How to Setup OpenClaw with OpenAI API Key

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If you want to use OpenClaw with OpenAI models inside Agent 37, the setup is straightforward. You’ll create an OpenAI API key, open your OpenClaw instance in Agent 37, configure the model provider in the terminal, and then verify the selected model.

Follow the steps below or watch the video walkthrough:

Video walkthrough

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

An active Agent 37 account

A running OpenClaw instance inside Agent 37

An OpenAI Platform account

A valid OpenAI API key

Step 1: Create your Claude (Anthropic) API key

Go to the OpenAI Platform and sign in.

In the left sidebar, open Manage > API keys.

Click Create new secret Key.

When prompted:

Enter a name.

Select the Project

Click create secret key.

Copy the generated key.

OpenAI API keys typically look like:

sk-proj-xxxx...

Step 2: Open your Agent 37 instance

Go to the Agent37 dashboard and sign in.

Open an existing instance (or create a new one).

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

Continue with:

Select Section to Configure? > Model

Model / Auth Provider > OpenAI

OpenAI Auth Model > OpenAI API Key

How do you want to provide this API key now? > Paste API key now

Enter OpenAI API key > paste the key you copied in Step 1

Models in /models picker > select your model (example: openai-codex/gpt-5.4)

After selecting the model > Continue

Step 4: Verify the configured model

Run:

openclaw models list

You should see the models you selected in the output.

If you want to make that model the default, run:

Execute:

openclaw models set openai-codex/gpt-5.4

You have successfully configured OpenClaw with your OpenAI API key inside Agent 37. Your instance is now ready to use the selected OpenAI model for future tasks.