Anthropic Clarifies Claude CLI Usage Policy for OpenClaw Integration

Anthropic has updated its policy regarding Claude CLI usage with OpenClaw, confirming that OpenClaw-style Claude CLI usage is now allowed again. This means developers can reuse existing Claude CLI installations and claude -p usage directly within OpenClaw integrations, unless Anthropic publishes a new policy.

Authentication Options

OpenClaw supports two main authentication methods for Anthropic:

• Anthropic API Key: Recommended for production environments and clear billing paths. Create your API key in the Anthropic Console and set it up with openclaw onboard --anthropic-api-key "$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
• Claude CLI Reuse: If you already use Claude CLI on your host, OpenClaw can reuse that login directly. Existing legacy Anthropic token profiles are still honored at runtime if already configured.

Configuration Details

Basic Anthropic API configuration snippet:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "sk-ant-..."
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6"
      }
    }
  }
}

Model Features

Claude 4.6 Thinking Defaults: Anthropic Claude 4.6 models default to adaptive thinking in OpenClaw when no explicit thinking level is set. You can override per-message with /think:<level> or in model params: agents.defaults.models["anthropic/<model>"].params.thinking.

Fast Mode: OpenClaw's shared /fast toggle supports direct public Anthropic traffic. /fast on maps to service_tier: "auto" while /fast off maps to service_tier: "standard_only". Important limitations: OpenClaw only injects Anthropic service tiers for direct api.anthropic.com requests, and explicit serviceTier or service_tier model params override the /fast default when both are set.

Prompt Caching: OpenClaw supports Anthropic's prompt caching feature, but this is API-only; legacy Anthropic token auth does not honor cache settings. When using Anthropic API Key authentication, OpenClaw automatically applies cacheRetention: "short" (5-minute cache) for all Anthropic models. You can override with values: "none" (no caching), "short" (5 minutes), or "long" (1 hour).

Additional Notes

For long-lived gateway hosts, Anthropic API keys are still the clearest and most predictable production path. OpenClaw also supports other subscription-style options including OpenAI Codex, Qwen Cloud Coding Plan, MiniMax Coding Plan, and Z.AI/GLM Coding Plan.