Venice AI

Venice AI provides privacy-focused inference: open models run with no logging, plus anonymized proxy access to Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Grok. All endpoints are OpenAI-compatible (/v1).

Privacy modes

Mode	Behavior	Models
Private	Prompts/responses are never stored or logged. Ephemeral.	Llama, Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi, MiniMax, Venice Uncensored, etc.
Anonymized	Proxied through Venice with metadata stripped before forwarding.	Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok

Anonymized models are not fully private. Venice strips metadata before forwarding, but the underlying provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI) still processes the request. Use Private models when full privacy is required.

Getting started

1. Install the plugin

   openclaw plugins install @openclaw/venice-provider
   
2. Get your API key

   1. Sign up at venice.ai
   2. Go to Settings > API Keys > Create new key
   3. Copy your API key (format: vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx)
3. Configure OpenClaw

   Interactive (recommended)

   openclaw onboard --auth-choice venice-api-key
   

   Prompts for the API key (or reuses an existing VENICE_API_KEY), lists available Venice models, and sets your default model.

   Environment variable

   export VENICE_API_KEY="vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
   

   Non-interactive

   openclaw onboard --non-interactive \
     --auth-choice venice-api-key \
     --venice-api-key "vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
   
4. Verify setup

   openclaw agent --model venice/kimi-k2-5 --message "Hello, are you working?"
   

Model selection

• Default: venice/kimi-k2-5 (private, reasoning, vision).
• Strongest anonymized option: venice/claude-opus-4-6.

openclaw models set venice/kimi-k2-5
openclaw models list --all --provider venice

You can also run openclaw configure and pick Model/auth provider > Venice AI.

Use case	Model	Why
General chat (default)	kimi-k2-5	Strong private reasoning plus vision
Best overall quality	claude-opus-4-6	Strongest anonymized Venice option
Privacy + coding	qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct	Private coding model with large context
Fast + cheap	qwen3-4b	Lightweight reasoning model
Complex private tasks	deepseek-v3.2	Strong reasoning; tool calling disabled
Uncensored	venice-uncensored	No content restrictions

Built-in catalog (38 models)

Private models (26) — fully private, no logging

Model ID	Name	Context	Notes
kimi-k2-5	Kimi K2.5	256k	Default, reasoning, vision
kimi-k2-thinking	Kimi K2 Thinking	256k	Reasoning
llama-3.3-70b	Llama 3.3 70B	128k	General
llama-3.2-3b	Llama 3.2 3B	128k	General
hermes-3-llama-3.1-405b	Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 405B	128k	General, tools disabled
qwen3-235b-a22b-thinking-2507	Qwen3 235B Thinking	128k	Reasoning
qwen3-235b-a22b-instruct-2507	Qwen3 235B Instruct	128k	General
qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct	Qwen3 Coder 480B	256k	Coding
qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct-turbo	Qwen3 Coder 480B Turbo	256k	Coding
qwen3-5-35b-a3b	Qwen3.5 35B A3B	256k	Reasoning, vision
qwen3-next-80b	Qwen3 Next 80B	256k	General
qwen3-vl-235b-a22b	Qwen3 VL 235B (Vision)	256k	Vision
qwen3-4b	Venice Small (Qwen3 4B)	32k	Fast, reasoning
deepseek-v3.2	DeepSeek V3.2	160k	Reasoning, tools disabled
venice-uncensored	Venice Uncensored (Dolphin-Mistral)	32k	Uncensored, tools disabled
mistral-31-24b	Venice Medium (Mistral)	128k	Vision
google-gemma-3-27b-it	Google Gemma 3 27B Instruct	198k	Vision
openai-gpt-oss-120b	OpenAI GPT OSS 120B	128k	General
nvidia-nemotron-3-nano-30b-a3b	NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Nano 30B	128k	General
olafangensan-glm-4.7-flash-heretic	GLM 4.7 Flash Heretic	128k	Reasoning
zai-org-glm-4.6	GLM 4.6	198k	General
zai-org-glm-4.7	GLM 4.7	198k	Reasoning
zai-org-glm-4.7-flash	GLM 4.7 Flash	128k	Reasoning
zai-org-glm-5	GLM 5	198k	Reasoning
minimax-m21	MiniMax M2.1	198k	Reasoning
minimax-m25	MiniMax M2.5	198k	Reasoning

