Unable to configure with DeepSeek as a provider | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 9:22 PM

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@wintry atlas can you assist me?

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 9:27 PM

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Hey mahonrry93! 👋 🦐

DeepSeek is available through OpenRouter (a unified API that gives you access to many models). Here's how to set it up:

1. Get an OpenRouter API Key

Go to https://openrouter.ai/ and sign up
Create an API key at https://openrouter.ai/keys

2. Onboard with OpenRouter

clawdbot onboard --auth-choice apiKey --token-provider openrouter --token "your-api-key-here"

3. Configure DeepSeek in your config

Add this to your ~/.config/clawdbot/clawdbot.json5:

#

{
  env: { OPENROUTER_API_KEY: "sk-or-..." },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: {
        primary: "openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-r1:free",
        fallbacks: ["openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-r1:free"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Available DeepSeek models on OpenRouter:

openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-r1:free (recommended for testing)
openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-chat (full version)

#

After saving the config, run clawdbot restart to apply changes.

Let me know if you hit any snags! 🦐

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 9:28 PM

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I have a paid API directly from DeepSeek, can I use it that way?

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 9:29 PM

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obtuse axle I have a paid API directly from DeepSeek, can I use it that way?

Yes, absolutely! DeepSeek offers an OpenAI-compatible API, so you can use it directly with a custom base URL. 🦐

1. Onboard with your DeepSeek API key

clawdbot onboard --auth-choice apiKey --token-provider openai-api-key --token "your-deepseek-api-key"

2. Configure in your config (`~/.config/clawdbot/clawdbot.json5`)

{
  env: { 
    DEEPSEEK_API_KEY: "your-api-key-here"
  },
  models: {
    providers: {
      "openai-compatible": {

#

        baseUrl: "https://api.deepseek.com/v1",
        headers: {
          "Authorization": "Bearer $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "openai-compatible/deepseek-chat" }
    }
  }
}

Alternative: Use the env var directly

#

{
  env: { 
    OPENAI_API_KEY: "your-deepseek-api-key"
  },
  models: {
    providers: {
      "openai-compatible": {
        baseUrl: "https://api.deepseek.com/v1"
      }
    }
  },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "openai-compatible/deepseek-chat" }
    }

#

}
}

Key points:

Base URL: https://api.deepseek.com/v1
Model name: deepseek-chat (or deepseek-reasoner for their reasoning model)
Run clawdbot restart after saving

Let me know if you need help with any steps! 🦐

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 9:37 PM

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how do I get to ~/.config/clawdbot/clawdbot.json5 to modify the file

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 9:38 PM

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obtuse axle how do I get to ~/.config/clawdbot/clawdbot.json5 to modify the file

Hey mahonrry93! 🦐 Here are a few ways to edit the config file:

Option 1: CLI text editor (easiest for beginners)

nano ~/.config/clawdbot/clawdbot.json5

Make your edits
Press Ctrl+O to save, then Enter
Press Ctrl+X to exit

Option 2: Using `clawdbot config` (safer)

clawdbot config edit

This opens your default editor with the config file.

Option 3: View the file first

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cat ~/.config/clawdbot/clawdbot.json5

This just shows you what's currently in the file.

Tip: If the file doesn't exist yet, you can create it with:

mkdir -p ~/.config/clawdbot
nano ~/.config/clawdbot/clawdbot.json5

After editing, restart Clawdbot:

clawdbot restart

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Let me know if you run into any issues! 🦐

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 9:43 PM

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I get the following after running: clawbot config edit
error: too many arguments for 'config'. Expected 0 arguments but got 1.

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no idea how to make it work

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@wintry atlas

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 9:58 PM

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obtuse axle <@1457407575476801641>

Hey mahonrry93! 👋 🦐 I'm here to help!

Did you run into any issues with the DeepSeek configuration? Or do you have a specific question?

Just let me know what you're stuck on and we'll work through it together! 🦐

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 9:59 PM

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@wintry atlas I get the following after running: clawbot config edit
error: too many arguments for 'config'. Expected 0 arguments but got 1.

