Troubleshooting

This page is the deep runbook. Start at /help/troubleshooting if you want the fast triage flow first.

Command ladder

Run these first, in this order:

Expected healthy signals:

• openclaw gateway status shows Runtime: running, Connectivity probe: ok, and a Capability: ... line.
• openclaw doctor reports no blocking config/service issues.
• openclaw channels status --probe shows live per-account transport status and, where supported, probe/audit results such as works or audit ok.

Split brain installs and newer config guard

Use this when a gateway service unexpectedly stops after an update, or logs show that one openclaw binary is older than the version that last wrote openclaw.json.

OpenClaw stamps config writes with meta.lastTouchedVersion. Read-only commands can still inspect a config written by a newer OpenClaw, but process and service mutations refuse to continue from an older binary. Blocked actions include gateway service start, stop, restart, uninstall, forced service reinstall, service-mode gateway startup, and gateway --force port cleanup.

<Steps> <Step title="Fix PATH"> Fix `PATH` so `openclaw` resolves to the newer install, then rerun the action. </Step> <Step title="Reinstall the gateway service"> Reinstall the intended gateway service from the newer install: </Step> <Step title="Remove stale wrappers"> Remove stale system package or old wrapper entries that still point at an old `openclaw` binary. </Step> </Steps> <Warning> For intentional downgrade or emergency recovery only, set `OPENCLAW_ALLOW_OLDER_BINARY_DESTRUCTIVE_ACTIONS=1` for the single command. Leave it unset for normal operation. </Warning>

Anthropic 429 extra usage required for long context

Use this when logs/errors include: HTTP 429: rate_limit_error: Extra usage is required for long context requests.

Look for:

• Selected Anthropic Opus/Sonnet model has params.context1m: true.
• Current Anthropic credential is not eligible for long-context usage.
• Requests fail only on long sessions/model runs that need the 1M beta path.

Fix options:

<Steps> <Step title="Disable context1m"> Disable `context1m` for that model to fall back to the normal context window. </Step> <Step title="Use an eligible credential"> Use an Anthropic credential that is eligible for long-context requests, or switch to an Anthropic API key. </Step> <Step title="Configure fallback models"> Configure fallback models so runs continue when Anthropic long-context requests are rejected. </Step> </Steps>

Related:

• Anthropic
• Token use and costs
• Why am I seeing HTTP 429 from Anthropic?

Local OpenAI-compatible backend passes direct probes but agent runs fail

Use this when:

• curl ... /v1/models works
• tiny direct /v1/chat/completions calls work
• OpenClaw model runs fail only on normal agent turns

Look for:

• direct tiny calls succeed, but OpenClaw runs fail only on larger prompts
• model_not_found or 404 errors even though direct /v1/chat/completions works with the same bare model id
• backend errors about messages[].content expecting a string
• intermittent incomplete turn detected ... stopReason=stop payloads=0 warnings with an OpenAI-compatible local backend
• backend crashes that appear only with larger prompt-token counts or full agent runtime prompts

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="Common signatures"> - `model_not_found` with a local MLX/vLLM-style server → verify `baseUrl` includes `/v1`, `api` is `"openai-completions"` for `/v1/chat/completions` backends, and `models.providers.<provider>.models[].id` is the bare provider-local id. Select it with the provider prefix once, for example `mlx/mlx-community/Qwen3-30B-A3B-6bit`; keep the catalog entry as `mlx-community/Qwen3-30B-A3B-6bit`. - `messages[...].content: invalid type: sequence, expected a string` → backend rejects structured Chat Completions content parts. Fix: set `models.providers.<provider>.models[].compat.requiresStringContent: true`. - `incomplete turn detected ... stopReason=stop payloads=0` → the backend completed the Chat Completions request but returned no user-visible assistant text for that turn. OpenClaw retries replay-safe empty OpenAI-compatible turns once; persistent failures usually mean the backend is emitting empty/non-text content or suppressing final-answer text. - direct tiny requests succeed, but OpenClaw agent runs fail with backend/model crashes (for example Gemma on some `inferrs` builds) → OpenClaw transport is likely already correct; the backend is failing on the larger agent-runtime prompt shape. - failures shrink after disabling tools but do not disappear → tool schemas were part of the pressure, but the remaining issue is still upstream model/server capacity or a backend bug. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Fix options"> 1. Set `compat.requiresStringContent: true` for string-only Chat Completions backends. 2. Set `compat.supportsTools: false` for models/backends that cannot handle OpenClaw's tool schema surface reliably. 3. Lower prompt pressure where possible: smaller workspace bootstrap, shorter session history, lighter local model, or a backend with stronger long-context support. 4. If tiny direct requests keep passing while OpenClaw agent turns still crash inside the backend, treat it as an upstream server/model limitation and file a repro there with the accepted payload shape. </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

Related:

• Configuration
• Local models
• OpenAI-compatible endpoints

No replies

If channels are up but nothing answers, check routing and policy before reconnecting anything.

