---
summary: "Testing kit: unit/e2e/live suites, Docker runners, and what each test covers"
read_when:
  - Running tests locally or in CI
  - Adding regressions for model/provider bugs
  - Debugging gateway + agent behavior
title: "Testing"
---

# Testing

OpenClaw has three Vitest suites (unit/integration, e2e, live) and a small set of Docker runners.

This doc is a “how we test” guide:

- What each suite covers (and what it deliberately does _not_ cover)
- Which commands to run for common workflows (local, pre-push, debugging)
- How live tests discover credentials and select models/providers
- How to add regressions for real-world model/provider issues

## Quick start

Most days:

- Full gate (expected before push): `pnpm build && pnpm check && pnpm test`

When you touch tests or want extra confidence:

- Coverage gate: `pnpm test:coverage`
- E2E suite: `pnpm test:e2e`

When debugging real providers/models (requires real creds):

- Live suite (models + gateway tool/image probes): `pnpm test:live`

Tip: when you only need one failing case, prefer narrowing live tests via the allowlist env vars described below.

## Test suites (what runs where)

Think of the suites as “increasing realism” (and increasing flakiness/cost):

### Unit / integration (default)

- Command: `pnpm test`
- Config: `vitest.config.ts`
- Files: `src/**/*.test.ts`
- Scope:
  - Pure unit tests
  - In-process integration tests (gateway auth, routing, tooling, parsing, config)
  - Deterministic regressions for known bugs
- Expectations:
  - Runs in CI
  - No real keys required
  - Should be fast and stable
- Pool note:
  - OpenClaw uses Vitest `vmForks` on Node 22/23 for faster unit shards.
  - On Node 24+, OpenClaw automatically falls back to regular `forks` to avoid Node VM linking errors (`ERR_VM_MODULE_LINK_FAILURE` / `module is already linked`).
  - Override manually with `OPENCLAW_TEST_VM_FORKS=0` (force `forks`) or `OPENCLAW_TEST_VM_FORKS=1` (force `vmForks`).

### E2E (gateway smoke)

- Command: `pnpm test:e2e`
- Config: `vitest.e2e.config.ts`
- Files: `src/**/*.e2e.test.ts`
- Runtime defaults:
  - Uses Vitest `vmForks` for faster file startup.
  - Uses adaptive workers (CI: 2-4, local: 4-8).
  - Runs in silent mode by default to reduce console I/O overhead.
- Useful overrides:
  - `OPENCLAW_E2E_WORKERS=<n>` to force worker count (capped at 16).
  - `OPENCLAW_E2E_VERBOSE=1` to re-enable verbose console output.
- Scope:
  - Multi-instance gateway end-to-end behavior
  - WebSocket/HTTP surfaces, node pairing, and heavier networking
- Expectations:
  - Runs in CI (when enabled in the pipeline)
  - No real keys required
  - More moving parts than unit tests (can be slower)

### Live (real providers + real models)

- Command: `pnpm test:live`
- Config: `vitest.live.config.ts`
- Files: `src/**/*.live.test.ts`
- Default: **enabled** by `pnpm test:live` (sets `OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1`)
- Scope:
  - “Does this provider/model actually work _today_ with real creds?”
  - Catch provider format changes, tool-calling quirks, auth issues, and rate limit behavior
- Expectations:
  - Not CI-stable by design (real networks, real provider policies, quotas, outages)
  - Costs money / uses rate limits
  - Prefer running narrowed subsets instead of “everything”
  - Live runs will source `~/.profile` to pick up missing API keys
  - Anthropic key rotation: set `OPENCLAW_LIVE_ANTHROPIC_KEYS="sk-...,sk-..."` (or `OPENCLAW_LIVE_ANTHROPIC_KEY=sk-...`) or multiple `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY*` vars; tests will retry on rate limits

## Which suite should I run?

Use this decision table:

- Editing logic/tests: run `pnpm test` (and `pnpm test:coverage` if you changed a lot)
- Touching gateway networking / WS protocol / pairing: add `pnpm test:e2e`
- Debugging “my bot is down” / provider-specific failures / tool calling: run a narrowed `pnpm test:live`

## Live: model smoke (profile keys)

Live tests are split into two layers so we can isolate failures:

- “Direct model” tells us the provider/model can answer at all with the given key.
- “Gateway smoke” tells us the full gateway+agent pipeline works for that model (sessions, history, tools, sandbox policy, etc.).

