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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openclaw.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The Vercel AI Gateway provides a unified API to access hundreds of models through a single endpoint.
PropertyValue
Providervercel-ai-gateway
AuthAI_GATEWAY_API_KEY
APIAnthropic Messages compatible
Model catalogAuto-discovered via /v1/models
OpenClaw auto-discovers the Gateway /v1/models catalog, so /models vercel-ai-gateway includes current model refs such as vercel-ai-gateway/openai/gpt-5.5 and vercel-ai-gateway/moonshotai/kimi-k2.6.

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Getting started

1

Set the API key

Run onboarding and choose the AI Gateway auth option:
openclaw onboard --auth-choice ai-gateway-api-key
2

Set a default model

Add the model to your OpenClaw config:
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6" },
    },
  },
}
3

Verify the model is available

openclaw models list --provider vercel-ai-gateway

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Non-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"

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Model ID shorthand

OpenClaw accepts Vercel Claude shorthand model refs and normalizes them at runtime:
Shorthand inputNormalized model ref
vercel-ai-gateway/claude-opus-4.6vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
vercel-ai-gateway/opus-4.6vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4-6
You can use either the shorthand or the fully qualified model ref in your configuration. OpenClaw resolves the canonical form automatically.

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Advanced configuration

If the OpenClaw Gateway runs as a daemon (launchd/systemd), make sure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY is available to that process.
A key set only in ~/.profile will not be visible to a launchd/systemd daemon unless that environment is explicitly imported. Set the key in ~/.openclaw/.env or via env.shellEnv to ensure the gateway process can read it.
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.
/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.

Model selection

Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior.

Troubleshooting

General troubleshooting and FAQ.