Providers
Vercel AI gateway
The Vercel AI Gateway provides a unified API to access hundreds of models through a single endpoint.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Provider | vercel-ai-gateway |
| Auth | AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY |
| API | Anthropic Messages compatible |
| Model catalog | Auto-discovered via /v1/models |
Getting started
Set the API key
Run onboarding and choose the AI Gateway auth option:
openclaw onboard --auth-choice ai-gateway-api-keySet a default model
Add the model to your OpenClaw config:
{ agents: { defaults: { model: { primary: "vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6" }, }, },}Verify the model is available
openclaw models list --provider vercel-ai-gatewayNon-interactive example
For scripted or CI setups, pass all values on the command line:
openclaw onboard --non-interactive \ --mode local \ --auth-choice ai-gateway-api-key \ --ai-gateway-api-key "$AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY"Model ID shorthand
OpenClaw accepts Vercel Claude shorthand model refs and normalizes them at runtime:
| Shorthand input | Normalized model ref |
|---|---|
vercel-ai-gateway/claude-opus-4.6 |
vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6 |
vercel-ai-gateway/opus-4.6 |
vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4-6 |
Advanced configuration
Environment variable for daemon processes
If the OpenClaw Gateway runs as a daemon (launchd/systemd), make sure
AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY is available to that process.
Provider routing
Vercel AI Gateway routes requests to the upstream provider based on the model
ref prefix. For example, vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6 routes
through Anthropic, while vercel-ai-gateway/openai/gpt-5.5 routes through
OpenAI and vercel-ai-gateway/moonshotai/kimi-k2.6 routes through
MoonshotAI. Your single AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY handles authentication for all
upstream providers.
Thinking levels
/think options follow trusted upstream model prefixes when OpenClaw knows
the upstream provider contract. vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/... uses the
Claude thinking profile, including adaptive defaults for Claude 4.6 models.
vercel-ai-gateway/openai/gpt-5.4, gpt-5.5, and Codex-style refs expose
/think xhigh just like the direct OpenAI/OpenAI Codex providers. Other
namespaced refs keep the normal reasoning levels unless their catalog
metadata declares more.