### Layer 1: Direct model completion (no gateway)

- Test: `src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts`
- Goal:
  - Enumerate discovered models
  - Use `getApiKeyForModel` to select models you have creds for
  - Run a small completion per model (and targeted regressions where needed)
- How to enable:
  - `pnpm test:live` (or `OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1` if invoking Vitest directly)
- Set `OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS=modern` (or `all`, alias for modern) to actually run this suite; otherwise it skips to keep `pnpm test:live` focused on gateway smoke
- How to select models:
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS=modern` to run the modern allowlist (Opus/Sonnet/Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.x + Codex, Gemini 3, GLM 4.7, MiniMax M2.1, Grok 4)
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS=all` is an alias for the modern allowlist
  - or `OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS="openai/gpt-5.2,anthropic/claude-opus-4-6,..."` (comma allowlist)
- How to select providers:
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_PROVIDERS="google,google-antigravity,google-gemini-cli"` (comma allowlist)
- Where keys come from:
  - By default: profile store and env fallbacks
  - Set `OPENCLAW_LIVE_REQUIRE_PROFILE_KEYS=1` to enforce **profile store** only
- Why this exists:
  - Separates “provider API is broken / key is invalid” from “gateway agent pipeline is broken”
  - Contains small, isolated regressions (example: OpenAI Responses/Codex Responses reasoning replay + tool-call flows)

### Layer 2: Gateway + dev agent smoke (what “@openclaw” actually does)

- Test: `src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts`
- Goal:
  - Spin up an in-process gateway
  - Create/patch a `agent:dev:*` session (model override per run)
  - Iterate models-with-keys and assert:
    - “meaningful” response (no tools)
    - a real tool invocation works (read probe)
    - optional extra tool probes (exec+read probe)
    - OpenAI regression paths (tool-call-only → follow-up) keep working
- Probe details (so you can explain failures quickly):
  - `read` probe: the test writes a nonce file in the workspace and asks the agent to `read` it and echo the nonce back.
  - `exec+read` probe: the test asks the agent to `exec`-write a nonce into a temp file, then `read` it back.
  - image probe: the test attaches a generated PNG (cat + randomized code) and expects the model to return `cat <CODE>`.
  - Implementation reference: `src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts` and `src/gateway/live-image-probe.ts`.
- How to enable:
  - `pnpm test:live` (or `OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1` if invoking Vitest directly)
- How to select models:
  - Default: modern allowlist (Opus/Sonnet/Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.x + Codex, Gemini 3, GLM 4.7, MiniMax M2.1, Grok 4)
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS=all` is an alias for the modern allowlist
  - Or set `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS="provider/model"` (or comma list) to narrow
- How to select providers (avoid “OpenRouter everything”):
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_PROVIDERS="google,google-antigravity,google-gemini-cli,openai,anthropic,zai,minimax"` (comma allowlist)
- Tool + image probes are always on in this live test:
  - `read` probe + `exec+read` probe (tool stress)
  - image probe runs when the model advertises image input support
  - Flow (high level):
    - Test generates a tiny PNG with “CAT” + random code (`src/gateway/live-image-probe.ts`)
    - Sends it via `agent` `attachments: [{ mimeType: "image/png", content: "<base64>" }]`
    - Gateway parses attachments into `images[]` (`src/gateway/server-methods/agent.ts` + `src/gateway/chat-attachments.ts`)
    - Embedded agent forwards a multimodal user message to the model
    - Assertion: reply contains `cat` + the code (OCR tolerance: minor mistakes allowed)

