openclaw
Version:
Multi-channel AI gateway with extensible messaging integrations
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Markdown
---
summary: "Groq setup (auth + model selection + Whisper transcription)"
title: "Groq"
read_when:
- You want to use Groq with OpenClaw
- You need the API key env var or CLI auth choice
- You are configuring Whisper audio transcription on Groq
---
[Groq](https://groq.com) provides ultra-fast inference on open-weight models (Llama, Gemma, Kimi, Qwen, GPT OSS, and more) using custom LPU hardware. OpenClaw includes a bundled Groq plugin that registers both an OpenAI-compatible chat provider and an audio media-understanding provider.
| Property | Value |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Provider id | `groq` |
| Plugin | bundled, `enabledByDefault: true` |
| Auth env var | `GROQ_API_KEY` |
| Onboarding flag | `--auth-choice groq-api-key` |
| API | OpenAI-compatible (`openai-completions`) |
| Base URL | `https://api.groq.com/openai/v1` |
| Audio transcription | `whisper-large-v3-turbo` (default) |
| Suggested chat default | `groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile` |
## Getting started
<Steps>
<Step title="Get an API key">
Create an API key at [console.groq.com/keys](https://console.groq.com/keys).
</Step>
<Step title="Set the API key">
<CodeGroup>
```bash Onboarding
openclaw onboard --auth-choice groq-api-key
```
```bash Env only
export GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_...
```
</CodeGroup>
</Step>
<Step title="Set a default model">
```json5
{
agents: {
defaults: {
model: { primary: "groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile" },
},
},
}
```
</Step>
<Step title="Verify the catalog is reachable">
```bash
openclaw models list --provider groq
```
</Step>
</Steps>
### Config file example
```json5
{
env: { GROQ_API_KEY: "gsk_..." },
agents: {
defaults: {
model: { primary: "groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile" },
},
},
}
```
## Built-in catalog
OpenClaw ships a manifest-backed Groq catalog with both reasoning and non-reasoning entries. Run `openclaw models list --provider groq` to see the bundled rows for your installed version, or check [console.groq.com/docs/models](https://console.groq.com/docs/models) for Groq's authoritative list.
| Model ref | Name | Reasoning | Input | Context |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------- | --------- | ------------ | ------- |
| `groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile` | Llama 3.3 70B Versatile | no | text | 131,072 |
| `groq/llama-3.1-8b-instant` | Llama 3.1 8B Instant | no | text | 131,072 |
| `groq/meta-llama/llama-4-scout-17b-16e-instruct` | Llama 4 Scout 17B | no | text + image | 131,072 |
| `groq/openai/gpt-oss-120b` | GPT OSS 120B | yes | text | 131,072 |
| `groq/openai/gpt-oss-20b` | GPT OSS 20B | yes | text | 131,072 |
| `groq/openai/gpt-oss-safeguard-20b` | Safety GPT OSS 20B | yes | text | 131,072 |
| `groq/qwen/qwen3-32b` | Qwen3 32B | yes | text | 131,072 |
| `groq/groq/compound` | Compound | yes | text | 131,072 |
| `groq/groq/compound-mini` | Compound Mini | yes | text | 131,072 |
<Tip>
The catalog evolves with each OpenClaw release. `openclaw models list --provider groq` shows the rows known to your installed version; cross-check with [console.groq.com/docs/models](https://console.groq.com/docs/models) for newly-added or deprecated models.
</Tip>
## Reasoning models
OpenClaw maps its shared `/think` levels to Groq's model-specific `reasoning_effort` values:
- For `qwen/qwen3-32b`, disabled thinking sends `none` and enabled thinking sends `default`.
- For Groq GPT OSS reasoning models (`openai/gpt-oss-*`), OpenClaw sends `low`, `medium`, or `high` based on `/think` level. Disabled thinking omits `reasoning_effort` because those models do not support a disabled value.
- DeepSeek R1 Distill, Qwen QwQ, and Compound use Groq's native reasoning surface; `/think` controls visibility but the model always reasons.
See [Thinking modes](/tools/thinking) for the shared `/think` levels and how OpenClaw translates them per provider.
## Audio transcription
Groq's bundled plugin also registers an **audio media-understanding provider** so voice messages can be transcribed through the shared `tools.media.audio` surface.
| Property | Value |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------- |
| Shared config path | `tools.media.audio` |
| Default base URL | `https://api.groq.com/openai/v1` |
| Default model | `whisper-large-v3-turbo` |
| Auto priority | 20 |
| API endpoint | OpenAI-compatible `/audio/transcriptions` |
To make Groq the default audio backend:
```json5
{
tools: {
media: {
audio: {
models: [{ provider: "groq" }],
},
},
},
}
```
<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="Environment availability for the daemon">
If the Gateway runs as a managed service (launchd, systemd, Docker), `GROQ_API_KEY` must be visible to that process — not just to your interactive shell.
<Warning>
A key exported only in an interactive shell will not help a launchd or systemd daemon unless that environment is imported there too. Set the key in `~/.openclaw/.env` or via `env.shellEnv` to make it readable from the gateway process.
</Warning>
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Custom Groq model ids">
OpenClaw accepts any Groq model id at runtime. Use the exact id shown by Groq and prefix it with `groq/`. The bundled catalog covers the common cases; uncatalogued ids fall through to the default OpenAI-compatible template.
```json5
{
agents: {
defaults: {
model: { primary: "groq/<your-model-id>" },
},
},
}
```
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
## Related
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Model providers" href="/concepts/model-providers" icon="layers">
Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior.
</Card>
<Card title="Thinking modes" href="/tools/thinking" icon="brain">
Reasoning effort levels and provider-policy interaction.
</Card>
<Card title="Configuration reference" href="/gateway/configuration-reference" icon="gear">
Full config schema including provider and audio settings.
</Card>
<Card title="Groq Console" href="https://console.groq.com" icon="arrow-up-right-from-square">
Groq dashboard, API docs, and pricing.
</Card>
</CardGroup>