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Medium priorityTested by MilanVerified fix
API Key Not Working (Claude / OpenAI)
Agent starts but all responses fail with '401 Unauthorized' or 'invalid_api_key' errors in the logs.
Likely Cause
The API key is set under the wrong environment variable, contains hidden whitespace, or was revoked by the provider.
Tags
ConfigAPI Key
Recovery Steps
- 1Check the .env file for the exact provider variable name.
- 2Paste the key into a plain text editor to remove hidden whitespace.
- 3Confirm the key is still active in the provider dashboard.
- 4Verify the .env file sits in the project root.
- 5Restart OpenClaw fully because .env changes do not hot-reload.
Still blocked?
If the steps above do not clear it, review the full fixes index or book direct troubleshooting help.