OpenClaw Update Runbook
ReviewAudited by ClawScan on May 12, 2026.
Overview
This is a coherent OpenClaw update checklist with no code, but it can guide an agent to inspect tokens and make persistent plugin, task, or config changes, so it should be used with operator approval.
This skill is reasonable for maintaining an OpenClaw host, but treat it like an operator runbook rather than a passive help document. Before following repair steps, confirm the host and command targets, approve any plugin install/update, task cancellation, service restart, or config edit, and keep tokens redacted or stored through safer secret mechanisms whenever possible.
Findings (3)
Artifact-based informational review of SKILL.md, metadata, install specs, static scan signals, and capability signals. ClawScan does not execute the skill or run runtime probes.
The agent could change or cancel OpenClaw tasks if the user follows these steps without checking the target IDs.
These are mutating task-ledger maintenance commands. They fit the update-repair purpose, but using them on the wrong task or host could cancel work or alter runtime state.
Useful commands: - `openclaw tasks show <id>` - `openclaw tasks cancel <id>` - `openclaw tasks maintenance --apply` Fix the ledger if it is obviously wrong
Require explicit operator approval before `cancel` or `--apply` commands, verify task IDs, and capture a backup or status snapshot first.
Installing or updating plugins from `@latest` can unexpectedly change behavior or introduce a bad plugin version.
The runbook documents plugin update and install workflows that can pull unpinned latest packages and force changes. This is purpose-aligned for plugin drift repair, but it can change code loaded by the OpenClaw host.
`openclaw plugins update <id> @<scope>/<pkg>@latest` ... Or `openclaw plugins install <pkg>@latest --force`
Verify the plugin source, prefer pinned known-good versions for production hosts, review changelogs, and back up plugin install records before forcing changes.
An agent following the runbook may view service or channel tokens, and a plaintext-token workaround could make those credentials easier to leak.
The runbook explicitly involves inspecting channel tokens and, in one workaround, storing a literal token in config. That is relevant to channel repair but increases credential exposure if mishandled.
What to inspect: - the channel token config path, for example `channels.discord.token` - the referenced secrets provider and backing file - whether the gateway service env has a working token fallback ... inline the literal token into the affected channel token field. This adds one entry to `secrets audit --plaintext` findings
Use this only in a trusted session, avoid printing tokens into chat or logs, prefer SecretRef or environment-token paths, and revert or rotate any plaintext workaround after the upstream issue is fixed.