Ollama + OpenClaw Config

Support and Troubleshooting
1

Hi Smart People,

I’ve been trying to setup a local version of Ollama on OpenClaw (both apps via UmbrelOS). When setting up OpenClaw I keep getting authentication errors when connecting to my locally downloaded version of Gemma4. Since its local, I wouldn’t think an API key is needed. Here are the settings I’m using:

Local Only Model > Base URL: http://ollama_ollama_1:11434

This is a valid base URL but I get request for API key which I think is invalid.

If anyone has figured out how to get past this > run a free model in OpenClaw that would be amazing.

Thanks in advance to the Nerd Army

2

hey, you’re right, local Ollama doesn’t need a real API key. Try entering ollama-local in that field instead of leaving it blank. It’s just a placeholder to keep OpenClaw happy, not a key you need to sign up or pay for.

Keep Ollama → Local only selected and your base URL as http://ollama_ollama_1:11434, without adding /v1. The OpenClaw docs mention this local auth setup.

If it still complains, could you share the exact error? That should help narrow down whether it’s the key prompt or something else failing.