How to Use OpenClaw with a Free LLM API — BazaarLink Integration Guide
Run OpenClaw AI agent with a free OpenAI-compatible LLM API. Get a free API key from BazaarLink — no credit card — and configure OpenClaw to use 300+ models including GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, and auto:free for zero-cost inference.
What is OpenClaw?
OpenClaw is an open-source autonomous AI agent framework built around the ReAct loop (Reason + Act). It lets you run AI agents that can browse the web, fill forms, read documents, and send messages — all driven by your LLM of choice. Since its release in late 2025, it has grown to over 247,000 GitHub stars, making it one of the fastest-growing agent frameworks available.
OpenClaw supports Claude, GPT, Gemini, and local Ollama models — but you need to bring your own API key. That's exactly where BazaarLink comes in: a free OpenAI-compatible LLM API gateway with 300+ models and a free tier that requires no credit card.
Why Use BazaarLink with OpenClaw?
| Feature | BazaarLink | Direct OpenAI / Anthropic |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ✅ Free API key, no credit card | ❌ Credit card required |
| OpenAI-compatible | ✅ Drop-in replacement | ✅ Native |
| Model choice | 300+ models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, Llama…) | One provider per key |
| auto:free routing | ✅ Zero-cost inference | ❌ |
| Agent self-registration | ✅ Programmatic key issuance | ❌ |
Step 1 — Get a Free BazaarLink API Key
Go to bazaarlink.ai/free and sign up. No credit card required. Your key will look like sk-bl-xxxxxxxx.
Or, if you're running OpenClaw inside an automated pipeline, register a key programmatically in one curl call:
# Register a free key (no credit card, no sign-up form) curl -X POST https://bazaarlink.ai/api/v1/agents/register \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"name": "openclaw-agent"}' # Response: { "api_key": "sk-bl-...", "credits": 100 }
Step 2 — Configure OpenClaw to Use BazaarLink
OpenClaw accepts any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Set these two values in your OpenClaw configuration and you're done — no other changes needed:
# .env or OpenClaw config OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-bl-YOUR_FREE_KEY OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://bazaarlink.ai/api/v1 # Model — use auto:free for zero-cost, or pick any of 300+ models OPENAI_MODEL=auto:free
Tip — use auto:free to get started at zero cost. The auto:free model ID automatically routes your request to the best available free model. Once you're ready to scale, switch to any specific model like openai/gpt-4o or anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6.
Step 3 — Run OpenClaw
With BazaarLink configured as the backend, OpenClaw works exactly as documented. All tool-calling, ReAct loops, and task execution go through BazaarLink's OpenAI-compatible endpoint transparently.
# Install OpenClaw git clone https://github.com/openclaw-ai/openclaw cd openclaw pip install -r requirements.txt # Set your BazaarLink key export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-bl-YOUR_FREE_KEY export OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://bazaarlink.ai/api/v1 export OPENAI_MODEL=auto:free # Run python main.py
Choosing the Right Model for OpenClaw
BazaarLink gives OpenClaw access to 300+ models. Here's a quick guide for different use cases:
| Use Case | Recommended Model | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Development & testing | auto:free | Free |
| General agentic tasks | openai/gpt-4o-mini | Low |
| Complex reasoning | openai/gpt-4o | Medium |
| Long context / documents | google/gemini-2.5-flash | Low |
| Best quality | anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 | Medium |
Browse all available models at bazaarlink.ai/models.
Why This Matters: One Key, All Models
Without BazaarLink, running OpenClaw with different models means managing separate API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google — each with their own billing, rate limits, and credit card requirements. With BazaarLink, a single free key gives OpenClaw access to all of them through one endpoint.
- One key for all providers
- Switch models by changing one parameter
- Unified usage logs across all OpenClaw agent runs
- Start free, scale when ready — no upfront commitment
Get Started
Get your free BazaarLink API key at bazaarlink.ai/free — no credit card, no waitlist. Then set OPENAI_BASE_URL and OPENAI_API_KEY in OpenClaw and you're running in under 60 seconds.