OAuth

OpenClaw supports “subscription auth” via OAuth for providers that offer it (notably OpenAI Codex (ChatGPT OAuth)). For Anthropic subscriptions, use the setup-token flow. This page explains:

• 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>

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

Storage (where tokens live)

Secrets are stored per-agent:

• Auth profiles (OAuth + API keys): ~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json
• Runtime cache (managed automatically; don’t edit): ~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth.json

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

Anthropic setup-token (subscription auth)

Run claude setup-token on any machine, then paste it into OpenClaw:

openclaw models auth setup-token --provider anthropic

If you generated the token elsewhere, paste it manually:

openclaw models auth paste-token --provider anthropic

Verify:

openclaw models status

OAuth exchange (how login works)

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

Anthropic (Claude Pro/Max) setup-token

Flow shape:

1. run claude setup-token
2. paste the token into OpenClaw
3. store as a token auth profile (no refresh)

The wizard path is openclaw onboard → auth choice setup-token (Anthropic).

OpenAI Codex (ChatGPT OAuth)

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.

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

The refresh flow is automatic; you generally don’t need to manage tokens manually.

Multiple accounts (profiles) + routing

Two patterns:

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.

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:

• /concepts/model-failover (rotation + cooldown rules)
• /tools/slash-commands (command surface)