Look for:

• Pairing pending for DM senders.
• Group mention gating (requireMention, mentionPatterns).
• Channel/group allowlist mismatches.

Common signatures:

• drop guild message (mention required → group message ignored until mention.
• pairing request → sender needs approval.
• blocked / allowlist → sender/channel was filtered by policy.

Related:

• Channel troubleshooting
• Groups
• Pairing

Dashboard control UI connectivity

When dashboard/control UI will not connect, validate URL, auth mode, and secure context assumptions.

Look for:

• Correct probe URL and dashboard URL.
• Auth mode/token mismatch between client and gateway.
• HTTP usage where device identity is required.

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="Connect / auth signatures"> - `device identity required` → non-secure context or missing device auth. - `origin not allowed` → browser `Origin` is not in `gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins` (or you are connecting from a non-loopback browser origin without an explicit allowlist). - `device nonce required` / `device nonce mismatch` → client is not completing the challenge-based device auth flow (`connect.challenge` + `device.nonce`). - `device signature invalid` / `device signature expired` → client signed the wrong payload (or stale timestamp) for the current handshake. - `AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH` with `canRetryWithDeviceToken=true` → client can do one trusted retry with cached device token. - That cached-token retry reuses the cached scope set stored with the paired device token. Explicit `deviceToken` / explicit `scopes` callers keep their requested scope set instead. - Outside that retry path, connect auth precedence is explicit shared token/password first, then explicit `deviceToken`, then stored device token, then bootstrap token. - On the async Tailscale Serve Control UI path, failed attempts for the same `{scope, ip}` are serialized before the limiter records the failure. Two bad concurrent retries from the same client can therefore surface `retry later` on the second attempt instead of two plain mismatches. - `too many failed authentication attempts (retry later)` from a browser-origin loopback client → repeated failures from that same normalized `Origin` are locked out temporarily; another localhost origin uses a separate bucket. - repeated `unauthorized` after that retry → shared token/device token drift; refresh token config and re-approve/rotate device token if needed. - `gateway connect failed:` → wrong host/port/url target. </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

Auth detail codes quick map

Use error.details.code from the failed connect response to pick the next action:

Detail code	Meaning	Recommended action
AUTH_TOKEN_MISSING	Client did not send a required shared token.	Paste/set token in the client and retry. For dashboard paths: openclaw config get gateway.auth.token then paste into Control UI settings.
AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH	Shared token did not match gateway auth token.	If canRetryWithDeviceToken=true, allow one trusted retry. Cached-token retries reuse stored approved scopes; explicit deviceToken / scopes callers keep requested scopes. If still failing, run the token drift recovery checklist.
AUTH_DEVICE_TOKEN_MISMATCH	Cached per-device token is stale or revoked.	Rotate/re-approve device token using devices CLI, then reconnect.
PAIRING_REQUIRED	Device identity needs approval. Check error.details.reason for not-paired, scope-upgrade, role-upgrade, or metadata-upgrade, and use requestId / remediationHint when present.	Approve pending request: openclaw devices list then openclaw devices approve <requestId>. Scope/role upgrades use the same flow after you review the requested access.

<Note> Direct loopback backend RPCs authenticated with the shared gateway token/password should not depend on the CLI's paired-device scope baseline. If subagents or other internal calls still fail with `scope-upgrade`, verify the caller is using `client.id: "gateway-client"` and `client.mode: "backend"` and is not forcing an explicit `deviceIdentity` or device token. </Note>

Device auth v2 migration check:

If logs show nonce/signature errors, update the connecting client and verify it:

<Steps> <Step title="Wait for connect.challenge"> Client waits for the gateway-issued `connect.challenge`. </Step> <Step title="Sign the payload"> Client signs the challenge-bound payload. </Step> <Step title="Send the device nonce"> Client sends `connect.params.device.nonce` with the same challenge nonce. </Step> </Steps>

If openclaw devices rotate / revoke / remove is denied unexpectedly:

• paired-device token sessions can manage only their own device unless the caller also has operator.admin
• openclaw devices rotate --scope ... can only request operator scopes that the caller session already holds

Related:

• Configuration (gateway auth modes)
• Control UI
• Devices
• Remote access
• Trusted proxy auth

Gateway service not running

Use this when service is installed but process does not stay up.

