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Ollama Cloud is Ollama’s hosted model API. The ollama-cloud provider calls it directly at https://ollama.com over Ollama’s native /api/chat API, with no local Ollama server and no local Ollama app signed into cloud mode. Use model refs like ollama-cloud/kimi-k2.6. OpenClaw registers ollama-cloud as its own provider id so cloud-only credentials, live catalog discovery, and model selection do not get mixed with a local ollama host. For local Ollama, hybrid cloud-plus-local routing, embeddings, and custom host details, see Ollama.

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Setup

Create an Ollama Cloud API key at ollama.com/settings/keys, then run:
Or set:
Non-interactive onboarding accepts the key directly:
Onboarding sets the default model to ollama-cloud/kimi-k2.5:cloud.

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Defaults

  • Provider: ollama-cloud
  • Base URL: https://ollama.com
  • Env var: OLLAMA_API_KEY
  • API style: Ollama native /api/chat
  • Onboarding default model: ollama-cloud/kimi-k2.5:cloud

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When to choose Ollama Cloud

  • You want hosted Ollama models without running ollama serve locally.
  • You want the same native Ollama chat API shape OpenClaw uses for local Ollama, but pointed at https://ollama.com.
  • You want a simple cloud path for models that are already in Ollama’s hosted catalog.
  • You do not need local model pulls, local GPU control, or LAN-only inference.
Use Ollama instead when you want local-only or cloud-plus-local routing through a signed-in Ollama host. Use an OpenAI-compatible provider instead when you need /v1/chat/completions semantics or provider-specific OpenAI-style features.

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Models

The provider requires an API key; without one it stays inactive. With a key, OpenClaw discovers Ollama Cloud models live from the hosted catalog:
Hosted ids in the live catalog include deepseek-v4-flash, glm-5, gpt-oss:20b, kimi-k2.6, and minimax-m2.7. When live discovery returns nothing, OpenClaw falls back to the bundled rows kimi-k2.5:cloud, minimax-m2.7:cloud, glm-5.1:cloud, and glm-5.2:cloud. Model ids are cloud catalog ids, not local pull names. If a model name works in a local Ollama host but is absent from the hosted catalog, use the ollama provider with that local host instead.

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Live test

For Ollama Cloud API-key smoke tests, point the Ollama live test at the hosted endpoint and choose a model from your current catalog:
The cloud smoke runs text, native stream, and web search; set OPENCLAW_LIVE_OLLAMA_WEB_SEARCH=0 to skip web search. It skips embeddings by default for https://ollama.com because Ollama Cloud API keys may not authorize /api/embed; force them with OPENCLAW_LIVE_OLLAMA_EMBEDDINGS=1.

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Troubleshooting

  • Ollama Cloud requires an API key / Set OLLAMA_API_KEY errors: provide a real cloud API key. The local ollama-local marker is only for local or private Ollama hosts.
  • Unknown model errors: run openclaw models list --provider ollama-cloud and copy the hosted model id exactly.
  • Tool-call or raw JSON issues on custom Ollama hosts: check whether you are accidentally using an OpenAI-compatible /v1 URL. Ollama routes should use the native base URL with no /v1 suffix.