Buying with OpenClaw

OpenClaw speaks whichever wire format it is configured for, which is why it is routed by a path prefix rather than by dialect.

OpenClaw is an open-source AI coding assistant. You need no vendor subscription at all: once the buy switch is on, its requests go through the Asale market and you pay in USDT for the tokens you actually use.

Time needed: about 15 minutes ｜ Config file: ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Buying does not require you to be able to reach Anthropic / OpenAI / Google

Your tool hands the question to Asale on your computer, Asale passes it to the market, and the market assigns it to some seller's computer, which asks the vendor. The machine talking to the vendor is the seller's, not yours — all you need is to reach Asale's own servers.

Not installed yet? Work through Install the client: download → install → register and sign in on the Account page.

The Asale client

Step 2: Put some USDT in the wallet

Wallet → Deposit → pick a chain
Wallet on the left → Deposit → pick Solana or TRON.
Scan the QR code or copy the address and send
From a phone wallet, scan the QR code; from an exchange, open the USDT withdrawal page, set the network to the one you just picked, paste the address and confirm.
Wait for it to arrive
Detected → confirming → added to your balance. For a first go, 5–10 USDT is plenty.
Pick the wrong chain and the money cannot be recovered
An address is bound to a chain. Go by the network name written above the QR code on the deposit page.

Step 3: Install OpenClaw on your computer

If you already have it, skip to step 4.

Install Node.js first
Open nodejs.org and click the green LTS button to download and install. Afterwards open a new terminal window and type node -v; you should see a version number.
Install OpenClaw following its own instructions
How OpenClaw is installed is whatever its own site says (commands can change between releases). The Quick setup on docs.openclaw.ai currently leads with the install script.
macOS / Linux:
```
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
```
Windows (PowerShell):
```
iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex
```
The script installs Node.js too if it is missing, so skipping the previous sub-step does no harm. To install via npm, Docker or Nix, follow the Install link in the Note on that page; the npm form is npm install -g openclaw@latest.
Check that it installed
```
openclaw --version
```
A version number means you are set.
Run it once first
Start OpenClaw once and quit. That makes it create its own config directory, ~/.openclaw/, which is what lets Asale detect it.
It will not install on macOS / Linux and a screenful of red appears
If the red text contains EACCES or permission denied, it cannot write into a system directory. Do not force it with sudo — move the install location into your own home directory instead:
mkdir -p ~/.npm-global npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.zshrc source ~/.zshrc
If you use bash, replace ~/.zshrc with ~/.bashrc.

Step 4: Turn on OpenClaw's buy switch

Quit any running OpenClaw first

Turning the switch on rewrites its config file. Open a fresh window before you do it.

Buy on the left → find OpenClaw → turn on Buy tokens for this tool.

The Buy page with the OpenClaw switch on

If it still says "Not detected": check you did that final launch in step 3 (so ~/.openclaw/ exists), then click Refresh.

Step 5: Tick the models you allow

Expand Models to buy (multi-select) and tick the ones you are willing to spend on; each shows its current market price.

The multi-select model list

Models you have not ticked are refused locally: the request never leaves your computer and costs nothing.

Step 6: Restart OpenClaw

The config is read once, at startup. Quit OpenClaw completely and open it again.

The restart reminder

Step 7: Confirm it really went through the market

Start OpenClaw, ask anything, then go back to Asale → Records → Buy tab; that request should be there: time, model, token count, and how much USDT it cost.

The Buy tab on the Records page

What actually changed on disk

File
`~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`

Backed up before the first write and restored exactly when you turn the switch off. The Buy page has an Open config button if you want to look.

Why its address has an extra `/openclaw` in it

That is how Asale tells who sent the request

Requests from the other tools each have their own shape, so Asale can tell at a glance who sent them. OpenClaw cannot be told apart that way — its requests can look exactly like Claude Code's or Codex's, and the content alone does not distinguish them.

So Asale adds an /openclaw segment to its address and identifies it by that. Delete that segment and OpenClaw's requests get treated as Codex's — using Codex's switch and Codex's chosen models. All wrong.

In normal use you will never notice this; Asale writes it for you. You only run into it if you open the config file yourself and find a tool name inside the URL odd — do not remove it by hand.

What one request costs

Before each question, the system holds an amount from your balance based on the most this could possibly cost — usually quite a bit more than it actually will. When the answer finishes, it settles at real usage and the excess returns immediately. A request that errors, produces no usage, or that you interrupt with Ctrl+C is not charged.

Turning it off again

Turn OpenClaw's switch off on the Buy page, then restart OpenClaw. The config is restored exactly.

Common questions

I turned on OpenClaw, so why do the records show the model Codex has selected? The address in the config is missing the /openclaw prefix. Go back to the Buy page, click Re-apply, then restart OpenClaw.

Does turning on OpenClaw's switch affect Claude Code or Codex? No. Each tool's buy switch and model list are entirely independent.

"503 no supply"? Nobody currently has idle capacity for that model. Switch models or wait.

"402 insufficient balance" when I have money? The hold is based on the most it could possibly cost, usually quite a bit above the real figure, so a small balance gets stuck here easily. Deposit a bit more.

Buying with Hermesanother tool that keeps things in unusual places.Buying tokens in detailtools, models and billing.Troubleshootingfor when the switch looks like it did nothing.