Connecting OpenClaw to BotHub

This guide describes how to configure OpenClaw to use models via BotHub (bothub.chat) — an AI model aggregator with an OpenAI-compatible API. You can use GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek and other models without VPN.

Contents

• What is BotHub
• Prerequisites
• Step 1 — Get a BotHub API key
• Step 2 — Install OpenClaw
• Step 3 — Configuration
• Step 4 — Apply configuration
• Example configs for popular models
• Available BotHub models
• Environment variables
• Verify connection
• Switching between models
• Troubleshooting
• Full example configuration

What is BotHub

BotHub is an AI model aggregator that provides access to GPT-5.x, Claude Opus/Sonnet, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok and other models through a single OpenAI-compatible API without VPN.

Parameter	Value
Base URL	https://openai.bothub.chat/v1
API type	OpenAI-compatible (openai-completions)
Billing	Caps (no monthly subscriptions, don’t expire)
Free tier	30,000 Caps on signup

note

OpenClaw uses the api: "openai-completions" field for any OpenAI-compatible provider, which fits BotHub.

Prerequisites

• Node.js ≥ 22 (check: node --version)
• OpenClaw installed (npm install -g openclaw@latest or pnpm add -g openclaw@latest)
• Account on bothub.chat
• A generated BotHub API key

Step 1 — Get a BotHub API key

1. Sign up or log in at bothub.chat.
2. Open the For developers section of your profile:
   https://bothub.chat/profile/for-developers
3. Click Add key and generate a new API key.
4. Copy and save the key — you will need it for the OpenClaw configuration.

The key is a long string of characters (no prefix).

Step 2 — Install OpenClaw

If OpenClaw is not installed yet:

# Via npm
npm install -g openclaw@latest

# Or via pnpm
pnpm add -g openclaw@latest

# Then run the initial setup wizard
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

Step 3 — Configuration

OpenClaw config file:

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Option A: Edit openclaw.json manually

Open the config file and add BotHub as a custom provider.

Minimal config (one model)

{
  "agent": {
    "model": "bothub/claude-sonnet-4-6"
  },
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "bothub": {
        "baseUrl": "https://openai.bothub.chat/v1",
        "apiKey": "YOUR_BOTHUB_KEY",
        "api": "openai-completions",
        "models": [
          {
            "id": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
            "name": "Claude Sonnet 4.6 (BotHub)",
            "contextWindow": 200000,
            "maxTokens": 8192,
            "reasoning": false,
            "input": ["text", "image"]
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

tip

Instead of storing the key in the config file, use an environment variable (see Environment variables).

Using an environment variable for the key (recommended)

{
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "bothub": {
        "baseUrl": "https://openai.bothub.chat/v1",
        "apiKey": "${BOTHUB_API_KEY}",
        "api": "openai-completions",
        "models": [
          {
            "id": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
            "name": "Claude Sonnet 4.6 (BotHub)",
            "contextWindow": 200000,
            "maxTokens": 8192,
            "reasoning": false,
            "input": ["text", "image"]
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "bothub/claude-sonnet-4-6"
      }
    }
  }
}

Set the environment variable:

# In .env or ~/.openclaw/.env
BOTHUB_API_KEY=YOUR_BOTHUB_KEY

# Or export directly
export BOTHUB_API_KEY=YOUR_BOTHUB_KEY

Option B: Automatic setup via chat

If OpenClaw is already running, paste this prompt into the chat:

Add BotHub as a custom provider to my OpenClaw config. Use these details:

- Provider name: bothub
- Base URL: https://openai.bothub.chat/v1
- API key: [PASTE_YOUR_BOTHUB_KEY_HERE]
- API type: openai-completions

Add these models:
1. claude-sonnet-4-6 (context: 200000, max tokens: 8192)
2. gpt-5.2 (context: 400000, max tokens: 128000)
3. gpt-5.4 (context: 1050000, max tokens: 128000)

Set bothub/claude-sonnet-4-6 as the primary model. Apply the config when done.

OpenClaw will update the config and restart the Gateway.

Step 4 — Apply configuration

After editing openclaw.json manually:

# Apply config from file
openclaw gateway config.apply --file ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

# Or restart the Gateway
openclaw gateway restart

# Verify config
openclaw doctor

Example configs for popular models

Claude Sonnet 4.6

{
  "id": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
  "name": "Claude Sonnet 4.6 via BotHub",
  "contextWindow": 200000,
  "maxTokens": 8192,
  "reasoning": false,
  "input": ["text", "image"]
}

GPT-5.2

{
  "id": "gpt-5.2",
  "name": "GPT-5.2 via BotHub",
  "contextWindow": 400000,
  "maxTokens": 128000,
  "reasoning": false,
  "input": ["text", "image"]
}

GPT-5.4

{
  "id": "gpt-5.4",
  "name": "GPT-5.4 via BotHub",
  "contextWindow": 1050000,
  "maxTokens": 128000,
  "reasoning": false,
  "input": ["text", "image"]
}

DeepSeek (via BotHub)

{
  "id": "deepseek-chat",
  "name": "DeepSeek Chat via BotHub",
  "contextWindow": 128000,
  "maxTokens": 8192,
  "reasoning": false,
  "input": ["text"]
}

