google provider | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

rough mountain Apr 18, 2026, 3:25 AM

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hi, please clarify if we're allowed to use models from google vertex ai for openclaw?

patent coralBOT Apr 18, 2026, 3:25 AM

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fleet jacinthBOT Apr 18, 2026, 3:25 AM

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spice axleBOT Apr 18, 2026, 3:27 AM

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Yes, from OpenClaw’s side that’s supported.

If you want Gemini through Vertex AI, use the google-vertex provider, not google.
If you want Claude on Vertex, there’s also anthropic-vertex/*.

The main difference is auth:

google → Gemini API key
google-vertex → gcloud ADC / Vertex credentials

Docs:

If you want, I can also paste a minimal openclaw.json example for Vertex.

rough mountain Apr 18, 2026, 3:55 AM

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will it get my google account banned by using vertex models with openclaw? Wary due to recent ban-spree I saw from antigravity use with openclaw

spice axleBOT Apr 18, 2026, 3:56 AM

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I can’t promise “zero risk”, but I’d separate these pretty hard:

google-gemini-cli / google-antigravity are the sketchier bucket
google-vertex is the more official Google Cloud / Vertex path

What I can verify from the docs is:

OpenClaw explicitly warns about possible Google account restrictions for Gemini CLI OAuth
I do not see that same warning on Vertex
Vertex auth is documented as gcloud ADC, not the unofficial OAuth flow

So if you’re wary because of the antigravity bans, Vertex is the safer choice from an account-risk perspective.

If you want to be extra careful, I’d use:

a dedicated GCP project
ideally a service account / non-critical account
not your main personal Google account if you can avoid it

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Docs:

https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/model-providers

If you want, I can paste the lowest-risk way to wire up google-vertex in OpenClaw.

rough mountain Apr 18, 2026, 3:57 AM

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yes please

spice axleBOT Apr 18, 2026, 3:57 AM

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Yep, lowest-risk setup would be:

Use google-vertex, not google-antigravity or google-gemini-cli
Auth with Vertex ADC
- preferably a service account
- or gcloud auth application-default login

Set these on the gateway host:

export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT="your-gcp-project"
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION="global"
export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/service-account.json" # if using a service account

In openclaw.json:
```
{
  agents: {
```

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       defaults: {
         model: { primary: "google-vertex/gemini-3-flash-preview" },
       },
     },
   }

Then verify with:

openclaw status
openclaw models status

If you want the cautious version, I’d use a dedicated GCP project + service account so your main personal Google account is not the thing directly tied to runtime traffic.

Relevant docs:

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If you want, I can also give you a copy-paste example for service account JSON + systemd/docker envs.

twin saddle Apr 18, 2026, 6:44 AM

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spice axle Yep, lowest-risk setup would be: 1. **Use `google-vertex`, not `google-antigrav...

is there any cons about using vertex than cli

spice axleBOT Apr 18, 2026, 6:44 AM

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Yeah, mostly these:

Vertex cons vs CLI

more setup, GCP project, ADC, env vars, sometimes service accounts
more “cloud admin” overhead, billing/quota live in Google Cloud
less plug-and-play for casual local use
project/location misconfig can break requests in annoying ways

CLI pros

easier if you already use gemini locally
quick OAuth login, less infra to think about

But, for serious use I’d still lean Vertex, because:

OpenClaw docs explicitly mark Gemini CLI OAuth as unofficial
docs also mention some users saw Google account restrictions
CLI is a separate text-inference surface, while other Google features stay on the normal google provider

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So my short version is:

CLI = easier
Vertex = safer / more official / better long-term choice

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/model-providers

thin quail Apr 22, 2026, 1:04 AM

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I got error below (Docker) ,Please tell how to fix :LLM error: {
"error": {
"code": 401,
"message": "API keys are not supported by this API. Expected OAuth2 access token or other authentication credentials that assert a principal. See https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication",
"status": "UNAUTHENTICATED",
"details": [
{
"@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.ErrorInfo",
"reason": "CREDENTIALS_MISSING",
"domain": "googleapis.com",
"metadata": {
"method": "google.cloud.aiplatform.v1.PredictionService.StreamGenerateContent",
"service": "aiplatform.googleapis.com"
}
}
]
}

spice axleBOT Apr 22, 2026, 1:05 AM

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That error usually means you’re calling Vertex with an API key.

google-vertex/* does not use GEMINI_API_KEY / GOOGLE_API_KEY.
Vertex expects ADC / OAuth-style credentials that assert a principal.

