OpenClaw ships a bundled runway provider for hosted video generation. The plugin is enabled by default and registers the runway provider against the videoGenerationProviders contract.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Provider id | runway |
| Plugin | bundled, enabledByDefault: true |
| Auth env vars | RUNWAYML_API_SECRET (canonical) or RUNWAY_API_KEY |
| Onboarding flag | --auth-choice runway-api-key |
| Direct CLI flag | --runway-api-key <key> |
| API | Runway task-based video generation (GET /v1/tasks/{id} polling) |
| Default model | runway/gen4.5 |
Getting started
Set the API key
```bash
openclaw onboard --auth-choice runway-api-key
```
Set Runway as the default video provider
```bash
openclaw config set agents.defaults.videoGenerationModel.primary "runway/gen4.5"
```
Generate a video
Ask the agent to generate a video. Runway will be used automatically.
Supported modes and models
The provider exposes seven Runway models split across three modes. The same model id can serve more than one mode (for example gen4.5 works for both text-to-video and image-to-video).
| Mode | Models | Reference input |
|---|---|---|
| Text-to-video | gen4.5 (default), veo3.1, veo3.1_fast, veo3 | None |
| Image-to-video | gen4.5, gen4_turbo, gen3a_turbo, veo3.1, veo3.1_fast, veo3 | 1 local or remote image |
| Video-to-video | gen4_aleph | 1 local or remote video |
Local image and video references are supported via data URIs.
| Aspect ratios | Allowed values |
|---|---|
| Text-to-video | 16:9, 9:16 |
| Image and video edits | 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 3:4, 4:3, 21:9 |
Warning
Video-to-video currently requires runway/gen4_aleph. Other Runway model ids reject video reference inputs.
Note
Picking a Runway model id from the wrong column produces an explicit error before the API request leaves OpenClaw. The provider validates model against the mode's allowlist (TEXT_ONLY_MODELS, IMAGE_MODELS, VIDEO_MODELS) in extensions/runway/video-generation-provider.ts.
Configuration
{
agents: {
defaults: {
videoGenerationModel: {
primary: "runway/gen4.5",
},
},
},
}Advanced configuration
Environment variable aliases
OpenClaw recognizes both `RUNWAYML_API_SECRET` (canonical) and `RUNWAY_API_KEY`.
Either variable will authenticate the Runway provider.
Task polling
Runway uses a task-based API. After submitting a generation request, OpenClaw
polls `GET /v1/tasks/{id}` until the video is ready. No additional
configuration is needed for the polling behavior.
Related
- Video generation — Shared tool parameters, provider selection, and async behavior.
- Configuration reference — Agent default settings including video generation model.