openclaw/docs/providers/ollama-cloud.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Use Ollama Cloud directly with OpenClaw	You want to use hosted Ollama models without a local Ollama server You need the ollama-cloud provider id, key, or endpoint	Ollama Cloud

Ollama Cloud is Ollama's hosted model API. The ollama-cloud provider calls it directly at https://ollama.com over Ollama's native /api/chat API, with no local Ollama server and no local Ollama app signed into cloud mode. Use model refs like ollama-cloud/kimi-k2.6.

OpenClaw registers ollama-cloud as its own provider id so cloud-only credentials, live catalog discovery, and model selection do not get mixed with a local ollama host. For local Ollama, hybrid cloud-plus-local routing, embeddings, and custom host details, see Ollama.

Setup

Create an Ollama Cloud API key at ollama.com/settings/keys, then run:

openclaw onboard --auth-choice ollama-cloud

Or set:

export OLLAMA_API_KEY="<your-ollama-cloud-api-key>" # pragma: allowlist secret

Non-interactive onboarding accepts the key directly:

openclaw onboard --auth-choice ollama-cloud --ollama-cloud-api-key "<key>"

Onboarding sets the default model to ollama-cloud/kimi-k2.5:cloud.

Defaults

• Provider: ollama-cloud
• Base URL: https://ollama.com
• Env var: OLLAMA_API_KEY
• API style: Ollama native /api/chat
• Onboarding default model: ollama-cloud/kimi-k2.5:cloud

When to choose Ollama Cloud

• You want hosted Ollama models without running ollama serve locally.
• You want the same native Ollama chat API shape OpenClaw uses for local Ollama, but pointed at https://ollama.com.
• You want a simple cloud path for models that are already in Ollama's hosted catalog.
• You do not need local model pulls, local GPU control, or LAN-only inference.

Use Ollama instead when you want local-only or cloud-plus-local routing through a signed-in Ollama host. Use an OpenAI-compatible provider instead when you need /v1/chat/completions semantics or provider-specific OpenAI-style features.

Models

The provider requires an API key; without one it stays inactive. With a key, OpenClaw discovers Ollama Cloud models live from the hosted catalog:

openclaw models list --provider ollama-cloud
openclaw models set ollama-cloud/kimi-k2.6

Hosted ids in the live catalog include deepseek-v4-flash, glm-5, gpt-oss:20b, kimi-k2.6, and minimax-m2.7. When live discovery returns nothing, OpenClaw falls back to the bundled rows kimi-k2.5:cloud, minimax-m2.7:cloud, glm-5.1:cloud, and glm-5.2:cloud.

Model ids are cloud catalog ids, not local pull names. If a model name works in a local Ollama host but is absent from the hosted catalog, use the ollama provider with that local host instead.

Live test

For Ollama Cloud API-key smoke tests, point the Ollama live test at the hosted endpoint and choose a model from your current catalog:

export OLLAMA_API_KEY="<your-ollama-cloud-api-key>" # pragma: allowlist secret

OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 \
OPENCLAW_LIVE_OLLAMA=1 \
OPENCLAW_LIVE_OLLAMA_BASE_URL=https://ollama.com \
OPENCLAW_LIVE_OLLAMA_MODEL=kimi-k2.6 \
pnpm test:live -- extensions/ollama/ollama.live.test.ts

The cloud smoke runs text, native stream, and web search; set OPENCLAW_LIVE_OLLAMA_WEB_SEARCH=0 to skip web search. It skips embeddings by default for https://ollama.com because Ollama Cloud API keys may not authorize /api/embed; force them with OPENCLAW_LIVE_OLLAMA_EMBEDDINGS=1.

Troubleshooting

• Ollama Cloud requires an API key / Set OLLAMA_API_KEY errors: provide a real cloud API key. The local ollama-local marker is only for local or private Ollama hosts.
• Unknown model errors: run openclaw models list --provider ollama-cloud and copy the hosted model id exactly.
• Tool-call or raw JSON issues on custom Ollama hosts: check whether you are accidentally using an OpenAI-compatible /v1 URL. Ollama routes should use the native base URL with no /v1 suffix.

Related

• Ollama
• Model providers
• All providers