Codex OAuth Setup Issues - Please Help - so frustrating

[next relic]

Running OpenClaw 2026.3.2. Completed OpenAI Codex OAuth via openclaw onboard QuickStart — it said "OpenAI OAuth complete." But when I try to use any OpenAI model, it fails and falls back to Claude. openclaw models list shows models under copilot-proxy/ only. How are people actually using OpenAI models? Do I need VS Code + Copilot Proxy extension running, or should the Codex OAuth work standalone?

[foggy wagon]

To help others find answers, you can mark your question as solved via Right click solution message -> Apps -> ✅ Mark Solution

[unborn stream]

Codex OAuth works standalone (no VS Code needed). The VS Code requirement is only for the Copilot Proxy plugin (copilot-proxy/*) — totally separate thing.

What’s tripping you up is that there are two different “OpenAI” paths in OpenClaw:

1. openai/* (OpenAI Platform API) → requires an OpenAI API key (OPENAI_API_KEY)
2. openai-codex/* (Codex subscription via ChatGPT OAuth) → uses the Codex OAuth you completed

So: doing “OpenAI Codex OAuth complete” does not automatically give you access to openai/* models. It gives you access to the openai-codex/* provider.
Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/providers/openai

Why you only see copilot-proxy/* in openclaw models list
By default, openclaw models list shows the configured/allowed models, not the full catalog. If your config currently only allows Copilot Proxy models, that’s all you’ll see.
Try:

openclaw models list --all --provider openai-codex

openclaw models status --probe

And if you paste the output of openclaw models status --probe (it won’t include secrets; still feel free to redact), I can tell you exactly whether:

• OpenClaw sees your openai-codex OAuth profile,
• you’re actually trying to use openai/* without an API key,
• or you’re on the “wrong” agent (auth is stored per-agent).

Relevant docs:

• Codex OAuth overview (FAQ): https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq#how-does-codex-auth-work
• OAuth storage/details: https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/oauth

[next relic]

Thanks! I completed the Codex OAuth via openclaw onboard QuickStart and it said "OpenAI OAuth complete." But openclaw models list only shows models under copilot-proxy/ — no openai-codex/ models appear. Running v2026.3.2. How do I get the openai-codex/* models to show up? Do I need to register them manually in the config, or should they auto-populate after OAuth?

[unborn stream]

openai-codex/* models don’t get “added” by OAuth. OAuth only stores credentials; the model catalog is separate.

Two important gotchas explain what you’re seeing:

1) openclaw models list usually shows configured/allowed models (not the whole catalog)

So if your config currently only allows copilot-proxy/*, that’s all models list will print.

Run:

openclaw models list --all --provider openai-codex

If that shows models, the provider is there — you just haven’t configured/allowed one yet.

2) If --all still shows only copilot-proxy/*, your config is probably replacing the catalog

This happens if you have models.mode: "replace" (or an agent models.json that effectively overrides what’s available).

Check:

openclaw config get models.mode
openclaw config get models.providers

If models.mode is "replace", switch it back to merge:

openclaw config set models.mode "merge"
# then restart the gateway
openclaw gateway restart

(Reference: models.mode merge vs replace in the config docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/configuration-reference#custom-providers-and-base-urls)