePlus	byteplus / byteplus-plan	BYTEPLUS_API_KEY	byteplus-plan/ark-code-latest
Cerebras	cerebras	CEREBRAS_API_KEY	cerebras/zai-glm-4.7
Chutes	chutes	CHUTES_API_KEY or CHUTES_OAUTH_TOKEN	chutes/zai-org/GLM-4.7-TEE
ClawRouter	clawrouter	CLAWROUTER_API_KEY	clawrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6
Cohere	cohere	COHERE_API_KEY	cohere/command-a-plus-05-2026
DeepInfra	deepinfra	DEEPINFRA_API_KEY	deepinfra/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4-Flash
DeepSeek	deepseek	DEEPSEEK_API_KEY	deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash
Featherless AI	featherless	FEATHERLESS_API_KEY	featherless/Qwen/Qwen3-32B
GitHub Copilot	github-copilot	COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN / GH_TOKEN / GITHUB_TOKEN	-
GMI Cloud	gmi	GMI_API_KEY	gmi/google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite
Groq	groq	GROQ_API_KEY	groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile
Hugging Face Inference	huggingface	HUGGINGFACE_HUB_TOKEN or HF_TOKEN	huggingface/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1
MiniMax	minimax / minimax-portal	MINIMAX_API_KEY / MINIMAX_OAUTH_TOKEN	minimax/MiniMax-M3
Mistral	mistral	MISTRAL_API_KEY	mistral/mistral-large-latest
Moonshot	moonshot	MOONSHOT_API_KEY	moonshot/kimi-k2.6
NVIDIA	nvidia	NVIDIA_API_KEY	nvidia/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b
NovitaAI	novita	NOVITA_API_KEY	novita/deepseek/deepseek-v3-0324
Ollama Cloud	ollama-cloud	OLLAMA_API_KEY	ollama-cloud/kimi-k2.6
OpenRouter	openrouter	OpenRouter OAuth or OPENROUTER_API_KEY	openrouter/auto
Qianfan	qianfan	QIANFAN_API_KEY	qianfan/deepseek-v3.2
Qwen OAuth	qwen-oauth	QWEN_API_KEY	qwen-oauth/qwen3.5-plus
Tencent TokenHub	tencent-tokenhub	TOKENHUB_API_KEY	tencent-tokenhub/hy3-preview
Together	together	TOGETHER_API_KEY	together/meta-llama/Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct-Turbo
Venice	venice	VENICE_API_KEY	-
Vercel AI Gateway	vercel-ai-gateway	AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY	vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
Volcano Engine (Doubao)	volcengine / volcengine-plan	VOLCANO_ENGINE_API_KEY	volcengine-plan/ark-code-latest
xAI	xai	SuperGrok/X Premium OAuth or XAI_API_KEY	xai/grok-4.3
Xiaomi	xiaomi / xiaomi-token-plan	XIAOMI_API_KEY / XIAOMI_TOKEN_PLAN_API_KEY	xiaomi/mimo-v2-flash / xiaomi-token-plan/mimo-v2.5-pro

Quirks worth knowing

Applies its app-attribution headers and Anthropic `cache_control` markers only on verified `openrouter.ai` routes. DeepSeek, Moonshot, and ZAI refs are cache-TTL eligible for OpenRouter-managed prompt caching but do not receive Anthropic cache markers. As a proxy-style OpenAI-compatible path, it skips native-OpenAI-only shaping (`serviceTier`, Responses `store`, prompt-cache hints, OpenAI reasoning-compat). Gemini-backed refs keep proxy-Gemini thought-signature sanitation only. Gemini-backed refs follow the same proxy-Gemini sanitation path; `kilocode/kilo/auto` and other proxy-reasoning-unsupported refs skip proxy reasoning injection. API-key onboarding writes explicit M3 and M2.7 chat model definitions; image understanding stays on the plugin-owned `MiniMax-VL-01` media provider. Model ids use a `nvidia//` namespace (for example `nvidia/nvidia/nemotron-...` alongside `nvidia/moonshotai/kimi-k2.5`); pickers preserve the literal `/` composition while the canonical key sent to the API stays single-prefixed. Uses the xAI Responses path. The recommended path is SuperGrok/X Premium OAuth; API keys still work via `XAI_API_KEY` or plugin config, and Grok `web_search` reuses the same auth profile before API-key fallback. Grok 4.5 is selectable for chat, coding, and agentic work where available; `grok-4.3` remains the regional-safe bundled default. Older `/fast` and `params.fastMode: true` configurations still resolve through xAI's Grok 4.3 compatibility redirects, but new configurations should select a current model directly. `tool_stream` defaults on; disable via `agents.defaults.models["xai/"].params.tool_stream=false`.

