Kilo Gateway provides a unified API that routes requests to many models behind a single endpoint and API key. It is OpenAI-compatible, so most OpenAI SDKs work by switching the base URL.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Provider | kilocode |
| Auth | KILOCODE_API_KEY |
| API | OpenAI-compatible |
| Base URL | https://api.kilo.ai/api/gateway/ |
Getting started
Create an account
Go to [app.kilo.ai](https://app.kilo.ai), sign in or create an account, then navigate to API Keys and generate a new key.
Run onboarding
```bash
openclaw onboard --auth-choice kilocode-api-key
```
Or set the environment variable directly:
```bash
export KILOCODE_API_KEY="<your-kilocode-api-key>" # pragma: allowlist secret
```
Verify the model is available
```bash
openclaw models list --provider kilocode
```
Default model
The default model is kilocode/kilo/auto, a provider-owned smart-routing model managed by Kilo Gateway.
Note
OpenClaw treats kilocode/kilo/auto as the stable default ref, but does not publish a source-backed task-to-upstream-model mapping for that route. Exact upstream routing behind kilocode/kilo/auto is owned by Kilo Gateway, not hard-coded in OpenClaw.
Built-in catalog
OpenClaw dynamically discovers available models from the Kilo Gateway at startup. Use /models kilocode to see the full list of models available with your account.
Any model available on the gateway can be used with the kilocode/ prefix:
| Model ref | Notes |
|---|---|
kilocode/kilo/auto | Default — smart routing |
kilocode/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4 | Anthropic via Kilo |
kilocode/openai/gpt-5.5 | OpenAI via Kilo |
kilocode/google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview | Google via Kilo |
| ...and many more | Use /models kilocode to list all |
Tip
At startup, OpenClaw queries GET https://api.kilo.ai/api/gateway/models and merges discovered models ahead of the static fallback catalog. The bundled fallback always includes kilocode/kilo/auto (Kilo Auto) with input: ["text", "image"], reasoning: true, contextWindow: 1000000, and maxTokens: 128000.
Config example
{
env: { KILOCODE_API_KEY: "<your-kilocode-api-key>" }, // pragma: allowlist secret
agents: {
defaults: {
model: { primary: "kilocode/kilo/auto" },
},
},
}Transport and compatibility
Kilo Gateway is documented in source as OpenRouter-compatible, so it stays on
the proxy-style OpenAI-compatible path rather than native OpenAI request shaping.
- Gemini-backed Kilo refs stay on the proxy-Gemini path, so OpenClaw keeps
Gemini thought-signature sanitation there without enabling native Gemini
replay validation or bootstrap rewrites.
- Kilo Gateway uses a Bearer token with your API key under the hood.
Stream wrapper and reasoning
Kilo's shared stream wrapper adds the provider app header and normalizes
proxy reasoning payloads for supported concrete model refs.
Warning
`kilocode/kilo/auto` and other proxy-reasoning-unsupported hints skip reasoning
injection. If you need reasoning support, use a concrete model ref such as
`kilocode/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4`.
Troubleshooting
- If model discovery fails at startup, OpenClaw falls back to the bundled static catalog containing `kilocode/kilo/auto`.
- Confirm your API key is valid and that your Kilo account has the desired models enabled.
- When the Gateway runs as a daemon, ensure `KILOCODE_API_KEY` is available to that process (for example in `~/.openclaw/.env` or via `env.shellEnv`).
Related
- Model selection — Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior.
- Configuration reference — Full OpenClaw configuration reference.
- Kilo Gateway — Kilo Gateway dashboard, API keys, and account management.