Provider Configuration Guide

Built-in Providers

These need only auth setup + model selection. No models.providers config required.

Z.AI (GLM models)

openclaw onboard --auth-choice zai-api-key
openclaw models set zai/glm-4.7
openclaw models fallbacks add zai/glm-4.6

Config snippet:

{ "agents": { "defaults": { "model": { "primary": "zai/glm-4.7" } } } }

Models: glm-4.7, glm-4.6 Auth: Bearer token via ZAI_API_KEY or auth-profiles

Anthropic

openclaw onboard --auth-choice anthropic-api-key
openclaw models set anthropic/claude-opus-4-6

Models: claude-opus-4-6, claude-sonnet-4-5, claude-haiku-4-5

OpenAI

openclaw models set openai/gpt-5.1

OpenAI Codex (OAuth)

openclaw models auth login --provider openai-codex
openclaw models set openai-codex/gpt-5.3-codex

OpenRouter

openclaw models set openrouter/<org>/<model>

Free models: use openclaw models scan to discover and rank.

Ollama (local)

ollama pull llama3.3
openclaw models set ollama/llama3.3

Auto-detected at http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1.

Custom Providers (OpenAI-compatible)

For NVIDIA NIM, LM Studio, vLLM, etc. — requires models.providers in openclaw.json.

Write config safely via python3 (never heredoc in tmux):

python3 -c "
import json
# Read existing config
with open('/Users/<user>/.openclaw/openclaw.json') as f:
    config = json.load(f)

# Add custom provider
config.setdefault('models', {})['mode'] = 'merge'
config['models'].setdefault('providers', {})['nvidia'] = {
    'baseUrl': 'https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1',
    'apiKey': '<key>',
    'api': 'openai-completions',
    'models': [{
        'id': 'moonshotai/kimi-k2.5',
        'name': 'Kimi K2.5 (NVIDIA NIM)',
        'reasoning': True,
        'input': ['text'],
        'contextWindow': 131072,
        'maxTokens': 8192
    }]
}

# Write back
with open('/Users/<user>/.openclaw/openclaw.json', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(config, f, indent=2)
"

NVIDIA NIM (free tier)

Base URL: https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1
API: openai-completions
Warning: Free tier is often congested (150+ queue). Not practical for agent workflows.

LM Studio (local)

Base URL: http://localhost:1234/v1
API: openai-completions

Planning vs Execution Pattern

Set stronger model as primary, lighter as fallback:

openclaw models set zai/glm-4.7          # Planning (stronger)
openclaw models fallbacks add zai/glm-4.6 # Execution (lighter)

Users switch in-session with /model zai/glm-4.6.

For dedicated agents with separate models:

{
  "agents": {
    "list": [
      { "id": "planner", "model": "zai/glm-4.7", "workspace": "~/.openclaw/workspace-planner" },
      { "id": "executor", "model": "zai/glm-4.6", "workspace": "~/.openclaw/workspace-executor" }
    ]
  }
}

Common Model Reference

Provider	Model IDs	Notes
zai	glm-4.7, glm-4.6	Z.AI, Bearer auth, ~5s response
anthropic	claude-opus-4-6, claude-sonnet-4-5	API key or CLI token
openai	gpt-5.1, gpt-5.2	API key
openai-codex	gpt-5.3-codex	OAuth device flow
nvidia	moonshotai/kimi-k2.5	Free but congested
openrouter	varies	Many free; use `openclaw models scan`
ollama	llama3.3, etc.	Local, no auth

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