#Stuck on a billing error loop with Anthropic where I cannot refresh that the billing is sufficient ?

21 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

smoky ginkgo
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Error is as follows. It had a dead credit card in there today that \I changed. I already have a new api. Not sure what is wrong at this point. ⚠️ Agent failed before reply: All models failed (2): anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6: Provider anthropic has billing issue (skipping all models) (billing) | anthropic/claude-opus-4-6: Provider anthropic has billing issue (skipping all models) (billing).
Logs: openclaw logs --follow

wet tokenBOT
limber kayakBOT
#

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smoky ginkgo
#

i am on local running on a mac m1. we have restarted and everything is configured properly on terminal. '=

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still receiving the error message

zinc steppeBOT
#

I think this is probably OpenClaw keeping the Anthropic profile in a billing-disabled state after the old card failed.

Changing the card or even rotating the API key at Anthropic does not always clear the OpenClaw-side disable immediately.

Please paste these:

openclaw --version
openclaw models status --json
openclaw doctor

What I’d look for in models status --json:

  • auth.unusableProfiles
  • reason: "billing"
  • disabledUntil
#

If that shows up, re-auth Anthropic explicitly:

openclaw models auth login --provider anthropic

If you are using a plain Anthropic API key, re-running onboarding is also fine:

openclaw onboard --anthropic-api-key "$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"

Then verify with a live probe:

openclaw models status --probe --probe-provider anthropic
#

Ah, the local Mac detail actually matters.

If your gateway is running as the macOS LaunchAgent, “it works in Terminal” is not enough. launchd often does not inherit your shell env, so the running gateway may still be seeing the old/no Anthropic key.

Try this exact path:

  1. Put the key in:
~/.openclaw/.env

with:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
#
  1. Then run:
openclaw --version
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw models status --json
openclaw models status --probe --probe-provider anthropic
  1. If models status --json still shows auth.unusableProfiles with reason: "billing", re-auth Anthropic explicitly:
openclaw models auth login --provider anthropic

That should clear stale provider lockouts.

#

Got it. If it’s still saying billing after restart, then we need to stop guessing and inspect the auth state.

Please paste these exact outputs:

openclaw --version
openclaw models status --json
openclaw models auth order get --provider anthropic
openclaw doctor

Before that, I’d also try this exact reset sequence once:

openclaw models auth order clear --provider anthropic
openclaw models auth login --provider anthropic
# 
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw models status --probe --probe-provider anthropic

Why: there are 2 common causes here:

  1. stale billing-disabled auth state (disabledUntil / reason: billing)
  2. OpenClaw is still using the wrong Anthropic profile, not the new key you expect

openclaw models status --json will show that pretty clearly.

If you paste that JSON, I can tell you the next step instead of making you poke at random stuff.

smoky ginkgo
#

can i submti screenshots here for clarity

zinc steppeBOT
#

Yes, absolutely. Screenshots are fine.

Best ones to send:

  • openclaw models status --json
  • openclaw doctor
  • openclaw models auth order get --provider anthropic
  • the relevant openclaw logs --follow lines showing the Anthropic billing error

Please redact API keys, tokens, and email addresses first.

If you can paste text, that’s even better for exact matching, but screenshots work too.

smoky ginkgo
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calor@Calors-iMac ~ % openclaw models status --probe --probe-provider anthropic

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.12 (1c0672b) — Powered by open source, sustained by spite and good documentation.

│
◇
Config : ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Agent dir : ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent
Default : anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6
Fallbacks (1) : anthropic/claude-opus-4-6
Image model : -
Image fallbacks (0): -
Aliases (2) : sonnet -> anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6, opus -> anthropic/claude-opus-4-6
Configured models (2): anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6, anthropic/claude-opus-4-6

Auth overview
Auth store : ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json
Shell env : off
Providers w/ OAuth/tokens (0): -

  • anthropic effective=profiles:~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json | profiles=1 (oauth=0, token=0, api_key=1) | anthropic:default=sk-ant-a...eYKMggAA [disabled:billing 8m]
  • google effective=profiles:~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json | profiles=1 (oauth=0, token=0, api_key=1) | google:default=AIzaSyB8...EtiMMMjE

OAuth/token status

  • none

Auth probes
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬────────────┐
│ Model │ Profile │ Status │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼────────────┤
│ anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 │ anthropic:default (api_key) │ ok · 4s │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴────────────┘
Probed 1 target in 8.9s
calor@Calors-iMac ~ %

zinc steppeBOT
#

Yep, this is the smoking gun.

  • Auth probes ... ok means Anthropic accepts your key now
  • [disabled:billing 8m] means OpenClaw still has the profile temporarily marked billing-disabled from the earlier card failure

So this is now a local backoff state, not a bad API key.

What to do:

  1. Wait the 8 minutes for that disable window to expire, then retry.
  2. If you want to try clearing it immediately, run:
openclaw models auth login --provider anthropic
  1. Then check again with:
# 
openclaw models status --probe --probe-provider anthropic

You should stop seeing the [disabled:billing ...] bit.

So, good news, your key looks fine. You probably do not need to rotate it again.

Docs:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/models
https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq

If it still shows disabled:billing after the timer should be gone, paste openclaw models status --json, because then we may be looking at a stuck auth-state entry.

smoky ginkgo
#

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.12 (1c0672b) — Built by lobsters, for humans. Don't question the hierarchy.

│
◇
Config : ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Agent dir : ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent
Default : anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6
Fallbacks (1) : anthropic/claude-opus-4-6
Image model : -
Image fallbacks (0): -
Aliases (2) : sonnet -> anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6, opus -> anthropic/claude-opus-4-6
Configured models (2): anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6, anthropic/claude-opus-4-6

Auth overview
Auth store : ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json
Shell env : off
Providers w/ OAuth/tokens (0): -

  • anthropic effective=profiles:~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json | profiles=1 (oauth=0, token=0, api_key=1) | anthropic:default=sk-ant-a...eYKMggAA
  • google effective=profiles:~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json | profiles=1 (oauth=0, token=0, api_key=1) | google:default=AIzaSyB8...EtiMMMjE

OAuth/token status

  • none

Auth probes
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬────────────┐
│ Model │ Profile │ Status │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼────────────┤
│ anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 │ anthropic:default (api_key) │ ok · 3.6s │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴────────────┘
Probed 1 target in 8.3s
calor@Calors-iMac ~ %

zinc steppeBOT
#

This looks clean now.

The important parts are:

  • no more [disabled:billing ...]
  • Anthropic probe is ok

So your Anthropic key/auth path is healthy now. 🎉

Next check, run one direct model test:

openclaw infer model run --model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 --prompt "say hi" --json

If that works, the billing problem is basically cleared, and the old failure you saw was from the earlier disabled state. Then just try a fresh new message/session.