OpenClaw & Alibaba Cloud Coding Plan Troubleshooting Guide

Integrating OpenClaw with the Alibaba Cloud Coding Plan is a popular setup for developer workflows, but configuration mismatches frequently cause disruptions. If you run into issues after pasting your key and launching the tool, look through the common errors below for exact, copy-pasteable fixes.

Error 1: 401 Invalid API Key

Symptom: OpenClaw returns 401 Unauthorized or Invalid API key immediately after sending a request.

Cause: You are likely using a general Dashscope API key (which carries the sk- prefix) instead of the Coding Plan-specific key (which carries the sk-sp prefix). The Coding Plan endpoint rejects standard keys outright.

Fix: Log in to the Alibaba Cloud Coding Plan dashboard, navigate to the Coding Plan section, and copy the key starting with sk-sp. Update your OpenClaw configuration file:

# ~/.openclaw/config.yaml
providers:
  alibaba:
    apiKey: "sk-sp-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"  # Must start with sk-sp
    baseUrl: "https://coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com/v1"

Restart OpenClaw after saving. If you are unsure which key type is active in your environment, run this terminal check:

echo $DASHSCOPE_API_KEY | cut -c1-5
# Should print: sk-sp

Error 2: 403 Invalid API Key (Wrong Base URL)

Symptom: OpenClaw returns 403 Forbidden even though your sk-sp key is correct.

Cause: Your baseUrl points to the general Dashscope endpoint (dashscope.aliyuncs.com) instead of the Coding Plan endpoint (coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com for international users, or coding.dashscope.aliyuncs.com for mainland China). The Coding Plan key is valid, but the general endpoint does not recognize it.

Fix: Update the base URL in your config file to align with your region:

# Incorrect
baseUrl: "https://dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1"

# Correct (International)
baseUrl: "https://coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com/v1"

# Correct (China Mainland)
baseUrl: "https://coding.dashscope.aliyuncs.com/v1"

Because the two URLs differ only by a subdomain prefix and the API does not specify the endpoint in its error message, it is easy to miss this detail. Double-check both your key prefix and URL during troubleshooting.

Error 3: Empty Responses

Symptom: OpenClaw sends a request and receives a 200 OK status, but the response body contains no content (the assistant message remains blank or contains only whitespace).

Cause: Your model config has reasoning: true enabled. The Coding Plan endpoint does not support reasoning mode for most models. When reasoning is active, the API returns those tokens in a separate field that OpenClaw does not render, leaving the main content field empty.

Fix: Set reasoning to false in your model configuration:

# ~/.openclaw/config.yaml
models:
  qwen-coder:
    provider: alibaba
    model: "qwen3.5-plus"
    reasoning: false  # Must be false for the Coding Plan
    maxTokens: 8192

If you require reasoning capabilities, you will need to route requests to models that support it on the general endpoint (utilizing a standard sk- key and general base URL) or wait for native support to arrive on the Coding Plan tier.

Error 4: Connection Errors

Symptom: OpenClaw throws ECONNREFUSED, ETIMEDOUT, or fetch failed when attempting to reach the Coding Plan endpoint. No HTTP status code is returned.

Cause: Network routing, DNS failures, or security policies are blocking the connection to coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com. Common causes include:

VPN Routing: The VPN routes traffic through a region that blocks Chinese cloud endpoints.
Corporate Proxies: The proxy blocks access to Alibaba Cloud domains.
DNS Failures: Name resolution issues for the coding-intl.dashscope subdomain.
Firewall Rules: Local machine or network restrictions.

Fix: Test your connection directly using curl:

curl -v https://coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DASHSCOPE_API_KEY"

If the request times out, try the following steps:

Temporarily disable your VPN and retry.
Add coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com to your proxy allowlist.

Verify DNS resolution with:

nslookup coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com

Switch to a different network (like a mobile hotspot) to isolate local network issues.

If you are in a region where Alibaba Cloud endpoints experience throttling, routing your traffic through a proxy located in Singapore or Hong Kong often stabilizes the connection.

Error 5: Unknown Model

Symptom: OpenClaw returns a model not found or unknown model error.

Cause: A typo in the model ID. Alibaba's model naming schemes can sometimes be unintuitive. A common mistake is writing qwen-3.5-plus (with a hyphen) instead of the correct identifier, qwen3.5-plus (no hyphen).

Fix: Use the exact model IDs specified by the official API.

# Incorrect (Common Typos)
model: "qwen-3.5-plus"     # Extra hyphen
model: "qwen3.5plus"       # Missing dot
model: "qwen-3.5-coder"    # Wrong suffix

# Correct
model: "qwen3.5-plus"
model: "qwen-coder-plus"
model: "qwen-max"

To view the canonical list of active models, call the API directly:

curl https://coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DASHSCOPE_API_KEY" | jq '.data[].id'

Error 6: Stale Model Cache

Symptom: Config modifications (like changing models or provider settings) do not take effect, or you continue to see errors for configuration options you have already corrected.

Cause: OpenClaw caches model configurations locally. Changes to config.yaml do not apply until this cache is cleared.

Fix: Remove the cache file and restart OpenClaw:

rm ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/models.json

On the next run, OpenClaw will rebuild the cache using your updated configuration. This step is also recommended after upgrading the OpenClaw client to prevent schema discrepancies.

Error 7: Unexpected Billing Charges

Symptom: Your Alibaba Cloud bill shows standard token usage charges, even though the Coding Plan quota should cover the usage.

Cause: A general API key (sk-) is being used instead of the Coding Plan key (sk-sp). Any request authorized with a general key is billed at standard pay-as-you-go rates. This can also happen if OpenClaw falls back to a provider configured with a general key.

Fix: Verify that only sk-sp keys are used for the Coding Plan provider in your configuration:

grep apiKey ~/.openclaw/config.yaml
# Ensure all active keys for your Coding Plan provider start with sk-sp

If you manage multiple provider profiles, ensure your default model points to the correct provider:

providers:
  coding-plan:
    apiKey: "sk-sp-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
    baseUrl: "https://coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com/v1"
  general:
    apiKey: "sk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
    baseUrl: "https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1"

models:
  default:
    provider: coding-plan  # Point default models to the Coding Plan provider
    model: "qwen3.5-plus"

Review your Alibaba Cloud billing console regularly to trace which API keys generated charges.

Quick Diagnostic Checklist

If you run into issues, walk through this checklist:

Key Prefix: Does your key begin with sk-sp?
Base URL: Is it set to coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com (or coding.dashscope.aliyuncs.com) rather than the general dashscope.aliyuncs.com?
Model ID: Is the name exact (e.g., qwen3.5-plus instead of qwen-3.5-plus)?
Reasoning Flag: Is reasoning set to false?
Cache: Have you cleared ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/models.json?
Network: Does a direct curl request succeed?
Provider Mapping: Does your default model route to the correct provider configuration?

If problems persist after verifying these configurations, update your client (openclaw update) to ensure compatibility with recent upstream API changes.