Configure Anthropic Claude for OpenClaw

OpenClaw officially recommends Anthropic's Claude models, particularly Claude Opus 4.5 with Pro or Max subscriptions for the best experience. This recommendation stems from Claude's exceptional performance characteristics that align perfectly with OpenClaw's requirements as an autonomous agent platform.

Long Context Excellence

Claude models support up to 200K tokens of context, significantly exceeding most alternatives. This extensive context window allows OpenClaw to maintain longer conversation histories, process large documents, and handle complex multi-step tasks without losing important context. For an AI assistant that learns your preferences over extended interactions, this capability is invaluable.

Prompt Injection Resistance

As an autonomous agent that interacts with external content (messages from others, web pages, documents), OpenClaw faces prompt injection risks where malicious content attempts to manipulate the AI's behavior. Claude's training specifically addresses these scenarios, making it more resistant to manipulation attempts that could compromise your assistant's integrity.

Reasoning and Task Execution

Claude excels at the complex reasoning required for autonomous agent tasks. It plans multi-step operations, understands nuanced instructions, and maintains consistent behavior across extended interactions. These qualities make Claude particularly well-suited for OpenClaw's agent runtime model.

Safety and Alignment

Anthropic's focus on AI safety produces models that behave predictably and refuse genuinely harmful requests while remaining helpful for legitimate tasks. This balance is crucial for a personal assistant that should be capable but not dangerous.

Access to Claude models requires an Anthropic account. Several access tiers exist with different capabilities and pricing structures.

API Access via Console

The traditional approach uses API keys from console.anthropic.com. Create an account, add payment information, and generate API keys. This method charges per token with no subscription, suitable for variable usage patterns or evaluation.

Navigate to the API Keys section in your Anthropic Console, create a new key with a descriptive name, and copy it immediately. Set usage limits in the console to prevent unexpected charges.

Claude Pro/Max Subscriptions

OpenClaw specifically recommends Claude Pro or Max subscriptions for the best experience. These subscriptions provide higher rate limits, priority access during high demand, and access to the latest Claude capabilities. The subscription model works well for consistent, heavy usage patterns.

Pro and Max subscribers can use their subscription for API access through OAuth authentication, which OpenClaw supports natively. This avoids separate API billing while providing generous usage limits.

OAuth Authentication

OpenClaw supports Anthropic OAuth for seamless authentication with Pro/Max subscriptions. This method authenticates your OpenClaw instance with your Anthropic account without managing API keys manually. OAuth is the recommended authentication method for subscription users.

Choosing Your Access Method

For occasional or variable usage, API keys with pay-per-token billing provide flexibility. For daily assistant use, Pro subscription offers better value and higher limits. Max subscription suits power users and those needing maximum context windows and capabilities.

Configure OpenClaw to use Claude models through environment variables, configuration file settings, or OAuth authentication.

API Key Configuration

For API key authentication, set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY as an environment variable. Add this to your shell profile for persistence, ensuring it's available to the OpenClaw daemon process.

The environment variable approach keeps sensitive credentials out of configuration files that might be backed up or version controlled. On macOS, use launchctl setenv for daemon access. On Linux with systemd, use the Environment directive in the service file.

OAuth Configuration

For Pro/Max subscribers, OAuth provides seamless authentication. During onboarding, select Anthropic OAuth when prompted for authentication method. OpenClaw opens a browser for authorization, and upon approval, stores credentials securely for ongoing use.

OAuth tokens refresh automatically, eliminating the need to manage API keys manually. This method is recommended for subscription users as it automatically provides subscription benefits.

Model Selection

Specify your Claude model in openclaw.json. Model identifiers follow Anthropic's naming: anthropic/claude-opus-4-5 for the flagship model, anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet for balanced performance, or anthropic/claude-3-haiku for fast, economical responses.

OpenClaw recommends Claude Opus 4.5 for the best experience, especially with Pro/Max subscriptions that include generous Opus usage allocations.

Anthropic offers several Claude models with different capability and cost profiles. Understanding these helps you select the right model for your needs.

Claude Opus 4.5

Claude Opus 4.5 is Anthropic's most capable model, excelling at complex reasoning, nuanced understanding, and demanding tasks. It has the largest context window and produces the highest quality responses. Opus is recommended for OpenClaw users who prioritize quality and have Pro/Max subscriptions that include Opus usage.

