Environment variables — openclaw

OpenClaw pulls environment variables from multiple sources. The rule is never override existing values. Workspace .env files are a lower-trust source: OpenClaw ignores provider credentials and protected runtime controls from workspace .env before applying precedence.

Precedence (highest to lowest)

Process environment (what the Gateway process already has from the parent shell/daemon).
.env in the current working directory (dotenv default; does not override; provider credentials and protected runtime controls are ignored).
Global .env at ~/.openclaw/.env (aka $OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR/.env; recommended for provider API keys; does not override).
Config env block in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (applied only if missing).
Optional login-shell import (env.shellEnv.enabled or OPENCLAW_LOAD_SHELL_ENV=1), applied only for missing expected keys.

On fresh Ubuntu installs that use the default state dir, OpenClaw also treats ~/.config/openclaw/gateway.env as a compatibility fallback after the global .env. If both files exist and disagree, OpenClaw keeps ~/.openclaw/.env and prints a warning.

If the config file is missing entirely, step 4 is skipped; shell import still runs if enabled.

Provider credentials and workspace `.env`

Do not keep provider API keys only in a workspace .env. OpenClaw blocks a large set of provider credential and endpoint-redirect keys from workspace .env files, including every known provider auth env var (for example GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY, MISTRAL_API_KEY, GROQ_API_KEY, DEEPSEEK_API_KEY, PERPLEXITY_API_KEY, BRAVE_API_KEY, TAVILY_API_KEY, EXA_API_KEY, FIRECRAWL_API_KEY), plus any key ending in _API_HOST, _BASE_URL, _ENDPOINT, or _HOMESERVER, and the entire OPENCLAW_*, CLAWHUB_*, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_*, and OPENAI_API_KEY_* namespaces.

Use one of these trusted sources for provider credentials instead:

The Gateway process environment, such as a shell, launchd/systemd unit, container secret, or CI secret.
The global runtime dotenv file at ~/.openclaw/.env or $OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR/.env.
The config env block in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.
Optional login-shell import when env.shellEnv.enabled or OPENCLAW_LOAD_SHELL_ENV=1 is enabled.

If you previously stored provider keys or endpoint routing values only in a workspace .env, move them to one of the trusted sources above. Workspace .env can still provide ordinary project variables that are not credentials, endpoint redirects, host overrides, or OPENCLAW_* runtime controls.

See Workspace .env files for the security rationale.

Config `env` block

Two equivalent ways to set inline env vars (both are non-overriding):

{
  env: {
    OPENROUTER_API_KEY: "sk-or-...",
    vars: {
      GROQ_API_KEY: "gsk-...",
    },
  },
}

The config env block accepts literal string values only. It does not expand file:... values; for example, XAI_API_KEY: "file:secrets/xai-api-key.txt" is passed to providers as that exact string.

For file-backed provider keys, use a SecretRef on the credential field that supports it:

{
  secrets: {
    providers: {
      xai_key_file: {
        source: "file",
        path: "~/.openclaw/secrets/xai-api-key.txt",
        mode: "singleValue",
      },
    },
  },
  models: {
    providers: {
      xai: {
        apiKey: { source: "file", provider: "xai_key_file", id: "value" },
      },
    },
  },
}

See Secrets Management and the SecretRef credential surface for supported fields.

Shell env import

env.shellEnv runs your login shell and imports only missing expected keys:

{
  env: {
    shellEnv: {
      enabled: true,
      timeoutMs: 15000,
    },
  },
}

Env var equivalents:

OPENCLAW_LOAD_SHELL_ENV=1
OPENCLAW_SHELL_ENV_TIMEOUT_MS=15000 (default 15000)

Exec shell snapshots

On non-Windows Gateway hosts, bash and zsh exec commands use a startup snapshot by default. Set OPENCLAW_EXEC_SHELL_SNAPSHOT=0 in the Gateway process environment to disable this path. Values false, no, and off also disable it. Per-call exec.env values cannot toggle snapshots or redirect the snapshot cache.

Runtime-injected env vars

OpenClaw also injects context markers into spawned child processes:

OPENCLAW_SHELL=exec: set for commands run through the exec tool.
OPENCLAW_SHELL=acp-client: set for openclaw acp client when it spawns the ACP bridge process.
OPENCLAW_SHELL=tui-local: set for local TUI ! shell commands.
OPENCLAW_CLI=1: set for child processes spawned by the CLI entry point.

These are runtime markers (not required user config). They can be used in shell/profile logic to apply context-specific rules.

UI env vars

OPENCLAW_THEME=light: force the light TUI palette when your terminal has a light background.
OPENCLAW_THEME=dark: force the dark TUI palette.
COLORFGBG: if your terminal exports it, OpenClaw uses the background color hint to auto-pick the TUI palette.