Available BotHub models

Current model list: https://bothub.chat/models

Popular models for use in OpenClaw:

Model ID (for config)	Description	Context
claude-sonnet-4-6	Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic)	200K
gpt-5.2	GPT-5.2 (OpenAI)	400K
gpt-5.4	GPT-5.4 (OpenAI)	1,050K
gpt-5	GPT-5 (OpenAI)	400K
gpt-4.1	GPT-4.1 (OpenAI)	1,047K
o3	OpenAI o3 (reasoning)	128K
deepseek-chat	DeepSeek Chat	128K
gemini-1.5-pro	Gemini 1.5 Pro (Google)	1,000K

Check exact model IDs on bothub.chat/models or in the BotHub API.

Environment variables

To store keys securely, create a .env file in the OpenClaw directory:

# ~/.openclaw/.env  or  /opt/openclaw.env

BOTHUB_API_KEY=YOUR_BOTHUB_KEY

Then point the config to .env or export the variable:

export BOTHUB_API_KEY=YOUR_BOTHUB_KEY

Verify connection

# List all configured models
openclaw models list

# Filter by BotHub provider
openclaw models list --provider bothub

# Check current model status
openclaw models status

# Probe all providers
openclaw models status --probe

# Diagnostics
openclaw doctor

Switching between models

In chat:

/model bothub/gpt-5.2
/model bothub/claude-sonnet-4-6
/model bothub/deepseek-chat

Via CLI:

openclaw models set bothub/gpt-5.2

Troubleshooting

Model 'bothub/model-name' is not allowed

The model is not in the allowed list. Add it under agents.defaults.models:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "models": {
        "bothub/gpt-5.2": { "alias": "GPT-5.2" },
        "bothub/claude-sonnet-4-6": { "alias": "Claude-BotHub" }
      }
    }
  }
}

401 Unauthorized / Invalid API key

• Ensure the BOTHUB_API_KEY environment variable is set correctly.
• Confirm the key was generated in the For developers section on the BotHub site.
• Check your BotHub account Caps balance.

Connection refused / ECONNREFUSED

• Check your internet connection.
• Verify baseUrl is correct: https://openai.bothub.chat/v1

Unknown provider / Provider not found

The provider name in models.providers must match the name in the model string (bothub/model-id):

{
  "providers": {
    "bothub": {}
  }
}

In agents use bothub/gpt-5.2 — names must match.

JSON syntax errors

Ask OpenClaw to fix the config in chat:

Fix the JSON syntax errors in my openclaw config.

Or run:

openclaw doctor

Full example configuration

Below is a full ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json example with several BotHub models and a fallback chain:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "bothub/claude-sonnet-4-6",
        "fallbacks": ["bothub/gpt-5.2", "bothub/deepseek-chat"]
      },
      "models": {
        "bothub/claude-sonnet-4-6": { "alias": "Claude" },
        "bothub/gpt-5.2": { "alias": "GPT-5.2" },
        "bothub/gpt-5.4": { "alias": "GPT-5.4" },
        "bothub/deepseek-chat": { "alias": "DeepSeek" }
      }
    }
  },
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "bothub": {
        "baseUrl": "https://openai.bothub.chat/v1",
        "apiKey": "${BOTHUB_API_KEY}",
        "api": "openai-completions",
        "models": [
          {
            "id": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
            "name": "Claude Sonnet 4.6",
            "contextWindow": 200000,
            "maxTokens": 8192,
            "reasoning": false,
            "input": ["text", "image"],
            "cost": {
              "input": 3.0,
              "output": 15.0,
              "cacheRead": 0,
              "cacheWrite": 0
            }
          },
          {
            "id": "gpt-5.2",
            "name": "GPT-5.2",
            "contextWindow": 400000,
            "maxTokens": 128000,
            "reasoning": false,
            "input": ["text", "image"],
            "cost": {
              "input": 1.97,
              "output": 15.75,
              "cacheRead": 0,
              "cacheWrite": 0
            }
          },
          {
            "id": "gpt-5.4",
            "name": "GPT-5.4",
            "contextWindow": 1050000,
            "maxTokens": 128000,
            "reasoning": false,
            "input": ["text", "image"],
            "cost": {
              "input": 2.81,
              "output": 16.88,
              "cacheRead": 0,
              "cacheWrite": 0
            }
          },
          {
            "id": "deepseek-chat",
            "name": "DeepSeek Chat",
            "contextWindow": 128000,
            "maxTokens": 8192,
            "reasoning": false,
            "input": ["text"],
            "cost": {
              "input": 0.14,
              "output": 0.28,
              "cacheRead": 0,
              "cacheWrite": 0
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Additional resources

Resource	Description
OpenClaw Docs	OpenClaw models documentation
BotHub API Docs	BotHub API documentation
BotHub Models	Current models and pricing
BotHub For developers	API key management
OpenClaw GitHub	OpenClaw source code
OpenClaw Discord	Community support
BotHub Telegram	BotHub community

Documentation is current for OpenClaw 2026.3.x and BotHub API v2. March 2026.