Anthropic just BANNED OpenClaw...

The Impact of Anthropic's Policy Change on OpenClaw

Overview of the Situation

• The speaker describes a significant policy change by Anthropic, which restricts the use of their subscription service for powering OpenClaw, leading to widespread dissatisfaction among users.

• The new policy prohibits using OOTH tokens from Claude subscriptions in any product outside of core offerings like Claude desktop and Claude Co-work.

Details on OpenClaw

• OpenClaw is introduced as a powerful AI assistant that can run locally and utilize various frontier models. It gained popularity rapidly after its initial launch.

• Originally named Claudebot, it was renamed to OpenClaw following a trademark request from Anthropic due to its similarity to their product name.

Importance of OOTH Tokens

• OOTH tokens are crucial for setting up OpenClaw because they offer a cost-effective way to access Anthropic's services compared to direct API usage.

• Users have reported significant savings with subscription plans, highlighting the financial implications of switching from OOTH tokens to API access.

Cost Implications

• The speaker shares personal experiences regarding subscription costs, noting an increase from $20/month to $200/month as usage escalated.

• Detailed pricing for different models (e.g., Claude Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6) illustrates how quickly expenses can accumulate when using the API directly.

Confusion Around Policy Clarification

• A statement from Tariq at Anthropic attempts to clarify confusion surrounding the agent SDK's compatibility with subscriptions but leaves some ambiguity about ongoing usage rights.

• Despite clarifications, concerns remain about restrictions on using Anthropic products in conjunction with third-party tools like OpenClaw.

Discussion on OpenClaw and Anthropic's API Changes

Community Reaction to API Key Changes

• The transition to requiring an API key angered many users within the tinkerer and builder community, as it disrupted their projects.

• Users noted that subscribing through Anthropic was significantly cheaper (about 90% less) than using the API directly, leading to dissatisfaction with the company's approach.

Timeline of Events Surrounding OpenClaw

• Claudebot went viral, prompting Anthropic to force a name change from Claudebot to Molbbot, and finally to OpenClaw.

• Peter met with major AI labs in San Francisco shortly before being acquired by OpenAI, highlighting a rapid shift in affiliations.

• Following these events, Anthropic blocked usage of OpenClaw Oath while OpenAI encouraged its use through codecs.

Insights on Model Usage with OpenClaw

• Initially, Peter relied heavily on Opus 4.6 for most tasks due to its favorable personality traits but found it increasingly expensive.

• Transitioning away from Anthropic's services led him to utilize his ChatGPT subscription for various functions including coding and business analysis.

• Different models were allocated specific tasks: GPT 5.3 for coding-related tasks via cursor agent CLI; GPT 5.2 for CRM standards; and GPT 5 mini for simpler tasks like notification classifiers.