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OpenClaw agents generate videos from text prompts, reference images, or existing videos through video_generate. Sixteen provider backends are supported; the agent picks the right one automatically based on config and available API keys.

video_generate has three runtime modes, resolved from the reference inputs in the call:

• generate - no reference media (text-to-video).
• imageToVideo - one or more reference images.
• videoToVideo - one or more reference videos.

Providers can support any subset of those modes. The tool validates the active mode before submission and reports supported modes in action=list.

Quick start

export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key"

openclaw config set agents.defaults.mediaModels.video.primary "google/veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview"

How async generation works

Video generation is asynchronous:

1. OpenClaw submits the request to the provider and immediately returns a task id.
2. The provider processes the job in the background (typically 30 seconds to several minutes depending on the provider and resolution; slow queue-backed providers can run up to the configured timeout).
3. When the video is ready, OpenClaw wakes the same session with an internal completion event.
4. The agent reports it through the session's normal visible-reply mode: automatic final reply, or message(action="send") when the session requires the message tool. If the requester session is inactive, or its wake fails and generated media is still missing from the completion reply, OpenClaw sends an idempotent direct fallback with the media.

While a job is in flight, duplicate video_generate calls in the same session return the current task status instead of starting another generation. Use action: "status" to check without triggering a new generation, or openclaw tasks list / openclaw tasks show <lookup> from the CLI (see Background tasks).

Outside of session-backed agent runs (for example, direct tool invocations), the tool falls back to inline generation and returns the final media path in the same turn.

Generated video files save under OpenClaw-managed media storage when the provider returns bytes. The default cap is 16MB (the shared video media limit); agents.defaults.mediaMaxMb raises it for larger renders. When a provider also returns a hosted output URL, OpenClaw delivers that URL instead of failing the task if local persistence rejects an oversized file.

Task lifecycle

Check status from the CLI:

openclaw tasks listopenclaw tasks show <lookup>openclaw tasks cancel <lookup>

Supported providers

Some providers accept additional or alternate API key env vars. See individual provider pages for details.

Run video_generate action=list to inspect available providers, models, and runtime modes at runtime.

Capability matrix

The explicit mode contract used by video_generate, contract tests, and the shared live sweep:

Tool parameters

Required

Content inputs

OPENCLAW_DOCS_MARKER:paramOpen:IHBhdGg9InRpbWVvdXRNcyIgdHlwZT0ibnVtYmVyIg Optional provider operation timeout in milliseconds. When omitted, OpenClaw uses agents.defaults.mediaModels.video.timeoutMs if configured, otherwise the plugin-authored provider default when one exists. OPENCLAW_DOCS_MARKER:paramClose:

Reference inputs select the runtime mode:

• No reference media -> generate
• Any image reference -> imageToVideo
• Any video reference -> videoToVideo
• Reference audio inputs do not change the resolved mode; they apply on top of whatever mode the image/video references select, and only work with providers that declare maxInputAudios.

Mixed image and video references are not a stable shared capability surface. Prefer one reference type per request.

Fallback and typed options

Some capability checks apply at the fallback layer rather than the tool boundary, so a request that exceeds the primary provider's limits can still run on a capable fallback:

• Active candidate declaring no maxInputAudios (or 0) is skipped when the request contains audio references; next candidate is tried. The same guard applies to image and video reference counts against maxInputImages/maxInputVideos.
• Active candidate's maxDurationSeconds below the requested durationSeconds with no declared supportedDurationSeconds list -> skipped.
• Request contains providerOptions and the active candidate explicitly declares a typed providerOptions schema -> skipped if supplied keys are not in the schema or value types do not match. Providers without a declared schema receive options as-is (backward-compatible pass-through). A provider can opt out of all provider options by declaring an empty schema (capabilities.providerOptions: {}), which causes the same skip as a type mismatch.

The first skip reason in a request logs at warn so operators see when their primary provider was passed over; subsequent skips log at debug to keep long fallback chains quiet. If every candidate is skipped, the aggregated error includes the skip reason for each.

Actions

Model selection

OpenClaw resolves the model in this order:

1. model tool parameter - if the agent specifies one in the call.
2. videoGenerationModel.primary from config.
3. videoGenerationModel.fallbacks in order.
4. Auto-detection - providers that have valid auth, starting with the current default provider, then remaining providers in alphabetical order.

If a provider fails, the next candidate is tried automatically. If all candidates fail, the error includes details from each attempt.

Automatic fallback across authenticated providers is always enabled. A per-call model remains authoritative.

{  agents: {    defaults: {      videoGenerationModel: {        primary: "google/veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview",        fallbacks: ["runway/gen4.5", "qwen/wan2.6-t2v"],        timeoutMs: 180000, // optional per-tool provider request timeout override      },    },  },}

Provider notes

Provider capability modes

The shared video-generation contract supports mode-specific capabilities instead of only flat aggregate limits. New provider implementations should prefer explicit mode blocks:

capabilities: {  generate: {    maxVideos: 1,    maxDurationSeconds: 10,    supportsResolution: true,  },  imageToVideo: {    enabled: true,    maxVideos: 1,    maxInputImages: 1,    maxInputImagesByModel: { "provider/reference-to-video": 9 },    maxDurationSeconds: 5,  },  videoToVideo: {    enabled: true,    maxVideos: 1,    maxInputVideos: 1,    maxDurationSeconds: 5,  },}

Flat aggregate fields such as maxInputImages and maxInputVideos are not enough to advertise transform-mode support. Providers should declare generate, imageToVideo, and videoToVideo explicitly so live tests, contract tests, and the shared video_generate tool can validate mode support deterministically.

When one model in a provider has wider reference-input support than the rest, use maxInputImagesByModel, maxInputVideosByModel, or maxInputAudiosByModel instead of raising the mode-wide limit.

Live tests

Opt-in live coverage for the shared bundled providers:

OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 pnpm test:live -- extensions/video-generation-providers.live.test.ts

Repo wrapper:

pnpm test:live:media video

This live file uses already-exported provider env vars ahead of stored auth profiles by default, and runs a release-safe smoke by default:

• generate for every non-FAL provider in the sweep.
• One-second lobster prompt.
• Per-provider operation cap from OPENCLAW_LIVE_VIDEO_GENERATION_TIMEOUT_MS (180000 by default).

FAL is opt-in because provider-side queue latency can dominate release time:

pnpm test:live:media video --video-providers fal

Set OPENCLAW_LIVE_VIDEO_GENERATION_FULL_MODES=1 to also run declared transform modes the shared sweep can exercise safely with local media:

• imageToVideo when capabilities.imageToVideo.enabled.
• videoToVideo when capabilities.videoToVideo.enabled and the provider/model accepts buffer-backed local video input in the shared sweep.

Today the shared videoToVideo live lane covers runway only when you select runway/gen4_aleph.

Configuration

Set the default video-generation model in your OpenClaw config:

{  agents: {    defaults: {      videoGenerationModel: {        primary: "qwen/wan2.6-t2v",        fallbacks: ["qwen/wan2.6-r2v-flash"],      },    },  },}

Or via the CLI:

openclaw config set agents.defaults.mediaModels.video.primary "qwen/wan2.6-t2v"

Related

• Alibaba Model Studio
• Background tasks - task tracking for async video generation
• BytePlus
• ComfyUI
• Configuration reference
• fal
• Google (Gemini)
• MiniMax
• Models
• OpenAI
• Qwen
• Runway
• Together AI
• Tools overview
• Vydra
• xAI

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