Venice AI

Venice AI provides privacy-focused AI inference with support for uncensored models and access to major proprietary models through their anonymized proxy. All inference is private by default — no training on your data, no logging.

Why Venice in OpenClaw

• Private inference for open-source models (no logging).
• Uncensored models when you need them.
• Anonymized access to proprietary models (Opus/GPT/Gemini) when quality matters.
• OpenAI-compatible /v1 endpoints.

Privacy modes

Venice offers two privacy levels — understanding this is key to choosing your model:

Mode	Description	Models
Private	Fully private. Prompts/responses are never stored or logged. Ephemeral.	Llama, Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi, MiniMax, Venice Uncensored, etc.
Anonymized	Proxied through Venice with metadata stripped. The underlying provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI) sees anonymized requests.	Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok

Warning

Anonymized models are not fully private. Venice strips metadata before forwarding, but the underlying provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI) still processes the request. Choose Private models when full privacy is required.

Features

• Privacy-focused: Choose between “private” (fully private) and “anonymized” (proxied) modes
• Uncensored models: Access to models without content restrictions
• Major model access: Use Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Grok via Venice’s anonymized proxy
• OpenAI-compatible API: Standard /v1 endpoints for easy integration
• Streaming: Supported on all models
• Function calling: Supported on select models (check model capabilities)
• Vision: Supported on models with vision capability
• No hard rate limits: Fair-use throttling may apply for extreme usage

Getting started

1. Get your API key

   1. Sign up at venice.ai
   2. Go to Settings > API Keys > Create new key
   3. Copy your API key (format: vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx)

2. Configure OpenClaw

   Choose your preferred setup method:

   Interactive (recommended)Environment variableNon-interactive

   openclaw onboard --auth-choice venice-api-key

   This will:

   1. Prompt for your API key (or use existing VENICE_API_KEY)
   2. Show all available Venice models
   3. Let you pick your default model
   4. Configure the provider automatically

   export VENICE_API_KEY="vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx"

   openclaw onboard --non-interactive \
     --auth-choice venice-api-key \
     --venice-api-key "vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx"

3. Verify setup

   openclaw agent --model venice/kimi-k2-5 --message "Hello, are you working?"

Model selection

After setup, OpenClaw shows all available Venice models. Pick based on your needs:

• Default model: venice/kimi-k2-5 for strong private reasoning plus vision.
• High-capability option: venice/claude-opus-4-6 for the strongest anonymized Venice path.
• Privacy: Choose “private” models for fully private inference.
• Capability: Choose “anonymized” models to access Claude, GPT, Gemini via Venice’s proxy.

Change your default model anytime:

openclaw models set venice/kimi-k2-5
openclaw models set venice/claude-opus-4-6

List all available models:

openclaw models list --all --provider venice

You can also run openclaw configure, select Model/auth, and choose Venice AI.

Tip

Use the table below to pick the right model for your use case.

Use Case	Recommended Model	Why
General chat (default)	kimi-k2-5	Strong private reasoning plus vision
Best overall quality	claude-opus-4-6	Strongest anonymized Venice option
Privacy + coding	qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct	Private coding model with large context
Private vision	kimi-k2-5	Vision support without leaving private mode
Fast + cheap	qwen3-4b	Lightweight reasoning model
Complex private tasks	deepseek-v3.2	Strong reasoning, but no Venice tool support
Uncensored	venice-uncensored	No content restrictions

DeepSeek V4 replay behavior

If Venice exposes DeepSeek V4 models such as venice/deepseek-v4-pro or venice/deepseek-v4-flash, OpenClaw fills the required DeepSeek V4 reasoning_content replay placeholder on assistant messages when the proxy omits it. Venice rejects DeepSeek’s native top-level thinking control, so OpenClaw keeps that provider-specific replay fix separate from the native DeepSeek provider’s thinking controls.

Built-in catalog (41 total)