Fix

Option A, you want Vertex

Use google-vertex/..., and give the container ADC credentials:

set GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
set GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION
mount a service-account JSON into the container
set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS to that mounted path

Example Docker env idea:

#

environment:
  GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT: your-project
  GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION: global
  GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS: /run/secrets/gcp-sa.json
volumes:
  - ./gcp-service-account.json:/run/secrets/gcp-sa.json:ro

And your model should look like:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "google-vertex/gemini-3-flash-preview" },

#

    },
  },
}

Option B, you want to use an API key

Then do not use google-vertex.
Use the normal Google provider instead:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "google/gemini-3-flash-preview" },
    },

#

  },
}

with GEMINI_API_KEY or GOOGLE_API_KEY.

Short version

google-vertex/* → ADC / service account, no API key
google/* → API key

Docs:

Also, please paste:

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openclaw --version

and which model string you set, google/... or google-vertex/...

That’ll confirm which side you’re on.

thin quail Apr 22, 2026, 1:08 AM

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I alreay set ADC according to the above method and not setting api key. I put into enviroment variable

spice axleBOT Apr 22, 2026, 1:08 AM

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Got it, then the next likely issue is:

the env var is set, but the ADC file is not actually visible inside the container.

For google-vertex, OpenClaw needs all of these inside Docker:

GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION
a real credentials file at GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS inside the container
- or the default ADC file at /home/node/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json

Just setting the env var is not enough if the file path points to the host and isn’t mounted.

Please check this inside the container

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docker compose exec openclaw-gateway sh -lc '
echo "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=$GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS"
echo "GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=$GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT"
echo "GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=$GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION"
ls -l "$GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS" || true
test -f "$GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS" && echo "ADC file exists" || echo "ADC file missing"
'

Common fix

Mount the JSON into the container and use the container path:

environment:

#

  GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT: your-project
  GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION: global
  GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS: /run/secrets/gcp-sa.json
volumes:
  - /absolute/host/path/gcp-service-account.json:/run/secrets/gcp-sa.json:ro

Or, if you used gcloud auth application-default login on the host, mount the ADC dir:

volumes:
  - /absolute/host/path/.config/gcloud:/home/node/.config/gcloud:ro
environment:
  GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT: your-project
  GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION: global

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Also please paste:

openclaw --version

and the output of that Docker check above, then I can tell you exactly which piece is missing.

thin quail Apr 22, 2026, 3:57 PM

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OpenClaw 2026.4.21

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

google-vertex effective=env:gcp-vert...dentials | env=gcp-vert...dentials | source=gcloud adc
minimax effective=source=env: MINIMAX_API_KEY | models.json=$M...EY | source=models.json: ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/models.json
minimax-portal effective=env:source=env: MINIMAX_API_KEY

OAuth/token status

none

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sheepdee@Macau_Disk:/volume3/docker$ sudo docker compose exec openclaw-gateway sh -lc '

echo "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=$GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS"
echo "GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=$GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT"
echo "GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=$GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION"
ls -l "$GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS" || true
CATION_CREDENTIA> test -f "$GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS" && echo "ADC file exists" || echo "ADC file missing"
'
GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=/home/node/.openclaw/sercets/ADC_KEY.json
GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=project5,
GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=us-central1,
-rw-r--r-- 1 1026 users 2398 Apr 21 07:10 /home/node/.openclaw/sercets/ADC_KEY.json
ADC file exists

#google provider

Fix

Option A, you want Vertex

Option B, you want to use an API key

Short version

Please check this inside the container

Common fix