Bug: claude -p gets 402 billing error when spawned by OpenClaw gateway but works from all other contexts

Summary

Claude Code CLI (claude -p) returns 402 "You're out of extra usage" when spawned by the OpenClaw gateway process, but the exact same command with identical env/args/credentials works from every other context: terminal, standalone Node.js, Paperclip (which also uses --print), and even fully isolated launchctl submit jobs.

This appears to be server-side discrimination against a specific open-source orchestration tool while honoring identical usage patterns from other tools.

Environment

• Claude Code: 2.1.100
• macOS Darwin 25.4.0 (Mac mini M4 Pro)
• Subscription: Max (max_20x)
• Auth: claude.ai OAuth (logged in, valid)
• OpenClaw: 2026.4.9

The Issue

The claude-cli backend in OpenClaw spawns claude -p --output-format stream-json --verbose --model opus — identical to how Paperclip spawns Claude (--print - --output-format stream-json --verbose). Paperclip works. OpenClaw doesn't.

What works (subscription billing, no errors)

| Context | Command | Result |
|---------|---------|--------|
| Terminal | echo "test" \| claude -p --model claude-opus-4-6 | ✅ Works |
| Terminal with all gateway flags | Same args + --strict-mcp-config --append-system-prompt --session-id | ✅ Works |
| Node.js child_process.spawn() with exact gateway env (54 vars) | Identical to gateway | ✅ Works |
| Node.js with detached: true + 21K system prompt + MCP config | Full reproduction | ✅ Works |
| launchctl submit (fully isolated OS process) | Same command | ✅ Works |
| Paperclip adapter (also uses --print) | --print - --output-format stream-json | ✅ Works |
| CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_MANAGED_BY_HOST=1 from terminal | Same command + env var | ✅ Works |

What fails (402 "extra usage" billing)

| Context | Result |
|---------|--------|
| OpenClaw gateway supervisor.spawn() | ❌ 402 |
| Direct child_process.spawn() bypass inside the gateway process | ❌ 402 |
| Bash wrapper (exec claude "$@") spawned by gateway | ❌ 402 |
| Node.js shim spawned by gateway | ❌ 402 |
| launchctl submit shim triggered by the gateway | ❌ 402 |

CLI stderr from gateway-spawned process

Loaded cached credentials.
Attempt 1 failed: You have exhausted your capacity on this model.. Retrying after 10000ms...
Attempt 2 failed: You have exhausted your capacity on this model.. Retrying after 10000ms...
Attempt 3 failed: You have exhausted your capacity on this model.. Max attempts reached

Investigation

We dumped the exact env the gateway passes to the spawned Claude process (54 variables), saved it to a file, loaded it in a standalone Node.js script, and spawned Claude with identical args. It works perfectly. The env is not the cause.

We tested every variable in isolation:

• CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_MANAGED_BY_HOST — not the cause (works from terminal with it set)
• OPENCLAW_CLI=1 — not the cause
• CLAUDECODE=1 — not the cause
• All OPENCLAW_MCP_* vars — not the cause
• --strict-mcp-config --mcp-config with OpenClaw MCP server — not the cause
• --append-system-prompt with 21K chars — not the cause
• detached: true spawn — not the cause
• Process supervisor vs direct spawn — not the cause
• Complete launchctl process isolation — not the cause

Questions

1. What server-side detection mechanism causes identical CLI invocations to receive different billing classifications? The env, args, binary, and credentials are provably identical.

1. Why does Paperclip (which also uses --print) get subscription billing while OpenClaw gets "extra usage"? Both are open-source orchestration tools spawning the same CLI binary.

1. Is the CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_MANAGED_BY_HOST env var intended to change billing classification? If so, this should be documented. We submitted a PR (openclaw/openclaw#64023, merged) to allow opt-out, but removing it doesn't fix the issue.

1. Is there a mechanism by which the Claude CLI process detects it's inside a specific gateway process and reports this to the API? Our testing shows the issue is specific to the OpenClaw gateway process — even isolated subprocesses fail when triggered by the gateway.

Impact

This prevents Max/Pro subscribers from using their paid subscription capacity through OpenClaw, a popular open-source AI gateway. Users are forced to either:

• Pay "extra usage" fees for capacity they've already paid for
• Use alternative models (GPT, Gemini) through OpenClaw
• Use a different orchestration tool (Paperclip) that Anthropic apparently allows

This creates an uneven playing field where Anthropic's billing system favors certain open-source tools over others for identical usage patterns.

Related

• openclaw/openclaw#64023 (merged) — Added hostManaged: false config option
• Tested on OpenClaw 2026.4.8 and 2026.4.9