openclaw-openclaw/docs/help/troubleshooting.md

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Symptom first troubleshooting hub for OpenClaw	OpenClaw is not working and you need the fastest path to a fix You want a triage flow before diving into deep runbooks	General troubleshooting

Triage front door. 2 minutes to a diagnosis, then jump to the deep page.

First 60 seconds

Run this ladder in order:

openclaw status
openclaw status --all
openclaw gateway probe
openclaw gateway status
openclaw doctor
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw logs --follow

Good output, one line each:

• openclaw status shows configured channels, no auth errors.
• openclaw status --all produces a full, shareable report.
• openclaw gateway probe shows Reachable: yes. Capability: ... is the auth level the probe proved; Read probe: limited - missing scope: operator.read is degraded diagnostics, not a connect failure.
• openclaw gateway status shows Runtime: running, Connectivity probe: ok, and a plausible Capability: .... Add --require-rpc to also require read-scope RPC proof.
• openclaw doctor reports no blocking config/service errors.
• openclaw channels status --probe returns live per-account transport state (works / audit ok) when the gateway is reachable; falls back to config-only summaries when it is not.
• openclaw logs --follow shows steady activity, no repeating fatal errors.

Assistant feels limited or missing tools

Check the effective tool profile:

openclaw status
openclaw status --all
openclaw doctor

Common causes:

• tools.profile: "minimal" allows only session_status.
• tools.profile: "messaging" is narrow, for chat-only agents.
• tools.profile: "coding" is the default for new local configs (repo, file, shell, and runtime work).
• tools.profile: "full" removes profile restrictions; limit to trusted operator-controlled agents.
• Per-agent agents.list[].tools overrides narrow or expand the root profile for one agent.

Change the profile, restart or reload the Gateway, then recheck with openclaw status --all. Full profile/group table: Tool profiles.

Anthropic long context 429

HTTP 429: rate_limit_error: Extra usage is required for long context requests → Anthropic 429 extra usage required for long context.

Local OpenAI-compatible backend works directly but fails in OpenClaw

Your local/self-hosted /v1 backend answers direct /v1/chat/completions probes but fails on openclaw infer model run or normal agent turns:

1. Error mentions messages[].content expecting a string: set models.providers.<provider>.models[].compat.requiresStringContent: true.
2. Still fails only on OpenClaw agent turns: set models.providers.<provider>.models[].compat.supportsTools: false and retry.
3. Tiny direct calls work but larger OpenClaw prompts crash the backend: that is an upstream model/server limit, not an OpenClaw bug. Continue in Local OpenAI-compatible backend passes direct probes but agent runs fail.

Plugin install fails with missing openclaw extensions

package.json missing openclaw.extensions means the plugin package uses a shape OpenClaw no longer accepts.

Fix in the plugin package:

1. Add openclaw.extensions to package.json, pointing at built runtime files (usually ./dist/index.js).
2. Republish, then run openclaw plugins install <package> again.

{
  "name": "@openclaw/my-plugin",
  "version": "1.2.3",
  "openclaw": {
    "extensions": ["./dist/index.js"]
  }
}

Reference: Plugin architecture

Install policy blocks plugin installs or updates

Update finishes but plugins are stale, disabled, or show blocked by install policy, install policy failed closed, or Disabled "<plugin>" after plugin update failure: check security.installPolicy.

Install policy runs on plugin installs and updates. @openclaw/* plugin versions normally move with the OpenClaw release, so an OpenClaw update can need a matching plugin update during post-update sync.

Avoid these policy shapes unless you also maintain the matching upgrade rule:

• Freezing OpenClaw-owned plugins to one exact old version (for example, only @openclaw/*@2026.5.3).
• Blocking by source kind alone (every npm, network, or request.mode: "update" request).
• Treating the policy command as optional: when security.installPolicy is enabled, a missing, slow, unreadable, or permission-blocked policy executable fails closed.
• Approving versions without checking the request's openclawVersion against plugin candidate metadata.

Prefer rules that allow trusted @openclaw/* updates compatible with the current host, instead of pinning one release forever. If you block npm by default, add a narrow exception for the plugin ids you use, and apply the same trust rule to request.mode: "update" as to installs.

Recovery:

openclaw doctor --deep
openclaw plugins update --all
openclaw status --all

If the policy is intentionally strict, relax it for the trusted upgrade window, rerun openclaw plugins update --all, then restore the stricter rule. If update failure disabled a plugin, inspect before re-enabling:

openclaw plugins inspect <plugin-id> --runtime --json
openclaw plugins enable <plugin-id>

Reference: Operator install policy

Plugin present but blocked by suspicious ownership

openclaw doctor, setup, or startup warnings show:

blocked plugin candidate: suspicious ownership (... uid=1000, expected uid=0 or root)
plugin present but blocked

The plugin files are owned by a different Unix user than the process loading them. Do not remove the plugin config; fix the file ownership, or run OpenClaw as the user that owns the state directory.

