Fixing ClawdBot + Minimax M2.1 Configuration: API Keys, BaseURL, and the Domestic vs. Overseas Split

Originally shared by @0xAA_Science

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If you've been trying to connect ClawdBot to the Minimax M2.1 model and hitting an invalid api key error despite being certain your key is correct, you're not alone. This is one of those configuration gotchas that isn't immediately obvious from the documentation — and it has nothing to do with your key actually being invalid.

This post breaks down exactly what's happening, why it happens, and how to fix it in a few minutes.

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The Core Problem: Two Versions of Minimax, One Default Config

Minimax operates two separate API environments:

• Domestic version — for users in mainland China, served from Chinese infrastructure
• Overseas version — for international users, served from global infrastructure

ClawdBot ships with the overseas version pre-configured as the default. That's a sensible choice for a globally distributed tool, but it creates an immediate problem for anyone using a domestic Minimax account: your API key is issued by the domestic platform, and when ClawdBot sends it to the overseas endpoint, the server has no record of it. Hence the invalid api key error.

This is not a bug in your setup. The key is valid — it's just being sent to the wrong place.

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Understanding the Configuration: What's Actually in clawdbot.json

ClawdBot stores its model provider configuration in a JSON file at:

.clawdbot/clawdbot.json

For Minimax M2.1, the relevant fields are the baseUrl and your apiKey. A default overseas configuration might look something like this:

{
  "providers": {
    "minimax": {
      "apiKey": "your-api-key-here",
      "baseUrl": "https://api.minimax.chat/v1",
      "model": "MiniMax-M2.1"
    }
  }
}

The baseUrl field is the critical piece. Domestic and overseas endpoints are different, and mixing a domestic API key with an overseas baseUrl will always fail authentication — regardless of how the key itself is formatted.

Domestic vs. Overseas BaseURL

Based on how Minimax structures its platforms, the two base URLs differ at the domain level:

| Version | BaseURL | |---|---| | Overseas (default) | https://api.minimax.chat/v1 | | Domestic (China) | https://api.minimaxi.chat/v1 |

Note the subtle but important difference: minimax.chat vs minimaxi.chat. It's easy to miss, and that single character difference is enough to send every request to the wrong server.

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How to Fix It: Step-by-Step

If you're using a domestic Minimax account, here's exactly what to do.

Step 1: Locate your configuration file

Navigate to your ClawdBot project directory and open the config file:

cd your-project-directory
nano .clawdbot/clawdbot.json

Or use your preferred editor — VS Code, vim, whatever you're comfortable with.

Step 2: Update the baseUrl

Find the Minimax provider block and replace the baseUrl value with the domestic endpoint:

{
  "providers": {
    "minimax": {
      "apiKey": "your-domestic-api-key",
      "baseUrl": "https://api.minimaxi.chat/v1",
      "model": "MiniMax-M2.1"
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Verify your API key source

Make sure your API key came from the domestic Minimax platform. If you created your account at the international portal but are based in China (or vice versa), double-check which dashboard your key was issued from. Using a domestic key with the domestic URL, or an overseas key with the overseas URL — those are the only valid combinations.

Step 4: Restart ClawdBot

After saving the file, restart ClawdBot so the new configuration is loaded:

# Stop any running ClawdBot instance, then restart
clawdbot start

At this point, your Minimax M2.1 calls should authenticate successfully.

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Why This Matters Beyond the Fix

This specific issue is a good reminder of a broader pattern in AI tooling: multi-region API fragmentation is becoming increasingly common, and developer tools can't always predict which regional endpoint a given user needs.

As more foundation model providers — particularly those with both Chinese and international operations — expand their infrastructure, you'll run into this pattern again. Minimax isn't unique here. The practical takeaway for anyone building on top of AI APIs:

• Always check whether your provider has region-specific endpoints. The global URL is often the default, but it won't accept credentials issued by a regional platform.
• When you get an auth error, suspect endpoint mismatch before assuming the key is wrong. Regenerating your API key (a common first instinct) won't fix a routing problem.
• Read the baseUrl field as a first-class config value. It's easy to treat it as boilerplate, but it directly determines where your traffic goes.

For teams running ClawdBot in CI/CD pipelines or deploying OpenClaw skills at scale, it's worth parameterizing the baseUrl through environment variables so the same codebase can target either environment without manual edits:

{
  "providers": {
    "minimax": {
      "apiKey": "${MINIMAX_API_KEY}",
      "baseUrl": "${MINIMAX_BASE_URL}",
      "model": "MiniMax-M2.1"
    }
  }
}

Then set MINIMAX_BASE_URL in your environment to the appropriate regional endpoint. This makes switching between domestic and overseas testing trivial and eliminates the risk of accidentally committing the wrong hardcoded URL.

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Conclusion

The invalid api key error when configuring ClawdBot with Minimax M2.1 is almost always a baseUrl mismatch, not a problem with the key itself. ClawdBot defaults to the overseas Minimax endpoint — if your account is on the domestic platform, you need to update .clawdbot/clawdbot.json to point to the correct regional URL before authentication will work.

The fix takes under two minutes once you know what to look for. The tricky part is knowing to look there in the first place.

If you're building OpenClaw skills on top of Minimax M2.1, getting this baseline configuration right is the first step. Once the auth is working, M2.1's multimodal capabilities — particularly its performance on long-context and reasoning tasks — make it a strong candidate for complex automation workflows.

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Credit to @0xAA_Science for surfacing this configuration issue. If you've run into other ClawdBot or OpenClaw integration quirks worth documenting, drop them in the comments.