Anonymized models (12) — via Venice proxy

Model ID	Name	Context	Notes
claude-opus-4-6	Claude Opus 4.6 (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision
claude-sonnet-4-6	Claude Sonnet 4.6 (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision
openai-gpt-54	GPT-5.4 (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision
openai-gpt-53-codex	GPT-5.3 Codex (via Venice)	400k	Reasoning, vision, coding
openai-gpt-52	GPT-5.2 (via Venice)	256k	Reasoning
openai-gpt-52-codex	GPT-5.2 Codex (via Venice)	256k	Reasoning, vision, coding
openai-gpt-4o-2024-11-20	GPT-4o (via Venice)	128k	Vision
openai-gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18	GPT-4o Mini (via Venice)	128k	Vision
gemini-3-1-pro-preview	Gemini 3.1 Pro (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision
gemini-3-pro-preview	Gemini 3 Pro (via Venice)	198k	Reasoning, vision
gemini-3-flash-preview	Gemini 3 Flash (via Venice)	256k	Reasoning, vision
grok-41-fast	Grok 4.1 Fast (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision

Grok-backed Venice models (grok-41-fast and similar) get the same tool-schema compat patch as the native xAI provider, since they share the same upstream tool-call format.

Model discovery

The bundled catalog above is a manifest-backed seed list. At runtime OpenClaw refreshes it from the Venice /models API and falls back to the seed list if the API is unreachable. The /models endpoint is public (no auth needed for listing), but inference requires a valid API key.

DeepSeek V4 replay behavior

If Venice exposes DeepSeek V4 models such as deepseek-v4-pro or deepseek-v4-flash, OpenClaw fills the required reasoning_content replay field on assistant messages when Venice omits it, and strips thinking/ reasoning/reasoning_effort from the request payload (Venice rejects DeepSeek’s native thinking control on these models). This replay fix is separate from the native DeepSeek provider’s own thinking controls.

Streaming and tool support

Feature	Support
Streaming	All models
Function calling	Most models; disabled per-model where noted above
Vision/Images	Models marked “Vision” above
JSON mode	Via response_format

Pricing

Venice uses a credit-based system. Anonymized models cost roughly the same as direct API pricing plus a small Venice fee. See venice.ai/pricing for current rates.

Usage examples

# Default private model
openclaw agent --model venice/kimi-k2-5 --message "Quick health check"

# Claude Opus via Venice (anonymized)
openclaw agent --model venice/claude-opus-4-6 --message "Summarize this task"

# Uncensored model
openclaw agent --model venice/venice-uncensored --message "Draft options"

# Vision model with image
openclaw agent --model venice/qwen3-vl-235b-a22b --message "Review attached image"

# Coding model
openclaw agent --model venice/qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct --message "Refactor this function"

Troubleshooting

API key not recognized

echo $VENICE_API_KEY
openclaw models list | grep venice

Confirm the key starts with vapi_.

Model not available

Run openclaw models list --all --provider venice to see currently available models; the catalog changes as Venice adds or retires models.

Connection issues

Venice API is at https://api.venice.ai/api/v1. Confirm your network allows HTTPS to that host.

More help: Troubleshooting and FAQ.

Advanced configuration

Config file example

{
  env: { VENICE_API_KEY: "vapi_..." },
  agents: { defaults: { model: { primary: "venice/kimi-k2-5" } } },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      venice: {
        baseUrl: "https://api.venice.ai/api/v1",
        apiKey: "${VENICE_API_KEY}",
        api: "openai-completions",
        models: [
          {
            id: "kimi-k2-5",
            name: "Kimi K2.5",
            reasoning: true,
            input: ["text", "image"],
            cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
            contextWindow: 256000,
            maxTokens: 65536,
          },
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}

Related

Model selection

Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior.

Venice AI

Venice AI homepage and account signup.

API documentation

Venice API reference and developer docs.

Pricing

Current Venice credit rates and plans.