Providers via models.providers (custom/base URL)

Use models.providers (or models.json) to add custom providers or OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible proxies.

Many of the bundled provider plugins below already publish a default catalog. Use explicit models.providers.<id> entries only when you want to override the default base URL, headers, or model list.

Gateway model capability checks also read explicit models.providers.<id>.models[] metadata. If a custom or proxy model accepts images, set input: ["text", "image"] on that model so WebChat and node-origin attachment paths pass images as native model inputs instead of text-only media refs.

agents.defaults.models["provider/model"] only controls model visibility, aliases, and per-model metadata for agents. It does not register a new runtime model by itself. For custom provider models, also add models.providers.<provider>.models[] with at least the matching id.

Moonshot AI (Kimi)

Install @openclaw/moonshot-provider before onboarding. Add an explicit models.providers.moonshot entry only when you need to override the base URL or model metadata:

• Provider: moonshot
• Auth: MOONSHOT_API_KEY
• Example model: moonshot/kimi-k2.6
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice moonshot-api-key or openclaw onboard --auth-choice moonshot-api-key-cn

Kimi K2 model IDs:

• moonshot/kimi-k2.6
• moonshot/kimi-k2.7-code
• moonshot/kimi-k2.5
• moonshot/kimi-k2-thinking
• moonshot/kimi-k2-thinking-turbo
• moonshot/kimi-k2-turbo

{
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "moonshot/kimi-k2.6" } },
  },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      moonshot: {
        baseUrl: "https://api.moonshot.ai/v1",
        apiKey: "${MOONSHOT_API_KEY}",
        api: "openai-completions",
        models: [{ id: "kimi-k2.6", name: "Kimi K2.6" }],
      },
    },
  },
}

See Moonshot AI (Kimi + Kimi Coding) for the full setup guide.

Kimi Coding

Kimi Coding uses Moonshot AI's Anthropic-compatible endpoint:

• Provider: kimi
• Auth: KIMI_API_KEY
• Example model: kimi/kimi-for-coding

{
  env: { KIMI_API_KEY: "sk-..." },
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "kimi/kimi-for-coding" } },
  },
}

Legacy kimi/kimi-code and kimi/k2p5 remain accepted as compatibility model ids and normalize to Kimi's stable API model id.

Volcano Engine (Doubao)

Volcano Engine (火山引擎) provides access to Doubao and other models in China.

• Provider: volcengine (coding: volcengine-plan)
• Auth: VOLCANO_ENGINE_API_KEY
• Example model: volcengine-plan/ark-code-latest
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice volcengine-api-key

{
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "volcengine-plan/ark-code-latest" } },
  },
}

Onboarding defaults to the coding surface, but the general volcengine/* catalog is registered at the same time.

In onboarding/configure model pickers, the Volcengine auth choice prefers both volcengine/* and volcengine-plan/* rows. If those models are not loaded yet, OpenClaw falls back to the unfiltered catalog instead of showing an empty provider-scoped picker.

- `volcengine/doubao-seed-1-8-251228` (Doubao Seed 1.8) - `volcengine/doubao-seed-code-preview-251028` - `volcengine/kimi-k2-5-260127` (Kimi K2.5) - `volcengine/glm-4-7-251222` (GLM 4.7) - `volcengine/deepseek-v3-2-251201` (DeepSeek V3.2) - `volcengine-plan/ark-code-latest` - `volcengine-plan/doubao-seed-code` - `volcengine-plan/kimi-k2.5` - `volcengine-plan/kimi-k2-thinking` - `volcengine-plan/glm-4.7`

BytePlus (International)

BytePlus ARK provides access to the same models as Volcano Engine for international users.

• Provider: byteplus (coding: byteplus-plan)
• Auth: BYTEPLUS_API_KEY
• Example model: byteplus-plan/ark-code-latest
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice byteplus-api-key

{
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "byteplus-plan/ark-code-latest" } },
  },
}

Onboarding defaults to the coding surface, but the general byteplus/* catalog is registered at the same time.

In onboarding/configure model pickers, the BytePlus auth choice prefers both byteplus/* and byteplus-plan/* rows. If those models are not loaded yet, OpenClaw falls back to the unfiltered catalog instead of showing an empty provider-scoped picker.

- `byteplus/seed-1-8-251228` (Seed 1.8) - `byteplus/kimi-k2-5-260127` (Kimi K2.5) - `byteplus/glm-4-7-251222` (GLM 4.7) - `byteplus-plan/ark-code-latest` - `byteplus-plan/doubao-seed-code` - `byteplus-plan/kimi-k2.5` - `byteplus-plan/kimi-k2-thinking` - `byteplus-plan/glm-4.7`

Synthetic

Synthetic provides Anthropic-compatible models behind the synthetic provider:

• Provider: synthetic
• Auth: SYNTHETIC_API_KEY
• Example model: synthetic/hf:MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-M2.5
• CLI: openclaw onboard --auth-choice synthetic-api-key

{
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "synthetic/hf:MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-M2.5" } },
  },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      synthetic: {
        baseUrl: "https://api.synthetic.new/anthropic",
        apiKey: "${SYNTHETIC_API_KEY}",
        api: "anthropic-messages",
        models: [{ id: "hf:MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-M2.5", name: "MiniMax M2.5" }],
      },
    },
  },
}

MiniMax

MiniMax is configured via models.providers because it uses custom endpoints:

• MiniMax OAuth (Global): --auth-choice minimax-global-oauth
• MiniMax OAuth (CN): --auth-choice minimax-cn-oauth
• MiniMax API key (Global): --auth-choice minimax-global-api
• MiniMax API key (CN): --auth-choice minimax-cn-api
• Auth: MINIMAX_API_KEY for minimax; MINIMAX_OAUTH_TOKEN or MINIMAX_API_KEY for minimax-portal

See /providers/minimax for setup details, model options, and config snippets.

On MiniMax's Anthropic-compatible streaming path, OpenClaw disables thinking by default for the M2.x family unless you explicitly set it; MiniMax-M3 (and M3.x) stays on the provider's omitted/adaptive thinking path by default. `/fast on` rewrites `MiniMax-M2.7` to `MiniMax-M2.7-highspeed`.

Plugin-owned capability split:

• Text/chat defaults stay on minimax/MiniMax-M3
• Image generation is minimax/image-01 or minimax-portal/image-01
• Image understanding is plugin-owned MiniMax-VL-01 on both MiniMax auth paths
• Web search stays on provider id minimax

LM Studio

LM Studio ships as a bundled provider plugin which uses the native API:

• Provider: lmstudio
• Auth: LM_API_TOKEN
• Default inference base URL: http://localhost:1234/v1

Then set a model (replace with one of the IDs returned by http://localhost:1234/api/v1/models):

{
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "lmstudio/openai/gpt-oss-20b" } },
  },
}

OpenClaw uses LM Studio's native /api/v1/models and /api/v1/models/load for discovery + auto-load, with /v1/chat/completions for inference by default. If you want LM Studio JIT loading, TTL, and auto-evict to own model lifecycle, set models.providers.lmstudio.params.preload: false. See /providers/lmstudio for setup and troubleshooting.

Ollama

Ollama ships as a bundled provider plugin and uses Ollama's native API:

• Provider: ollama
• Auth: None required (local server)
• Example model: ollama/llama3.3
• Installation: https://ollama.com/download

# Install Ollama, then pull a model:
ollama pull llama3.3

{
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "ollama/llama3.3" } },
  },
}

Ollama is detected locally at http://127.0.0.1:11434 when you opt in with OLLAMA_API_KEY, and the bundled provider plugin adds Ollama directly to openclaw onboard and the model picker. See /providers/ollama for onboarding, cloud/local mode, and custom configuration.

vLLM

vLLM ships as a bundled provider plugin for local/self-hosted OpenAI-compatible servers:

• Provider: vllm
• Auth: Optional (depends on your server)
• Default base URL: http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1

To opt in to auto-discovery locally (any value works if your server doesn't enforce auth):

export VLLM_API_KEY="vllm-local"

Then set a model (replace with one of the IDs returned by /v1/models):

{
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "vllm/your-model-id" } },
  },
}

See /providers/vllm for details.

