OpenClaw has removed its OpenAI Sora video-generation provider after the upstream API stopped working for video calls.
The change landed in PR #159543, titled fix(openai): video generation fails with HTTP 404 after OpenAI retired Sora. The PR says video_generate failed whenever it routed to openai/sora-2 or openai/sora-2-pro.
What Changed
OpenClaw no longer registers Sora as a usable video backend. That means agents should stop selecting a provider that cannot complete a video request.
When a video model is still configured as openai/sora-*, the runtime now skips the stale provider reference and moves on to configured fallbacks or auto-detected providers. If no usable provider exists, users should get a plain explanation instead of a failing OpenAI HTTP 404 path.
The PR specifically says OpenAI-only installs no longer receive a video_generate tool until another video provider is configured.
OpenAI image, speech, transcription, and realtime support are unchanged. The old OpenAI image-and-video documentation URL remains available, but now describes the page as image-only with a retirement note.
Operator Action
Operators should check agents.defaults.mediaModels.video. If it names openai/sora-*, switch it to another configured provider.
The PR lists working alternatives verified during live tests:
- Runway
- Google Veo
- MiniMax
- xAI
- fal
- other configured video providers
No migration runs automatically. That is intentional: OpenClaw cannot infer which paid video backend an operator wants to use next.
Why It Matters
This is a compatibility fix, but it also tightens the agent experience. A dead provider that still appears valid is worse than a missing provider because agents can repeatedly choose an endpoint that has no chance of succeeding.
The pull request says live OpenAI probes on September 27, 2026 found /v1/videos returning 404, while the model objects for sora-2 and sora-2-pro carried a shutdown_date of September 24, 2026.
Rather than keep a shim around a retired API, OpenClaw removed the provider contract, metadata, live-test defaults, workflow filters, and docs that advertised Sora video generation.
The Bigger Pattern
Media tools are now part of normal agent workflows, not just demos. When a provider retires an API, the registry layer needs to fail closed enough that agents do not keep wasting turns on impossible calls.
This update keeps OpenClaw's video-generation surface honest: show the tool only when a real backend is configured, use working providers when available, and tell the operator when none exists.