Fix: OpenClaw 401 Invalid Bearer Token — Auth Config Mismatch

TL;DR: Your clawdbot.json and auth-profiles.json are pointing at different profiles or modes. Align them.

The Error

401 Invalid bearer token

No API key found for provider anthropic

You might also see:

Error: Authentication failed — profile "default" not found in auth-profiles.json

provider anthropic: no valid credentials configured

Why This Happens

OpenClaw uses two config files for authentication, and they need to agree with each other:

1. clawdbot.json — your main config. It specifies which auth profile to use and what mode (e.g., api-key, oauth).
2. auth-profiles.json — defines the actual credentials for each named profile.

The 401 error happens when:

• clawdbot.json references a profile name that doesn't exist in auth-profiles.json
• The mode or type field doesn't match between the two files
• You edited one file but not the other
• You copied a config from someone else and the profile names don't match yours

This is the most common auth issue in OpenClaw. (GitHub #2697)

How to Fix It

Step 1: Find your config files

# Main config
find ~ -name "clawdbot.json" 2>/dev/null

# Auth profiles
find ~ -name "auth-profiles.json" 2>/dev/null

Common locations:

• ~/.config/openclaw/clawdbot.json
• ~/.config/openclaw/auth-profiles.json
• Or in your project directory

Step 2: Check what profile clawdbot.json is requesting

Open your main config and look for the auth section:

cat ~/.config/openclaw/clawdbot.json | grep -A 5 "auth\|profile\|provider"

You're looking for something like:

{
  "auth": {
    "profile": "default",
    "mode": "api-key"
  }
}

Note the profile name and mode.

Step 3: Make sure auth-profiles.json matches

Open your auth profiles:

cat ~/.config/openclaw/auth-profiles.json

It should have a profile with the exact same name and the correct credentials:

{
  "profiles": {
    "default": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "mode": "api-key",
      "apiKey": "sk-ant-your-key-here"
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Common mismatches to fix

Wrong profile name:

// ❌ clawdbot.json says "default", auth-profiles has "main"
// clawdbot.json
{ "auth": { "profile": "default" } }

// auth-profiles.json
{ "profiles": { "main": { ... } } }  // ← rename to "default"

Wrong mode:

// ❌ clawdbot.json says "api-key" but profile says "oauth"
// Fix: make them both "api-key"

Missing provider:

// ❌ Profile exists but doesn't specify provider
{ "profiles": { "default": { "apiKey": "sk-ant-..." } } }

// ✅ Add the provider field
{ "profiles": { "default": { "provider": "anthropic", "apiKey": "sk-ant-..." } } }

Step 5: Restart and test

openclaw gateway restart
openclaw health

If openclaw health shows a green checkmark for the Anthropic provider, you're good.

How to Prevent It

• Edit both files together. Anytime you change one, check the other.
• Use environment variables instead if you only need one provider. Setting ANTHROPIC_API_KEY bypasses the profile system entirely.
• Validate your config after changes:

openclaw config validate

• Keep backups of working configs:

cp ~/.config/openclaw/clawdbot.json ~/.config/openclaw/clawdbot.json.bak
cp ~/.config/openclaw/auth-profiles.json ~/.config/openclaw/auth-profiles.json.bak

The Easy Way

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