SGLang

SGLang ships as a bundled provider plugin for fast self-hosted OpenAI-compatible servers:

• Provider: sglang
• Auth: Optional (depends on your server)
• Default base URL: http://127.0.0.1:30000/v1

To opt in to auto-discovery locally (any value works if your server does not enforce auth):

export SGLANG_API_KEY="sglang-local"

Then set a model (replace with one of the IDs returned by /v1/models):

{
  agents: {
    defaults: { model: { primary: "sglang/your-model-id" } },
  },
}

See /providers/sglang for details.

Local proxies (LM Studio, vLLM, LiteLLM, etc.)

Example (OpenAI-compatible):

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "lmstudio/my-local-model" },
      models: { "lmstudio/my-local-model": { alias: "Local" } },
    },
  },
  models: {
    providers: {
      lmstudio: {
        baseUrl: "http://localhost:1234/v1",
        apiKey: "${LM_API_TOKEN}",
        api: "openai-completions",
        timeoutSeconds: 300,
        models: [
          {
            id: "my-local-model",
            name: "Local Model",
            reasoning: false,
            input: ["text"],
            cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
            contextWindow: 200000,
            maxTokens: 8192,
          },
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}

For custom providers, `reasoning`, `input`, `cost`, `contextWindow`, and `maxTokens` are optional. When omitted, OpenClaw defaults to:

- `reasoning: false`
- `input: ["text"]`
- `cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 }`
- `contextWindow: 200000`
- `maxTokens: 8192`

Recommended: set explicit values that match your proxy/model limits.

- For `api: "openai-completions"` on non-native endpoints (any non-empty `baseUrl` whose host is not `api.openai.com`), OpenClaw forces `compat.supportsDeveloperRole: false` to avoid provider 400 errors for unsupported `developer` roles. - Proxy-style OpenAI-compatible routes also skip native OpenAI-only request shaping: no `service_tier`, no Responses `store`, no Completions `store`, no prompt-cache hints, no OpenAI reasoning-compat payload shaping, and no hidden OpenClaw attribution headers. - For OpenAI-compatible Completions proxies that need vendor-specific fields, set `agents.defaults.models["provider/model"].params.extra_body` (or `extraBody`) to merge extra JSON into the outbound request body. - For vLLM chat-template controls, set `agents.defaults.models["provider/model"].params.chat_template_kwargs`. The bundled vLLM plugin automatically sends `enable_thinking: false` and `force_nonempty_content: true` for `vllm/nemotron-3-*` when the session thinking level is off. - For slow local models or remote LAN/tailnet hosts, set `models.providers..timeoutSeconds`. This extends provider model HTTP request handling, including connect, headers, body streaming, and the total guarded-fetch abort, without increasing the whole agent runtime timeout. If `agents.defaults.timeoutSeconds` or a run-specific timeout is lower, raise that ceiling too; provider timeouts cannot extend the whole run. - Model provider HTTP calls allow Surge, Clash, and sing-box fake-IP DNS answers in `198.18.0.0/15` and `fc00::/7` only for the configured provider `baseUrl` hostname. Custom/local provider endpoints also trust that exact configured `scheme://host:port` origin for guarded model requests, including loopback, LAN, and tailnet hosts. This is not a new config option; the `baseUrl` you configure extends the request policy only for that origin. Fake-IP hostname allowance and exact-origin trust are independent mechanisms. Other private, loopback, link-local, metadata destinations, and different ports still require an explicit `models.providers..request.allowPrivateNetwork: true` opt-in. Set `models.providers..request.allowPrivateNetwork: false` to opt out of the exact-origin trust. - If `baseUrl` is empty/omitted, OpenClaw keeps the default OpenAI behavior (which resolves to `api.openai.com`). - For safety, an explicit `compat.supportsDeveloperRole: true` is still overridden on non-native `openai-completions` endpoints. - For `api: "anthropic-messages"` on non-direct endpoints (any provider other than canonical `anthropic`, or a custom `models.providers.anthropic.baseUrl` whose host is not a public `api.anthropic.com` endpoint), OpenClaw suppresses implicit Anthropic beta headers such as `claude-code-20250219`, `interleaved-thinking-2025-05-14`, and OAuth markers, so custom Anthropic-compatible proxies do not reject unsupported beta flags. Set `models.providers..headers["anthropic-beta"]` explicitly if your proxy needs specific beta features.

CLI examples

openclaw onboard --auth-choice opencode-zen
openclaw models set opencode/claude-opus-4-6
openclaw models list

See also: Configuration for full configuration examples.

Related

• Configuration reference - model config keys
• Model failover - fallback chains and retry behavior
• Models - model configuration and aliases
• Providers - per-provider setup guides