'No API Key Found': Fixing Model Authentication Issues

Understanding the Error

When you see:

No API key found for provider "anthropic"

It means OpenClaw can't authenticate with your AI model provider.

Authentication Methods

Option 1: Setup Token (OAuth)

For Claude with your Anthropic subscription:

openclaw auth login anthropic

This opens a browser for OAuth authentication.

Option 2: API Key

For pay-as-you-go API access:

openclaw config set models.anthropic.apiKey "sk-ant-..."

Or in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "models": {
    "anthropic": {
      "apiKey": "sk-ant-api03-..."
    }
  }
}

Setting Up Multiple Providers

Anthropic Claude (Primary)

{
  "models": {
    "default": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    "anthropic": {
      "apiKey": "sk-ant-..."
    }
  }
}

OpenAI GPT-4

{
  "models": {
    "openai": {
      "apiKey": "sk-..."
    }
  }
}

Local Models with Ollama

{
  "models": {
    "ollama": {
      "enabled": true,
      "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434"
    }
  }
}

Checking Model Status

# List available models openclaw models list

# Check provider status openclaw models status

Model Fallback Chain

Configure fallbacks if primary model fails:

{
  "models": {
    "default": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    "fallback": ["gpt-4o", "claude-3-haiku"]
  }
}

Per-Agent Model Selection

Use different models for different agents:

{
  "agents": {
    "default": {
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
    },
    "fast": {
      "model": "claude-3-haiku"
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

"All models failed"

Check credentials for all configured providers

Verify API keys are valid: openclaw models status

Check provider status pages for outages

Token Refresh Failed

If OAuth token expired:

openclaw auth logout anthropic
openclaw auth login anthropic

Environment Variables

You can also set keys via environment:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

Add to ~/.openclaw/.env for persistence.