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OpenAI Chat Completions (HTTP)

OpenClaw’s Gateway can serve a small OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions endpoint. This endpoint is disabled by default. Enable it in config first.
  • POST /v1/chat/completions
  • Same port as the Gateway (WS + HTTP multiplex): http://<gateway-host>:<port>/v1/chat/completions
When the Gateway’s OpenAI-compatible HTTP surface is enabled, it also serves:
  • GET /v1/models
  • GET /v1/models/{id}
  • POST /v1/embeddings
  • POST /v1/responses
Under the hood, requests are executed as a normal Gateway agent run (same codepath as openclaw agent), so routing/permissions/config match your Gateway.

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Authentication

Uses the Gateway auth configuration. Send a bearer token:
  • Authorization: Bearer <token>
Notes:
  • When gateway.auth.mode="token", use gateway.auth.token (or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN).
  • When gateway.auth.mode="password", use gateway.auth.password (or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD).
  • If gateway.auth.rateLimit is configured and too many auth failures occur, the endpoint returns 429 with Retry-After.

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Security boundary (important)

Treat this endpoint as a full operator-access surface for the gateway instance.
  • HTTP bearer auth here is not a narrow per-user scope model.
  • A valid Gateway token/password for this endpoint should be treated like an owner/operator credential.
  • Requests run through the same control-plane agent path as trusted operator actions.
  • There is no separate non-owner/per-user tool boundary on this endpoint; once a caller passes Gateway auth here, OpenClaw treats that caller as a trusted operator for this gateway.
  • For shared-secret auth modes (token and password), the endpoint restores the normal full operator defaults even if the caller sends a narrower x-openclaw-scopes header.
  • Trusted identity-bearing HTTP modes (for example trusted proxy auth or gateway.auth.mode="none") still honor the declared operator scopes on the request.
  • If the target agent policy allows sensitive tools, this endpoint can use them.
  • Keep this endpoint on loopback/tailnet/private ingress only; do not expose it directly to the public internet.
Auth matrix:
  • gateway.auth.mode="token" or "password" + Authorization: Bearer ...
    • proves possession of the shared gateway operator secret
    • ignores narrower x-openclaw-scopes
    • restores the full default operator scope set
    • treats chat turns on this endpoint as owner-sender turns
  • trusted identity-bearing HTTP modes (for example trusted proxy auth, or gateway.auth.mode="none" on private ingress)
    • authenticate some outer trusted identity or deployment boundary
    • honor the declared x-openclaw-scopes header
    • only get owner semantics when operator.admin is actually present in those declared scopes
See Security and Remote access.

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Agent-first model contract

OpenClaw treats the OpenAI model field as an agent target, not a raw provider model id.
  • model: "openclaw" routes to the configured default agent.
  • model: "openclaw/default" also routes to the configured default agent.
  • model: "openclaw/<agentId>" routes to a specific agent.
Optional request headers:
  • x-openclaw-model: <provider/model-or-bare-id> overrides the backend model for the selected agent.
  • x-openclaw-agent-id: <agentId> remains supported as a compatibility override.
  • x-openclaw-session-key: <sessionKey> fully controls session routing.
  • x-openclaw-message-channel: <channel> sets the synthetic ingress channel context for channel-aware prompts and policies.
Compatibility aliases still accepted:
  • model: "openclaw:<agentId>"
  • model: "agent:<agentId>"

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Enabling the endpoint

Set gateway.http.endpoints.chatCompletions.enabled to true: 
{
  gateway: {
    http: {
      endpoints: {
        chatCompletions: { enabled: true },
      },
    },
  },
}

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Disabling the endpoint

Set gateway.http.endpoints.chatCompletions.enabled to false: 
{
  gateway: {
    http: {
      endpoints: {
        chatCompletions: { enabled: false },
      },
    },
  },
}

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Session behavior

By default the endpoint is stateless per request (a new session key is generated each call). If the request includes an OpenAI user string, the Gateway derives a stable session key from it, so repeated calls can share an agent session.

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Why this surface matters

This is the highest-leverage compatibility set for self-hosted frontends and tooling:
  • Most Open WebUI, LobeChat, and LibreChat setups expect /v1/models.
  • Many RAG systems expect /v1/embeddings.
  • Existing OpenAI chat clients can usually start with /v1/chat/completions.
  • More agent-native clients increasingly prefer /v1/responses.

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Model list and agent routing

An OpenClaw agent-target list.The returned ids are openclaw, openclaw/default, and openclaw/<agentId> entries. Use them directly as OpenAI model values.
It lists top-level agent targets, not backend provider models and not sub-agents.Sub-agents remain internal execution topology. They do not appear as pseudo-models.
openclaw/default is the stable alias for the configured default agent.That means clients can keep using one predictable id even if the real default agent id changes between environments.
Use x-openclaw-model.Examples: x-openclaw-model: openai/gpt-5.4 x-openclaw-model: gpt-5.4If you omit it, the selected agent runs with its normal configured model choice.
/v1/embeddings uses the same agent-target model ids.Use model: "openclaw/default" or model: "openclaw/<agentId>". When you need a specific embedding model, send it in x-openclaw-model. Without that header, the request passes through to the selected agent’s normal embedding setup.

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Streaming (SSE)

Set stream: true to receive Server-Sent Events (SSE):
  • Content-Type: text/event-stream
  • Each event line is data: <json>
  • Stream ends with data: [DONE]

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Open WebUI quick setup

For a basic Open WebUI connection:
  • Base URL: http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1
  • Docker on macOS base URL: http://host.docker.internal:18789/v1
  • API key: your Gateway bearer token
  • Model: openclaw/default
Expected behavior:
  • GET /v1/models should list openclaw/default
  • Open WebUI should use openclaw/default as the chat model id
  • If you want a specific backend provider/model for that agent, set the agent’s normal default model or send x-openclaw-model
Quick smoke: 
curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1/models \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN'
If that returns openclaw/default, most Open WebUI setups can connect with the same base URL and token.

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Examples

Non-streaming: 
curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1/chat/completions \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "model": "openclaw/default",
    "messages": [{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]
  }'
Streaming: 
curl -N http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1/chat/completions \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'x-openclaw-model: openai/gpt-5.4' \
  -d '{
    "model": "openclaw/research",
    "stream": true,
    "messages": [{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]
  }'
List models: 
curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1/models \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN'
Fetch one model: 
curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1/models/openclaw%2Fdefault \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN'
Create embeddings: 
curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1/embeddings \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'x-openclaw-model: openai/text-embedding-3-small' \
  -d '{
    "model": "openclaw/default",
    "input": ["alpha", "beta"]
  }'
Notes:
  • /v1/models returns OpenClaw agent targets, not raw provider catalogs.
  • openclaw/default is always present so one stable id works across environments.
  • Backend provider/model overrides belong in x-openclaw-model, not the OpenAI model field.
  • /v1/embeddings supports input as a string or array of strings.