OpenAI models

Quick choice

Retired subscription model references

GPT-5.4 and GPT-5.4 Mini are retired from the ChatGPT-account Codex route. Run openclaw doctor --fix to replace persisted subscription references with their documented successors: openai/gpt-5.6-terra and openai/gpt-5.6-luna, respectively. This includes defaults, per-agent model selections, automation overrides, and unlocked session overrides whose selected route is known. The Platform API-key route is unaffected. Doctor retains pinned overrides when their successor is outside the agent's model policy, or when clearing an override would keep the same retired model and account. It reports the model or policy change needed, along with unresolved or conflicting account routes. Review the repair output, restart the Gateway, and re-enable any automation that was disabled after repeated failures.

GPT-6 Astra

Select openai/gpt-6-astra with an OpenAI API-key profile or a ChatGPT/Codex subscription that has access to Astra. Access is rolling out; a successful account catalog remains authoritative, so adding model support does not grant access to an account that has not received it. If ChatGPT/Codex catalog discovery is unavailable, the offline fallback list omits Astra until account discovery succeeds.

openclaw models set openai/gpt-6-astra

Astra uses the Responses API for agent tool calls. It supports text and image input, a 1,050,000-token context window, and up to 128,000 output tokens. OpenClaw retains its ordinary 272,000-token active input budget by default. The supported reasoning efforts are low, medium, high, xhigh, and max. OpenClaw defaults Astra to low on both the OpenClaw and Codex runtimes to limit reasoning cost and subscription-budget consumption on ordinary prompts. The OpenAI provider owns this default, so model selection, Control UI, and Codex turn requests share it. Explicit agent, model, global, and session thinking settings still take precedence; switching models does not clear an existing high override. Use /think default to clear a session override. An existing minimal setting maps to low. Astra cannot disable reasoning; off never sends the unsupported none effort. Temperature and top_p are not sent. These defaults also apply to configured Astra model entries without explicit reasoning or temperature compatibility metadata. Azure Responses deployments continue to use their configured capabilities.

/think ultra is also available on the OpenClaw and Codex runtimes. Ultra enables proactive sub-agent orchestration; it is not a raw Responses API effort. OpenClaw uses max, while native Codex selects Astra's model-defined effort (xhigh).

Standard pricing per million tokens is $10 input, $1 cache reads, $12.50 cache writes, and $50 output. Requests above 272K input tokens have higher rates. See the Astra model reference and migration guide.

Async tools, steering, and reasoning changes

Use an OpenAI Platform API-key profile and the built-in OpenClaw runtime for these Astra capabilities. They require the official https://api.openai.com/v1 Responses endpoint. Configure the existing model settings:

{  agents: {    defaults: {      models: {        "openai/gpt-6-astra": {          agentRuntime: { id: "openclaw" },          params: {            transport: "auto",            responsesServerCompaction: false,          },        },      },    },  },}

• Async function calls: Astra can continue reasoning while OpenClaw runs a direct function tool. OpenClaw sends the completed result in the next model request after the active response finishes. This applies to direct tools; code-mode tools retain their existing execution flow.
• Mid-turn steering: Steering messages can reach Astra while it is reasoning, using the active session's cached WebSocket. Use auto or websocket-cached; SSE keeps ordinary queued steering at the next available runtime boundary. Each live batch owns one response; later messages can steer its successor. Context or payload hooks that rewrite the active request's prefix keep ordinary queued delivery.
• Reasoning changes without rebuilding the cached prefix: Change the thinking level, for example with /think high, before the next user turn. OpenClaw preserves the original request-level effort and places a configuration_update at the new turn. This optimization works across matching session history over SSE or cached WebSockets. Automatic steering continuations keep their inherited settings. If steering waits for a tool result or approval, the explicit continuation uses current request settings, including output limits and reasoning settings, without repeating accepted steering. Earlier configuration_update items retain their effect; a changed request-level effort does not replace those controls. When accepted steering waits for a tool result or approval and its history contains effort controls, finish that input with a compatible Astra model and mode before switching.

The example disables automatic server compaction because OpenAI cannot combine it with configuration updates. Cache-preserving effort changes also exclude automatic truncation, pro mode, and API multi-agent mode. The original effort and admitted controls survive transport expiry and Gateway restarts in saved provider replay metadata. Matching history replays the same prefix without extending socket or provider cache lifetimes. Rewritten or compacted history, incompatible settings, or a changed model, route, session, or auth profile starts a fresh request using the selected effort. Older transcripts without this metadata also start fresh after transport expiry.

The native Codex harness owns its own Responses loop; these built-in-runtime capabilities do not imply native Codex support.

GPT-5.6 limited preview

OpenClaw recognizes the exact openai/gpt-5.6-sol, openai/gpt-5.6-terra, and openai/gpt-5.6-luna model ids. All three expose xhigh and max reasoning in the current catalog. OpenAI describes Sol as the flagship tier, Terra as the balanced tier, and Luna as the fast, lower-cost tier. See the GPT-5.6 launch announcement and access guide.

OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol model page documents the bare openai/gpt-5.6 id as a supported alias for Sol. Fresh API-key and ChatGPT/Codex OAuth setup use the canonical openai/gpt-5.6-sol ref so model pickers do not show both names for the same tier. Run openclaw doctor --fix to rewrite persisted bare OpenAI refs to that canonical identity. The native Codex catalog can show the exact Sol, Terra, and Luna ids depending on workspace access. Check the current account with:

openclaw models list --provider openai

API organization and Codex workspace access can differ. If GPT-5.6 is not available, select GPT-5.5 explicitly:

openclaw models set openai/gpt-5.5

OpenClaw surfaces the upstream access error and does not silently replace a GPT-5.6 selection with GPT-5.5.