openclaw/docs/gateway/openai-http-api.md

summary	read_when	title
Expose an OpenAI-compatible /v1/chat/completions HTTP endpoint from the Gateway	Integrating tools that expect OpenAI Chat Completions	OpenAI Chat Completions

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

Under the hood, requests are executed as a normal Gateway agent run (same codepath as openclaw agent), so routing/permissions/config match your Gateway.

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.

Security boundary (important)

Treat this endpoint as an operator-access surface for the gateway instance unless you intentionally target a publicMode agent through a trusted upstream.

• HTTP bearer auth here is not a narrow per-user scope model.
• A valid Gateway token/password for this endpoint should still be treated like an owner/operator credential.
• Requests run through the same control-plane agent path as trusted operator actions.
• For normal agents, missing x-openclaw-sender-is-owner defaults to owner semantics.
• For agents with publicMode: true, missing x-openclaw-sender-is-owner defaults to non-owner semantics; only an explicit x-openclaw-sender-is-owner: true restores owner access.
• publicMode is not a full per-user sandbox. It redacts local runtime details in prompts and strips owner-only tools, but any non-owner tools still allowed by the target agent remain callable.
• Keep this endpoint on loopback/tailnet/private ingress only; do not expose it directly to the public internet.

See Security and Remote access.

Choosing an agent

No custom headers required: encode the agent id in the OpenAI model field:

• model: "openclaw:<agentId>" (example: "openclaw:main", "openclaw:beta")
• model: "agent:<agentId>" (alias)

Or target a specific OpenClaw agent by header:

• x-openclaw-agent-id: <agentId> (default: main)

Advanced:

• x-openclaw-session-key: <sessionKey> to fully control session routing.

Enabling the endpoint

Set gateway.http.endpoints.chatCompletions.enabled to true:

{
  gateway: {
    http: {
      endpoints: {
        chatCompletions: { enabled: true },
      },
    },
  },
}

Disabling the endpoint

Set gateway.http.endpoints.chatCompletions.enabled to false:

{
  gateway: {
    http: {
      endpoints: {
        chatCompletions: { enabled: false },
      },
    },
  },
}

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.

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]

Examples

Non-streaming:

curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1/chat/completions \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'x-openclaw-agent-id: main' \
  -d '{
    "model": "openclaw",
    "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-agent-id: main' \
  -d '{
    "model": "openclaw",
    "stream": true,
    "messages": [{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]
  }'