OpenClaw can run local AI CLIs as a text-only fallback when API providers are down, rate-limited, or temporarily misbehaving. This is intentionally conservative:

• Tools are disabled (no tool calls).
• Text in → text out (reliable).
• Sessions are supported (so follow-up turns stay coherent).
• Images can be passed through if the CLI accepts image paths.

This is designed as a safety net rather than a primary path. Use it when you want “always works” text responses without relying on external APIs.

You can use Claude Code CLI without any config (OpenClaw ships a built-in default):

openclaw agent --message "hi" --model claude-cli/opus-4.5

Codex CLI also works out of the box:

openclaw agent --message "hi" --model codex-cli/gpt-5.2-codex

If your gateway runs under launchd/systemd and PATH is minimal, add just the command path:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      cliBackends: {
        "claude-cli": {
          command: "/opt/homebrew/bin/claude"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

That’s it. No keys, no extra auth config needed beyond the CLI itself.

Add a CLI backend to your fallback list so it only runs when primary models fail:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: {
        primary: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5",
        fallbacks: [
          "claude-cli/opus-4.5"
        ]
      },
      models: {
        "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5": { alias: "Opus" },
        "claude-cli/opus-4.5": {}
      }
    }
  }
}

Notes:

• If you use agents.defaults.models (allowlist), you must include claude-cli/....
• If the primary provider fails (auth, rate limits, timeouts), OpenClaw will try the CLI backend next.

All CLI backends live under:

agents.defaults.cliBackends

Each entry is keyed by a provider id (e.g. claude-cli, my-cli). The provider id becomes the left side of your model ref:

<provider>/<model>

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      cliBackends: {
        "claude-cli": {
          // Absolute path to binary (optional if on PATH)
          command: "/opt/homebrew/bin/claude",

          // Environment variables for the child process
          env: {
            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "sk-..."
          },

          // Timeout for the CLI process
          timeoutMs: 60000
        }
      }
    }
  }
}