Tip: to see what you can test on your machine (and the exact `provider/model` ids), run:

```bash
openclaw models list
openclaw models list --json
```

## Live: Anthropic setup-token smoke

- Test: `src/agents/anthropic.setup-token.live.test.ts`
- Goal: verify Claude Code CLI setup-token (or a pasted setup-token profile) can complete an Anthropic prompt.
- Enable:
  - `pnpm test:live` (or `OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1` if invoking Vitest directly)
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_SETUP_TOKEN=1`
- Token sources (pick one):
  - Profile: `OPENCLAW_LIVE_SETUP_TOKEN_PROFILE=anthropic:setup-token-test`
  - Raw token: `OPENCLAW_LIVE_SETUP_TOKEN_VALUE=sk-ant-oat01-...`
- Model override (optional):
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_SETUP_TOKEN_MODEL=anthropic/claude-opus-4-6`

Setup example:

```bash
openclaw models auth paste-token --provider anthropic --profile-id anthropic:setup-token-test
OPENCLAW_LIVE_SETUP_TOKEN=1 OPENCLAW_LIVE_SETUP_TOKEN_PROFILE=anthropic:setup-token-test pnpm test:live src/agents/anthropic.setup-token.live.test.ts
```

## Live: CLI backend smoke (Claude Code CLI or other local CLIs)

- Test: `src/gateway/gateway-cli-backend.live.test.ts`
- Goal: validate the Gateway + agent pipeline using a local CLI backend, without touching your default config.
- Enable:
  - `pnpm test:live` (or `OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1` if invoking Vitest directly)
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND=1`
- Defaults:
  - Model: `claude-cli/claude-sonnet-4-5`
  - Command: `claude`
  - Args: `["-p","--output-format","json","--dangerously-skip-permissions"]`
- Overrides (optional):
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_MODEL="claude-cli/claude-opus-4-6"`
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_MODEL="codex-cli/gpt-5.3-codex"`
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_COMMAND="/full/path/to/claude"`
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_ARGS='["-p","--output-format","json","--permission-mode","bypassPermissions"]'`
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_CLEAR_ENV='["ANTHROPIC_API_KEY","ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_OLD"]'`
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_IMAGE_PROBE=1` to send a real image attachment (paths are injected into the prompt).
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_IMAGE_ARG="--image"` to pass image file paths as CLI args instead of prompt injection.
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_IMAGE_MODE="repeat"` (or `"list"`) to control how image args are passed when `IMAGE_ARG` is set.
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_RESUME_PROBE=1` to send a second turn and validate resume flow.
- `OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_DISABLE_MCP_CONFIG=0` to keep Claude Code CLI MCP config enabled (default disables MCP config with a temporary empty file).

Example:

```bash
OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND=1 \
  OPENCLAW_LIVE_CLI_BACKEND_MODEL="claude-cli/claude-sonnet-4-5" \
  pnpm test:live src/gateway/gateway-cli-backend.live.test.ts
```

### Recommended live recipes

Narrow, explicit allowlists are fastest and least flaky:

- Single model, direct (no gateway):
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS="openai/gpt-5.2" pnpm test:live src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts`

- Single model, gateway smoke:
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS="openai/gpt-5.2" pnpm test:live src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts`

- Tool calling across several providers:
  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS="openai/gpt-5.2,anthropic/claude-opus-4-6,google/gemini-3-flash-preview,zai/glm-4.7,minimax/minimax-m2.1" pnpm test:live src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts`

- Google focus (Gemini API key + Antigravity):
  - Gemini (API key): `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS="google/gemini-3-flash-preview" pnpm test:live src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts`
  - Antigravity (OAuth): `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS="google-antigravity/claude-opus-4-6-thinking,google-antigravity/gemini-3-pro-high" pnpm test:live src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts`

Notes:

- `google/...` uses the Gemini API (API key).
- `google-antigravity/...` uses the Antigravity OAuth bridge (Cloud Code Assist-style agent endpoint).
- `google-gemini-cli/...` uses the local Gemini CLI on your machine (separate auth + tooling quirks).
- Gemini API vs Gemini CLI:
  - API: OpenClaw calls Google’s hosted Gemini API over HTTP (API key / profile auth); this is what most users mean by “Gemini”.
  - CLI: OpenClaw shells out to a local `gemini` binary; it has its own auth and can behave differently (streaming/tool support/version skew).