Docker installs run as node (uid 1000). Repair the host bind mounts:

sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /path/to/openclaw-config /path/to/openclaw-workspace
openclaw doctor --fix

If you intentionally run OpenClaw as root, repair the managed plugin root instead:

sudo chown -R root:root /path/to/openclaw-config/npm
openclaw doctor --fix

Deeper docs: Blocked plugin path ownership, Docker: Permissions and EACCES

Decision tree

flowchart TD
  A[OpenClaw is not working] --> B{What breaks first}
  B --> C[No replies]
  B --> D[Dashboard or Control UI will not connect]
  B --> E[Gateway will not start or service not running]
  B --> F[Channel connects but messages do not flow]
  B --> G[Cron or heartbeat did not fire or did not deliver]
  B --> H[Node is paired but camera canvas screen exec fails]
  B --> I[Browser tool fails]

  C --> C1[/No replies section/]
  D --> D1[/Control UI section/]
  E --> E1[/Gateway section/]
  F --> F1[/Channel flow section/]
  G --> G1[/Automation section/]
  H --> H1[/Node tools section/]
  I --> I1[/Browser section/]

```bash openclaw status openclaw gateway status openclaw channels status --probe openclaw pairing list --channel [--account ] openclaw logs --follow ```

Good output:

- `Runtime: running`
- `Connectivity probe: ok`
- `Capability: read-only`, `write-capable`, or `admin-capable`
- Channel shows transport connected and, where supported, `works` or
  `audit ok` in `channels status --probe`
- Sender is approved (or DM policy is open/allowlist)

Log signatures:

- `drop guild message (mention required` → Discord mention gating blocked the message.
- `pairing request` → sender unapproved, waiting on DM pairing approval.
- `blocked` / `allowlist` in channel logs → sender, room, or group filtered.

Deep pages: [No replies](/gateway/troubleshooting#no-replies), [Channel troubleshooting](/channels/troubleshooting), [Pairing](/channels/pairing)

```bash openclaw status openclaw gateway status openclaw logs --follow openclaw doctor openclaw channels status --probe ```

Good output:

- `Dashboard: http://...` shown in `openclaw gateway status`
- `Connectivity probe: ok`
- `Capability: read-only`, `write-capable`, or `admin-capable`
- No auth loop in logs

Log signatures:

- `device identity required` → HTTP/non-secure context cannot complete device auth.
- `origin not allowed` → browser `Origin` is not allowed for the Control UI gateway target.
- `AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH` with `canRetryWithDeviceToken=true` → one trusted device-token retry may occur automatically, reusing the paired token's cached scopes.
- repeated `unauthorized` after that retry → wrong token/password, auth mode mismatch, or stale paired device token.
- `too many failed authentication attempts (retry later)` → repeated failures from that browser `Origin` are temporarily locked out; other localhost origins use separate buckets. See [Dashboard/Control UI connectivity](/gateway/troubleshooting#dashboard-control-ui-connectivity) for the Tailscale Serve concurrent-retry nuance.
- `gateway connect failed:` → UI targets the wrong URL/port, or the gateway is unreachable.

Deep pages: [Dashboard/Control UI connectivity](/gateway/troubleshooting#dashboard-control-ui-connectivity), [Control UI](/web/control-ui), [Authentication](/gateway/authentication)

```bash openclaw status openclaw gateway status openclaw logs --follow openclaw doctor openclaw channels status --probe ```

Good output:

- `Service: ... (loaded)`
- `Runtime: running`
- `Connectivity probe: ok`
- `Capability: read-only`, `write-capable`, or `admin-capable`

Log signatures:

- `Gateway start blocked: set gateway.mode=local` or `existing config is missing gateway.mode` → gateway mode is remote, or config is missing the local-mode stamp and needs repair.
- `refusing to bind gateway ... without auth` → non-loopback bind without a valid auth path (token/password, or trusted-proxy where configured).
- `another gateway instance is already listening` or `EADDRINUSE` → port already taken.

Deep pages: [Gateway service not running](/gateway/troubleshooting#gateway-service-not-running), [Background process](/gateway/background-process), [Configuration](/gateway/configuration)

```bash openclaw status openclaw gateway status openclaw logs --follow openclaw doctor openclaw channels status --probe ```

Good output:

- Channel transport connected.
- Pairing/allowlist checks pass.
- Mentions detected where required.

Log signatures:

- `mention required` → group mention gating blocked processing.
- `pairing` / `pending` → DM sender not approved yet.
- `not_in_channel`, `missing_scope`, `Forbidden`, `401/403` → channel permission token issue.

