The music_generate tool lets the agent create music or audio through the shared music-generation capability with configured providers — ComfyUI, fal, Google, MiniMax, and OpenRouter today.
For session-backed agent runs, OpenClaw starts music generation as a background task, tracks it in the task ledger, then wakes the agent again when the track is ready so the agent can tell the user and attach the finished audio. The completion agent follows the session's normal visible-reply mode: automatic final reply delivery when configured, or message(action="send") when the session requires the message tool. If the requester session is inactive or its active wake fails, and some generated audio is still missing from the completion reply, OpenClaw sends an idempotent direct fallback with only the missing audio.
Note
The built-in shared tool only appears when at least one music-generation provider is available. If you do not see music_generate in your agent's tools, configure agents.defaults.musicGenerationModel or set up a provider API key.
Quick start
Shared provider-backed
Configure auth
Set an API key for at least one provider — for example
`GEMINI_API_KEY` or `MINIMAX_API_KEY`.
Pick a default model (optional)
```json5
{
agents: {
defaults: {
musicGenerationModel: {
primary: "google/lyria-3-clip-preview",
},
},
},
}
```
Ask the agent
_"Generate an upbeat synthpop track about a night drive through a
neon city."_
The agent calls `music_generate` automatically. No tool
allow-listing needed.
For direct synchronous contexts without a session-backed agent run,
the built-in tool still falls back to inline generation and returns
the final media path in the tool result.
ComfyUI workflow
Configure the workflow
Configure `plugins.entries.comfy.config.music` with a workflow
JSON and prompt/output nodes.
Cloud auth (optional)
For Comfy Cloud, set `COMFY_API_KEY` or `COMFY_CLOUD_API_KEY`.
Call the tool
```text
/tool music_generate prompt="Warm ambient synth loop with soft tape texture"
```
Example prompts:
Generate a cinematic piano track with soft strings and no vocals.Generate an energetic chiptune loop about launching a rocket at sunrise.Supported providers
| Provider | Default model | Reference inputs | Supported controls | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ComfyUI | workflow | Up to 1 image | Workflow-defined music or audio | COMFY_API_KEY, COMFY_CLOUD_API_KEY |
| fal | fal-ai/minimax-music/v2.6 | None | lyrics, instrumental, durationSeconds, format | FAL_KEY or FAL_API_KEY |
lyria-3-clip-preview | Up to 10 images | lyrics, instrumental, format | GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY | |
| MiniMax | music-2.6 | None | lyrics, instrumental, format=mp3 | MINIMAX_API_KEY or MiniMax OAuth |
| OpenRouter | google/lyria-3-pro-preview | Up to 1 image | lyrics, instrumental, durationSeconds, format | OPENROUTER_API_KEY |
Capability matrix
The explicit mode contract used by music_generate, contract tests, and the shared live sweep:
| Provider | generate | edit | Edit limit | Shared live lanes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ComfyUI | ✓ | ✓ | 1 image | Not in the shared sweep; covered by extensions/comfy/comfy.live.test.ts |
| fal | ✓ | — | None | generate |
| ✓ | ✓ | 10 images | generate, edit | |
| MiniMax | ✓ | — | None | generate |
| OpenRouter | ✓ | ✓ | 1 image | generate, edit |
Use action: "list" to inspect available shared providers and models at runtime:
/tool music_generate action=listUse action: "status" to inspect the active session-backed music task:
/tool music_generate action=statusDirect generation example:
/tool music_generate prompt="Dreamy lo-fi hip hop with vinyl texture and gentle rain" instrumental=trueTool parameters
param
Music generation prompt. Required for action: "generate".
param
"status" returns the current session task; "list" inspects providers.
param
Provider/model override (e.g. google/lyria-3-pro-preview, comfy/workflow).
param
Optional lyrics when the provider supports explicit lyric input.
param
Request instrumental-only output when the provider supports it.
param
Single reference image path or URL.
param
Multiple reference images (up to 10 on supporting providers).
param
Target duration in seconds when the provider supports duration hints.
param
Output format hint when the provider supports it.
param
Output filename hint.
Note
Not all providers support all parameters. OpenClaw still validates hard limits such as input counts before submission. When a provider supports duration but uses a shorter maximum than the requested value, OpenClaw clamps to the closest supported duration. Truly unsupported optional hints are ignored with a warning when the selected provider or model cannot honor them. Tool results report applied settings; details.normalization captures any requested-to-applied mapping.
Provider request timeouts are operator configuration only. OpenClaw uses agents.defaults.musicGenerationModel.timeoutMs when configured, raises values below 120000ms to 120000ms, and otherwise defaults provider requests to 300000ms.
