Configure OpenClaw with CometAPI

Use CometAPI as a custom model provider for OpenClaw - 500+ models in one API, up to 20% off.

This guide is updated for the current OpenClaw onboarding flow (2026.3.8+).

Prerequisites

Node.js >= 22

CometAPI API Key

1. Install or Update OpenClaw

Recommended (official installer):

Or keep using a global npm install:

2. Run Onboarding Once

Run the current setup wizard:

During onboarding:

In Model/Auth, choose Skip if you only want the base install first.

Keep the default workspace unless you already use a custom one.

Let the wizard install the daemon and run the health check.

After onboarding, confirm the gateway is up:

This creates the current OpenClaw state layout under ~/.openclaw, including openclaw.json, the default workspace, and the per-agent directories under ~/.openclaw/agents/.

3. Store Your CometAPI Key

For daemon installs, the most reliable place is ~/.openclaw/.env:

If you already inject COMETAPI_KEY through your shell, service manager, or another secrets workflow, keep doing that. The config below uses ${COMETAPI_KEY} so the key never needs to be hardcoded into openclaw.json.

4. Add CometAPI Providers

Edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and merge in the following fields:

Provider	API Format	Base URL
`cometapi-openai`	`openai-completions`	`https://api.cometapi.com/v1`
`cometapi-claude`	`anthropic-messages`	`https://api.cometapi.com`
`cometapi-google`	`google-generative-ai`	`https://api.cometapi.com/v1beta`

These are three separate provider entries because OpenClaw routes by API compatibility, not by vendor name alone. You can keep only one of them, or keep all three and switch between OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic-compatible, and Google-compatible model APIs with normal provider/model refs.

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: {
        primary: "cometapi-claude/claude-sonnet-4-6",
      },
    },
  },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      "cometapi-openai": {
        baseUrl: "https://api.cometapi.com/v1",
        apiKey: "${COMETAPI_KEY}",
        api: "openai-completions",
        models: [{ id: "gpt-5.4", name: "GPT-5.4" }],
      },
      "cometapi-claude": {
        baseUrl: "https://api.cometapi.com",
        apiKey: "${COMETAPI_KEY}",
        api: "anthropic-messages",
        models: [{ id: "claude-sonnet-4-6", name: "Claude Sonnet 4.6" }],
      },
      "cometapi-google": {
        baseUrl: "https://api.cometapi.com/v1beta",
        apiKey: "${COMETAPI_KEY}",
        api: "google-generative-ai",
        models: [{ id: "gemini-3.1-pro-preview", name: "Gemini 3.1 Pro" }],
      },
    },
  },
}

Notes:

OpenClaw uses ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json as the config source you edit.

Custom providers are materialized into the per-agent models.json under ~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/.

For this basic setup, you do not need to hand-create auth-profiles.json. The provider key is resolved from models.providers.*.apiKey via ${COMETAPI_KEY}.

auth-profiles.json is only needed if you want stored per-profile secrets or rotation across multiple credentials.

The exact example model IDs in this guide are gpt-5.4, claude-sonnet-4-6, and gemini-3.1-pro-preview.

Use the full provider/model string everywhere so the configured model stays explicit.

You can add any model from the CometAPI Models Page to the matching provider block.

5. Restart and Verify

Restart once after adding ~/.openclaw/.env or changing provider config:

Then run the current diagnostics:

What success looks like:

openclaw models status resolves the primary model to cometapi-claude/claude-sonnet-4-6 and does not show missing auth for the CometAPI providers.

openclaw models list --provider cometapi-claude lists the configured CometAPI models.

openclaw doctor does not report config schema errors or missing auth for the CometAPI providers. It may still warn about unrelated local issues such as permissions, legacy services, or optional embedding providers.

6. Switch Models

7. Clean Reinstall (Optional)

If you are fixing a broken older setup and want to retest from zero, stop the gateway, remove ~/.openclaw, then rerun onboarding before applying the CometAPI config again. This deletes local config, sessions, logs, auth state, and the default workspace.

OpenClaw

Configure OpenClaw with CometAPI#

Prerequisites#

1. Install or Update OpenClaw#

2. Run Onboarding Once#

3. Store Your CometAPI Key#

4. Add CometAPI Providers#

5. Restart and Verify#

6. Switch Models#

7. Clean Reinstall (Optional)#