Deep pages: [Channel connected, messages not flowing](/gateway/troubleshooting#channel-connected-messages-not-flowing), [Channel troubleshooting](/channels/troubleshooting)

```bash openclaw status openclaw gateway status openclaw cron status openclaw cron list openclaw cron runs --id --limit 20 openclaw logs --follow ```

Good output:

- `cron status` shows the scheduler enabled with a next wake.
- `cron runs` shows recent `ok` entries.
- Heartbeat is enabled and inside active hours.

Log signatures:

- `cron: scheduler disabled; jobs will not run automatically` → cron is disabled.
- `heartbeat skipped` reason `quiet-hours` → outside configured active hours.
- `heartbeat skipped` reason `empty-heartbeat-file` → `HEARTBEAT.md` exists but contains only blank, comment, header, fence, or empty-checklist scaffolding.
- `heartbeat skipped` reason `no-tasks-due` → task mode is active but no task interval is due yet.
- `heartbeat skipped` reason `alerts-disabled` → `showOk`, `showAlerts`, and `useIndicator` are all off.
- `requests-in-flight` → main lane busy; heartbeat wake deferred.
- `unknown accountId` → heartbeat delivery target account does not exist.

Deep pages: [Cron and heartbeat delivery](/gateway/troubleshooting#cron-and-heartbeat-delivery), [Scheduled tasks: Troubleshooting](/automation/cron-jobs#troubleshooting), [Heartbeat](/gateway/heartbeat)

```bash openclaw status openclaw gateway status openclaw nodes status openclaw nodes describe --node openclaw logs --follow ```

Good output:

- Node listed as connected and paired for role `node`.
- Capability exists for the command you are invoking.
- Permission state granted for the tool.

Log signatures:

- `NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE` → bring the node app to the foreground.
- `*_PERMISSION_REQUIRED` → OS permission denied/missing.
- `SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: approval required` → exec approval is pending.
- `SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: allowlist miss` → command not on the exec allowlist.

Deep pages: [Node paired, tool fails](/gateway/troubleshooting#node-paired-tool-fails), [Node troubleshooting](/nodes/troubleshooting), [Exec approvals](/tools/exec-approvals)

```bash openclaw config get tools.exec.host openclaw config get tools.exec.security openclaw config get tools.exec.ask openclaw gateway restart ```

What changed:

- Unset `tools.exec.host` defaults to `auto`, which resolves to `sandbox`
  when a sandbox runtime is active, `gateway` otherwise.
- `host=auto` only routes; the no-prompt behavior comes from
  `security=full` plus `ask=off` on gateway/node.
- Unset `tools.exec.security` defaults to `full` on `gateway`/`node`.
- Unset `tools.exec.ask` defaults to `off`.
- If you are seeing approvals, some host-local or per-session policy
  tightened exec away from these defaults.

Restore the current no-approval defaults:

```bash
openclaw config set tools.exec.host gateway
openclaw config set tools.exec.security full
openclaw config set tools.exec.ask off
openclaw gateway restart
```

Safer alternatives:

- Set only `tools.exec.host=gateway` for stable host routing.
- Use `security=allowlist` with `ask=on-miss` for host exec with review on
  allowlist misses.
- Enable sandbox mode so `host=auto` resolves back to `sandbox`.

Log signatures:

- `Approval required.` → command is waiting on `/approve ...`.
- `SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: approval required` → node-host exec approval is pending.
- `exec host=sandbox requires a sandbox runtime for this session` → implicit/explicit sandbox selection but sandbox mode is off.

Deep pages: [Exec](/tools/exec), [Exec approvals](/tools/exec-approvals), [Security: What the audit checks](/gateway/security#what-the-audit-checks-high-level)

```bash openclaw status openclaw gateway status openclaw browser status openclaw logs --follow openclaw doctor ```

Good output:

- Browser status shows `running: true` and a chosen browser/profile.
- `openclaw` profile starts, or `user` profile sees local Chrome tabs.

Log signatures:

- `unknown command "browser"` → `plugins.allow` is set and excludes `browser`.
- `Failed to start Chrome CDP on port` → local browser launch failed.
- `browser.executablePath not found` → configured binary path is wrong.
- `browser.cdpUrl must be http(s) or ws(s)` → configured CDP URL uses an unsupported scheme.
- `browser.cdpUrl has invalid port` → configured CDP URL has a bad or out-of-range port.
- `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` → configured remote CDP endpoint unreachable from this host.
- `Browser attachOnly is enabled ... not reachable` → attach-only profile has no live CDP target.
- Stale viewport/dark-mode/locale/offline overrides on attach-only or remote CDP profiles → run `openclaw browser stop --browser-profile <name>` to close the control session and release emulation state without restarting the gateway.

Deep pages: [Browser tool fails](/gateway/troubleshooting#browser-tool-fails), [Missing browser command or tool](/tools/browser#missing-browser-command-or-tool), [Browser: Linux troubleshooting](/tools/browser-linux-troubleshooting), [Browser: WSL2/Windows remote CDP troubleshooting](/tools/browser-wsl2-windows-remote-cdp-troubleshooting)

Related

• FAQ — frequently asked questions
• Gateway Troubleshooting — gateway-specific issues
• Doctor — automated health checks and repairs
• Channel Troubleshooting — channel connectivity issues
• Scheduled tasks: Troubleshooting — cron and heartbeat issues