## Live: model matrix (what we cover)

There is no fixed “CI model list” (live is opt-in), but these are the **recommended** models to cover regularly on a dev machine with keys.

### Modern smoke set (tool calling + image)

This is the “common models” run we expect to keep working:

- OpenAI (non-Codex): `openai/gpt-5.2` (optional: `openai/gpt-5.1`)
- OpenAI Codex: `openai-codex/gpt-5.3-codex` (optional: `openai-codex/gpt-5.3-codex-codex`)
- Anthropic: `anthropic/claude-opus-4-6` (or `anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5`)
- Google (Gemini API): `google/gemini-3-pro-preview` and `google/gemini-3-flash-preview` (avoid older Gemini 2.x models)
- Google (Antigravity): `google-antigravity/claude-opus-4-6-thinking` and `google-antigravity/gemini-3-flash`
- Z.AI (GLM): `zai/glm-4.7`
- MiniMax: `minimax/minimax-m2.1`

Run gateway smoke with tools + image:
`OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS="openai/gpt-5.2,openai-codex/gpt-5.3-codex,anthropic/claude-opus-4-6,google/gemini-3-pro-preview,google/gemini-3-flash-preview,google-antigravity/claude-opus-4-6-thinking,google-antigravity/gemini-3-flash,zai/glm-4.7,minimax/minimax-m2.1" pnpm test:live src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts`

### Baseline: tool calling (Read + optional Exec)

Pick at least one per provider family:

- OpenAI: `openai/gpt-5.2` (or `openai/gpt-5-mini`)
- Anthropic: `anthropic/claude-opus-4-6` (or `anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5`)
- Google: `google/gemini-3-flash-preview` (or `google/gemini-3-pro-preview`)
- Z.AI (GLM): `zai/glm-4.7`
- MiniMax: `minimax/minimax-m2.1`

Optional additional coverage (nice to have):

- xAI: `xai/grok-4` (or latest available)
- Mistral: `mistral/`… (pick one “tools” capable model you have enabled)
- Cerebras: `cerebras/`… (if you have access)
- LM Studio: `lmstudio/`… (local; tool calling depends on API mode)

### Vision: image send (attachment → multimodal message)

Include at least one image-capable model in `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS` (Claude/Gemini/OpenAI vision-capable variants, etc.) to exercise the image probe.

### Aggregators / alternate gateways

If you have keys enabled, we also support testing via:

- OpenRouter: `openrouter/...` (hundreds of models; use `openclaw models scan` to find tool+image capable candidates)
- OpenCode Zen: `opencode/...` (auth via `OPENCODE_API_KEY` / `OPENCODE_ZEN_API_KEY`)

More providers you can include in the live matrix (if you have creds/config):

- Built-in: `openai`, `openai-codex`, `anthropic`, `google`, `google-vertex`, `google-antigravity`, `google-gemini-cli`, `zai`, `openrouter`, `opencode`, `xai`, `groq`, `cerebras`, `mistral`, `github-copilot`
- Via `models.providers` (custom endpoints): `minimax` (cloud/API), plus any OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible proxy (LM Studio, vLLM, LiteLLM, etc.)

Tip: don’t try to hardcode “all models” in docs. The authoritative list is whatever `discoverModels(...)` returns on your machine + whatever keys are available.

## Credentials (never commit)

Live tests discover credentials the same way the CLI does. Practical implications:

- If the CLI works, live tests should find the same keys.
- If a live test says “no creds”, debug the same way you’d debug `openclaw models list` / model selection.