Private models (26) — fully private, no logging

Model ID	Name	Context	Features
kimi-k2-5	Kimi K2.5	256k	Default, reasoning, vision
kimi-k2-thinking	Kimi K2 Thinking	256k	Reasoning
llama-3.3-70b	Llama 3.3 70B	128k	General
llama-3.2-3b	Llama 3.2 3B	128k	General
hermes-3-llama-3.1-405b	Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 405B	128k	General, tools disabled
qwen3-235b-a22b-thinking-2507	Qwen3 235B Thinking	128k	Reasoning
qwen3-235b-a22b-instruct-2507	Qwen3 235B Instruct	128k	General
qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct	Qwen3 Coder 480B	256k	Coding
qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct-turbo	Qwen3 Coder 480B Turbo	256k	Coding
qwen3-5-35b-a3b	Qwen3.5 35B A3B	256k	Reasoning, vision
qwen3-next-80b	Qwen3 Next 80B	256k	General
qwen3-vl-235b-a22b	Qwen3 VL 235B (Vision)	256k	Vision
qwen3-4b	Venice Small (Qwen3 4B)	32k	Fast, reasoning
deepseek-v3.2	DeepSeek V3.2	160k	Reasoning, tools disabled
venice-uncensored	Venice Uncensored (Dolphin-Mistral)	32k	Uncensored, tools disabled
mistral-31-24b	Venice Medium (Mistral)	128k	Vision
google-gemma-3-27b-it	Google Gemma 3 27B Instruct	198k	Vision
openai-gpt-oss-120b	OpenAI GPT OSS 120B	128k	General
nvidia-nemotron-3-nano-30b-a3b	NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Nano 30B	128k	General
olafangensan-glm-4.7-flash-heretic	GLM 4.7 Flash Heretic	128k	Reasoning
zai-org-glm-4.6	GLM 4.6	198k	General
zai-org-glm-4.7	GLM 4.7	198k	Reasoning
zai-org-glm-4.7-flash	GLM 4.7 Flash	128k	Reasoning
zai-org-glm-5	GLM 5	198k	Reasoning
minimax-m21	MiniMax M2.1	198k	Reasoning
minimax-m25	MiniMax M2.5	198k	Reasoning

Anonymized models (12) — via Venice proxy

Model ID	Name	Context	Features
claude-opus-4-6	Claude Opus 4.6 (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision
claude-sonnet-4-6	Claude Sonnet 4.6 (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision
openai-gpt-54	GPT-5.4 (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision
openai-gpt-53-codex	GPT-5.3 Codex (via Venice)	400k	Reasoning, vision, coding
openai-gpt-52	GPT-5.2 (via Venice)	256k	Reasoning
openai-gpt-52-codex	GPT-5.2 Codex (via Venice)	256k	Reasoning, vision, coding
openai-gpt-4o-2024-11-20	GPT-4o (via Venice)	128k	Vision
openai-gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18	GPT-4o Mini (via Venice)	128k	Vision
gemini-3-1-pro-preview	Gemini 3.1 Pro (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision
gemini-3-pro-preview	Gemini 3 Pro (via Venice)	198k	Reasoning, vision
gemini-3-flash-preview	Gemini 3 Flash (via Venice)	256k	Reasoning, vision
grok-41-fast	Grok 4.1 Fast (via Venice)	1M	Reasoning, vision

Model discovery

OpenClaw ships a manifest-backed Venice seed catalog for read-only model listing. Runtime refresh can still discover models from the Venice API, and falls back to the manifest catalog if the API is unreachable.

The /models endpoint is public (no auth needed for listing), but inference requires a valid API key.

Streaming and tool support

Feature	Support
Streaming	All models
Function calling	Most models (check supportsFunctionCalling in API)
Vision/Images	Models marked with “Vision” feature
JSON mode	Supported via response_format

Pricing

Venice uses a credit-based system. Check venice.ai/pricing for current rates:

• Private models: Generally lower cost
• Anonymized models: Similar to direct API pricing + small Venice fee

Venice (anonymized) vs direct API

Aspect	Venice (Anonymized)	Direct API
Privacy	Metadata stripped, anonymized	Your account linked
Latency	+10-50ms (proxy)	Direct
Features	Most features supported	Full features
Billing	Venice credits	Provider billing

Usage examples

# Use the default private model
openclaw agent --model venice/kimi-k2-5 --message "Quick health check"

# Use Claude Opus via Venice (anonymized)
openclaw agent --model venice/claude-opus-4-6 --message "Summarize this task"

# Use uncensored model
openclaw agent --model venice/venice-uncensored --message "Draft options"

# Use vision model with image
openclaw agent --model venice/qwen3-vl-235b-a22b --message "Review attached image"

# Use coding model
openclaw agent --model venice/qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct --message "Refactor this function"

Troubleshooting

API key not recognized

echo $VENICE_API_KEY
openclaw models list | grep venice

Ensure the key starts with vapi_.

Model not available

The Venice model catalog updates dynamically. Run openclaw models list to see currently available models. Some models may be temporarily offline.

Connection issues

Venice API is at https://api.venice.ai/api/v1. Ensure your network allows HTTPS connections.

Note

More help: Troubleshooting and FAQ.

Advanced configuration

Config file example

{
  env: { VENICE_API_KEY: "vapi_..." },
  agents: { defaults: { model: { primary: "venice/kimi-k2-5" } } },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      venice: {
        baseUrl: "https://api.venice.ai/api/v1",
        apiKey: "${VENICE_API_KEY}",
        api: "openai-completions",
        models: [
          {
            id: "kimi-k2-5",
            name: "Kimi K2.5",
            reasoning: true,
            input: ["text", "image"],
            cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
            contextWindow: 256000,
            maxTokens: 65536,
          },
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}

Related

Model selection

Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior.

Venice AI

Venice AI homepage and account signup.

API documentation

Venice API reference and developer docs.

Pricing

Current Venice credit rates and plans.