openclaw/docs/cli/infer.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Infer-first CLI for provider-backed model, image, audio, TTS, video, web, and embedding workflows	Adding or modifying `openclaw infer` commands Designing stable headless capability automation	Inference CLI

Inference CLI

openclaw infer is the canonical headless surface for provider-backed inference workflows.

It intentionally exposes capability families, not raw gateway RPC names and not raw agent tool ids.

Turn infer into a skill

Copy and paste this to an agent:

Read https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/infer, then create a skill that routes my common workflows to `openclaw infer`.
Focus on model runs, image generation, video generation, audio transcription, TTS, web search, and embeddings.

A good infer-based skill should:

• map common user intents to the correct infer subcommand
• include a few canonical infer examples for the workflows it covers
• prefer openclaw infer ... in examples and suggestions
• avoid re-documenting the entire infer surface inside the skill body

Typical infer-focused skill coverage:

• openclaw infer model run
• openclaw infer image generate
• openclaw infer audio transcribe
• openclaw infer tts convert
• openclaw infer web search
• openclaw infer embedding create

Why use infer

openclaw infer provides one consistent CLI for provider-backed inference tasks inside OpenClaw.

Benefits:

• Use the providers and models already configured in OpenClaw instead of wiring up one-off wrappers for each backend.
• Keep model, image, audio transcription, TTS, video, web, and embedding workflows under one command tree.
• Use a stable --json output shape for scripts, automation, and agent-driven workflows.
• Prefer a first-party OpenClaw surface when the task is fundamentally "run inference."
• Use the normal local path without requiring the gateway for most infer commands.

Command tree

 openclaw infer
  list
  inspect

  model
    run
    list
    inspect
    providers
    auth login
    auth logout
    auth status

  image
    generate
    edit
    describe
    describe-many
    providers

  audio
    transcribe
    providers

  tts
    convert
    voices
    providers
    status
    enable
    disable
    set-provider

  video
    generate
    describe
    providers

  web
    search
    fetch
    providers

  embedding
    create
    providers

Common tasks

This table maps common inference tasks to the corresponding infer command.

Task	Command	Notes
Run a text/model prompt	openclaw infer model run --prompt "..." --json	Uses the normal local path by default
Generate an image	openclaw infer image generate --prompt "..." --json	Use image edit when starting from an existing file
Describe an image file	openclaw infer image describe --file ./image.png --json	--model must be <provider/model>
Transcribe audio	openclaw infer audio transcribe --file ./memo.m4a --json	--model must be <provider/model>
Synthesize speech	openclaw infer tts convert --text "..." --output ./speech.mp3 --json	tts status is gateway-oriented
Generate a video	openclaw infer video generate --prompt "..." --json
Describe a video file	openclaw infer video describe --file ./clip.mp4 --json	--model must be <provider/model>
Search the web	openclaw infer web search --query "..." --json
Fetch a web page	openclaw infer web fetch --url https://example.com --json
Create embeddings	openclaw infer embedding create --text "..." --json

Behavior

• openclaw infer ... is the primary CLI surface for these workflows.
• Use --json when the output will be consumed by another command or script.
• Use --provider or --model provider/model when a specific backend is required.
• For image describe, audio transcribe, and video describe, --model must use the form <provider/model>.
• Stateless execution commands default to local.
• Gateway-managed state commands default to gateway.
• The normal local path does not require the gateway to be running.

Model

Use model for provider-backed text inference and model/provider inspection.

openclaw infer model run --prompt "Reply with exactly: smoke-ok" --json
openclaw infer model run --prompt "Summarize this changelog entry" --provider openai --json
openclaw infer model providers --json
openclaw infer model inspect --name gpt-5.4 --json

Notes:

• model run reuses the agent runtime so provider/model overrides behave like normal agent execution.
• model auth login, model auth logout, and model auth status manage saved provider auth state.

Image

Use image for generation, edit, and description.

openclaw infer image generate --prompt "friendly lobster illustration" --json
openclaw infer image generate --prompt "cinematic product photo of headphones" --json
openclaw infer image describe --file ./photo.jpg --json
openclaw infer image describe --file ./ui-screenshot.png --model openai/gpt-4.1-mini --json

Notes:

• Use image edit when starting from existing input files.
• For image describe, --model must be <provider/model>.

Audio

Use audio for file transcription.

openclaw infer audio transcribe --file ./memo.m4a --json
openclaw infer audio transcribe --file ./team-sync.m4a --language en --prompt "Focus on names and action items" --json
openclaw infer audio transcribe --file ./memo.m4a --model openai/whisper-1 --json

Notes:

• audio transcribe is for file transcription, not realtime session management.
• --model must be <provider/model>.

TTS

Use tts for speech synthesis and TTS provider state.

openclaw infer tts convert --text "hello from openclaw" --output ./hello.mp3 --json
openclaw infer tts convert --text "Your build is complete" --output ./build-complete.mp3 --json
openclaw infer tts providers --json
openclaw infer tts status --json

Notes:

• tts status defaults to gateway because it reflects gateway-managed TTS state.
• Use tts providers, tts voices, and tts set-provider to inspect and configure TTS behavior.

Video

Use video for generation and description.

openclaw infer video generate --prompt "cinematic sunset over the ocean" --json
openclaw infer video generate --prompt "slow drone shot over a forest lake" --json
openclaw infer video describe --file ./clip.mp4 --json
openclaw infer video describe --file ./clip.mp4 --model openai/gpt-4.1-mini --json

Notes:

• --model must be <provider/model> for video describe.

Web

Use web for search and fetch workflows.

openclaw infer web search --query "OpenClaw docs" --json
openclaw infer web search --query "OpenClaw infer web providers" --json
openclaw infer web fetch --url https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/infer --json
openclaw infer web providers --json

Notes:

• Use web providers to inspect available, configured, and selected providers.

Embedding

Use embedding for vector creation and embedding provider inspection.

openclaw infer embedding create --text "friendly lobster" --json
openclaw infer embedding create --text "customer support ticket: delayed shipment" --model openai/text-embedding-3-large --json
openclaw infer embedding providers --json

JSON output

Infer commands normalize JSON output under a shared envelope:

{
  "ok": true,
  "capability": "image.generate",
  "transport": "local",
  "provider": "openai",
  "model": "gpt-image-1",
  "attempts": [],
  "outputs": []
}

Top-level fields are stable:

• ok
• capability
• transport
• provider
• model
• attempts
• outputs
• error

Common pitfalls

# Bad
openclaw infer media image generate --prompt "friendly lobster"

# Good
openclaw infer image generate --prompt "friendly lobster"

# Bad
openclaw infer audio transcribe --file ./memo.m4a --model whisper-1 --json

# Good
openclaw infer audio transcribe --file ./memo.m4a --model openai/whisper-1 --json

Notes

• openclaw capability ... is an alias for openclaw infer ....