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OAuth

OpenClaw supports “subscription auth” via OAuth for providers that offer it (notably OpenAI Codex (ChatGPT OAuth)). For Anthropic subscriptions, new setup should use the local Claude CLI login path on the gateway host, but Anthropic changed third-party harness billing on April 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM PT / 8:00 PM BST: Anthropic says Claude subscription limits no longer cover OpenClaw and Anthropic now requires Extra Usage for that traffic. OpenAI Codex OAuth is explicitly supported for use in external tools like OpenClaw. This page explains: For Anthropic in production, API key auth is the safer recommended path.
  • how the OAuth token exchange works (PKCE)
  • where tokens are stored (and why)
  • how to handle multiple accounts (profiles + per-session overrides)
OpenClaw also supports provider plugins that ship their own OAuth or API‑key flows. Run them via: 
openclaw models auth login --provider <id>

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The token sink (why it exists)

OAuth providers commonly mint a new refresh token during login/refresh flows. Some providers (or OAuth clients) can invalidate older refresh tokens when a new one is issued for the same user/app. Practical symptom:
  • you log in via OpenClaw and via Claude Code / Codex CLI → one of them randomly gets “logged out” later
To reduce that, OpenClaw treats auth-profiles.json as a token sink:
  • the runtime reads credentials from one place
  • we can keep multiple profiles and route them deterministically
  • when credentials are reused from an external CLI like Codex CLI, OpenClaw mirrors them with provenance and re-reads that external source instead of rotating the refresh token itself

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Storage (where tokens live)

Secrets are stored per-agent:
  • Auth profiles (OAuth + API keys + optional value-level refs): ~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json
  • Legacy compatibility file: ~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth.json (static api_key entries are scrubbed when discovered)
Legacy import-only file (still supported, but not the main store):
  • ~/.openclaw/credentials/oauth.json (imported into auth-profiles.json on first use)
All of the above also respect $OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR (state dir override). Full reference: /gateway/configuration For static secret refs and runtime snapshot activation behavior, see Secrets Management.

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Anthropic legacy token compatibility

Anthropic changed third-party harness billing on April 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM PT / 8:00 PM BST. Anthropic says Claude subscription limits no longer cover OpenClaw or other third-party harnesses. Existing Anthropic token profiles remain technically usable in OpenClaw, but Anthropic now requires Extra Usage (pay-as-you-go billed separately from the subscription) for that traffic.If you want other subscription-style options in OpenClaw, see OpenAI Codex, Qwen Cloud Coding Plan, MiniMax Coding Plan, and Z.AI / GLM Coding Plan.
OpenClaw no longer offers Anthropic setup-token onboarding or auth commands for new setup. Existing legacy Anthropic token profiles are still honored at runtime if they are already configured.

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Anthropic Claude CLI migration

If Claude CLI is already installed and signed in on the gateway host, you can switch Anthropic model selection over to the local CLI backend. This is a supported OpenClaw path when you want to reuse a local Claude CLI login on the same host. Prerequisites:
  • the claude binary is installed on the gateway host
  • Claude CLI is already authenticated there via claude auth login
Migration command: 
openclaw models auth login --provider anthropic --method cli --set-default
Onboarding shortcut: 
openclaw onboard --auth-choice anthropic-cli
This keeps existing Anthropic auth profiles for rollback, but rewrites the main default-model path from anthropic/... to claude-cli/..., rewrites matching Anthropic Claude fallbacks, and adds matching claude-cli/... allowlist entries under agents.defaults.models. Verify: 
openclaw models status

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OAuth exchange (how login works)

OpenClaw’s interactive login flows are implemented in @mariozechner/pi-ai and wired into the wizards/commands.

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Anthropic Claude CLI

Flow shape: Claude CLI path:
  1. sign in with claude auth login on the gateway host
  2. run openclaw models auth login --provider anthropic --method cli --set-default
  3. store no new auth profile; switch model selection to claude-cli/...
  4. keep existing Anthropic auth profiles for rollback
Interactive assistant path:
  • openclaw onboard / openclaw configure → auth choice anthropic-cli

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OpenAI Codex (ChatGPT OAuth)

OpenAI Codex OAuth is explicitly supported for use outside the Codex CLI, including OpenClaw workflows. Flow shape (PKCE):
  1. generate PKCE verifier/challenge + random state
  2. open https://auth.openai.com/oauth/authorize?...
  3. try to capture callback on http://127.0.0.1:1455/auth/callback
  4. if callback can’t bind (or you’re remote/headless), paste the redirect URL/code
  5. exchange at https://auth.openai.com/oauth/token
  6. extract accountId from the access token and store { access, refresh, expires, accountId }
Wizard path is openclaw onboard → auth choice openai-codex.

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Refresh + expiry

Profiles store an expires timestamp. At runtime:
  • if expires is in the future → use the stored access token
  • if expired → refresh (under a file lock) and overwrite the stored credentials
  • exception: reused external CLI credentials stay externally managed; OpenClaw re-reads the CLI auth store and never spends the copied refresh token itself
The refresh flow is automatic; you generally don’t need to manage tokens manually.

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Multiple accounts (profiles) + routing

Two patterns:

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1) Preferred: separate agents

If you want “personal” and “work” to never interact, use isolated agents (separate sessions + credentials + workspace): 
openclaw agents add work
openclaw agents add personal
Then configure auth per-agent (wizard) and route chats to the right agent.

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2) Advanced: multiple profiles in one agent

auth-profiles.json supports multiple profile IDs for the same provider. Pick which profile is used:
  • globally via config ordering (auth.order)
  • per-session via /model ...@<profileId>
Example (session override):
  • /model Opus@anthropic:work
How to see what profile IDs exist:
  • openclaw channels list --json (shows auth[])
Related docs: