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Kilocode

docs/providers/kilocode.md

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Kilo Gateway

Kilo Gateway provides a unified API that routes requests to many models behind a single endpoint and API key. It is OpenAI-compatible, so most OpenAI SDKs work by switching the base URL.

PropertyValue
Providerkilocode
AuthKILOCODE_API_KEY
APIOpenAI-compatible
Base URLhttps://api.kilo.ai/api/gateway/

Getting started

<Steps> <Step title="Create an account"> Go to [app.kilo.ai](https://app.kilo.ai), sign in or create an account, then navigate to API Keys and generate a new key. </Step> <Step title="Run onboarding"> ```bash openclaw onboard --auth-choice kilocode-api-key ```
Or set the environment variable directly:

```bash
export KILOCODE_API_KEY="<your-kilocode-api-key>" # pragma: allowlist secret
```
</Step> <Step title="Verify the model is available"> ```bash openclaw models list --provider kilocode ``` </Step> </Steps>

Default model

The default model is kilocode/kilo/auto, a provider-owned smart-routing model managed by Kilo Gateway.

<Note> OpenClaw treats `kilocode/kilo/auto` as the stable default ref, but does not publish a source-backed task-to-upstream-model mapping for that route. Exact upstream routing behind `kilocode/kilo/auto` is owned by Kilo Gateway, not hard-coded in OpenClaw. </Note>

Built-in catalog

OpenClaw dynamically discovers available models from the Kilo Gateway at startup. Use /models kilocode to see the full list of models available with your account.

Any model available on the gateway can be used with the kilocode/ prefix:

Model refNotes
kilocode/kilo/autoDefault — smart routing
kilocode/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4Anthropic via Kilo
kilocode/openai/gpt-5.5OpenAI via Kilo
kilocode/google/gemini-3-pro-previewGoogle via Kilo
...and many moreUse /models kilocode to list all
<Tip> At startup, OpenClaw queries `GET https://api.kilo.ai/api/gateway/models` and merges discovered models ahead of the static fallback catalog. The bundled fallback always includes `kilocode/kilo/auto` (`Kilo Auto`) with `input: ["text", "image"]`, `reasoning: true`, `contextWindow: 1000000`, and `maxTokens: 128000`. </Tip>

Config example

json5
{
  env: { KILOCODE_API_KEY: "<your-kilocode-api-key>" }, // pragma: allowlist secret
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "kilocode/kilo/auto" },
    },
  },
}
<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="Transport and compatibility"> Kilo Gateway is documented in source as OpenRouter-compatible, so it stays on the proxy-style OpenAI-compatible path rather than native OpenAI request shaping.
- Gemini-backed Kilo refs stay on the proxy-Gemini path, so OpenClaw keeps
  Gemini thought-signature sanitation there without enabling native Gemini
  replay validation or bootstrap rewrites.
- Kilo Gateway uses a Bearer token with your API key under the hood.
</Accordion> <Accordion title="Stream wrapper and reasoning"> Kilo's shared stream wrapper adds the provider app header and normalizes proxy reasoning payloads for supported concrete model refs.
<Warning>
`kilocode/kilo/auto` and other proxy-reasoning-unsupported hints skip reasoning
injection. If you need reasoning support, use a concrete model ref such as
`kilocode/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4`.
</Warning>
</Accordion> <Accordion title="Troubleshooting"> - If model discovery fails at startup, OpenClaw falls back to the bundled static catalog containing `kilocode/kilo/auto`. - Confirm your API key is valid and that your Kilo account has the desired models enabled. - When the Gateway runs as a daemon, ensure `KILOCODE_API_KEY` is available to that process (for example in `~/.openclaw/.env` or via `env.shellEnv`). </Accordion> </AccordionGroup> <CardGroup cols={2}> <Card title="Model selection" href="/concepts/model-providers" icon="layers"> Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior. </Card> <Card title="Configuration reference" href="/gateway/configuration-reference" icon="gear"> Full OpenClaw configuration reference. </Card> <Card title="Kilo Gateway" href="https://app.kilo.ai" icon="arrow-up-right-from-square"> Kilo Gateway dashboard, API keys, and account management. </Card> </CardGroup>