Tools

Music generation

The music_generate tool lets the agent create music or audio through the shared music-generation capability with configured providers — Google, MiniMax, and workflow-configured ComfyUI today.

For session-backed agent runs, OpenClaw starts music generation as a background task, tracks it in the task ledger, then wakes the agent again when the track is ready so the agent can tell the user and attach the finished audio. In group/channel chats that use message-tool-only visible delivery, the agent relays the result through the message tool. If the completion agent writes only a private final reply, OpenClaw falls back to a direct channel send with the generated media. The completion wake explicitly warns the agent that normal final replies are private in those routes.

Quick start

Shared provider-backed

  • Configure auth

    Set an API key for at least one provider — for example GEMINI_API_KEY or MINIMAX_API_KEY.

  • Pick a default model (optional)

    {
      agents: {
        defaults: {
          musicGenerationModel: {
            primary: "google/lyria-3-clip-preview",
          },
        },
      },
    }
    
  • Ask the agent

    "Generate an upbeat synthpop track about a night drive through a neon city."

    The agent calls music_generate automatically. No tool allow-listing needed.

  • For direct synchronous contexts without a session-backed agent run, the built-in tool still falls back to inline generation and returns the final media path in the tool result.

    ComfyUI workflow

  • Configure the workflow

    Configure plugins.entries.comfy.config.music with a workflow JSON and prompt/output nodes.

  • Cloud auth (optional)

    For Comfy Cloud, set COMFY_API_KEY or COMFY_CLOUD_API_KEY.

  • Call the tool

    /tool music_generate prompt="Warm ambient synth loop with soft tape texture"
    
  • Example prompts:

    Generate a cinematic piano track with soft strings and no vocals.
    
    Generate an energetic chiptune loop about launching a rocket at sunrise.
    

    Supported providers

    Provider Default model Reference inputs Supported controls Auth
    ComfyUI workflow Up to 1 image Workflow-defined music or audio COMFY_API_KEY, COMFY_CLOUD_API_KEY
    Google lyria-3-clip-preview Up to 10 images lyrics, instrumental, format GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY
    MiniMax music-2.6 None lyrics, instrumental, durationSeconds, format=mp3 MINIMAX_API_KEY or MiniMax OAuth

    Capability matrix

    The explicit mode contract used by music_generate, contract tests, and the shared live sweep:

    Provider generate edit Edit limit Shared live lanes
    ComfyUI 1 image Not in the shared sweep; covered by extensions/comfy/comfy.live.test.ts
    Google 10 images generate, edit
    MiniMax None generate

    Use action: "list" to inspect available shared providers and models at runtime:

    /tool music_generate action=list
    

    Use action: "status" to inspect the active session-backed music task:

    /tool music_generate action=status
    

    Direct generation example:

    /tool music_generate prompt="Dreamy lo-fi hip hop with vinyl texture and gentle rain" instrumental=true
    

    Tool parameters

    promptstringrequired

    Music generation prompt. Required for action: "generate".

    action"generate" | "status" | "list"

    "status" returns the current session task; "list" inspects providers.

    modelstring

    Provider/model override (e.g. google/lyria-3-pro-preview, comfy/workflow).

    lyricsstring

    Optional lyrics when the provider supports explicit lyric input.

    instrumentalboolean

    Request instrumental-only output when the provider supports it.

    imagestring

    Single reference image path or URL.

    imagesstring[]

    Multiple reference images (up to 10 on supporting providers).

    durationSecondsnumber

    Target duration in seconds when the provider supports duration hints.

    format"mp3" | "wav"

    Output format hint when the provider supports it.

    filenamestring
    timeoutMsnumber

    Async behavior

    Session-backed music generation runs as a background task:

    • Background task: music_generate creates a background task, returns a started/task response immediately, and posts the finished track later in a follow-up agent message.
    • Duplicate prevention: while a task is queued or running, later music_generate calls in the same session return task status instead of starting another generation. Use action: "status" to check explicitly.
    • Status lookup: openclaw tasks list or openclaw tasks show <taskId> inspects queued, running, and terminal status.
    • Completion wake: OpenClaw injects an internal completion event back into the same session so the model can write the user-facing follow-up itself.
    • Prompt hint: later user/manual turns in the same session get a small runtime hint when a music task is already in flight, so the model does not blindly call music_generate again.
    • No-session fallback: direct/local contexts without a real agent session run inline and return the final audio result in the same turn.

