OpenClaw Infer

Use the OpenClaw `infer` CLI for provider-backed model, image, audio transcription, TTS, video, web-search, and embedding tasks.

Prefer openclaw infer ... as the first-party CLI for inference work.

Use --json when output should be machine-readable or piped into another step. The normal local path does not require the gateway to be running.

Setup

Requires binary: openclaw on PATH.

Install if missing:

npm install -g openclaw

Quick verification:

openclaw infer model providers --json

If working from a local OpenClaw checkout instead of a global install, use that checkout's built openclaw CLI.

Core commands

• Run text/model calls:
  • openclaw infer model run --prompt "Reply with exactly: smoke-ok" --json
  • openclaw infer model providers --json
• Generate or inspect images:
  • openclaw infer image generate --prompt "friendly lobster illustration" --json
  • openclaw infer image describe --file ./photo.jpg --json
• Transcribe audio:
  • openclaw infer audio transcribe --file ./memo.m4a --language en --prompt "Focus on names and action items" --json
• Synthesize speech:
  • openclaw infer tts convert --text "hello from openclaw" --output ./hello.mp3 --json
  • openclaw infer tts providers --json
• Generate or inspect video:
  • openclaw infer video generate --prompt "cinematic sunset over the ocean" --json
  • openclaw infer video describe --file ./clip.mp4 --json
• Search the web:
  • openclaw infer web search --query "OpenClaw docs" --json
  • openclaw infer web providers --json
• Create embeddings:
  • openclaw infer embedding create --text "friendly lobster" --json
  • openclaw infer embedding providers --json

Selection rules

• Prefer infer over older wrapper skills or provider-specific CLIs unless the user explicitly asks for that provider or workflow.
• Prefer explicit --provider or --model provider/model only when the user asks for a specific backend.
• Keep the command family flat:
  • infer image ...
  • infer audio ...
  • infer tts ...
  • infer video ...
  • infer web ...
  • infer embedding ...