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 9:59 PM

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obtuse axle <@1457407575476801641> I get the following after running: clawbot config edit er...

Oops! It's clawdbot (with a d), not clawbot. 🦐

Try this:

clawdbot config edit

That should open the config file in your default editor. Let me know if it works! 🦐

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 10:00 PM

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@wintry atlas same error: error: too many arguments for 'config'. Expected 0 arguments but got 1.

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 10:01 PM

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obtuse axle <@1457407575476801641> same error: error: too many arguments for 'config'. Expec...

I see the issue! The edit subcommand doesn't exist. Let me give you the right options:

Option 1: Use the wizard (easiest)

clawdbot config

Option 2: Edit the file directly

nano ~/.config/clawdbot/clawdbot.json5

Option 3: Set specific values via CLI

# Example: Set the model directly
clawdbot config set agents.defaults.model.primary "openai-compatible/deepseek-chat"

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The wizard (clawdbot config with no arguments) is probably your best bet as a beginner - it guides you through the options step by step! 🦐

Give clawdbot config a try and let me know what options you see!

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 10:06 PM

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@wintry atlas how do i restart the gateway after using: clawdbot config set agents.defaults.model.primary "openai-compatible/deepseek-chat"

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 10:07 PM

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obtuse axle <@1457407575476801641> how do i restart the gateway after using: clawdbot confi...

Easy! Just run:

clawdbot restart

That's it! 🦐

Or if you want to be more specific:

clawdbot gateway restart

After restarting, you can check if DeepSeek is working with:

clawdbot version

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Let me know if everything comes back up successfully! 🦐

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 10:09 PM

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@wintry atlas after running clawdbot version:
error: unknown command 'version'
(Did you mean sessions?)

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 10:58 PM

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@wintry atlas you still there?

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 10:58 PM

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obtuse axle <@1457407575476801641> you still there?

Yes, I'm here! 🦐 Did the restart work, or did you run into any issues with the DeepSeek configuration?

Let me know what happened and we'll troubleshoot together!

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 10:59 PM

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@wintry atlas i got this after running clawdbot version:
error: unknown command 'version'
(Did you mean sessions?)

wintry atlasBOT Jan 27, 2026, 11:00 PM

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obtuse axle <@1457407575476801641> i got this after running clawdbot version: error: unknow...

Ah, your version is older! Try this instead:

clawdbot status

Or check if it's running:

clawdbot gateway status

Let me know what it shows! 🦐

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 11:03 PM

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@wintry atlas this is what I got:
Clawdbot status

Overview

│ Item │ Value │

│ Dashboard │ http://127.0.0.1:18789/ │
│ OS │ linux 6.14.0-24-generic (x64) · node 22.22.0 │
│ Tailscale │ off │
│ Channel │ stable (default) │
│ Update │ pnpm · npm latest 2026.1.24-3 │
│ Gateway │ local · ws://127.0.0.1:18789 (local loopback) · reachable 36ms · auth token · castro-Macmini7-1 │
│ │ (192.168.50.22) app unknown linux 6.14.0-24-generic │

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@wintry atlas │ Gateway service │ systemd installed · enabled · running (pid 3184, state active) │
│ Node service │ systemd not installed │
│ Agents │ 1 · 1 bootstrapping · sessions 3 · default main active just now │
│ Memory │ 0 files · 0 chunks · dirty · sources memory · plugin memory-core · vector ready · fts ready · │
│ │ cache on (0) │
│ Probes │ skipped (use --deep) │
│ Events │ none │
│ Heartbeat │ 30m (main) │
│ Sessions │ 3 active · default deepseek-chat (200k ctx) · ~/.clawdbot/agents/main/sessions/sessions.json │
┘

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@wintry atlas DeepSeek is really not working for me, I need a step by step solution for a toddler

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@wintry atlas DeepSeek is really not working for me, I need a step by step solution for a toddler

obtuse axle Jan 27, 2026, 11:44 PM

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@wintry atlas are you still there

frigid pike Feb 2, 2026, 3:21 PM

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@wintry atlas I also have an API Kry, but I keep getting a 404 error in WhatsApp.

#Unable to configure with DeepSeek as a provider