- Profile store: `~/.openclaw/credentials/` (preferred; what “profile keys” means in the tests)
- Config: `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` (or `OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH`)

If you want to rely on env keys (e.g. exported in your `~/.profile`), run local tests after `source ~/.profile`, or use the Docker runners below (they can mount `~/.profile` into the container).

## Deepgram live (audio transcription)

- Test: `src/media-understanding/providers/deepgram/audio.live.test.ts`
- Enable: `DEEPGRAM_API_KEY=... DEEPGRAM_LIVE_TEST=1 pnpm test:live src/media-understanding/providers/deepgram/audio.live.test.ts`

## Docker runners (optional “works in Linux” checks)

These run `pnpm test:live` inside the repo Docker image, mounting your local config dir and workspace (and sourcing `~/.profile` if mounted):

- Direct models: `pnpm test:docker:live-models` (script: `scripts/test-live-models-docker.sh`)
- Gateway + dev agent: `pnpm test:docker:live-gateway` (script: `scripts/test-live-gateway-models-docker.sh`)
- Onboarding wizard (TTY, full scaffolding): `pnpm test:docker:onboard` (script: `scripts/e2e/onboard-docker.sh`)
- Gateway networking (two containers, WS auth + health): `pnpm test:docker:gateway-network` (script: `scripts/e2e/gateway-network-docker.sh`)
- Plugins (custom extension load + registry smoke): `pnpm test:docker:plugins` (script: `scripts/e2e/plugins-docker.sh`)

Useful env vars:

- `OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR=...` (default: `~/.openclaw`) mounted to `/home/node/.openclaw`
- `OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR=...` (default: `~/.openclaw/workspace`) mounted to `/home/node/.openclaw/workspace`
- `OPENCLAW_PROFILE_FILE=...` (default: `~/.profile`) mounted to `/home/node/.profile` and sourced before running tests
- `OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS=...` / `OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS=...` to narrow the run
- `OPENCLAW_LIVE_REQUIRE_PROFILE_KEYS=1` to ensure creds come from the profile store (not env)

## Docs sanity

Run docs checks after doc edits: `pnpm docs:list`.

## Offline regression (CI-safe)

These are “real pipeline” regressions without real providers:

- Gateway tool calling (mock OpenAI, real gateway + agent loop): `src/gateway/gateway.tool-calling.mock-openai.test.ts`
- Gateway wizard (WS `wizard.start`/`wizard.next`, writes config + auth enforced): `src/gateway/gateway.wizard.e2e.test.ts`

## Agent reliability evals (skills)

We already have a few CI-safe tests that behave like “agent reliability evals”:

- Mock tool-calling through the real gateway + agent loop (`src/gateway/gateway.tool-calling.mock-openai.test.ts`).
- End-to-end wizard flows that validate session wiring and config effects (`src/gateway/gateway.wizard.e2e.test.ts`).

What’s still missing for skills (see [Skills](/tools/skills)):

- **Decisioning:** when skills are listed in the prompt, does the agent pick the right skill (or avoid irrelevant ones)?
- **Compliance:** does the agent read `SKILL.md` before use and follow required steps/args?
- **Workflow contracts:** multi-turn scenarios that assert tool order, session history carryover, and sandbox boundaries.

Future evals should stay deterministic first:

- A scenario runner using mock providers to assert tool calls + order, skill file reads, and session wiring.
- A small suite of skill-focused scenarios (use vs avoid, gating, prompt injection).
- Optional live evals (opt-in, env-gated) only after the CI-safe suite is in place.

## Adding regressions (guidance)

When you fix a provider/model issue discovered in live:

- Add a CI-safe regression if possible (mock/stub provider, or capture the exact request-shape transformation)
- If it’s inherently live-only (rate limits, auth policies), keep the live test narrow and opt-in via env vars
- Prefer targeting the smallest layer that catches the bug:
  - provider request conversion/replay bug → direct models test
  - gateway session/history/tool pipeline bug → gateway live smoke or CI-safe gateway mock test
