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moltbot/docs/providers/venice.md
Vincent Koc 3070fafec1 fix(venice): switch default model to kimi-k2-5 (#38423)
* Docs: refresh Venice default model guidance

* Venice: switch default model to Kimi K2.5

* Changelog: credit Venice default refresh
2026-03-06 19:31:07 -05:00

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Use Venice AI privacy-focused models in OpenClaw
You want privacy-focused inference in OpenClaw
You want Venice AI setup guidance
Venice AI

Venice AI (Venice highlight)

Venice is our highlight Venice setup for privacy-first inference with optional anonymized access to proprietary models.

Venice AI provides privacy-focused AI inference with support for uncensored models and access to major proprietary models through their anonymized proxy. All inference is private by default—no training on your data, no logging.

Why Venice in OpenClaw

  • Private inference for open-source models (no logging).
  • Uncensored models when you need them.
  • Anonymized access to proprietary models (Opus/GPT/Gemini) when quality matters.
  • OpenAI-compatible /v1 endpoints.

Privacy Modes

Venice offers two privacy levels — understanding this is key to choosing your model:

Mode Description Models
Private Fully private. Prompts/responses are never stored or logged. Ephemeral. Llama, Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi, MiniMax, Venice Uncensored, etc.
Anonymized Proxied through Venice with metadata stripped. The underlying provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI) sees anonymized requests. Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok

Features

  • Privacy-focused: Choose between "private" (fully private) and "anonymized" (proxied) modes
  • Uncensored models: Access to models without content restrictions
  • Major model access: Use Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Grok via Venice's anonymized proxy
  • OpenAI-compatible API: Standard /v1 endpoints for easy integration
  • Streaming: Supported on all models
  • Function calling: Supported on select models (check model capabilities)
  • Vision: Supported on models with vision capability
  • No hard rate limits: Fair-use throttling may apply for extreme usage

Setup

1. Get API Key

  1. Sign up at venice.ai
  2. Go to Settings → API Keys → Create new key
  3. Copy your API key (format: vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx)

2. Configure OpenClaw

Option A: Environment Variable

export VENICE_API_KEY="vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx"

Option B: Interactive Setup (Recommended)

openclaw onboard --auth-choice venice-api-key

This will:

  1. Prompt for your API key (or use existing VENICE_API_KEY)
  2. Show all available Venice models
  3. Let you pick your default model
  4. Configure the provider automatically

Option C: Non-interactive

openclaw onboard --non-interactive \
  --auth-choice venice-api-key \
  --venice-api-key "vapi_xxxxxxxxxxxx"

3. Verify Setup

openclaw agent --model venice/kimi-k2-5 --message "Hello, are you working?"

Model Selection

After setup, OpenClaw shows all available Venice models. Pick based on your needs:

  • Default model: venice/kimi-k2-5 for strong private reasoning plus vision.
  • High-capability option: venice/claude-opus-4-6 for the strongest anonymized Venice path.
  • Privacy: Choose "private" models for fully private inference.
  • Capability: Choose "anonymized" models to access Claude, GPT, Gemini via Venice's proxy.

Change your default model anytime:

openclaw models set venice/kimi-k2-5
openclaw models set venice/claude-opus-4-6

List all available models:

openclaw models list | grep venice

Configure via openclaw configure

  1. Run openclaw configure
  2. Select Model/auth
  3. Choose Venice AI

Which Model Should I Use?

Use Case Recommended Model Why
General chat (default) kimi-k2-5 Strong private reasoning plus vision
Best overall quality claude-opus-4-6 Strongest anonymized Venice option
Privacy + coding qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct Private coding model with large context
Private vision kimi-k2-5 Vision support without leaving private mode
Fast + cheap qwen3-4b Lightweight reasoning model
Complex private tasks deepseek-v3.2 Strong reasoning, but no Venice tool support
Uncensored venice-uncensored No content restrictions

Available Models (41 Total)

