Five-minute tutorial on configuring OpenClaw with CometAPI

In early 2026, OpenClaw — the open-source agent runtime and AI assistant platform — continues to be widely adopted by developers, research teams, and enterprises who want multi-model orchestration across channels like Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, and local command-line execution. Meanwhile, CometAPI has emerged as a powerful OpenAI-compatible LLM gateway, aggregating hundreds of models (e.g., Kimi-K2.5, GPT variants, Claude) under a single API endpoint.

This article serves as a practical, step-by-step guide to configure OpenClaw so it can use CometAPI as its model provider. You’ll learn how to install, set up providers, define authentication profiles, verify functionality, and switch between models — all with live configuration examples and tips based on the latest documentation and community feedback.

What is OpenClaw and why integrate it with CometAPI?

OpenClaw is an open-source, device-centric agent platform that connects conversational AI to the chat apps and devices people already use — WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord and more — while letting you run models where you want and keep your keys and data under your control. The project and its repos contain examples showing how OpenClaw selects LLM providers via a gateway-style configuration.

CometAPI is an API-aggregation platform that exposes many model providers through a single, OpenAI-style REST interface and SDKs. That makes it convenient as a single integration point if you want to switch models, trial pricing, or centralize observability without changing OpenClaw’s core code.

Why Pair OpenClaw with CometAPI?

OpenClaw is model-agnostic; it runs agents and workflows but relies on external LLM providers. CometAPI acts as an OpenAI-compatible gateway, letting you route calls to:

GPT family models
Claude family models
Kimi-K2.5 and other 3rd-party models aggregated by CometAPI

This gives you choice, flexibility, cost control, and redundancy.

How do I configure OpenClaw to use CometAPI as a model provider?

Answer: Add a provider entry to your OpenClaw config that points at CometAPI’s REST endpoint and map models to OpenClaw’s models.providers structure. The OpenClaw project supports adding custom providers via models.providers (the same pattern used for other gateways) and expects an api flavor such as "openai-completions" or "anthropic-messages" depending on the provider semantics.

CometAPI supports three API formats. Add one or more to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

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

What Are the Prerequisites for Configuring OpenClaw with CometAPI?

Before integration, ensure you have the right environment, tools, and accounts in place.

Environment Requirements

You’ll need:

A Unix-like environment: Linux, macOS, or Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2)
Node.js and npm installed (OpenClaw uses Node under the hood)
Terminal access with bash/zsh or PowerShell

Official docs also mention that OpenClaw can run via Docker, which is ideal for isolated and production setups.

Accounts and API Keys

You need:

A CometAPI account
A valid CometAPI LLM key (stored in a secure environment variable)
Optional: Accounts for additional OpenClaw providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, local models via Ollama)

💡 Tip: Use a secure secrets manager or OS keychain rather than storing keys in plaintext. This is recommended by OpenClaw’s own documentation for production security.

How do you configure OpenClaw to call CometAPI? (step-by-step)

Below is a concise, practical five-minute setup. The exact file names or keys depend on your OpenClaw version and deployment, but the concepts translate directly from the official OpenClaw repo and docs.

Step 0 — Set environment variables (the secure fast path)

Shell example (Linux/macOS):

# do NOT commit this to gitexport COMETAPI_KEY="sk-YourCometApiKeyHere"export OPENCLAW_ENV="production"   # or development

Use your platform's secret mechanism for production (e.g., Docker secrets, systemd, Kubernetes secrets).

Step 1 —Install OpenClaw

Option A: One-Liner via Installer Script

This is the quickest way:

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash# Verify installationopenclaw --version

This script detects your OS and installs OpenClaw along with dependencies.

Option B: npm Global Install

If you already manage Node packages:

npm install -g openclaw@latestopenclaw --version

This installs the OpenClaw CLI globally.

Optional: Docker Install

If you're deploying to production or want isolation:

docker pull openclaw/openclaw:latestdocker run -d --name openclaw -v ~/.openclaw:/root/.openclaw openclaw/openclaw

Containerized deployments make it easier to manage dependencies and workloads.nClaw version; OpenClaw’s examples follow this pattern.)

Step 2 — Configure Providers

Configuring providers tells OpenClaw where to find your LLM backend.

Editing OpenClaw’s Configuration File

OpenClaw stores its configuration in a JSON file at:

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

You’ll define a custom provider for CometAPI.

Here’s a minimal provider configuration:

base_url tells OpenClaw to send LLM requests to CometAPI’s OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
auth_env points to the environment variable holding your API key.
The type flag specifies the API protocol type (OpenAI style).

{
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "cometapi-openai": {
        "baseUrl": "https://api.cometapi.com/v1",
        "apiKey": "<YOUR_COMETAPI_KEY>",
        "api": "openai-completions",
        "models": [{ "id": "gpt-5.2", "name": "GPT-5.2" }]
      },
      "cometapi-claude": {
        "baseUrl": "https://api.cometapi.com",
        "apiKey": "<YOUR_COMETAPI_KEY>",
        "api": "anthropic-messages",
        "models": [{ "id": "claude-opus-4-6", "name": "Claude Opus 4.6" }]
      },
      "cometapi-google": {
        "baseUrl": "https://api.cometapi.com/v1beta",
        "apiKey": "<YOUR_COMETAPI_KEY>",
        "api": "google-generative-ai",
        "models": [{ "id": "gemini-3-pro-preview", "name": "Gemini 3 Pro" }]
      }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": { "primary": "cometapi-claude/claude-opus-4-6" }
    }
  },
  "auth": {
    "profiles": {
      "cometapi-openai:default": { "provider": "cometapi-openai", "mode": "api_key" },
      "cometapi-claude:default": { "provider": "cometapi-claude", "mode": "api_key" },
      "cometapi-google:default": { "provider": "cometapi-google", "mode": "api_key" }
    }
  }
}

Replace <YOUR_COMETAPI_KEY> with your API Key. All three providers use the same key.

