OpenClaw: migrating from anthropic/ API backend to claude-cli/ (Claude Code CLI) to use Max/Pro subscription instead of API credits

OpenClaw developers migrated from the Anthropic API backend to the Claude Code CLI backend to use their Max/Pro subscription instead of API credits. The change routes requests through the local Claude CLI binary, which authenticates via subscription, avoiding extra usage billing. Configuration updates include adding a claude-cli backend definition, mapping model aliases, and updating cron jobs to use claude-cli models.

Anthropic changed billing so third-party API apps draw from "extra usage" credits, not plan limits. If you're on a Max/Pro subscription, using the anthropic/ provider hits API billing instead of your subscription. The claude-cli/ backend routes through the Claude Code CLI binary, which authenticates via your subscription — no API credits needed. claude --version should be 2.x+ claude auth status should show authMethod: claude.ai, subscriptionType: max/pro Under agents.defaults.cliBackends , add: "claude-cli": { "command": "/path/to/claude", "args": "-p", "--output-format", "stream-json", "--verbose", "--permission-mode", "bypassPermissions" , "resumeArgs": "-p", "--output-format", "stream-json", "--verbose", "--permission-mode", "bypassPermissions", "--resume", "{sessionId}" , "output": "jsonl", "input": "arg", "modelArg": "--model", "modelAliases": { "opus": "opus", "claude-opus-4-6": "opus", "sonnet": "sonnet", "claude-sonnet-4-6": "sonnet", "haiku": "haiku", "claude-haiku-3-5": "haiku" }, "sessionArg": "--session-id", "sessionMode": "always", "sessionIdFields": "session id", "sessionId", "conversation id", "conversationId" , "systemPromptArg": "--append-system-prompt", "systemPromptMode": "append", "systemPromptWhen": "first", "clearEnv": "ANTHROPIC API KEY" , "serialize": false } Find your claude binary path with which claude . Under agents.defaults.models : "claude-cli/claude-opus-4-6": { "alias": "opus" }, "claude-cli/claude-sonnet-4-6": { "alias": "sonnet" }, "claude-cli/claude-haiku-4-5": { "alias": "haiku" } "agents.defaults.model": { "primary": "claude-cli/claude-opus-4-6", "fallbacks": "openai-codex/gpt-5.4" } Change all cron jobs that use anthropic/claude- models to claude-cli/claude- : Find affected jobs grep -n "anthropic/" ~/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json Replace carefully, or edit manually sed -i 's|"anthropic/claude-opus-4-6"|"claude-cli/claude-opus-4-6"|g' ~/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json sed -i 's|"anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6"|"claude-cli/claude-sonnet-4-6"|g' ~/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway Check startup logs journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway -n 20 Confirm dispatches use claude-cli journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway | grep "cli exec" Should show: provider=claude-cli model=opus/sonnet Confirm no anthropic/ in active use grep "anthropic/" ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json Should only appear in the models catalog, not in agents.defaults.model or cron jobs | Setting | Recommended | Why | |---|---|---| serialize | false | Allows parallel sessions crons + conversations | maxConcurrent | 10-20 | Each CLI process is ~200-400MB; scale to your RAM | timeoutSeconds crons | 600+ | CLI startup adds overhead vs direct API | Gateway startup logs startup model warmup failed for claude-cli/claude-opus-4-6: Error: Unknown model . This is harmless — the warmup probe uses the fully-qualified name but runtime routing via aliases works fine. You can leave anthropic/ entries in the models catalog — they're just idle definitions. Just make sure nothing references them as a primary model or in cron job payloads.