Look for:

• Runtime: stopped with exit hints.
• Service config mismatch (Config (cli) vs Config (service)).
• Port/listener conflicts.
• Extra launchd/systemd/schtasks installs when --deep is used.
• Other gateway-like services detected (best effort) cleanup hints.

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="Common signatures"> - `Gateway start blocked: set gateway.mode=local` or `existing config is missing gateway.mode` → local gateway mode is not enabled, or the config file was clobbered and lost `gateway.mode`. Fix: set `gateway.mode="local"` in your config, or re-run `openclaw onboard --mode local` / `openclaw setup` to restamp the expected local-mode config. If you are running OpenClaw via Podman, the default config path is `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`. - `refusing to bind gateway ... without auth` → non-loopback bind without a valid gateway auth path (token/password, or trusted-proxy where configured). - `another gateway instance is already listening` / `EADDRINUSE` → port conflict. - `Other gateway-like services detected (best effort)` → stale or parallel launchd/systemd/schtasks units exist. Most setups should keep one gateway per machine; if you do need more than one, isolate ports + config/state/workspace. See [/gateway#multiple-gateways-same-host](/gateway#multiple-gateways-same-host). - `System-level OpenClaw gateway service detected` from doctor → a systemd system unit exists while the user-level service is missing. Remove or disable the duplicate before allowing doctor to install a user service, or set `OPENCLAW_SERVICE_REPAIR_POLICY=external` if the system unit is the intended supervisor. - `Gateway service port does not match current gateway config` → the installed supervisor still pins the old `--port`. Run `openclaw doctor --fix` or `openclaw gateway install --force`, then restart the gateway service. </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

Related:

• Background exec and process tool
• Configuration
• Doctor

Gateway rejected invalid config

Use this when Gateway startup fails with Invalid config or hot reload logs say it skipped an invalid edit.

Look for:

• Invalid config at ...
• config reload skipped (invalid config): ...
• Config write rejected: ...
• A timestamped openclaw.json.rejected.* file beside the active config
• A timestamped openclaw.json.clobbered.* file if doctor --fix repaired a broken direct edit

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="What happened"> - The config did not validate during startup, hot reload, or an OpenClaw-owned write. - Gateway startup fails closed instead of rewriting `openclaw.json`. - Hot reload skips invalid external edits and keeps the current runtime config active. - OpenClaw-owned writes reject invalid/destructive payloads before commit and save `.rejected.*`. - `openclaw doctor --fix` owns repair. It can remove non-JSON prefixes or restore the last-known-good copy while preserving the rejected payload as `.clobbered.*`. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Inspect and repair"> ```bash CONFIG="$(openclaw config file)" ls -lt "$CONFIG".clobbered.* "$CONFIG".rejected.* 2>/dev/null | head diff -u "$CONFIG" "$(ls -t "$CONFIG".clobbered.* 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)" openclaw config validate openclaw doctor ``` </Accordion> <Accordion title="Common signatures"> - `.clobbered.*` exists → doctor preserved a broken external edit while repairing the active config. - `.rejected.*` exists → an OpenClaw-owned config write failed schema or clobber checks before commit. - `Config write rejected:` → the write tried to drop required shape, shrink the file sharply, or persist invalid config. - `config reload skipped (invalid config):` → a direct edit failed validation and was ignored by the running Gateway. - `Invalid config at ...` → startup failed before Gateway services booted. - `missing-meta-vs-last-good`, `gateway-mode-missing-vs-last-good`, or `size-drop-vs-last-good:*` → an OpenClaw-owned write was rejected because it lost fields or size compared with the last-known-good backup. - `Config last-known-good promotion skipped` → the candidate contained redacted secret placeholders such as `***`. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Fix options"> 1. Run `openclaw doctor --fix` to let doctor repair prefixed/clobbered config or restore last-known-good. 2. Copy only the intended keys from `.clobbered.*` or `.rejected.*`, then apply them with `openclaw config set` or `config.patch`. 3. Run `openclaw config validate` before restarting. 4. If you edit by hand, keep the full JSON5 config, not just the partial object you wanted to change. </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

Related:

• Config
• Configuration: hot reload
• Configuration: strict validation
• Doctor

Gateway probe warnings

Use this when openclaw gateway probe reaches something, but still prints a warning block.

