Connect OpenClaw to Nbility

OpenClaw adds OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible gateways through models.providers. This guide follows the current OpenClaw model provider documentation.

Install

macOS, Linux, or WSL:

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows PowerShell:

iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex

After onboarding, verify the installation:

openclaw --version
openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway status

Configure OpenAI-compatible models

Set the key in the environment that starts the Gateway:

export NBILITY_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

Edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "nbility": {
        "baseUrl": "https://api.nbility.ai/v1",
        "apiKey": "${NBILITY_API_KEY}",
        "api": "openai-completions",
        "models": [
          { "id": "gpt-5.4", "name": "GPT-5.4" },
          { "id": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "name": "Claude Sonnet 4.6" }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "nbility/gpt-5.4",
        "fallbacks": ["nbility/claude-sonnet-4-6"]
      }
    }
  }
}

This uses Chat Completions compatibility for a mixed model catalog. Use Models as the source of truth for IDs.

Use native Claude format

To explicitly use Anthropic Messages, define a separate provider:

{
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "nbility-claude": {
        "baseUrl": "https://api.nbility.ai",
        "apiKey": "${NBILITY_API_KEY}",
        "api": "anthropic-messages",
        "models": [
          { "id": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "name": "Claude Sonnet 4.6" }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": { "primary": "nbility-claude/claude-sonnet-4-6" }
    }
  }
}

The Anthropic Base URL omits /v1; the OpenAI-compatible Base URL includes it.

Capability metadata

Custom models default to text-only. Declare image input only for a verified vision model:

{ "id": "YOUR_VISION_MODEL", "name": "Vision Model", "input": ["text", "image"] }

contextWindow, maxTokens, reasoning, and cost are optional. Add them only when their values are verified.

Apply and troubleshoot

openclaw models list
openclaw models set nbility/gpt-5.4
openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw gateway status

• 401: the Gateway service process, not only your interactive shell, must receive NBILITY_API_KEY.
• Model missing: a custom provider needs a non-empty models list and matching provider/model references.
• Image rejected: add input: ["text", "image"] only to a vision-capable model.
• Config unchanged: run openclaw doctor, restart the Gateway, and remove duplicate provider definitions.
• 404: check the api and Base URL combination, especially /v1 for Anthropic format.

Do not put the real key directly in JSON. Environment interpolation reduces accidental exposure; production deployments can use OpenClaw SecretRef.