    Task lifecycle

    State Meaning
    queued Task created, waiting for the provider to accept it.
    running Provider is processing (typically 30 seconds to 3 minutes depending on provider and duration).
    succeeded Track ready; the agent wakes and posts it to the conversation.
    failed Provider error or timeout; the agent wakes with error details.

    Check status from the CLI:

    openclaw tasks list
    openclaw tasks show <taskId>
    openclaw tasks cancel <taskId>
    

    Configuration

    Model selection

    {
      agents: {
        defaults: {
          musicGenerationModel: {
            primary: "google/lyria-3-clip-preview",
            fallbacks: ["minimax/music-2.6"],
          },
        },
      },
    }
    

    Provider selection order

    OpenClaw tries providers in this order:

    1. model parameter from the tool call (if the agent specifies one).
    2. musicGenerationModel.primary from config.
    3. musicGenerationModel.fallbacks in order.
    4. Auto-detection using auth-backed provider defaults only:
      • current default provider first;
      • remaining registered music-generation providers in provider-id order.

    If a provider fails, the next candidate is tried automatically. If all fail, the error includes details from each attempt.

    Set agents.defaults.mediaGenerationAutoProviderFallback: false to use only explicit model, primary, and fallbacks entries.

    Provider notes

    ComfyUI

    Workflow-driven and depends on the configured graph plus node mapping for prompt/output fields. The bundled comfy plugin plugs into the shared music_generate tool through the music-generation provider registry.

    Google (Lyria 3)

    Uses Lyria 3 batch generation. The current bundled flow supports prompt, optional lyrics text, and optional reference images.

    MiniMax

    Uses the batch music_generation endpoint. Supports prompt, optional lyrics, instrumental mode, duration steering, and mp3 output through either minimax API-key auth or minimax-portal OAuth.

    Choosing the right path

    • Shared provider-backed when you want model selection, provider failover, and the built-in async task/status flow.
    • Plugin path (ComfyUI) when you need a custom workflow graph or a provider that is not part of the shared bundled music capability.

    If you are debugging ComfyUI-specific behavior, see ComfyUI. If you are debugging shared provider behavior, start with Google (Gemini) or MiniMax.

    Provider capability modes

    The shared music-generation contract supports explicit mode declarations:

    • generate for prompt-only generation.
    • edit when the request includes one or more reference images.

    New provider implementations should prefer explicit mode blocks:

    capabilities: {
      generate: {
        maxTracks: 1,
        supportsLyrics: true,
        supportsFormat: true,
      },
      edit: {
        enabled: true,
        maxTracks: 1,
        maxInputImages: 1,
        supportsFormat: true,
      },
    }
    

    Legacy flat fields such as maxInputImages, supportsLyrics, and supportsFormat are not enough to advertise edit support. Providers should declare generate and edit explicitly so live tests, contract tests, and the shared music_generate tool can validate mode support deterministically.

    Live tests

    Opt-in live coverage for the shared bundled providers:

    OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 pnpm test:live -- extensions/music-generation-providers.live.test.ts
    

    Repo wrapper:

    pnpm test:live:media music
    

    This live file loads missing provider env vars from ~/.profile, prefers live/env API keys ahead of stored auth profiles by default, and runs both generate and declared edit coverage when the provider enables edit mode. Coverage today:

    • google: generate plus edit
    • minimax: generate only
    • comfy: separate Comfy live coverage, not the shared provider sweep

    Opt-in live coverage for the bundled ComfyUI music path:

    OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 COMFY_LIVE_TEST=1 pnpm test:live -- extensions/comfy/comfy.live.test.ts
    

    The Comfy live file also covers comfy image and video workflows when those sections are configured.