Look for:

• warnings[].code and primaryTargetId in JSON output.
• Whether the warning is about SSH fallback, multiple gateways, missing scopes, or unresolved auth refs.

Common signatures:

• SSH tunnel failed to start; falling back to direct probes. → SSH setup failed, but the command still tried direct configured/loopback targets.
• multiple reachable gateways detected → more than one target answered. Usually this means an intentional multi-gateway setup or stale/duplicate listeners.
• Read-probe diagnostics are limited by gateway scopes (missing operator.read) → connect worked, but detail RPC is scope-limited; pair device identity or use credentials with operator.read.
• Gateway accepted the WebSocket connection, but follow-up read diagnostics failed → connect worked, but the full diagnostic RPC set timed out or failed. Treat this as a reachable Gateway with degraded diagnostics; compare connect.ok and connect.rpcOk in --json output.
• Capability: pairing-pending or gateway closed (1008): pairing required → the gateway answered, but this client still needs pairing/approval before normal operator access.
• unresolved gateway.auth.* / gateway.remote.* SecretRef warning text → auth material was unavailable in this command path for the failed target.

Related:

• Gateway
• Multiple gateways on the same host
• Remote access

Channel connected, messages not flowing

If channel state is connected but message flow is dead, focus on policy, permissions, and channel specific delivery rules.

Look for:

• DM policy (pairing, allowlist, open, disabled).
• Group allowlist and mention requirements.
• Missing channel API permissions/scopes.

Common signatures:

• mention required → message ignored by group mention policy.
• pairing / pending approval traces → sender is not approved.
• missing_scope, not_in_channel, Forbidden, 401/403 → channel auth/permissions issue.

Related:

• Channel troubleshooting
• Discord
• Telegram
• WhatsApp

Cron and heartbeat delivery

If cron or heartbeat did not run or did not deliver, verify scheduler state first, then delivery target.

Look for:

• Cron enabled and next wake present.
• Job run history status (ok, skipped, error).
• Heartbeat skip reasons (quiet-hours, requests-in-flight, cron-in-progress, lanes-busy, alerts-disabled, empty-heartbeat-file, no-tasks-due).

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="Common signatures"> - `cron: scheduler disabled; jobs will not run automatically` → cron disabled. - `cron: timer tick failed` → scheduler tick failed; check file/log/runtime errors. - `heartbeat skipped` with `reason=quiet-hours` → outside active hours window. - `heartbeat skipped` with `reason=empty-heartbeat-file` → `HEARTBEAT.md` exists but only contains blank lines / markdown headers, so OpenClaw skips the model call. - `heartbeat skipped` with `reason=no-tasks-due` → `HEARTBEAT.md` contains a `tasks:` block, but none of the tasks are due on this tick. - `heartbeat: unknown accountId` → invalid account id for heartbeat delivery target. - `heartbeat skipped` with `reason=dm-blocked` → heartbeat target resolved to a DM-style destination while `agents.defaults.heartbeat.directPolicy` (or per-agent override) is set to `block`. </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

Related:

• Heartbeat
• Scheduled tasks
• Scheduled tasks: troubleshooting

Node paired, tool fails

If a node is paired but tools fail, isolate foreground, permission, and approval state.

Look for:

• Node online with expected capabilities.
• OS permission grants for camera/mic/location/screen.
• Exec approvals and allowlist state.

Common signatures:

• NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE → node app must be in foreground.
• *_PERMISSION_REQUIRED / LOCATION_PERMISSION_REQUIRED → missing OS permission.
• SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: approval required → exec approval pending.
• SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: allowlist miss → command blocked by allowlist.

Related:

• Exec approvals
• Node troubleshooting
• Nodes

Browser tool fails

Use this when browser tool actions fail even though the gateway itself is healthy.

Look for:

• Whether plugins.allow is set and includes browser.
• Valid browser executable path.
• CDP profile reachability.
• Local Chrome availability for existing-session / user profiles.