Use Opus for complex planning, detailed analysis, creative work, and situations where response quality matters most. The cost is highest among Claude models but justified for demanding use cases.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Claude 3.5 Sonnet offers excellent performance at moderate cost, striking a balance between capability and efficiency. It handles most assistant tasks well, including coding, analysis, and conversation. Sonnet is the recommended choice for users optimizing cost while maintaining quality.

For everyday assistant interactions, Sonnet provides an excellent experience. Consider it the default choice unless you specifically need Opus capabilities or Haiku economics.

Claude 3 Haiku

Claude 3 Haiku is the fastest and most affordable Claude model. It handles simple queries, quick lookups, and routine tasks efficiently. Response quality is good for straightforward requests but may lag on complex reasoning tasks.

Use Haiku for high-volume, cost-sensitive deployments or for simple queries where speed matters more than depth. Consider pairing Haiku for routine tasks with Sonnet or Opus for complex work.

Model Switching

You can change models anytime by updating your configuration. Some users configure different models for different scenarios, though OpenClaw's current implementation uses a single primary model with optional fallbacks.

Fine-tune Claude's behavior and configure advanced features for optimal OpenClaw operation.

System Prompt Configuration

OpenClaw uses system prompts to establish assistant behavior. The default prompts work well, but you can customize through workspace files (AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md). Claude responds well to detailed system prompts that establish persona, capabilities, and constraints.

Temperature and Sampling

Configure temperature to control response variation. Claude's default temperature produces helpful, balanced responses. Lower temperature (0.3-0.5) increases consistency and focus, useful for factual queries. Higher temperature (0.7-0.9) adds variety, useful for creative tasks.

Max Tokens

Set appropriate max_tokens limits for your use case. Claude can generate very long responses; setting limits prevents unnecessarily verbose output and controls costs for API-billed usage.

Context Window Management

Claude's large context window is a strength, but sending unnecessary context wastes tokens and can slow responses. Configure OpenClaw's conversation pruning to maintain relevant context while limiting total size. For most conversations, keeping 50-100 recent messages provides good context without excess.

Failover Configuration

Configure fallback models in case Claude API experiences issues. List alternative models (other Claude versions or different providers) that OpenClaw tries if the primary model fails. This ensures availability even during provider outages.

Pro and Max subscriptions provide the best OpenClaw experience with specific optimization opportunities.

Understanding Subscription Limits

Pro and Max subscriptions include generous usage allocations that reset periodically. Monitor your usage in the Anthropic dashboard to stay within allocations. The subscriptions provide higher rate limits than API-only access, important for responsive assistant interactions.

Maximizing Opus Access

Max subscriptions include significant Opus allocations. Configure OpenClaw to use Opus as primary model to leverage this capability. The improved response quality from Opus enhances the overall assistant experience noticeably.

OAuth Benefits

OAuth authentication with subscriptions automatically applies your subscription benefits without API key management. Tokens refresh automatically, and usage counts against subscription allocations rather than separate API billing.

Rate Limit Handling

Subscriptions have higher rate limits but limits still exist. If you encounter rate limiting, spread requests over time. OpenClaw's natural conversation pacing typically stays within limits, but automated or rapid-fire usage may trigger them.

Cost Efficiency

For heavy daily use, subscriptions typically cost less than equivalent API-billed usage. Calculate your expected usage to determine whether subscription or API billing is more economical. The subscription also provides predictable monthly costs.

This section addresses common issues when using Claude with OpenClaw.

Authentication Errors

401 errors indicate authentication issues. For API keys, verify ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is correctly set and accessible to OpenClaw. For OAuth, try re-authenticating through openclaw channels login anthropic. Ensure your account is in good standing with valid payment method.

Rate Limiting

429 errors indicate rate limiting. Wait and retry with exponential backoff. Check your usage against account limits. Pro/Max subscribers have higher limits; if consistently hitting limits, consider upgrading or optimizing query frequency.

Model Availability

Some models may have limited availability during high demand. Opus occasionally experiences capacity constraints. Configure fallback models to maintain availability. Sonnet typically has better availability than Opus.

Response Quality Issues

If responses seem off, verify you're using the intended model. Check temperature settings; extreme values affect quality. Ensure system prompts aren't conflicting with intended behavior. Claude generally produces high-quality responses; issues usually indicate configuration problems.

Timeout Errors

Complex requests may timeout, especially with large context. Increase timeout settings in OpenClaw. Consider reducing context size or using streaming responses for better user experience with long generations.

OAuth Token Issues

If OAuth authentication fails, tokens may have expired or been revoked. Re-authenticate through the login flow. Ensure you're logged into the correct Anthropic account with active subscription.