---
summary: "Arcee AI setup (auth + model selection)"
title: "Arcee AI"
read_when:
  - You want to use Arcee AI with OpenClaw
  - You need the API key env var or CLI auth choice
---

[Arcee AI](https://arcee.ai) provides the Trinity family of mixture-of-experts models through an OpenAI-compatible API. All Trinity models are Apache 2.0 licensed. Arcee is an official OpenClaw plugin, not bundled with core, so it needs an install step before onboarding.

Access Arcee models directly through the Arcee platform or through [OpenRouter](/providers/openrouter).

| Property | Value                                                                                 |
| -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Provider | `arcee`                                                                               |
| Auth     | `ARCEEAI_API_KEY` (direct) or `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` (via OpenRouter)                   |
| API      | OpenAI-compatible                                                                     |
| Base URL | `https://api.arcee.ai/api/v1` (direct) or `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` (OpenRouter) |

## Install plugin

```bash
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/arcee-provider
openclaw gateway restart
```

## Getting started

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Direct (Arcee platform)">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Get an API key">
        Create an API key at [Arcee AI](https://chat.arcee.ai/).
      </Step>
      <Step title="Run onboarding">
        ```bash
        openclaw onboard --auth-choice arceeai-api-key
        ```
      </Step>
      <Step title="Set a default model">
        ```json5
        {
          agents: {
            defaults: {
              model: { primary: "arcee/trinity-large-thinking" },
            },
          },
        }
        ```
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Via OpenRouter">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Get an API key">
        Create an API key at [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/keys).
      </Step>
      <Step title="Run onboarding">
        ```bash
        openclaw onboard --auth-choice arceeai-openrouter
        ```
      </Step>
      <Step title="Set a default model">
        ```json5
        {
          agents: {
            defaults: {
              model: { primary: "arcee/trinity-large-thinking" },
            },
          },
        }
        ```

        The same model refs work for both direct and OpenRouter setups.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Non-interactive setup

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Direct (Arcee platform)">
    ```bash
    openclaw onboard --non-interactive \
      --mode local \
      --auth-choice arceeai-api-key \
      --arceeai-api-key "$ARCEEAI_API_KEY"
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Via OpenRouter">
    ```bash
    openclaw onboard --non-interactive \
      --mode local \
      --auth-choice arceeai-openrouter \
      --openrouter-api-key "$OPENROUTER_API_KEY"
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Built-in catalog

| Model ref                      | Name                   | Input | Context | Max output | Cost (in/out per 1M) | Tools | Notes                                     |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------- | ----- | ------- | ---------- | -------------------- | ----- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `arcee/trinity-large-thinking` | Trinity Large Thinking | text  | 256K    | 80K        | $0.25 / $0.90        | No    | Default model; extended thinking          |
| `arcee/trinity-large-preview`  | Trinity Large Preview  | text  | 128K    | 16K        | $0.25 / $1.00        | Yes   | General-purpose; 400B params, 13B active  |
| `arcee/trinity-mini`           | Trinity Mini 26B       | text  | 128K    | 80K        | $0.045 / $0.15       | Yes   | Fast and cost-efficient; function calling |

<Tip>
The onboarding preset sets `arcee/trinity-large-thinking` as the default model.
</Tip>

## Supported features

| Feature                                       | Supported                                    |
| --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| Streaming                                     | Yes                                          |
| Tool use / function calling                   | Yes (Trinity Mini, Trinity Large Preview)    |
| Structured output (JSON mode and JSON schema) | Yes                                          |
| Extended thinking                             | Yes (Trinity Large Thinking; tools disabled) |

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Environment note">
    If the Gateway runs as a daemon (launchd/systemd), make sure `ARCEEAI_API_KEY`
    (or `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`) is available to that process, for example in
    `~/.openclaw/.env` or via `env.shellEnv`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="OpenRouter routing">
    When using Arcee models via OpenRouter, the same `arcee/*` model refs apply.
    OpenClaw routes transparently based on your auth choice. See the
    [OpenRouter provider docs](/providers/openrouter) for OpenRouter-specific
    configuration details.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="OpenRouter" href="/providers/openrouter" icon="shuffle">
    Access Arcee models and many others through a single API key.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Model selection" href="/concepts/model-providers" icon="layers">
    Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>