Async behavior
Session-backed music generation runs as a background task:
- Background task:
music_generatecreates a background task, returns a started/task response immediately, and posts the finished track later in a follow-up agent message. - Duplicate prevention: while a task is
queuedorrunning, latermusic_generatecalls in the same session return task status instead of starting another generation. Useaction: "status"to check explicitly. - Status lookup:
openclaw tasks listoropenclaw tasks show <taskId>inspects queued, running, and terminal status. - Completion wake: OpenClaw injects an internal completion event back into the same session so the model can write the user-facing follow-up itself.
- Prompt hint: later user/manual turns in the same session get a small runtime hint when a music task is already in flight, so the model does not blindly call
music_generateagain. - No-session fallback: direct/local contexts without a real agent session run inline and return the final audio result in the same turn.
Task lifecycle
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
queued | Task created, waiting for the provider to accept it. |
running | Provider is processing (typically 30 seconds to 3 minutes depending on provider and duration). |
succeeded | Track ready; the agent wakes and posts it to the conversation. |
failed | Provider error or timeout; the agent wakes with error details. |
Check status from the CLI:
openclaw tasks list
openclaw tasks show <taskId>
openclaw tasks cancel <taskId>Configuration
Model selection
{
agents: {
defaults: {
musicGenerationModel: {
primary: "google/lyria-3-clip-preview",
fallbacks: ["fal/fal-ai/minimax-music/v2.6", "minimax/music-2.6"],
},
},
},
}Provider selection order
OpenClaw tries providers in this order:
modelparameter from the tool call (if the agent specifies one).musicGenerationModel.primaryfrom config.musicGenerationModel.fallbacksin order.- Auto-detection using auth-backed provider defaults only:
- current default provider first;
- remaining registered music-generation providers in provider-id order.
If a provider fails, the next candidate is tried automatically. If all fail, the error includes details from each attempt.
Set agents.defaults.mediaGenerationAutoProviderFallback: false to use only explicit model, primary, and fallbacks entries.
Provider notes
ComfyUI
Workflow-driven and depends on the configured graph plus node mapping
for prompt/output fields. The bundled `comfy` plugin plugs into the
shared `music_generate` tool through the music-generation provider
registry.
fal
Uses fal model endpoints through the shared provider auth path. The
bundled provider defaults to `fal-ai/minimax-music/v2.6` and also exposes
`fal-ai/ace-step/prompt-to-audio` and
`fal-ai/stable-audio-25/text-to-audio` for prompt-to-audio requests.
Google (Lyria 3)
Uses Lyria 3 batch generation. The current bundled flow supports
prompt, optional lyrics text, and optional reference images.
MiniMax
Uses the batch `music_generation` endpoint. Supports prompt, optional
lyrics, instrumental mode, and mp3 output through either `minimax`
API-key auth or `minimax-portal` OAuth.
OpenRouter
Uses OpenRouter chat completions audio output with streaming enabled. The
bundled provider defaults to `google/lyria-3-pro-preview` and also exposes
`openrouter/google/lyria-3-clip-preview`.
Choosing the right path
- Shared provider-backed when you want model selection, provider failover, and the built-in async task/status flow.
- Plugin path (ComfyUI) when you need a custom workflow graph or a provider that is not part of the shared bundled music capability.
If you are debugging ComfyUI-specific behavior, see ComfyUI. If you are debugging shared provider behavior, start with fal, Google (Gemini), MiniMax, or OpenRouter.
Provider capability modes
The shared music-generation contract supports explicit mode declarations:
generatefor prompt-only generation.editwhen the request includes one or more reference images.
New provider implementations should prefer explicit mode blocks:
capabilities: {
generate: {
maxTracks: 1,
supportsLyrics: true,
supportsFormat: true,
},
edit: {
enabled: true,
maxTracks: 1,
maxInputImages: 1,
supportsFormat: true,
},
}Legacy flat fields such as maxInputImages, supportsLyrics, and supportsFormat are not enough to advertise edit support. Providers should declare generate and edit explicitly so live tests, contract tests, and the shared music_generate tool can validate mode support deterministically.
Live tests
Opt-in live coverage for the shared bundled providers:
OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 pnpm test:live -- extensions/music-generation-providers.live.test.tsRepo wrapper:
pnpm test:live:media musicThis live file uses already-exported provider env vars ahead of stored auth profiles by default, and runs both generate and declared edit coverage when the provider enables edit mode. Coverage today:
google:generatepluseditfal:generateonlyminimax:generateonlyopenrouter:generatepluseditcomfy: separate Comfy live coverage, not the shared provider sweep
Opt-in live coverage for the bundled ComfyUI music path:
OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 COMFY_LIVE_TEST=1 pnpm test:live -- extensions/comfy/comfy.live.test.tsThe Comfy live file also covers comfy image and video workflows when those sections are configured.
Related
- Background tasks — task tracking for detached
music_generateruns - ComfyUI
- Configuration reference —
musicGenerationModelconfig - Google (Gemini)
- MiniMax
- Models — model configuration and failover
- Tools overview