Private Models (26) — Fully Private, No Logging

Model ID Name Context Features
kimi-k2-5 Kimi K2.5 256k Default, reasoning, vision
kimi-k2-thinking Kimi K2 Thinking 256k Reasoning
llama-3.3-70b Llama 3.3 70B 128k General
llama-3.2-3b Llama 3.2 3B 128k General
hermes-3-llama-3.1-405b Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 405B 128k General, tools disabled
qwen3-235b-a22b-thinking-2507 Qwen3 235B Thinking 128k Reasoning
qwen3-235b-a22b-instruct-2507 Qwen3 235B Instruct 128k General
qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct Qwen3 Coder 480B 256k Coding
qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct-turbo Qwen3 Coder 480B Turbo 256k Coding
qwen3-5-35b-a3b Qwen3.5 35B A3B 256k Reasoning, vision
qwen3-next-80b Qwen3 Next 80B 256k General
qwen3-vl-235b-a22b Qwen3 VL 235B (Vision) 256k Vision
qwen3-4b Venice Small (Qwen3 4B) 32k Fast, reasoning
deepseek-v3.2 DeepSeek V3.2 160k Reasoning, tools disabled
venice-uncensored Venice Uncensored (Dolphin-Mistral) 32k Uncensored, tools disabled
mistral-31-24b Venice Medium (Mistral) 128k Vision
google-gemma-3-27b-it Google Gemma 3 27B Instruct 198k Vision
openai-gpt-oss-120b OpenAI GPT OSS 120B 128k General
nvidia-nemotron-3-nano-30b-a3b NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Nano 30B 128k General
olafangensan-glm-4.7-flash-heretic GLM 4.7 Flash Heretic 128k Reasoning
zai-org-glm-4.6 GLM 4.6 198k General
zai-org-glm-4.7 GLM 4.7 198k Reasoning
zai-org-glm-4.7-flash GLM 4.7 Flash 128k Reasoning
zai-org-glm-5 GLM 5 198k Reasoning
minimax-m21 MiniMax M2.1 198k Reasoning
minimax-m25 MiniMax M2.5 198k Reasoning

Anonymized Models (15) — Via Venice Proxy

Model ID Name Context Features
claude-opus-4-6 Claude Opus 4.6 (via Venice) 1M Reasoning, vision
claude-opus-4-5 Claude Opus 4.5 (via Venice) 198k Reasoning, vision
claude-sonnet-4-6 Claude Sonnet 4.6 (via Venice) 1M Reasoning, vision
claude-sonnet-4-5 Claude Sonnet 4.5 (via Venice) 198k Reasoning, vision
openai-gpt-54 GPT-5.4 (via Venice) 1M Reasoning, vision
openai-gpt-53-codex GPT-5.3 Codex (via Venice) 400k Reasoning, vision, coding
openai-gpt-52 GPT-5.2 (via Venice) 256k Reasoning
openai-gpt-52-codex GPT-5.2 Codex (via Venice) 256k Reasoning, vision, coding
openai-gpt-4o-2024-11-20 GPT-4o (via Venice) 128k Vision
openai-gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18 GPT-4o Mini (via Venice) 128k Vision
gemini-3-1-pro-preview Gemini 3.1 Pro (via Venice) 1M Reasoning, vision
gemini-3-pro-preview Gemini 3 Pro (via Venice) 198k Reasoning, vision
gemini-3-flash-preview Gemini 3 Flash (via Venice) 256k Reasoning, vision
grok-41-fast Grok 4.1 Fast (via Venice) 1M Reasoning, vision
grok-code-fast-1 Grok Code Fast 1 (via Venice) 256k Reasoning, coding

Model Discovery

OpenClaw automatically discovers models from the Venice API when VENICE_API_KEY is set. If the API is unreachable, it falls back to a static catalog.

The /models endpoint is public (no auth needed for listing), but inference requires a valid API key.

Streaming & Tool Support

Feature Support
Streaming All models
Function calling Most models (check supportsFunctionCalling in API)
Vision/Images Models marked with "Vision" feature
JSON mode Supported via response_format

Pricing

Venice uses a credit-based system. Check venice.ai/pricing for current rates:

  • Private models: Generally lower cost
  • Anonymized models: Similar to direct API pricing + small Venice fee

Comparison: Venice vs Direct API

Aspect Venice (Anonymized) Direct API
Privacy Metadata stripped, anonymized Your account linked
Latency +10-50ms (proxy) Direct
Features Most features supported Full features
Billing Venice credits Provider billing

Usage Examples

# Use the default private model
openclaw agent --model venice/kimi-k2-5 --message "Quick health check"

# Use Claude Opus via Venice (anonymized)
openclaw agent --model venice/claude-opus-4-6 --message "Summarize this task"

# Use uncensored model
openclaw agent --model venice/venice-uncensored --message "Draft options"

# Use vision model with image
openclaw agent --model venice/qwen3-vl-235b-a22b --message "Review attached image"

# Use coding model
openclaw agent --model venice/qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct --message "Refactor this function"

Troubleshooting

API key not recognized

echo $VENICE_API_KEY
openclaw models list | grep venice

Ensure the key starts with vapi_.

Model not available

The Venice model catalog updates dynamically. Run openclaw models list to see currently available models. Some models may be temporarily offline.

Connection issues

Venice API is at https://api.venice.ai/api/v1. Ensure your network allows HTTPS connections.

Config file example

{
  env: { VENICE_API_KEY: "vapi_..." },
  agents: { defaults: { model: { primary: "venice/kimi-k2-5" } } },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      venice: {
        baseUrl: "https://api.venice.ai/api/v1",
        apiKey: "${VENICE_API_KEY}",
        api: "openai-completions",
        models: [
          {
            id: "kimi-k2-5",
            name: "Kimi K2.5",
            reasoning: true,
            input: ["text", "image"],
            cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
            contextWindow: 256000,
            maxTokens: 65536,
          },
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}