OpenClaw

OpenClaw is an OpenAI-compatible AI assistant/gateway. Add NovaAPI as a custom model provider in its config and point the endpoint at NovaAPI with a NovaAPI Key. This guide starts from scratch and covers Windows / macOS / Linux.

Requirements

• Node.js 24 (recommended) or 22.19+ — OpenClaw installs via npm
• OS: Windows 10+ / macOS / Linux
• An API Key from the NovaAPI console (starts with sk-)

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1. Prepare the Node.js environment

OpenClaw needs a newer Node than most tools — Node 24 recommended, 22.19+ minimum. Check first:

node -v

If it prints v24 (or v22.19+), skip to step 2. Otherwise install for your OS.

Windows

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS

Or download the current .msi from https://nodejs.org (keep "Add to PATH"). Reopen the terminal and verify node -v, npm -v.

macOS

brew install node

(No Homebrew? /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)")

Linux

Debian / Ubuntu:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Fedora: sudo dnf install -y nodejs　Arch: sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

Cross-platform: use nvm (nvm-windows on Windows), then nvm install 24.

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2. Install OpenClaw

Global npm install (all three OSes):

npm install -g openclaw@latest
# or: pnpm add -g openclaw@latest

Then run the onboarding wizard (works on macOS / Linux / Windows). It sets up the gateway, workspace, and (optionally) a background daemon:

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

Verify:

openclaw --version

Windows permissions: on errors, run PowerShell as Administrator. macOS / Linux: avoid sudo npm; use a user-level npm prefix.

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3. Point it at NovaAPI

OpenClaw reads config from ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.openclaw\openclaw.json). Add NovaAPI as a custom OpenAI-compatible provider under models.providers, then set it as the default agent model.

{
  agent: {
    model: "novaapi/gpt-5",
  },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      novaapi: {
        baseUrl: "https://api.novaapis.com/v1",
        apiKey: "${NOVA_API_KEY}",
        api: "openai-completions",
        models: [
          { id: "gpt-5", name: "GPT-5" },
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}

• baseUrl: NovaAPI's OpenAI-compatible endpoint (https://api.novaapis.com/v1)
• apiKey: ${NOVA_API_KEY} reads the key from an environment variable (you can also paste the sk-... key directly)
• api: "openai-completions": use the OpenAI /chat/completions protocol
• models[].id: any tool-calling model from the model list; add more entries as needed
• agent.model: <provider>/<model-id>, i.e. novaapi/gpt-5
• mode: "merge": keep the built-in providers and add NovaAPI alongside them

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4. Set the key

macOS / Linux

export NOVA_API_KEY="sk-your-NovaAPI-key"

Persist by adding to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc.

Windows PowerShell

setx NOVA_API_KEY "sk-your-NovaAPI-key"      # persistent, reopen terminal
$env:NOVA_API_KEY="sk-your-NovaAPI-key"      # current session only

The variable name must match ${NOVA_API_KEY} in openclaw.json.

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5. Run

Start (or restart) the gateway, then talk to the assistant:

openclaw gateway status
openclaw agent --message "Hello from NovaAPI"

Useful checks:

openclaw models list      # list configured models
openclaw models status    # show provider auth + endpoints
openclaw doctor           # diagnose config issues