HTTP 401 Invalid API key
I failed many time to use OpenClaw in discord and Telecom. I asked my claude code to conclude what we did and write this:
Environment:
- OS: Windows 11
- OpenClaw Version: 2026.2.2-3
- Node.js: v24.13.0
- Using VPN/Proxy (configured via environment variables)
Problem:
When I send messages via Discord, Telegram, or Web Chat, the bot responds with "HTTP 401: Invalid API key". However, the
gateway logs show the request completed successfully without any errors.
Key Finding:
The same API key works perfectly with curl but fails in OpenClaw.
curl test (SUCCESS):
```bash
curl -X POST "https://my-proxy.example.com/v1/messages" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "x-api-key: sk-xxxxx" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-d '{"model":"claude-3-haiku-20240307","max_tokens":10,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]}'
This returns a valid Claude response.
My openclaw.json config:
{
"models": {
"mode": "merge",
"providers": {
"anthropic": {
"baseUrl": "https://my-proxy.example.com",
"apiKey": "sk-xxxxx",
"api": "anthropic-messages",
"models": []
}
}
}
}
What I've tried (all failed):
1. Verified API key works with curl
2. Added custom headers with x-api-key in provider config
3. Added User-Agent: Claude-Code/1.0.0 in model headers
4. Tried multiple different API keys
5. Tried a different API proxy service
My theory:
I suspect OpenClaw sends the API key using Authorization: Bearer header, but my API proxy expects x-api-key header. This
would explain why curl works (I can specify the header) but OpenClaw fails.
Questions:
1. How does OpenClaw send the API key to the Anthropic API? Does it use Authorization: Bearer or x-api-key?
2. Is there a way to configure custom authentication headers for a provider? ; ANY help please
Environment:
- OS: Windows 11
- OpenClaw Version: 2026.2.2-3
- Node.js: v24.13.0
- Using VPN/Proxy (configured via environment variables)
Problem:
When I send messages via Discord, Telegram, or Web Chat, the bot responds with "HTTP 401: Invalid API key". However, the
gateway logs show the request completed successfully without any errors.
Key Finding:
The same API key works perfectly with curl but fails in OpenClaw.
curl test (SUCCESS):
```bash
curl -X POST "https://my-proxy.example.com/v1/messages" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "x-api-key: sk-xxxxx" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-d '{"model":"claude-3-haiku-20240307","max_tokens":10,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]}'
This returns a valid Claude response.
My openclaw.json config:
{
"models": {
"mode": "merge",
"providers": {
"anthropic": {
"baseUrl": "https://my-proxy.example.com",
"apiKey": "sk-xxxxx",
"api": "anthropic-messages",
"models": []
}
}
}
}
What I've tried (all failed):
1. Verified API key works with curl
2. Added custom headers with x-api-key in provider config
3. Added User-Agent: Claude-Code/1.0.0 in model headers
4. Tried multiple different API keys
5. Tried a different API proxy service
My theory:
I suspect OpenClaw sends the API key using Authorization: Bearer header, but my API proxy expects x-api-key header. This
would explain why curl works (I can specify the header) but OpenClaw fails.
Questions:
1. How does OpenClaw send the API key to the Anthropic API? Does it use Authorization: Bearer or x-api-key?
2. Is there a way to configure custom authentication headers for a provider? ; ANY help please
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