openclaw/docs/providers/venice.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Use Venice AI privacy-focused models in OpenClaw	You want privacy-focused inference in OpenClaw You want Venice AI setup guidance	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

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. Sign up at [venice.ai](https://venice.ai) 2. Go to **Settings > API Keys > Create new key** 3. Copy your API key (format: `vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx`) Choose your preferred setup method:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Interactive (recommended)">
    ```bash
    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
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Environment variable">
    ```bash
    export VENICE_API_KEY="vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
    ```
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Non-interactive">
    ```bash
    openclaw onboard --non-interactive \
      --auth-choice venice-api-key \
      --venice-api-key "vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

```bash 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 | grep venice

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

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)

| 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 | | Model ID | Name | Context | Features | | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ------- | ------------------------- | | `claude-opus-4-6` | Claude Opus 4.6 (via Venice) | 1M | Reasoning, vision | | `claude-opus-4-5` | Claude Opus 4.5 (via Venice) | 198k | Reasoning, vision | | `claude-sonnet-4-6` | Claude Sonnet 4.6 (via Venice) | 1M | Reasoning, vision | | `claude-sonnet-4-5` | Claude Sonnet 4.5 (via Venice) | 198k | 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 | | `grok-code-fast-1` | Grok Code Fast 1 (via Venice) | 256k | Reasoning, coding |

Model discovery

OpenClaw automatically discovers models from the Venice API when VENICE_API_KEY is set. If the API is unreachable, it falls back to a static catalog.

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

```bash echo $VENICE_API_KEY openclaw models list | grep venice ```

Ensure the key starts with `vapi_`.

The Venice model catalog updates dynamically. Run `openclaw models list` to see currently available models. Some models may be temporarily offline. Venice API is at `https://api.venice.ai/api/v1`. Ensure your network allows HTTPS connections. More help: [Troubleshooting](/help/troubleshooting) and [FAQ](/help/faq).

Advanced configuration

```json5 { 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

Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior. Venice AI homepage and account signup. Venice API reference and developer docs. Current Venice credit rates and plans.