Model Not Responding — No Output or Empty Replies

## Quick Triage (First 60 Seconds)

Run these commands in order to identify the issue:

# Check overall statusopenclaw status# Check model configuration and authopenclaw models status# Watch live logs for errorsopenclaw gateway logs --follow

## Fix 1: Gateway Not Running

If openclaw status shows the gateway is stopped:

# Check gateway statusopenclaw gateway status# Start or restart the gatewayopenclaw gateway restart# For VPS: ensure daemon is installedopenclaw gateway install --install-daemon

## Fix 2: Authentication Issues (HTTP 401)

If you see HTTP 401 authentication_error: Invalid bearer token:

# Check which auth profile is activeopenclaw models status# Re-sync Claude CLI token (if using OAuth)claude setup-token# OR via OpenClaw:openclaw models auth setup-token --provider anthropic

For VPS/remote servers, use API key instead of OAuth (more reliable):

# Add to ~/.openclaw/.envecho 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...' >> ~/.openclaw/.env# Restart to applyopenclaw gateway restart

Important: OAuth tokens are host-specific. If you set up on your laptop, those tokens won't work on your VPS. Always use API keys for remote servers.

## Fix 3: Model Not Configured

If openclaw models status shows no credentials or no default model:

# Run the configuration wizardopenclaw onboard# Or manually check your configopenclaw models list

Make sure your config has a valid default model:

{  "agents": {    "defaults": {      "model": {        "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5"      }    }  }}

## Fix 4: API Key Not Loading (WSL2/VPS)

Environment variables from your shell aren't inherited by the daemon. Add them to the .env file:

# Create or edit the .env filenano ~/.openclaw/.env# Add your API keysANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...# Restart gateway to load new envopenclaw gateway restart

## Fix 5: Version Mismatch

Version mismatches are the #1 cause of weird issues. Always check your version:

# Check current versionopenclaw --version# Update to latestpnpm update -g openclaw# ORbrew update && brew upgrade openclaw# ORscoop update openclaw# Restart after updateopenclaw gateway restart

## Fix 6: Run the Doctor

The built-in doctor command can auto-fix many issues:

openclaw doctor --fix

This checks and repairs: - Gateway connectivity - Model configuration - Auth credentials - Channel connections

## Fix 7: Check Allowlist Settings

If messages are being ignored, check the allowlist:

# Check allowlist statusopenclaw status | grep -i allow# View full configopenclaw config get

## Fix 8: Enable Delivery

In the TUI, make sure message delivery is enabled:

# In the TUI, run:/status/deliver on

## Fix 9: Check Channel Health

Verify your messaging platform is properly connected:

# Check all channel statusesopenclaw channels status

## Debugging Workflow

If the above fixes don't work, follow this debugging workflow:

# 1. Get detailed statusopenclaw status --deep# 2. Check logs for specific errorsopenclaw gateway logs --follow# 3. Test model directlyopenclaw test# 4. Verify channel connectionopenclaw channels status# 5. Full diagnostic with auto-repairopenclaw doctor --fix

## Platform-Specific Notes

### VPS/Remote Servers - Always use API keys, not OAuth tokens - Ensure port 18789 is accessible - Run openclaw gateway install --install-daemon for persistent service ### WSL2 (Windows) - Put API keys in ~/.openclaw/.env, not shell exports - Try both localhost and 127.0.0.1 for Ollama connections - Restart WSL2 if networking issues persist: wsl --shutdown ### Docker - Use host.docker.internal instead of 127.0.0.1 for host services - Set env vars in docker-compose.yml, not shell exports

## Still Stuck?

If none of these fixes work, share the following in the #help channel: 1. Output of openclaw --version 2. Output of openclaw models status 3. Relevant lines from openclaw gateway logs 4. Your platform (macOS/Linux/Windows WSL2/Docker)