mirror of
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
synced 2026-03-13 11:00:50 +00:00
01a373584e
How many more files is this info duplicated into? No wonder you never can find anything in this pile of docs...
135 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
135 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
---
|
||
summary: "Audit what can spend money, which keys are used, and how to view usage"
|
||
read_when:
|
||
- You want to understand which features may call paid APIs
|
||
- You need to audit keys, costs, and usage visibility
|
||
- You’re explaining /status or /usage cost reporting
|
||
title: "API Usage and Costs"
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
# API usage & costs
|
||
|
||
This doc lists **features that can invoke API keys** and where their costs show up. It focuses on
|
||
OpenClaw features that can generate provider usage or paid API calls.
|
||
|
||
## Where costs show up (chat + CLI)
|
||
|
||
**Per-session cost snapshot**
|
||
|
||
- `/status` shows the current session model, context usage, and last response tokens.
|
||
- If the model uses **API-key auth**, `/status` also shows **estimated cost** for the last reply.
|
||
|
||
**Per-message cost footer**
|
||
|
||
- `/usage full` appends a usage footer to every reply, including **estimated cost** (API-key only).
|
||
- `/usage tokens` shows tokens only; OAuth flows hide dollar cost.
|
||
|
||
**CLI usage windows (provider quotas)**
|
||
|
||
- `openclaw status --usage` and `openclaw channels list` show provider **usage windows**
|
||
(quota snapshots, not per-message costs).
|
||
|
||
See [Token use & costs](/reference/token-use) for details and examples.
|
||
|
||
## How keys are discovered
|
||
|
||
OpenClaw can pick up credentials from:
|
||
|
||
- **Auth profiles** (per-agent, stored in `auth-profiles.json`).
|
||
- **Environment variables** (e.g. `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `BRAVE_API_KEY`, `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY`).
|
||
- **Config** (`models.providers.*.apiKey`, `tools.web.search.*`, `tools.web.fetch.firecrawl.*`,
|
||
`memorySearch.*`, `talk.apiKey`).
|
||
- **Skills** (`skills.entries.<name>.apiKey`) which may export keys to the skill process env.
|
||
|
||
## Features that can spend keys
|
||
|
||
### 1) Core model responses (chat + tools)
|
||
|
||
Every reply or tool call uses the **current model provider** (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc). This is the
|
||
primary source of usage and cost.
|
||
|
||
See [Models](/providers/models) for pricing config and [Token use & costs](/reference/token-use) for display.
|
||
|
||
### 2) Media understanding (audio/image/video)
|
||
|
||
Inbound media can be summarized/transcribed before the reply runs. This uses model/provider APIs.
|
||
|
||
- Audio: OpenAI / Groq / Deepgram (now **auto-enabled** when keys exist).
|
||
- Image: OpenAI / Anthropic / Google.
|
||
- Video: Google.
|
||
|
||
See [Media understanding](/nodes/media-understanding).
|
||
|
||
### 3) Memory embeddings + semantic search
|
||
|
||
Semantic memory search uses **embedding APIs** when configured for remote providers:
|
||
|
||
- `memorySearch.provider = "openai"` → OpenAI embeddings
|
||
- `memorySearch.provider = "gemini"` → Gemini embeddings
|
||
- `memorySearch.provider = "voyage"` → Voyage embeddings
|
||
- `memorySearch.provider = "mistral"` → Mistral embeddings
|
||
- `memorySearch.provider = "ollama"` → Ollama embeddings (local/self-hosted; typically no hosted API billing)
|
||
- Optional fallback to a remote provider if local embeddings fail
|
||
|
||
You can keep it local with `memorySearch.provider = "local"` (no API usage).
|
||
|
||
See [Memory](/concepts/memory).
|
||
|
||
### 4) Web search tool (Brave / Perplexity via OpenRouter)
|
||
|
||
`web_search` uses API keys and may incur usage charges:
|
||
|
||
- **Brave Search API**: `BRAVE_API_KEY` or `tools.web.search.apiKey`
|
||
- **Perplexity** (via OpenRouter): `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` or `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`
|
||
|
||
See [Web tools](/tools/web).
|
||
|
||
### 5) Web fetch tool (Firecrawl)
|
||
|
||
`web_fetch` can call **Firecrawl** when an API key is present:
|
||
|
||
- `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` or `tools.web.fetch.firecrawl.apiKey`
|
||
|
||
If Firecrawl isn’t configured, the tool falls back to direct fetch + readability (no paid API).
|
||
|
||
See [Web tools](/tools/web).
|
||
|
||
### 6) Provider usage snapshots (status/health)
|
||
|
||
Some status commands call **provider usage endpoints** to display quota windows or auth health.
|
||
These are typically low-volume calls but still hit provider APIs:
|
||
|
||
- `openclaw status --usage`
|
||
- `openclaw models status --json`
|
||
|
||
See [Models CLI](/cli/models).
|
||
|
||
### 7) Compaction safeguard summarization
|
||
|
||
The compaction safeguard can summarize session history using the **current model**, which
|
||
invokes provider APIs when it runs.
|
||
|
||
See [Session management + compaction](/reference/session-management-compaction).
|
||
|
||
### 8) Model scan / probe
|
||
|
||
`openclaw models scan` can probe OpenRouter models and uses `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` when
|
||
probing is enabled.
|
||
|
||
See [Models CLI](/cli/models).
|
||
|
||
### 9) Talk (speech)
|
||
|
||
Talk mode can invoke **ElevenLabs** when configured:
|
||
|
||
- `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` or `talk.apiKey`
|
||
|
||
See [Talk mode](/nodes/talk).
|
||
|
||
### 10) Skills (third-party APIs)
|
||
|
||
Skills can store `apiKey` in `skills.entries.<name>.apiKey`. If a skill uses that key for external
|
||
APIs, it can incur costs according to the skill’s provider.
|
||
|
||
See [Skills](/tools/skills).
|