#Why am I getting this error message if I am no longer using the API key? I have OAuth through my Cla

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golden ledge
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Why am I getting this error message if I am no longer using the API key? I have OAuth through my Claude Max subscription and I am nowhere near my usage limits:

⚠️ API provider returned a billing error — your API key has run out of credits or has an insufficient balance. Check your provider's billing dashboard and top up or switch to a different API key.

high sapphireBOT
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fringe inletBOT
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That message is a bit misleading: OpenClaw uses the same generic “billing/API key” wording for some provider “billing/credits/usage” failures, even when the active credential is OAuth/subscription-based.

Two likely causes:

  1. OpenClaw is still using an Anthropic API-key route
    Claude Max subscription use should go through the Claude CLI backend, not plain direct API-key Anthropic routing. Check:

    openclaw --version
openclaw models status --probe

    Also in chat, try:

    /model status
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  1. Your session/profile is pinned to an old API-key profile or disabled billing state
    Check/clear Anthropic auth ordering:

    openclaw models auth order get --provider anthropic
openclaw models auth order clear --provider anthropic

For Claude Max/Claude Code subscription reuse, the expected setup is usually:

claude auth status --text
openclaw models auth login --provider anthropic --method cli --set-default

Then confirm /model status shows the Claude CLI route/profile, not an old ANTHROPIC_API_KEY profile.