Env var substitution in config

You can reference env vars directly in config string values using ${VAR_NAME} syntax:

{
  models: {
    providers: {
      "vercel-gateway": {
        apiKey: "${VERCEL_GATEWAY_API_KEY}",
      },
    },
  },
}

See Configuration: Env var substitution for full details.

Secret refs vs `${ENV}` strings

OpenClaw supports two env-driven patterns:

${VAR} string substitution in config values.
SecretRef objects ({ source: "env", provider: "default", id: "VAR" }) for fields that support secrets references.

Both resolve from process env at activation time. SecretRef details are documented in Secrets Management. The config env block itself does not resolve SecretRefs or file:... shorthand values.

Variable	Purpose
`OPENCLAW_HOME`	Override the home directory used for internal OpenClaw path defaults (`~/.openclaw/`, agent dirs, sessions, credentials, installer onboarding, and the default dev checkout). Useful when running OpenClaw as a dedicated service user.
`OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR`	Override the state directory (default `~/.openclaw`).
`OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH`	Override the config file path (default `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`).
`OPENCLAW_INCLUDE_ROOTS`	Path-list of directories where `$include` directives may resolve files outside the config directory (default: none - `$include` is confined to the config dir). Tilde-expanded.

Agent helper tool downloads

Set OPENCLAW_OFFLINE=1 to prevent OpenClaw from downloading its pinned fd and ripgrep helper binaries. Existing helpers under the OpenClaw tools directory and working system binaries remain eligible; a missing helper stays unavailable instead of triggering a network request.

Logging

Variable	Purpose
`OPENCLAW_LOG_LEVEL`	Override log level for both file and console (e.g. `debug`, `trace`). Takes precedence over `logging.level` and `logging.consoleLevel` in config. Invalid values are ignored with a warning.
`OPENCLAW_DEBUG_MODEL_TRANSPORT`	Emit targeted model request/response timing diagnostics at `info` level without enabling global debug logs.
`OPENCLAW_DEBUG_MODEL_PAYLOAD`	Model payload diagnostics: `summary`, `tools`, or `full-redacted`. `full-redacted` is capped and redacted but may include prompt/message text.
`OPENCLAW_DEBUG_SSE`	Streaming diagnostics: `events` for first/done timing, `peek` to include the first five redacted SSE events.
`OPENCLAW_DEBUG_CODE_MODE`	Code-mode model-surface diagnostics, including provider-tool hiding and compact control/direct enforcement.

`OPENCLAW_HOME`

When set, OPENCLAW_HOME replaces the system home directory ($HOME / os.homedir()) for internal OpenClaw path defaults. This includes the default state directory, config path, agent directories, credentials, installer onboarding workspace, and the default dev checkout used by openclaw update --channel dev.

Precedence: OPENCLAW_HOME > $HOME > USERPROFILE > Termux PREFIX home fallback on Android > os.homedir()

Example (macOS LaunchDaemon):

<key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
<dict>
  <key>OPENCLAW_HOME</key>
  <string>/Users/user</string>
</dict>

OPENCLAW_HOME can also be set to a tilde path (e.g. ~/svc), which gets expanded using the same OS home fallback chain before use.

Explicit path variables such as OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR, OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH, and OPENCLAW_GIT_DIR still take precedence. OS-account tasks such as shell startup file detection, package-manager setup, and host ~ expansion may still use the real system home.

nvm users: web_fetch TLS failures

If Node.js was installed via nvm (not the system package manager), the built-in fetch() uses nvm's bundled CA store, which may be missing modern root CAs (ISRG Root X1/X2 for Let's Encrypt, DigiCert Global Root G2, etc.). This causes web_fetch to fail with "fetch failed" on most HTTPS sites.

On Linux, OpenClaw automatically detects nvm and applies the fix in the actual startup environment:

openclaw gateway install writes NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS into the systemd service environment
the openclaw CLI entrypoint re-execs itself with NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS set before Node startup

Manual fix (for older versions or direct node ... launches):

Export the variable before starting OpenClaw:

export NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
openclaw gateway run

Do not rely on writing only to ~/.openclaw/.env for this variable; Node reads NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS at process startup.

Legacy environment variables

OpenClaw only reads OPENCLAW_* environment variables. The legacy CLAWDBOT_* and MOLTBOT_* prefixes from earlier releases are silently ignored.

If any are still set on the Gateway process at startup, OpenClaw emits a single Node deprecation warning (OPENCLAW_LEGACY_ENV_VARS) listing the detected prefixes and the total count. Rename each value by replacing the legacy prefix with OPENCLAW_ (for example CLAWDBOT_GATEWAY_TOKEN to OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN); the old names take no effect.

Source: docs/help/environment.md