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

Step 3 — Configure Auth Profiles

⚠️ Required! OpenClaw reads API keys from this file, not from openclaw.json. Skipping this causes HTTP 401 errors.

Create ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json:

{
  "version": 1,
  "profiles": {
    "cometapi-openai:default": {
      "type": "api_key",
      "provider": "cometapi-openai",
      "key": "<YOUR_COMETAPI_KEY>"
    },
    "cometapi-claude:default": {
      "type": "api_key",
      "provider": "cometapi-claude",
      "key": "<YOUR_COMETAPI_KEY>"
    },
    "cometapi-google:default": {
      "type": "api_key",
      "provider": "cometapi-google",
      "key": "<YOUR_COMETAPI_KEY>"
    }
  },
  "lastGood": {
    "cometapi-openai": "cometapi-openai:default",
    "cometapi-claude": "cometapi-claude:default",
    "cometapi-google": "cometapi-google:default"
  }
}

Restart the gateway:

openclaw gateway restart

Check statuses with:

openclaw auth status

And to list all configured models:

openclaw models list

These commands confirm whether your providers and auth profiles are set up correctly.All models should show Auth = yes:

Model                                        Auth
cometapi-openai/gpt-5.2                      yes
cometapi-claude/claude-opus-4-6              yes
cometapi-google/gemini-3-pro-preview         yes

Five-minute tutorial on configuring OpenClaw with CometAPI

Step 4 — Run OpenClaw and watch the logs

Start/restart OpenClaw and tail logs. Look specifically for:

Outbound request logs showing base_url or provider name.
HTTP 401/403 → key or scope issue.
429 → rate limit (consider model/perf changes).
Unexpectedly long latency → network or model throttling.

A quick diagnostic command (example):

# If OpenClaw runs as a system service:journalctl -u openclaw -f# If running in Docker:docker logs -f openclaw

Switch Models

# Set default model
openclaw models set cometapi-claude/claude-opus-4-6

# Or switch in TUI
/model cometapi-openai/gpt-5.2

How Do You Use OpenClaw with CometAPI in Real Workflows?

After integration, you can build workflows that include code generation, multimodal tasks, agent automation, and channel posting.

Example Workflow: Screenshot Interpretation

If your agent supports attachments:

User: Analyze this screenshot and generate a minimal React component.

OpenClaw sends the prompt (plus image data) through CometAPI’s model (like Kimi K-2.5), which returns a code output — ideal for prototyping UI workflows.

Slack / Discord Integration

Once CometAPI is the backend, you can route agent replies to any configured platform:

Slack channels
WhatsApp groups
Telegram bots

OpenClaw handles routing and request parsing; CometAPI provides model responses.

What monitoring and cost controls should you add?

When you centralize to an aggregator, you gain control — but you must configure it:

Instrumentation

Log model name, token usage, latency, and error codes for every request.
Tag requests with agent and channel (e.g., agent=personal_assistant, channel=telegram) so you can attribute costs.

Cost control knobs

Set max_tokens and timeout_seconds in your provider config.
Use cheaper models for routine tasks and reserve large models for high-value flows.
Configure per-agent rate limits and per-user quotas (OpenClaw can often be extended to enforce these).

CometAPI advertises tooling for performance and cost tuning; use both sides’ telemetry (OpenClaw logs + CometAPI usage metrics) to create guardrails.

How do I troubleshoot common errors in the integration?

Answer: Here are the common failure modes and how to resolve them quickly:

Fix: OpenClaw control panel will show a one-time token; paste it into Control UI settings per the docs. Community notes frequently reference this step.

401 Unauthorized

Cause: COMETAPI_KEY missing, wrong, or not injected into the OpenClaw process.

Fix: Export the key in the shell that launches OpenClaw or write it to your OpenClaw .env and restart the gateway. Confirm with a curl test.

Provider silently falling back / defaulting

Cause: malformed models.providers JSON or missing api flavor, causing OpenClaw to ignore the provider.

Fix: Validate openclaw.json (JSON lint) and ensure api matches supported flavors. Community issue threads show this exact misconfiguration is common.

Timeouts or high latency

Cause: network route or remote model slowness.

Fix: Choose a lower-latency Comet model or host OpenClaw near the same cloud region; consider running a local model for latency-sensitive tasks. Documentation and blogs discuss the tradeoff between local models and API models (latency vs cost).

Excess usage / 429s

Cause: hitting CometAPI quota or plan limits.

Fix: Check Comet dashboard for quota; add retry/backoff logic in OpenClaw agent actions or throttle requests at the gateway. Comet and partner docs highlight plan quotas and recommended backoff patterns.

Gateway token missing / websocket disconnects

Cause: missing OpenClaw control tokens in dashboard config when running the Gateway.

Closing note

Connecting OpenClaw to CometAPI is fast and unlocks a powerful, multi-model backend for your personal assistant. But speed is not an excuse to ignore safety: bind the gateway to localhost while testing, use allowlists, log everything, and require confirmations for destructive actions. With those controls in place, you can go from zero to a working OpenClaw → CometAPI agent in about five minutes — and keep your data and systems protected while you experiment.

Developers can access kimi k-2.5 via CometAPI now.To begin, explore the model’s capabilities in the Playground and consult the API guide for detailed instructions. Before accessing, please make sure you have logged in to CometAPI and obtained the API key. CometAPI offer a price far lower than the official price to help you integrate.

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