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="Plugin / executable signatures"> - `unknown command "browser"` or `unknown command 'browser'` → the bundled browser plugin is excluded by `plugins.allow`. - browser tool missing / unavailable while `browser.enabled=true` → `plugins.allow` excludes `browser`, so the plugin never loaded. - `Failed to start Chrome CDP on port` → browser process failed to launch. - `browser.executablePath not found` → configured path is invalid. - `browser.cdpUrl must be http(s) or ws(s)` → the configured CDP URL uses an unsupported scheme such as `file:` or `ftp:`. - `browser.cdpUrl has invalid port` → the configured CDP URL has a bad or out-of-range port. - `Playwright is not available in this gateway build; '<feature>' is unsupported.` → the current gateway install lacks the core browser runtime dependency; reinstall or update OpenClaw, then restart the gateway. ARIA snapshots and basic page screenshots can still work, but navigation, AI snapshots, CSS-selector element screenshots, and PDF export stay unavailable. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Chrome MCP / existing-session signatures"> - `Could not find DevToolsActivePort for chrome` → Chrome MCP existing-session could not attach to the selected browser data dir yet. Open the browser inspect page, enable remote debugging, keep the browser open, approve the first attach prompt, then retry. If signed-in state is not required, prefer the managed `openclaw` profile. - `No Chrome tabs found for profile="user"` → the Chrome MCP attach profile has no open local Chrome tabs. - `Remote CDP for profile "<name>" is not reachable` → the configured remote CDP endpoint is not reachable from the gateway host. - `Browser attachOnly is enabled ... not reachable` or `Browser attachOnly is enabled and CDP websocket ... is not reachable` → attach-only profile has no reachable target, or the HTTP endpoint answered but the CDP WebSocket still could not be opened. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Element / screenshot / upload signatures"> - `fullPage is not supported for element screenshots` → screenshot request mixed `--full-page` with `--ref` or `--element`. - `element screenshots are not supported for existing-session profiles; use ref from snapshot.` → Chrome MCP / `existing-session` screenshot calls must use page capture or a snapshot `--ref`, not CSS `--element`. - `existing-session file uploads do not support element selectors; use ref/inputRef.` → Chrome MCP upload hooks need snapshot refs, not CSS selectors. - `existing-session file uploads currently support one file at a time.` → send one upload per call on Chrome MCP profiles. - `existing-session dialog handling does not support timeoutMs.` → dialog hooks on Chrome MCP profiles do not support timeout overrides. - `existing-session type does not support timeoutMs overrides.` → omit `timeoutMs` for `act:type` on `profile="user"` / Chrome MCP existing-session profiles, or use a managed/CDP browser profile when a custom timeout is required. - `existing-session evaluate does not support timeoutMs overrides.` → omit `timeoutMs` for `act:evaluate` on `profile="user"` / Chrome MCP existing-session profiles, or use a managed/CDP browser profile when a custom timeout is required. - `response body is not supported for existing-session profiles yet.` → `responsebody` still requires a managed browser or raw CDP profile. - stale viewport / dark-mode / locale / offline overrides on attach-only or remote CDP profiles → run `openclaw browser stop --browser-profile <name>` to close the active control session and release Playwright/CDP emulation state without restarting the whole gateway. </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

Related:

• Browser (OpenClaw-managed)
• Browser troubleshooting

If you upgraded and something suddenly broke

Most post-upgrade breakage is config drift or stricter defaults now being enforced.

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="1. Auth and URL override behavior changed"> ```bash openclaw gateway status openclaw config get gateway.mode openclaw config get gateway.remote.url openclaw config get gateway.auth.mode ``` </Accordion> <Accordion title="2. Bind and auth guardrails are stricter"> ```bash openclaw config get gateway.bind openclaw config get gateway.auth.mode openclaw config get gateway.auth.token openclaw gateway status openclaw logs --follow ``` </Accordion> <Accordion title="3. Pairing and device identity state changed"> ```bash openclaw devices list openclaw pairing list --channel <channel> [--account <id>] openclaw logs --follow openclaw doctor ``` </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

If the service config and runtime still disagree after checks, reinstall service metadata from the same profile/state directory:

Related:

• Authentication
• Background exec and process tool
• Gateway-owned pairing

Related

• Doctor
• FAQ
• Gateway runbook