Troubleshooting

Gateway 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:

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

Expected healthy signals:

openclaw gateway status shows Runtime: running and RPC probe: ok.
openclaw doctor reports no blocking config/service issues.
openclaw channels status --probe shows connected/ready channels.

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.

openclaw logs --follow
openclaw models status
openclaw config get agents.defaults.models

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:

Disable context1m for that model to fall back to the normal context window.
Use an Anthropic API key with billing, or enable Anthropic Extra Usage on the subscription account.
Configure fallback models so runs continue when Anthropic long-context requests are rejected.

No replies

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

openclaw status
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw pairing list --channel <channel> [--account <id>]
openclaw config get channels
openclaw logs --follow

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.

Dashboard control ui connectivity

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

openclaw gateway status
openclaw status
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway status --json

Look for:

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

Common signatures:

device identity required → non-secure context or missing device auth.
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.
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.

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. 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 is known but not approved for this role.	Approve pending request: `openclaw devices list` then `openclaw devices approve <requestId>`.

Device auth v2 migration check:

openclaw --version
openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway status

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

waits for connect.challenge
signs the challenge-bound payload
sends connect.params.device.nonce with the same challenge nonce

/web/control-ui
/gateway/configuration (gateway auth modes)
/gateway/trusted-proxy-auth
/gateway/remote
/cli/devices

Gateway service not running

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

openclaw gateway status
openclaw status
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway status --deep

Look for:

Runtime: stopped with exit hints.
Service config mismatch (Config (cli) vs Config (service)).
Port/listener conflicts.

Common signatures:

Gateway start blocked: set gateway.mode=local → local gateway mode is not enabled. Fix: set gateway.mode="local" in your config (or run openclaw configure). 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 token/password.
another gateway instance is already listening / EADDRINUSE → port conflict.

Channel connected messages not flowing

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

openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw pairing list --channel <channel> [--account <id>]
openclaw status --deep
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw config get channels

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.

Cron and heartbeat delivery

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

openclaw cron status
openclaw cron list
openclaw cron runs --id <jobId> --limit 20
openclaw system heartbeat last
openclaw logs --follow

Look for:

Cron enabled and next wake present.
Job run history status (ok, skipped, error).
Heartbeat skip reasons (quiet-hours, requests-in-flight, alerts-disabled).

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: 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.

Node paired tool fails

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

openclaw nodes status
openclaw nodes describe --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw approvals get --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw status

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.

Browser tool fails

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

openclaw browser status
openclaw browser start --browser-profile openclaw
openclaw browser profiles
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctor

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.

Common 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.
No Chrome tabs found for profile="user" → the Chrome MCP attach profile has no open local Chrome tabs.
Browser attachOnly is enabled ... not reachable → attach-only profile has no reachable target.

If you upgraded and something suddenly broke

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

1) Auth and URL override behavior changed

openclaw gateway status
openclaw config get gateway.mode
openclaw config get gateway.remote.url
openclaw config get gateway.auth.mode

What to check:

If gateway.mode=remote, CLI calls may be targeting remote while your local service is fine.
Explicit --url calls do not fall back to stored credentials.

Common signatures:

gateway connect failed: → wrong URL target.
unauthorized → endpoint reachable but wrong auth.

2) Bind and auth guardrails are stricter

openclaw config get gateway.bind
openclaw config get gateway.auth.token
openclaw gateway status
openclaw logs --follow

What to check:

Non-loopback binds (lan, tailnet, custom) need auth configured.
Old keys like gateway.token do not replace gateway.auth.token.

Common signatures:

refusing to bind gateway ... without auth → bind+auth mismatch.
RPC probe: failed while runtime is running → gateway alive but inaccessible with current auth/url.

3) Pairing and device identity state changed

openclaw devices list
openclaw pairing list --channel <channel> [--account <id>]
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctor

What to check:

Pending device approvals for dashboard/nodes.
Pending DM pairing approvals after policy or identity changes.

Common signatures:

device identity required → device auth not satisfied.
pairing required → sender/device must be approved.

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

openclaw gateway install --force
openclaw gateway restart