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How to Setup OpenClaw with Claude API Key

Learn how to create a Claude API key in Anthropic Console and configure OpenClaw (inside Agent37) to use it—plus verify your default model selection.

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In this walkthrough, you’ll set up OpenClaw with a Claude API key from the Agent37 dashboard. By the end, you’ll have a running OpenClaw instance, Anthropic set as the provider, and a quick way to verify everything is working.
 
Follow the steps below or watch the video.

Video walkthrough

Video preview

Prerequisites

  • A running OpenClaw instance inside Agent 37
  • A valid Claude (Anthropic) API key

Step 1: Create your Claude (Anthropic) API key

  1. Go to the Claude Console and sign in. (Anthropic's console moved from console.anthropic.com, which now redirects here.)
  1. Open Settings > API keys and click Create key. Copy the generated key, the Console shows it only once.
  1. Click Create Key.
  1. When prompted:
      • Select the workspace.
      • Enter a name for the key.
      • Click Add.
  1. Copy the generated key.
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Claude API keys typically look like:
sk-ant-xxxx...

Step 2: Open your Agent 37 instance

  1. Go to the Agent37 dashboard and sign in.
  1. Open an existing instance (or create a new one).
  1. Open Terminal.

Step 3: Configure OpenClaw to use Anthropic

In Terminal, run:
openclaw configure
When prompted, choose the following:
  • Where will the gateway run? > Local
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Continue with:
  • What do you want to configure? > Model
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  • Model / Auth Provider > Anthropic
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  • Anthropic Auth Model > Anthropic API Key
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  • How do you want to provide this API key now? > Paste API key now
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  • Enter Anthropic API key > paste the key you copied in Step 1
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  • Models in /model picker > select your model (example: anthropic/claude-sonnet-5; on OpenClaw builds from before July 2026, use anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6)
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  • After selecting the model > Continue
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Step 4: Verify the configured model

Run:
openclaw models list
You should see the model you selected set as the default in the output.
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You have successfully configured the Claude API key.
If you are not sure which model to choose, start with a Claude Sonnet model. It is usually a strong default for general OpenClaw workflows, though our full model ranking shows when Sonnet is not the right call.

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