OpenClaw with GPT-4o: Configuration Guide

OpenClaw GPT-4o setup is a popular choice for users who want OpenAI's multimodal capabilities in their AI agent. GPT-4o processes text, images, and audio, making it particularly useful for workflows involving visual document processing, image analysis, and tasks where the agent needs to understand screenshots or photos shared via messaging channels.

Getting Your OpenAI API Key

1. Visit platform.openai.com and create or log in to your account
2. Navigate to API Keys → Create new secret key
3. Set a spending limit under Billing → Usage Limits (recommended)
4. Copy your key (format: sk-proj-... in 2026)

Configuring OpenClaw for GPT-4o

{
  "llm": {
    "provider": "openai",
    "api_key": "sk-proj-YOUR_KEY_HERE",
    "model": "gpt-4o",
    "max_tokens": 4096,
    "temperature": 0.7,
    "vision": true
  }
}

Setting "vision": true enables image processing when users share images via Telegram, Discord, or other channels.

Available Models

Model	Context	Best For	Cost/1M input
gpt-4o	128K	Best quality + vision	$2.50
gpt-4o-mini	128K	Budget option	$0.15
o1	200K	Deep reasoning	$15.00
o1-mini	128K	Fast reasoning	$3.00

For most OpenClaw workflows, gpt-4o-mini delivers excellent performance at a fraction of gpt-4o's cost.

Vision Capabilities

With vision enabled, your OpenClaw agent can:

• Analyze screenshots shared via Telegram or Discord
• Extract text from images using the built-in OCR capability
• Describe photos and answer questions about visual content
• Process PDF pages sent as images

Function Calling and Tool Use

GPT-4o's function calling is well-supported by OpenClaw's tool use system. OpenClaw skills expose their capabilities as function definitions that GPT-4o can invoke automatically based on conversation context. Ensure skills in ~/.openclaw/skills/ declare their function schemas correctly in their SKILL.md files.

Cost Management

GPT-4o charges for both input and output tokens. For an agent processing 50 messages/day with average 1K input and 500 output tokens:

• gpt-4o: ~$0.10/day = ~$3/month
• gpt-4o-mini: ~$0.006/day = ~$0.18/month

Set a spending limit at platform.openai.com to prevent unexpected charges.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between GPT-4o and GPT-4o-mini for OpenClaw?

gpt-4o-mini handles most general tasks well at 6x lower cost. gpt-4o is worth the premium for complex reasoning, nuanced writing tasks, and when vision accuracy matters. Many users configure gpt-4o-mini as the default with gpt-4o as fallback for complex queries.

Does OpenClaw support OpenAI Assistants API?

OpenClaw uses the standard Chat Completions API, not the Assistants API. This gives more control over the conversation flow and is more portable across providers.

Can I use GPT-4o and Claude in the same OpenClaw instance?

Yes, through routing rules or skill-specific provider configurations. Some users route creative tasks to Claude and analytical tasks to GPT-4o.