Adding Kilo or Vercel AI Gateway? Prove the model route first.

OpenClaw now documents two gateway-style provider paths that can change how model traffic is routed: `kilocode` uses `KILOCODE_API_KEY`, while `vercel-ai-gateway` uses `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` and accepts Claude shorthand refs that normalize at runtime. The operator trap is assuming a config edit worked because the key exists. Treat a provider switch as a small change window: set the key where the Gateway process can actually read it, list the provider's models, run one tiny task, and keep the old model route available until the smoke test passes.

In simple words: Make a safe copy if the step could change your setup, try the smallest check, then confirm OpenClaw is back to normal before doing more. The source link and commands stay below for people who want the technical detail.

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "kilocode/kilo/auto"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6"
      }
    }
  }
}

# Kilo Gateway
openclaw models list --provider kilocode

# Vercel AI Gateway
openclaw models list --provider vercel-ai-gateway

- Previous model/provider route:
- New model/provider route:
- Where the API key is loaded for the Gateway process:
- `openclaw models list` result:
- Tiny prompt result:
- Rollback model route:
- Who approved using this route for unattended work: