Openclaw Optimizer

Use when: you want to optimize an OpenClaw setup (v2026.2.23+) — cost reduction, model routing, provider configuration, context management, cron automation, sub-agent architecture, skills, or agent personality/identity optimization (SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md, AGENTS.md, USER.md audit). Also use when troubleshooting any OpenClaw error, startup failure, channel issue, or provider problem. CLI-first. Advisory by default — audit first, propose exact changes, apply only on approval. Output: prioritized plan + exact CLI commands + config patches + rollback.

Jacob Ben-David@jacob-bd

Install

openclaw skills install @jacob-bd/openclaw-optimizer

OpenClaw Optimizer

Aligned with: OpenClaw v2026.3.8 | Skill v1.19.0 | Updated: 2026-03-09 | CLI-first advisor

Optimize and troubleshoot OpenClaw workspaces: cost-aware routing, provider configuration, context discipline, lean automation, multi-agent architectures, and error resolution.

Reference files (load when needed):

references/providers.md — all 40+ providers, custom provider schema, failover config
references/troubleshooting.md — full error reference, 7 failure categories, GitHub issue workarounds
references/cli-reference.md — complete CLI command reference
references/identity-optimizer.md — agent identity/personality audit checklist, file roles, walkthrough workflow

Version Awareness

This skill tracks OpenClaw releases via two mechanisms:

GitHub Actions — daily workflow checks for new releases, opens an issue on drift, auto-closes when resolved
Runtime check — lightweight cached version comparison at session start

Runtime Check (once per session)

bash

python3 ~/.claude/skills/openclaw-optimizer/scripts/version-check.py --status

CURRENT → note the version and proceed.
STALE → inform the user: "OpenClaw v<new> is available (skill is at v<current>). Run update-skill.sh to review what changed."
UNCHECKED → note "Version check unavailable (offline)" and proceed.

Update Workflow (user-initiated, never automatic)

bash

# Show drift report, changelog, and affected sections
bash ~/.claude/skills/openclaw-optimizer/scripts/update-skill.sh

# After updating content in SKILL.md and references/:
bash ~/.claude/skills/openclaw-optimizer/scripts/update-skill.sh --apply    # bump versions
bash ~/.claude/skills/openclaw-optimizer/scripts/update-skill.sh --commit   # bump + commit + push

Updates are deliberate — this skill never auto-modifies its own content or pushes to git without explicit user action.

Quick Start (copy/paste prompts)

Full audit (safe, no changes):

Audit my OpenClaw setup for cost, reliability, and context bloat. Prioritized plan with rollback. Do NOT apply changes.

Troubleshoot a specific problem:

[Describe your symptom or paste the error message]. Diagnose it and give me the exact fix.

Add or configure a provider:

Add [provider name] as a model provider. Walk me through the CLI steps and show me the exact config before applying.

Model routing optimization:

Propose a tiered routing plan: cheap for heartbeats/cron, mid for daily tasks, premium for coding/reasoning. Exact config + rollback. Do NOT apply.

Silent cron job:

Create a cron job that runs [task] every [interval]. Isolated session, NO_REPLY on nothing-to-do. Show me the command first.

Audit agent personality & identity:

Audit my agent's personality and identity files. Check for conflicts, bloat, and bad practices. Walk me through improvements.

Safety Contract (non-negotiable)

This skill is advisory by default — not an autonomous control-plane.
Never mutate config (config.apply, config.patch), cron jobs, or persistent settings without explicit user approval.
Before any approved change: show (1) exact CLI command or config patch, (2) expected impact, (3) rollback command.
If an optimization reduces monitoring coverage, present Options A/B/C and require the user to choose.

Backup Strategy

Four backup layers exist — don't stack manual backups on top unnecessarily:

Layer	What	Retention	When It's Enough
CLI rolling `.bak`	Auto-created on every `config set`, `models set`, `cron edit`	Rolling (overwritten each write)	Single-command undo
Nightly GitHub backup	Full config committed by cron job (3 AM)	Git history (unlimited)	Any rollback to a previous day's state
`openclaw backup create`	Local state archive with manifest verification (v2026.3.8+)	Until manually deleted	Pre-upgrade safety net; use `openclaw backup verify` to validate
Manual dated backup	`cp <file> <file>.YYYY-MM-DD-<reason>`	Until next nightly covers it, then delete	Major upgrades, multi-file restructuring, direct JSON edits

Rule: For routine CLI changes (model swaps, cron edits, config sets), do NOT create manual backups. The CLI .bak + nightly GitHub backup are sufficient. Only create a manual backup when: (1) upgrading OpenClaw versions, (2) editing multiple config files simultaneously (identity audits), or (3) editing JSON directly without the CLI. For upgrades, prefer openclaw backup create over manual copies.

1. Model Providers

40+ providers supported. For full docs (auth commands, config schemas, all model names, custom provider setup): read references/providers.md

Quick lookup — slug, auth env, primary model format:

Provider	Slug	Auth Env	Model Format
Anthropic	`anthropic`	`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	`anthropic/claude-opus-4-6`
OpenAI (API key)	`openai`	`OPENAI_API_KEY`	`openai/gpt-5.4`
OpenAI Codex (subscription)	`openai-codex`	ChatGPT OAuth	`openai-codex/gpt-5.4`
Google Gemini	`google`	`GEMINI_API_KEY`	`google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview`

WARNING — Provider Bans (Mar 2026):

Google: Actively cracking down on Gemini CLI OAuth and AntiGravity access through third-party tools. Accounts are being banned or rate-limited without warning or refunds. Use API key auth (google provider) instead of OAuth (google-gemini-cli / google-antigravity). Production API keys: 150-300 RPM, no ban risk. See GitHub Issue #14203.

Anthropic: Has banned users linking flat-rate Claude Code subscription tokens to OpenClaw. Using Claude Code OAuth tokens directly in OpenClaw may trigger account suspension. However, using Claude Code through the Agent SDK / ACP dispatch (where OpenClaw spawns Claude Code as a sub-agent via the ACP protocol) is the supported pattern and should not cause issues — this is how OpenClaw's built-in acp integration works.

General: Always prefer pay-per-token API keys over subscription OAuth for third-party tool integrations. Subscription-based OAuth through third-party tools violates most providers' ToS except OpenAI, which explicitly permits Codex OAuth in third-party tools.

Add a provider (API key):

bash

openclaw onboard --auth-choice <provider>-api-key
openclaw models auth login --provider <slug>
openclaw models set <provider/model>

Add a provider (OAuth / subscription):

bash

openclaw onboard --auth-choice openai-codex    # ChatGPT subscription
openclaw models auth login --provider openai-codex
openclaw models set openai-codex/gpt-5.4

OAuth Providers (Subscription-Based Access)

Some providers offer OAuth authentication tied to a consumer subscription (e.g., ChatGPT Plus/Pro) instead of — or in addition to — a pay-per-token API key. OpenClaw supports these via device-flow OAuth.

Currently supported OAuth providers:

Provider	Slug	Subscription Required	Top Models
OpenAI Codex	`openai-codex`	ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo) or Pro ($200/mo)	`gpt-5.4`, `gpt-5.3-codex`, `codex-mini-latest`
GitHub Copilot	`github-copilot`	Copilot subscription	`github-copilot/gpt-4o`

OpenAI Codex setup (full walkthrough):

bash

# 1. Authenticate (opens browser for ChatGPT sign-in)
openclaw models auth login --provider openai-codex
# → Prints a URL. Open it in a browser, sign in to ChatGPT, paste redirect URL back.

# 3. Verify auth
openclaw models status --probe --probe-provider openai-codex

# 4. Set as primary OR add to fallback chain
openclaw models set openai-codex/gpt-5.4                # as primary
openclaw models fallbacks add openai-codex/gpt-5.4      # or as fallback

# 5. Restart gateway
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/ai.openclaw.gateway  # macOS LaunchAgent

Headless / SSH gateway: The OAuth flow prints a URL. Open it in any browser (doesn't need to be on the gateway machine), complete sign-in, then paste the redirect URL back into the SSH terminal. Alternatively, complete OAuth on a machine with a browser and copy ~/.openclaw/credentials/oauth.json to the gateway.

Available Codex models:

Model	Plan	Notes
`openai-codex/gpt-5.4`	Plus, Pro, Business	Latest (Mar 2026), 1,050,000-token context, 128K max tokens
`openai-codex/gpt-5.3-codex`	Plus, Pro, Business	Previous flagship, most capable coding model
`openai-codex/gpt-5.3-codex-spark`	Pro only	Research preview, low-latency
`openai-codex/gpt-5.2-codex`	Plus, Pro	Previous gen, stable
`openai-codex/codex-mini-latest`	Plus, Pro	Lightweight, fast, cheapest

Usage limits (per 5-hour window):

Plus ($20/mo): 30–150 messages
Pro ($200/mo): 300–1,500 messages
Extra credits purchasable when limits are hit

Gotchas:

No embeddings. Codex OAuth does NOT grant access to OpenAI embeddings. You still need a separate OPENAI_API_KEY for text-embedding-3-small etc.
Token refresh is automatic — active sessions continue without re-login. Credentials stored in ~/.openclaw/credentials/oauth.json.
Don't use both Codex CLI and OpenClaw simultaneously — some providers invalidate older refresh tokens when a new one is issued. Logging in via one tool can log you out of the other.
"Model not supported" errors — some users report this with gpt-5.3-codex on certain accounts. Fall back to gpt-5.2-codex if this happens.
Dual-config registration required (Issue #13189): The built-in catalog uses wrong API type (openai-completions) for gpt-5.3-codex. Must register manually in both models.json (API type: openai-codex-responses) AND openclaw.json (API type: openai-responses — openai-codex-responses is only valid in models.json per schema). v2026.2.26 includes a schema fix — verify with openclaw models status --probe after upgrade.
Community context (Feb 2026): After Anthropic and Google updated their ToS to block subscription-based OAuth in third-party tools, the OpenClaw community migrated heavily to openai-codex. OpenAI explicitly permits Codex OAuth in third-party tools, though fair-use limits still apply.

Provider Removal Checklist

Removing a provider requires cleaning 6 locations — config unset alone is not enough:

models.providers.<slug> in openclaw.json — openclaw config unset models.providers.<slug>
auth.profiles.<slug>:* in openclaw.json — must edit JSON directly (colons in keys break config unset)
profiles dict in ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json — edit with python3/jq
agents.defaults.models.<provider/model> aliases in openclaw.json — openclaw config unset each alias
plugins.entries.<slug>-auth in openclaw.json — openclaw config unset plugins.entries.<slug>-auth
lastGood.<slug> and usageStats.<slug>:* in auth-profiles.json — edit directly

For providers with LaunchAgent env vars (Ollama, etc.), also clean: 7. launchctl unsetenv <KEY> — session-level env persists independently of plist 8. PlistBuddy delete from ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist 9. launchctl bootout + launchctl bootstrap to pick up the clean plist (kickstart alone doesn't reload env from plist)

Known CLI limitation: openclaw config unset cannot handle colons in config keys (e.g., auth.profiles.google-gemini-cli:email@gmail.com). The parser treats colons as path separators. Edit the JSON file directly for these entries.

Ollama for memory embeddings (v2026.3.2+):

bash

openclaw config set memorySearch.provider ollama
openclaw config set memorySearch.fallback ollama

Runs memory search embeddings locally — no external API calls. Honors models.providers.ollama settings.

Custom OpenAI-compatible provider (LM Studio, LiteLLM, etc.): See references/providers.md

2. Model Routing Strategy

Tiered Routing (50–95% cost reduction)

Tier	Models	Use Cases
T1 Cheap	`zai/glm-5`, `google/gemini-3-flash-preview`, `google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview`, `synthetic/hf:deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3.2`	Heartbeats, simple checks, greetings, cron
T2 Mid	`moonshot/kimi-k2.5`, `minimax/MiniMax-M2.5-highspeed`	Daily chat, Q&A, calendar, scheduling
T3 Smart	`anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5`, `openai/gpt-5.4`, `openai-codex/gpt-5.4` (subscription)	Code, refactors, research
T4 Premium	`anthropic/claude-opus-4-6`, `openai/gpt-5.2`	Complex reasoning, orchestration

Model preference by task:

Task	Model	Why
Heartbeats / cron	`zai/glm-5`	Cheapest; reliable structured output
Calendar / scheduling	`moonshot/kimi-k2.5`	Community #1 for date/time reasoning
Coding / refactoring	`anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5` or `openai-codex/gpt-5.4`	Sonnet: community #1 for code quality; Codex: flat-rate via subscription
Agent orchestration	`anthropic/claude-opus-4-6`	Best multi-step reasoning
Long-context tasks	`google/gemini-3-flash-preview` or `openai-codex/gpt-5.4`	Gemini: 1M token window; Codex 5.4: 1.05M tokens
Subscription-capped coding	`openai-codex/gpt-5.4`	Fixed cost via ChatGPT Plus/Pro; no per-token billing
Privacy-sensitive	`venice/kimi-k2-5` or Ollama	Never logged/stored
Ultra-cheap batch	`google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview`	Minimal cost; good for lightweight cron/heartbeat

Key rules:

Never switch models mid-conversation — destroys Anthropic prompt cache
Use anthropic direct (not through proxies) to preserve caching for Opus/Sonnet
Switch only at session boundaries (/new)

Built-in Model Aliases (v2026.3.7+)

Alias	Resolves To
`opus`	`anthropic/claude-opus-4-6`
`sonnet`	`anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6`
`gpt`	`openai/gpt-5.4`
`gpt-mini`	`openai/gpt-5-mini`
`gemini`	`google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview`
`gemini-flash`	`google/gemini-3-flash-preview`
`gemini-flash-lite`	`google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview`

Thinking Levels (v2026.3.1+)

Level	Behavior	Best For
`off`	No extended thinking	Simple queries, heartbeats
`minimal`	Light reasoning (~1.1s)	Routine tasks; community tip: set as default to halve latency
`low`	Standard reasoning	Default for non-Claude-4.6 reasoning models
`medium` / `high`	Deeper reasoning	Complex tasks
`xhigh`	"Ultrathink+"	GPT-5.2 + Codex models only
`adaptive`	Provider-managed	Default for Claude 4.6 — auto-scales reasoning to task complexity

bash

openclaw config set agents.defaults.thinkingDefault adaptive    # recommended for Claude 4.6
openclaw config set agents.defaults.thinkingDefault minimal     # cost-saver for routine workloads

In-chat: /think low · /think adaptive · /think off

Per-Agent Config

bash

openclaw models set anthropic/claude-opus-4-6           # set global primary
openclaw config set agents.defaults.model.primary anthropic/claude-opus-4-6
openclaw models fallbacks add openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5

json5

{
  agents: {
    list: [
      { id: "main", model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6", heartbeat: { every: "30m" } },
      { id: "ops",  model: { primary: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5", fallbacks: ["zai/glm-5"] },
        tools: { profile: "minimal" } },
    ],
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6", fallbacks: ["minimax/MiniMax-M2.5-highspeed"] },
      thinkingDefault: "adaptive",
      timeoutSeconds: 600,
      contextTokens: 200000,
      maxConcurrent: 3,
      params: { cacheRetention: "long" },
    },
  },
}

In-chat model switch (no restart): /model list → /model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5

Session Pruning (v2026.3.1+)

Automatically trims stale tool results from conversation history to preserve cache and reclaim context:

json5

{
  agents: { defaults: { contextPruning: {
    mode: "cache-ttl",        // "off" (default) | "cache-ttl"
    ttl: "5m",
    keepLastAssistants: 3,
    softTrim: { maxChars: 4000, headChars: 1500, tailChars: 1500 },
    hardClear: { enabled: true },
  } } },
}

Anthropic smart defaults auto-enable cache-ttl pruning when using API key auth with heartbeat enabled.

3. Context Management

What burns tokens: System prompt (5–10K tokens/call) + bootstrap files + conversation history. Bootstrap files injected on every turn (source: docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/system-prompt): AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md, IDENTITY.md, USER.md, HEARTBEAT.md, BOOTSTRAP.md (first-run only), plus MEMORY.md and/or memory.md when present. Daily memory/*.md files are NOT auto-injected (on-demand via memory tools). Bootstrap cap: 150K chars total, 20K per file (both configurable).

MEMORY.md warning (from docs): "Keep them concise — especially MEMORY.md, which can grow over time and lead to unexpectedly high context usage and more frequent compaction." MEMORY.md is the most common source of bootstrap bloat. Unlike AGENTS.md or SOUL.md which users actively edit, MEMORY.md tends to grow unchecked as the agent appends to it.

Check context: /status · /context list · /context detail · /usage tokens · /usage cost

Prompt Modes

Mode	Bootstrap Files Loaded	Use Case
`full` (default)	All — AGENTS, SOUL, TOOLS, IDENTITY, USER, HEARTBEAT, MEMORY	Main interactive sessions
`minimal` (sub-agents)	AGENTS.md + TOOLS.md only	Sub-agent spawns — no SOUL, IDENTITY, USER, HEARTBEAT, MEMORY
`none`	Base identity line only	Bare-minimum sessions

Light Bootstrap (v2026.3.1+)

Skip all workspace bootstrap files for automated runs:

bash

openclaw cron add --light-context --cron "*/30 * * * *" --message "Quick check"

json5

{
  agents: { defaults: { heartbeat: {
    lightContext: true,     // only loads HEARTBEAT.md, skips all other bootstrap files
  } } },
}

Massive token savings for heartbeats and cron — eliminates 5-10K tokens/call of bootstrap overhead.

Bootstrap Truncation Warning (v2026.3.7+)

bash

openclaw config set agents.defaults.bootstrapPromptTruncationWarning once   # off | once | always

When a bootstrap file exceeds bootstrapMaxChars (default 20K), the agent receives a warning. Set to always during identity audits to catch truncated files.

Compaction Config

bash

# Manual: /compact [focus instructions]
# Auto: triggers near context limit — count visible in /status

openclaw config set agents.defaults.compaction.mode safeguard
openclaw config set agents.defaults.compaction.reserveTokensFloor 32000
openclaw config set agents.defaults.contextTokens 100000
openclaw config set agents.defaults.compaction.model google/gemini-3-flash-preview   # cheaper compaction (v2026.3.7+)
openclaw config set agents.defaults.compaction.recentTurnsPreserve 4                 # quality-guard (v2026.3.7+)

json5

{
  agents: { defaults: { compaction: {
    mode: "safeguard",
    model: "google/gemini-3-flash-preview",    // route compaction through a cheaper model
    reserveTokensFloor: 32000,
    recentTurnsPreserve: 4,                    // keep last N turns intact during compaction
    postCompactionSections: ["Session Startup", "Red Lines"],  // AGENTS.md sections re-injected after compaction
    memoryFlush: {
      enabled: true,
      prompt: "Write lasting notes to memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md; reply NO_REPLY if nothing to store.",
    },
  }, contextTokens: 100000 } },
}

Known bug — memory flush threshold gap (Issue #25880): Set reserveTokensFloor equal to reserveTokens (both 62500) to fix compaction firing before flush completes.

Known bug — compaction timeout (Issue #38233): Both /compact and auto compaction can timeout at ~300s with openai-codex/gpt-5.3-codex, freezing the session. Fix: override compaction model to google/gemini-3-flash-preview with thinking: "off". Tune: maxHistoryShare: 0.6, reserveTokensFloor: 40000, maxAttempts: 3.

Context Engine Plugin (v2026.3.7+)

Replace the built-in context assembly pipeline with a custom plugin:

json5

{
  plugins: { slots: { contextEngine: "lossless-claw" } },   // default: "legacy" (built-in)
}

Context Engine plugins get full lifecycle hooks: bootstrap, ingest, assemble, compact, afterTurn, prepareSubagentSpawn, onSubagentEnded. This enables alternative context management strategies (lossless context, semantic chunking, etc.) without modifying OpenClaw core.

Bootstrap File Size Targets (optimization recommendations)

These are optimization targets for keeping context lean, not hard limits. All files are subject to bootstrapMaxChars (default 20K) and bootstrapTotalMaxChars (default 150K).

File	Target Size	Purpose	Injected?
`SOUL.md`	< 1K tokens (~4K chars)	Personality + absolute constraints	Always (main + full prompt mode)
`AGENTS.md`	< 2K tokens (~8K chars)	Workflows, rules, operating procedures	Always (main + sub-agents)
`TOOLS.md`	< 2K tokens (~8K chars)	Tool-specific notes, local conventions	Always (main + sub-agents)
`IDENTITY.md`	< 500 tokens (~2K chars)	Name, vibe, emoji, presentation	Always (main only)
`USER.md`	< 1K tokens (~4K chars)	User profile, preferences, context	Always (main only)
`HEARTBEAT.md`	< 200 tokens (~800 chars)	Heartbeat checklist (keep minimal)	Always (main only); skipped with `lightContext`
`MEMORY.md`	< 5K tokens (~20K chars)	Curated long-term facts ONLY	Always in main sessions (auto-injected when present)

Critical: MEMORY.md is auto-injected on every turn in main sessions, NOT loaded on-demand. It burns tokens continuously. Keep it as small as possible with only curated facts. Operational protocols belong in AGENTS.md. Tool notes belong in TOOLS.md.

Bootstrap Content Placement (What Goes Where)

Users commonly dump all content into SOUL.md because it feels like "who the agent is." This bloats the file (burns tokens every turn) and confuses lighter models that can't prioritize across a noisy instruction set. Place content in the correct file:

Content Type	Correct File	Common Mistake
Personality, voice, humor, constraints	SOUL.md	-
Protocols, workflows, checklists, operational rules	AGENTS.md	Dumping in SOUL.md
User bio, preferences, working hours, communication style	USER.md	Duplicating in SOUL.md
Tool configs, API templates, channel IDs, env vars	TOOLS.md	Scattering in AGENTS.md
Curated long-term facts (lean)	MEMORY.md	Growing unchecked
Proactivity rules, initiative behavior	AGENTS.md	Putting in SOUL.md

Cross-file duplication burns tokens silently. If the same protocol appears in both SOUL.md and AGENTS.md, it's injected twice on every turn. Deduplicate aggressively — pick one canonical location.

Stale model references are silent saboteurs. When you change models via CLI (openclaw models set), update any AGENTS.md sections that reference specific model names (e.g., Model Selection, Sub-Agent defaults). The agent follows bootstrap instructions and may try to use models that are no longer configured.

Persistence stack: SOUL.md → AGENTS.md → TOOLS.md → IDENTITY.md → USER.md → MEMORY.md (all auto-injected in main sessions) → memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md (on-demand via memory tools) → conversation-state.md → ACTIVE-TASK.md

Session Maintenance

bash

openclaw config set session.maintenance.mode enforce
openclaw config set session.maintenance.maxDiskBytes 500mb
openclaw sessions cleanup --dry-run      # preview
openclaw sessions cleanup --enforce     # apply
openclaw sessions cleanup --fix-missing # prune store entries whose transcript files are missing (v2026.2.26+)

4. Cron & Automation

Cron Job Schema (key fields)

json

{
  "jobId": "daily-brief", "name": "Morning Briefing", "enabled": true,
  "agentId": "main",
  "schedule": { "kind": "cron", "expr": "0 8 * * *", "tz": "America/New_York" },
  "sessionTarget": "isolated",
  "payload": { "kind": "agentTurn", "message": "Morning briefing.", "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5", "timeoutSeconds": 300 },
  "delivery": { "mode": "announce", "channel": "telegram", "to": "<user-id>" },
  "lightContext": true
}

sessionTarget: "isolated" (recommended — fresh session) | "main" (injects as systemEvent) payload.kind: "agentTurn" (isolated) | "systemEvent" (main session) delivery.mode: "announce" | "webhook" | "none" lightContext: true skips all workspace bootstrap files — massive token savings for automated runs (v2026.3.1+)

CLI

bash

openclaw cron add --cron "0 9 * * *" --message "Daily report" --agent main --announce --channel slack --to "channel:CXXX"
openclaw cron add --cron "0 9 * * *" --message "Quick check" --light-context   # skip bootstrap files
openclaw cron add --at "2026-03-01T08:00:00" --message "One-time task" --keep-after-run
openclaw cron add --cron "0 9 * * *" --exact                                   # no stagger jitter
openclaw cron run <job-id>          # test immediately (--force bypasses not-due)
openclaw cron list / status / runs
openclaw cron edit <job-id> [flags] # patch fields: --cron, --message, --model, --name, --tz, etc.
openclaw cron enable/disable <job-id>
openclaw cron rm <job-id>
openclaw config set cron.sessionRetention 24h
openclaw config set cron.maxConcurrentRuns 1   # circuit breaker

Cron Defer-While-Active (v2026.3.7+)

Skip main-session cron jobs when the user is actively chatting:

bash

openclaw config set cron.deferWhileActive.quietMs 300000   # defer if user active within last 5 minutes

Prevents cron jobs from interrupting active conversations. Only affects sessionTarget: "main" jobs; isolated jobs always run.

Cron Restart Staggering (v2026.3.8+)

On gateway startup, missed cron jobs are staggered to prevent gateway starvation. Top-of-hour cron expressions get up to 5 minutes of deterministic stagger. Use --exact or schedule.staggerMs: 0 to disable.

Silent Patterns

NO_REPLY — agent outputs this literal string when nothing to report; system suppresses delivery entirely. HEARTBEAT_OK — heartbeat token; reply ≤300 chars after stripping it → silently dropped.

json5

{
  agents: { defaults: { heartbeat: {
    every: "30m",
    target: "last",
    ackMaxChars: 300,
    directPolicy: "allow",
    lightContext: false,        // set true to skip bootstrap files (v2026.3.1+)
    activeHours: { start: "08:00", end: "22:00", timezone: "America/New_York" },
  } } },
}

v2026.2.25 BREAKING: The heartbeat DM toggle was replaced with directPolicy. Default is now allow. If you had DMs blocked in v2026.2.24, explicitly set agents.defaults.heartbeat.directPolicy: "block" (or per-agent via agents.list[].heartbeat.directPolicy).

Cost trap: 5-minute heartbeat loading full MEMORY.md = ~2.9M tokens/day. Keep heartbeat context minimal — use lightContext: true or extend intervals.

Redundant cron jobs: The built-in openclaw memory indexes sessions natively. Custom session archiver cron jobs that convert .jsonl to markdown for a separate RAG database are likely redundant. Check whether any cron job feeds a custom system that duplicates built-in functionality before assuming it's needed.

Known bugs: Cron current-day skip (Issue #25902) — restart the gateway with launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/ai.openclaw.gateway to recompute (do NOT use openclaw gateway restart — it causes duplicate processes; see Section 10). Cron announce → Telegram failure (Issue #25906) — switch to directMessage mode.

v2026.2.25 fixes: Cron model override failures now auto-recover — if an isolated job's payload.model is no longer allowlisted, it gracefully falls back to the default model instead of failing the job. Cron announce duplicate sends are also fixed (duplicate guard tracks attempted vs confirmed delivery). Multi-account cron routing now properly honors delivery.accountId.

5. Skills & Plugins

metadata.openclaw.requires — gates skill visibility:

yaml

metadata:
  openclaw:
    requires:
      bins: ["ffmpeg"]          # ALL must exist on PATH
      anyBins: ["gh", "hub"]    # AT LEAST ONE must exist
      env: ["GITHUB_TOKEN"]     # env vars that must be set
      config: ["browser.enabled"]
    os: ["darwin", "linux"]

disable-model-invocation: true — removes skill from model's tool list; user can still invoke manually. Use for high-impact or security-sensitive skills.

Skills directory: ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ — this is the filesystem path where all skills are stored. Each skill lives in its own subdirectory (e.g., ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md). When manually installing or copying skills, always use this path — not ~/.openclaw/skills/.

ClawHub:

bash

npx clawhub install <slug>       # install
clawhub update --all             # update all
openclaw skills list --eligible  # what's loaded
openclaw skills check            # validate requirements

Security: Before installing any skill, read its SKILL.md manually. Community scans found 341+ malicious skills (reverse shells, credential exfiltration, Atomic Stealer, crypto miners). New accounts with popular skills = red flag. The #1 most-downloaded ClawHub skill was confirmed malware.

Session watcher: Skills snapshot at session start. If skills.load.watch is disabled, start a new session after installing.

Plugin Slots (v2026.3.7+)

json5

{
  plugins: {
    slots: {
      contextEngine: "legacy",       // or custom plugin id (e.g., "lossless-claw")
      memory: "memory-core",         // or "none" to disable memory entirely
    },
    entries: {
      "<plugin-id>": {
        enabled: true,
        hooks: { allowPromptInjection: false },   // block plugin from mutating system prompt
      },
    },
  },
}

6. Multi-Agent & Sub-Agent Architecture

bash

/subagents spawn ops "Audit logs from last 24h"   # via chat

json5

// sessions_spawn tool (programmatic)
{ "task": "Audit logs", "agentId": "ops", "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5",
  "thinking": "low", "runTimeoutSeconds": 300, "mode": "minimal",
  "attachments": ["/path/to/file.md"] }   // inline file attachments (v2026.3.2+)

json5

// Nesting config
{ agents: { defaults: { subagents: {
  maxSpawnDepth: 2,    // 0=off; 1=spawn; 2=orchestrator
  maxConcurrency: 8,
  maxChildrenPerAgent: 5,
  model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5",   // default model for spawned sub-agents
  runTimeoutSeconds: 900,
} } } }

Community pattern: Orchestrator (opus-4-6) → Code sub-agent (sonnet-4-5) → Research sub-agent (kimi-k2.5) → Cron/monitoring (zai/glm-5, isolated)

Community insight — single agent with skills beats multiple agents for most use cases. Multiple agent instances multiply context costs (each agent loads its own bootstrap). Use one agent with good skills instead, and only split into multiple agents when you need genuinely different identity/personality/permissions (e.g., a public-facing agent vs an ops agent).

Sandbox isolation:

json5

{ agents: { list: [{ id: "untrusted", sandbox: { mode: "docker" },
  tools: { profile: "minimal", deny: ["exec", "browser"] } }] } }

ACP Dispatch (v2026.3.2+)

Agent Client Protocol enables OpenClaw to spawn external coding harnesses (Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, OpenCode) as sub-agents:

json5

{
  acp: {
    enabled: true,
    dispatch: { enabled: true },     // default true since v2026.3.2
    defaultAgent: "codex",
    allowedAgents: ["claude", "codex", "opencode", "gemini", "kimi"],
    maxConcurrentSessions: 8,
  },
}

In-chat: /acp spawn · /acp status · /acp steer <message> · /acp close

7. High-ROI Optimization Levers

Lever	Impact	How
Tiered model routing	50–95% cost reduction	T1 for cron/heartbeat, T4 only for orchestration
Prompt caching	60–90% input token reduction	Keep system prompt stable; use `anthropic` direct
Bootstrap file discipline	2K–10K tokens/call saved	SOUL.md <1K, AGENTS.md <2K, MEMORY.md <5K
Light bootstrap for cron/heartbeat	5-10K tokens/call saved	`lightContext: true` on heartbeat; `--light-context` on cron
Adaptive thinking	Auto-scales token use	`thinkingDefault: adaptive` for Claude 4.6; `minimal` for routine
Session pruning	Reclaims stale context	`contextPruning.mode: cache-ttl` with Anthropic
Silent cron (NO_REPLY)	Eliminates delivery tokens	Instruct: "Reply NO_REPLY if nothing actionable"
Compaction tuning	Prevents overflow disasters	`safeguard` mode, `reserveTokensFloor: 32000`
Cheaper compaction model	Reduces compaction cost	Route compaction through `gemini-3-flash-preview`
Session maintenance	Prevents disk/perf degradation	`mode: enforce`, `maxDiskBytes: 500mb`
Batch heartbeat checks	10x fewer API calls	One heartbeat for 10 checks > 10 cron jobs
Isolated cron sessions	Zero context contamination	`sessionTarget: "isolated"` on all cron jobs
Single agent with skills	Up to 80% cost reduction	One agent + skills beats multiple agent instances
Gateway security	Prevents exposure	`gateway.bind: loopback`; Tailscale for remote
Never switch mid-session	Preserves prompt cache	Only switch model at `/new` boundaries
Backup before upgrades	Pre-change safety net	`openclaw backup create` before `openclaw update`

8. CLI Reference

Best practice (v2026.2.25+): Before editing config or asking config-field questions, have the agent call the config.schema tool in-chat. This returns the current schema with valid keys, types, and defaults — avoids guessing or using stale field names. Note: this is an agent in-chat tool, NOT a CLI command.

Most common commands:

bash

openclaw doctor --fix               # auto-fix config issues
openclaw gateway status             # check runtime + RPC probe
openclaw models set <provider/model>
openclaw models status --probe
openclaw cron run <job-id>          # test a cron job immediately
openclaw sessions cleanup --dry-run
openclaw sessions cleanup --fix-missing  # prune entries with missing transcripts (v2026.2.26+)
openclaw config validate [--json]        # validate config against schema (v2026.3.2+)
openclaw config file                     # print active config file path (v2026.3.1+)
openclaw backup create [--only-config]   # local state archive (v2026.3.8+)
openclaw backup verify                   # validate backup integrity (v2026.3.8+)
openclaw update
openclaw security audit             # post-upgrade check
openclaw secrets audit              # scan bootstrap files for hardcoded secrets (v2026.2.26+)
openclaw secrets configure          # configure external secrets (v2026.2.26+)
openclaw secrets apply              # apply secrets with strict target-path validation (v2026.2.26+)
openclaw agents bindings            # list account-scoped agent route bindings (v2026.2.26+)
openclaw agents bind                # bind agent to channel account (v2026.2.26+)
openclaw agents unbind              # unbind agent from channel account (v2026.2.26+)

openclaw onboard --reset scope change (v2026.2.26): Default reset scope is now config+creds+sessions. Workspace deletion (bootstrap files, skills, memory) now requires --reset-scope full. Do NOT run openclaw onboard --reset without specifying --reset-scope explicitly — the default no longer wipes the workspace.

In-Chat Commands (v2026.3.x)

text

/session idle <duration>          manage thread inactivity auto-unfocus
/session max-age <duration>       manage hard max-age for thread bindings
/usage cost                       local cost summary from session logs
/usage tokens                     show per-reply token usage
/export-session [path]            export current session to HTML (/export alias)
/steer <message>                  steer a running sub-agent immediately (/tell alias)
/kill <subagent|all>              abort one or all running sub-agents
/think <level>                    off | minimal | low | medium | high | xhigh | adaptive
/model <provider/model>           switch model without restart
/compact [instructions]           manual compaction with optional focus
/context detail                   per-file, per-tool, per-skill token breakdown
/acp spawn|status|steer|close     ACP session control
/check-updates                    quick update summary

Environment Variables (v2026.3.x)

bash

OPENCLAW_LOG_LEVEL=<level>         # override log level: silent|fatal|error|warn|info|debug|trace
OPENCLAW_DIAGNOSTICS=<pattern>     # targeted debug logs (e.g., "telegram.*" or "*" for all)
OPENCLAW_SHELL=<runtime>           # set across shell-like runtimes (exec, acp, tui-local)
OPENCLAW_THEME=light|dark          # TUI theme override (v2026.3.8+)

Gateway restart (macOS LaunchAgent):

bash

# SAFE restart — single atomic operation, no duplicate processes
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/ai.openclaw.gateway

# DO NOT use `openclaw gateway restart` — it races with KeepAlive and spawns
# duplicate processes that loop "Port already in use" every ~10s at 100%+ CPU.

# Recovery if duplicates already exist:
launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u)/ai.openclaw.gateway    # stop launchd service + kill managed process
kill <any-remaining-pids>                              # kill orphans
launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist  # re-register + start clean

Full CLI reference (all commands, flags, in-chat commands): Read references/cli-reference.md

9. Ops Hygiene Checklist

Daily:

openclaw health --json via cron (→ HEARTBEAT_OK if clean)
clawhub whoami to verify ClawHub auth
Token budget check (cost-sensitive providers)

Weekly:

openclaw update --dry-run → review → openclaw update
clawhub update --all --dry-run → review → clawhub update --all
Curate MEMORY.md — archive old daily logs, promote key insights
openclaw sessions cleanup --dry-run → openclaw sessions cleanup
openclaw cron status — check for errors
Clean stale backup files: find ~/.openclaw -name "*.bak.*" -mtime +7 -not -name "*.bak" | xargs rm -v (preserves CLI's rolling .bak files, removes old named/dated backups)

Quarterly:

Review custom scripts (scripts/) for redundancy with built-in OpenClaw features. Users often build custom solutions (RAG pipelines, session archivers, memory indexers) that become redundant when OpenClaw adds equivalent built-in functionality. Check whether each script and its associated cron job still serves a purpose that the platform doesn't already handle.

Before/After Updates:

Before update: openclaw backup create (pre-change safety net — v2026.3.8+)
After update: openclaw doctor --fix (handles config migrations automatically)
After update: openclaw config validate --json (catch fail-closed config errors — v2026.3.2+)
v2026.2.23 breaking change: allowPrivateNetwork → dangerouslyAllowPrivateNetwork — auto-fixed by doctor
Manual backup only needed for major upgrades or multi-file restructuring (see Backup Strategy above)

v2026.3.x Breaking Changes:

gateway.auth.mode required (v2026.3.7): When both gateway.auth.token AND gateway.auth.password are configured, you must set gateway.auth.mode to "token" or "password". Gateway will not start without this.
tools.profile defaults to "messaging" (v2026.3.2): New installs no longer start with coding/system tools. Existing installs are unaffected.
ACP dispatch defaults to enabled (v2026.3.2): Set acp.dispatch.enabled: false to disable.
Config fail-closed (v2026.3.2+): Invalid configs cause gateway startup failure instead of silently falling back to permissive defaults.
Node.js v22.12+ enforced: Attempting to run on Node 18/20 causes immediate failure.

On Every System Assessment (mandatory data collection):

openclaw cron list + read ~/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json — capture full cron inventory: job IDs, names, schedules, model overrides (from payload.model), status, last run times
Flag any jobs in error state — these are active problems
Flag jobs with stale last-run times (>24h for daily jobs) — may indicate silent failures
Check timezone consistency — jobs using (exact) instead of named timezones may fire at wrong times
Record whether jobs use isolated or main session target
Map cron schedule to day/night distribution — heavy jobs should cluster overnight
Document all findings in the system profile's ## Cron Jobs section before making recommendations
Without this data, recommendations will duplicate existing automation and waste time

Security:

openclaw config get gateway.bind → must be loopback
No public port exposure — use Tailscale for remote
API keys not in skill files or version control
Audit ClawHub skills before installing — 341+ malicious skills confirmed
CVE-2026-25253 (ClawJacked): WebSocket authentication bypass allowing one-click RCE. 42,000+ exposed instances. Patched in v2026.1.29+. Verify you are on v2026.2.26+ minimum.
openclaw security audit --deep for live Gateway probe

10. Troubleshooting

Log file paths (macOS):

Error log: ~/.openclaw/logs/gateway.err.log — primary source for errors, 502s, plugin failures, tool errors
Main log: /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-YYYY-MM-DD.log — verbose debug output (lane events, session activity)

Always check gateway.err.log first when troubleshooting — it contains only errors and warnings, making root cause identification much faster than grepping the main log.

First — always run this triage sequence:

bash

openclaw status
openclaw gateway status            # must show "Runtime: running" + "RPC probe: ok"
openclaw doctor
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw config validate --json    # catch config errors before restart (v2026.3.2+)
tail -50 ~/.openclaw/logs/gateway.err.log | grep -v DEP0040   # skip Node deprecation noise

Quick fix by symptom:

Symptom	First Command	Most Likely Fix
No response from agent	`openclaw gateway status`	Gateway not running or pairing pending
Gateway won't start	`openclaw logs --follow`	`EADDRINUSE` or `gateway.mode` not set to `local`
"Port already in use" loop	`ps aux \| grep openclaw-gateway`	Duplicate processes from CLI restart vs LaunchAgent `KeepAlive`. Fix: `launchctl bootout` → kill orphans → `launchctl bootstrap` (see Section 8)
"Gateway start blocked: set gateway.auth.mode"	`openclaw config get gateway.auth`	Both token and password set but `gateway.auth.mode` missing. Fix: `openclaw config set gateway.auth.mode token` (v2026.3.7 breaking change)
"unauthorized" on Control UI	`launchctl getenv OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN`	Remove stale launchctl env override
Config file wiped on restart	Back up config first	Known bug #40410 — gateway restart can wipe `openclaw.json`. Use `openclaw backup create` before restarts.
Cron job never fires	`openclaw cron status`	Cron disabled or timezone mismatch
Heartbeat always skipped	`openclaw config get agents.defaults.heartbeat.activeHours`	Wrong timezone, outside active hours, or `directPolicy` set to `block` (v2026.2.25 changed default to `allow`)
Cron job fails with "model not allowlisted"	`openclaw cron status`	v2026.2.25+ auto-recovers by falling back to default model. On older versions: update `payload.model` in the job or re-add the model to the allowlist.
Channel message dropped	`openclaw logs --follow`	Mention required or sender not paired
"RPC probe: failed"	`openclaw gateway status --deep`	Auth token mismatch or port conflict
Post-upgrade breakage	`openclaw doctor --fix`	Automatic config migration
Provider 401 errors	`openclaw models status --probe`	Token expired or wrong key type
Chrome browser won't start (Linux)	`openclaw browser status`	Snap Chromium conflict → install Google Chrome .deb
Silent tool execution failure	Check model	Known bug #40069 — agent claims tool use but no calls made. Confirmed with `kimi-coding/k2p5`. Switch model.
Compaction freezes session	Override compaction model	Known bug #38233 — `/compact` times out at ~300s with Codex models. Use `compaction.model: google/gemini-3-flash-preview`
Ollama stuck "typing" forever	Switch to non-Ollama model	Known bug #40434 — local Ollama models stuck via Telegram
Fallback doesn't escalate on outage	Test fallback chain	Known bug #32533 — retries auth profiles instead of escalating to fallback providers
ALL providers timeout simultaneously	`grep "delivery-recovery" gateway.err.log`	Not a provider issue. Two common causes: (A) Context bloat — `contextTokens` unset (unlimited), payload too large for any provider to process within `timeoutSeconds`. Fix: set `contextTokens: 100000`, `timeoutSeconds: 180`, `reserveTokensFloor: 32000`. See Section 10d. (B) Event loop overload — stuck delivery-queue, skills-remote probes, Gemini OAuth cycling, too many concurrent sessions. Fix: clear delivery queue, set `cron.maxConcurrentRuns: 1`. See Section 10b.
Delivery recovery loop ("21 entries deferred")	`ls ~/.openclaw/delivery-queue/`	Stuck entries (wrong channel, message too long) retry forever on every restart. Move to `~/.openclaw/delivery-queue/failed/` to stop the loop.
Ollama "fetch failed" (instant, ~100ms)	Check gateway err log for `Failed to discover Ollama models`	Known bug: OpenClaw hardcodes `127.0.0.1:11434` for Ollama discovery (Issue #8663). On macOS, LaunchAgent processes are sandboxed and can't reach private LAN IPs like `192.168.x.x` (Issue #21494). Fix: reverse SSH tunnel from Ollama machine to gateway (`ssh -fN -R 127.0.0.1:11434:127.0.0.1:11434 user@gateway`), set `baseUrl` to `http://127.0.0.1:11434`, add `OLLAMA_HOST` and `OLLAMA_API_KEY` to LaunchAgent env. See Section 10a below.
Ollama "Connection error"	Same as above	Same root cause. Switching `api` from `ollama` to `openai-completions` changes the error message but doesn't fix it — the sandbox blocks all LAN connections.
Ollama probes spike memory	`curl http://host:11434/api/ps`	Set `OLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVE=0` on the Ollama machine so models unload immediately after probes. No OpenClaw config to disable probes per-provider.
Gemini CLI "API rate limit reached"	`openclaw logs \| grep rate`	Google OAuth crackdown (Feb 2026). Switch to API key auth. See Section 1 warning.
Provider removal didn't stop probes	Check all 6 locations in Provider Removal Checklist	Stale auth-profiles.json, launchctl env, or plist env vars. See Section 1.
`config unset` fails on auth profile keys	Edit JSON directly	Colons in keys break the config path parser. Use python3/jq.
`models status --probe` mass timeouts	Test individual providers with `curl`	Probe contention — 16+ simultaneous targets saturate the event loop. Not real failures.

10a. Remote Ollama on macOS (Known Bug Workaround)

Problem: OpenClaw on macOS cannot connect to a remote Ollama server on the LAN. curl works, but the gateway process fails with "fetch failed" or "Connection error." This affects all API modes (ollama and openai-completions).

Root causes (two bugs stacking):

Hardcoded localhost discovery (Issue #8663): OpenClaw always probes 127.0.0.1:11434 for Ollama, ignoring baseUrl.
macOS LaunchAgent sandbox (Issue #21494): The gateway process running under launchd gets EHOSTUNREACH for private network IPs (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x).

Fix — reverse SSH tunnel:

bash

# Run on the Ollama machine (not the gateway):
ssh -fN -R 127.0.0.1:11434:127.0.0.1:11434 user@gateway-host

# On the gateway:
openclaw config set models.providers.<ollama-slug>.baseUrl 'http://127.0.0.1:11434'
openclaw config set models.providers.<ollama-slug>.api ollama

Add to the gateway's LaunchAgent plist:

xml

<key>OLLAMA_HOST</key>
<string>http://127.0.0.1:11434</string>
<key>OLLAMA_API_KEY</key>
<string>ollama</string>

Important: Kill any local Ollama on the gateway first — it will conflict with the tunnel on port 11434. Make the tunnel persistent with a LaunchAgent on the Ollama machine.

10b. Multi-Provider Timeout Storms (Event Loop Overload)

Symptom: ALL providers (Kimi, KiloCode, Google, Anthropic, etc.) timeout simultaneously within a 30-90 minute window, even though they are independent services. FailoverError: LLM request timed out. on every model in the fallback chain. May cause gateway crash/restart.

Root cause: The gateway's Node.js event loop is saturated by a pile-up of concurrent operations. Outbound HTTPS responses arrive, but the process can't process them before its own timeout timer fires. The providers are NOT down — the gateway can't handle the responses.

Common overload contributors (check all of these):

Stuck delivery-recovery queue — Files in ~/.openclaw/delivery-queue/ that will never succeed (wrong channel, message too long) retry on every restart and periodically. Each retry burns event loop time.
- Diagnose: ls ~/.openclaw/delivery-queue/*.json | wc -l and grep "delivery-recovery" gateway.err.log | tail -20
- Fix: mv ~/.openclaw/delivery-queue/*.json ~/.openclaw/delivery-queue/failed/
Skills-remote bin probes to offline nodes — Gateway probes paired nodes for skill binary requirements. If nodes don't have the node service running, each probe hangs until timeout.
- Diagnose: grep "skills-remote.*timed out" gateway.err.log | wc -l
- Fix: Remove offline nodes from paired devices, or ensure nodes have the node service running.
Google Gemini CLI OAuth account cycling — If the agent switches to Gemini CLI in-session, it cycles through OAuth accounts. Each expired/slow account hangs for 90 seconds. 6 accounts = up to 540s of hung connections.
- Diagnose: grep "google-gemini-cli.*timed out" gateway.err.log | tail -10
- Fix: Ensure OAuth tokens are fresh, or use the google (API key) provider instead of google-gemini-cli for fallbacks.
No cron concurrency limit — Multiple cron jobs firing simultaneously all compete for the same event loop and hit the same provider chain, creating a thundering herd.
- Fix: openclaw config set cron.maxConcurrentRuns 1
Proxy providers as early fallbacks — KiloCode is a proxy. When it degrades, ALL models through it fail simultaneously (appears as multiple independent failures but is one SPOF). Put direct-API providers (Anthropic, Google API key) before proxies in the fallback chain.

Recovery: After fixing underlying causes, restart gateway: launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/ai.openclaw.gateway

10c. `launchctl setenv` Persistence (macOS)

Problem: Removing an env var from the LaunchAgent plist does NOT remove it from the launchd session environment. The gateway process still sees the old value after a kickstart -k restart.

Root cause: launchctl setenv sets variables at the launchd domain level, independent of any plist. These persist until the user logs out or they are explicitly unset. kickstart -k re-reads the plist for ProgramArguments and EnvironmentVariables, but the domain-level env set by setenv takes precedence.

Fix:

bash

# 1. Remove from plist
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c 'Delete :EnvironmentVariables:<KEY>' ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

# 2. Remove from launchd session
launchctl unsetenv <KEY>

# 3. Full service re-register (not just kickstart)
launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u)/ai.openclaw.gateway
launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

Key lesson: Always clean both plist AND launchctl unsetenv when removing provider env vars. Use launchctl getenv <KEY> to verify removal. If the command returns output (even empty), the var is still set. "Not set" means launchctl getenv exits with an error.

10d. Context Bloat Cascade Timeouts

Symptom: ALL providers in the fallback chain timeout simultaneously on the same request. The same runId appears across multiple providers in 90-second intervals. Looks like a massive outage but providers are actually fine.

Pattern in logs:

text

14:17:24 Profile openai-codex:default timed out. Trying next account...
14:18:54 Profile kimi-coding:default timed out. Trying next account...
14:20:25 [diagnostic] lane task error ... FailoverError: LLM request timed out.
14:21:55 Profile anthropic:manual timed out. Trying next account...

Root cause: contextTokens is unset (defaults to unlimited). The main session accumulates conversation history until the payload is so large that no provider can respond within timeoutSeconds. Each provider in the fallback chain gets the same oversized payload, times out, and passes to the next one — creating a cascade that takes timeoutSeconds × number_of_providers to fully fail.

The deadly trio:

Unlimited contextTokens — payload grows unchecked
Short timeoutSeconds (e.g., 90) — not enough time for large payloads
Long fallback chain (4-5 providers) — each one gets a full timeout cycle before failing

Fix — recommended baseline for any mixed-provider fallback chain:

bash

openclaw config set agents.defaults.contextTokens 100000
openclaw config set agents.defaults.timeoutSeconds 180
openclaw config set agents.defaults.compaction.reserveTokensFloor 32000
openclaw config set agents.defaults.compaction.mode safeguard

How this works together:

contextTokens: 100000 — caps context so all providers can handle it
Compaction triggers at ~68K tokens (100K minus 32K reserve)
Memory flush runs first (if enabled), then compaction compresses history
timeoutSeconds: 180 — gives providers 3 minutes per attempt (vs 90s)
The cap ensures every provider in the chain can respond in time

Tradeoff: Models with large context windows (Gemini: 1M, GPT-5.4: 1.05M) are capped at 100K. This is intentional — the cap must match the weakest provider in the fallback chain. For dedicated large-context sessions, temporarily increase contextTokens.

Full troubleshooting reference (7 failure categories, per-channel error tables, node error codes, GitHub issue workarounds): Read references/troubleshooting.md

11. System Learning

This skill maintains system profiles — persistent knowledge files that capture everything learned about specific OpenClaw deployments. Each deployment gets a unique profile that grows over time, turning the skill into an expert on that particular system.

How It Works

Directory: ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/ — one profile per deployment, plus TEMPLATE.md for new deployments. This is a centralized location outside the skill directory so that: (1) system profiles are never accidentally pushed to git, (2) multiple AI tools (Claude Code, OpenClaw, Gemini CLI, etc.) on the same machine can read/write the same profiles without drift. Cross-machine sync is still manual via SCP.

Deployment ID: Each deployment has a unique slug (e.g., jbd-home, prod-cluster-east, dev-standalone).

Profile formats (two supported):

Directory format (preferred): ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>/ — directory containing INDEX.md (always-loaded summary, ~1-4K tokens) plus topic files loaded on-demand. Dramatically reduces session-start context cost.
Single-file format (legacy): ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>.md — monolith file containing everything. Still supported for backwards compatibility.

Topology types:

Type	Description
`gateway-only`	Single gateway, no remote nodes
`hub-spoke`	One gateway, one or more client nodes connecting to it
`multi-gateway`	Multiple gateways, nodes may connect to different ones
`mesh`	Nodes interconnected, multiple gateways with cross-routing

Session Workflow

First-run setup (once per machine):

Check if ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/ exists
If not: inform the user that this skill stores deployment profiles in ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/ (centralized, outside git, shared across AI tools), confirm they're OK with creating it, then: mkdir -p ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/ and copy TEMPLATE.md from the skill's systems/ directory into it
If the directory exists but is empty (no TEMPLATE.md): copy TEMPLATE.md from the skill's systems/ directory

At session start (identify the deployment):

Ask which deployment the user is working on, or identify it from context (SSH target, hostnames, IPs)
Check if ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>/ directory exists
If directory found: read INDEX.md only (~1-4K tokens). Use the File Manifest table at the bottom to load topic files on-demand during the session — do NOT read all files upfront.
If directory NOT found but <deployment-id>.md file exists: read the monolith (legacy mode). Consider migrating to directory format.
If neither found: create a new profile from ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/TEMPLATE.md during the session

On any system assessment or audit (mandatory — run before making recommendations):

openclaw cron list — capture full cron inventory: job IDs, names, schedules, status, last run times
openclaw config get agents.defaults.model — capture model routing (primary + fallbacks)
ls ~/.openclaw/delivery-queue/*.json 2>/dev/null | wc -l — check for stuck delivery entries
openclaw nodes list — check paired nodes and connection status
Flag any cron jobs in error state — these are active problems
Flag jobs with stale last-run times (>24h for daily jobs) — may indicate silent failures
Check timezone consistency — jobs using (exact) instead of named timezones may fire at wrong times
Document ALL findings in the system profile before making recommendations
Without this data, recommendations will duplicate existing automation and miss hidden drains.

During the session (on-demand file loading):

Reference INDEX.md for SSH access, IPs, routing, and cron status
When diagnosing any issue: read lessons.md FIRST (check if it's already solved), then the relevant topic file
When troubleshooting cron: read cron.md for full job IDs, schedules, and observations
When investigating providers/connectivity: read providers.md and/or topology.md
When checking channels/Telegram: read channels.md for group API IDs and mapping
When reviewing history: read issues/YYYY-MM.md for the relevant month
Apply lessons learned to avoid repeating mistakes

At session end (update the profile):

For directory-based profiles:

Update the specific topic file(s) that changed (e.g., routing.md if fallbacks were reordered)
Update INDEX.md only if summary-level data changed (new provider added/removed, routing swap, cron status change, machine added/removed)
Add new issues to issues/YYYY-MM.md (current month file, newest first) with: symptom, root cause, fix, rollback, lesson
Add new lessons to lessons.md (permanent, never archived)
Update the Last updated date in INDEX.md
Sync only changed files to the gateway: scp ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>/<changed-file> <user>@<host>:~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>/
Note: system profiles live in ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/, NOT in the skill directory. Do not commit them to git.

For legacy single-file profiles:

Add any new issues to the Issue Log (newest first) with: symptom, root cause, fix, rollback, lesson
Update Lessons Learned with new patterns discovered
Update machine details if anything changed (IPs, versions, config)
Update the Last updated date
Sync the profile to the gateway: scp ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>.md <user>@<host>:~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/

What Gets Captured

Topic	File (directory format)	Purpose
Machines, Network, Paired Devices	`topology.md`	Every machine: role, SSH, IPs, OS, paths, config. Tailnet, auth, connectivity. Device entries from paired.json.
Providers	`providers.md`	Active model providers with slugs, auth details, notes. Removed providers with context.
Model Routing	`routing.md`	Tiered routing table, fallback chain, heartbeat config
Channels, Delivery Queue	`channels.md`	Messaging channels, Telegram group mapping, stuck delivery entries
Cron Jobs	`cron.md`	Full inventory: job ID, name, schedule, model, status, observations
Issues	`issues/YYYY-MM.md`	Every problem encountered: symptom → root cause → fix → rollback → lesson
Lessons Learned	`lessons.md`	Accumulated patterns and gotchas specific to this deployment (permanent)
Summary	`INDEX.md`	Always-loaded overview with key tables and file manifest

Issue Lifecycle (directory format)

New issues go into issues/YYYY-MM.md (current month file, newest first)
After 14 days: full detail stays in the monthly file, a one-liner is added to issues/archive.md
Monthly files are never deleted — they're the permanent record
Lessons extracted from issues go to lessons.md (permanent, never archived)

Rules

Never store full secrets in profiles — use first 12 chars + ... for tokens, never store full API keys
Always read the profile before troubleshooting — don't rediscover what's already known
Always update the profile after fixes — future sessions depend on accurate knowledge
One profile per gateway — nodes are documented within the gateway's profile
Keep lessons actionable — not "TLS was broken" but "macOS app rejects ws:// for remote gateways — always use wss://"
Rely on built-in backup layers — don't create manual backups for routine changes. OpenClaw's CLI creates rolling .bak files on every config write, and the nightly GitHub backup cron captures the full config in git history. Manual dated backups (cp <file> <file>.YYYY-MM-DD-<reason>) are only needed for: (1) major version upgrades, (2) multi-file restructuring (identity audits), (3) direct JSON edits where the CLI isn't used. For routine CLI changes (model swaps, cron edits, config sets), the CLI .bak + GitHub nightly are sufficient. Clean up old manual backups after they're covered by the nightly backup.

12. Continuous Improvement

This skill is a living document. Every troubleshooting session, every CLI interaction, and every failure is an opportunity to make it more accurate. Future sessions must actively update the skill based on real-world experience.

When to Update SKILL.md

Trigger	Action
A CLI command in the skill doesn't work as documented	Fix the command, add a note about what changed
A troubleshooting step is missing or incomplete	Add it to Section 10's symptom table
A workaround is discovered that isn't documented	Add it to the relevant section
Advice in the skill caused a failure	Correct the advice and add a warning
A new `openclaw` flag or subcommand is discovered during use	Update Section 8 (CLI Reference)
A new known bug or GitHub issue is found	Add it to the relevant section with issue number
A config key is renamed, deprecated, or new	Update the relevant config examples

What to Update

Two targets — always update both when applicable:

SKILL.md — general knowledge that applies to ALL deployments (CLI commands, config patterns, troubleshooting steps, known bugs, process workflows)
System profile (systems/<deployment-id>.md) — deployment-specific knowledge (IPs, paths, credentials, topology, issue log, lessons learned)

How to Update

During the session: When you discover something new, update the relevant section immediately — don't wait until the end. Corrections to bad advice are urgent.
Be specific: Don't write "TLS can be tricky." Write "macOS app rejects ws:// for remote gateways — always use wss://. The ws:// scheme is only valid for loopback connections."
Include the why: Don't just say "use X instead of Y." Explain what goes wrong when you use Y.
Preserve what works: Only change what's actually wrong. Don't rewrite sections that are accurate.

Sync to remote: After updating, sync the skill and system profiles to any remote OpenClaw instances:

bash

# Sync SKILL.md (skill code — lives in the skill directory)
scp ~/.claude/skills/openclaw-optimizer/SKILL.md <user>@<host>:~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/openclaw-optimizer/SKILL.md
# Sync system profiles — directory format (sync only changed files)
scp ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>/<changed-file> <user>@<host>:~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>/
# Sync system profiles — legacy single-file format
scp ~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/<deployment-id>.md <user>@<host>:~/.openclaw-optimizer/systems/

Versioning

The skill uses semver (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH) independent of OpenClaw's version:

PATCH (1.3.0 → 1.3.1): Fixing a typo, correcting a command, small clarification
MINOR (1.3.0 → 1.4.0): Adding a new section, new troubleshooting entries, new workflow
MAJOR (1.3.0 → 2.0.0): Restructuring sections, breaking changes to the skill's own workflow

On every commit that changes SKILL.md:

Bump version: in the YAML frontmatter
Update the Updated: date in the header
Update the Skill v tag in the header

Self-Audit Checklist (run mentally at session end)

Did I discover any CLI behavior that contradicts the skill? → Fix Section 8 or 10
Did I find a workaround that future sessions would need? → Add to relevant section
Did I hit an error that's not in the troubleshooting table? → Add to Section 10
Did I learn something deployment-specific? → Update the system profile
Did any advice in this skill lead me astray? → Correct it with a warning
Did I change SKILL.md? → Bump version, update date, commit, push, sync to gateway

13. Agent Identity Optimizer

Audit and optimize OpenClaw bootstrap/identity files for conflicts, bloat, misplaced content, and best practice violations. Interactive issue-by-issue walkthrough with preview diffs.

Core files audited: SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md, AGENTS.md, USER.md Supporting files (if present): TOOLS.md, HEARTBEAT.md, MEMORY.md, BOOT.md

What it checks (36 items): Structural issues (truncation risk, bloat), content in the wrong file, conflicting/overlapping directives, best practice violations (official AGENTS.md template), USER.md completeness gaps, token efficiency.

Workflow: Collect files (local or SSH) → run checklist → present findings by severity → walk through each issue (approve/modify/skip) → apply changes → report token savings.

Context-aware (v2026.3.7+): When auditing, consider lightContext and postCompactionSections — files used only in lightContext mode (HEARTBEAT.md) or re-injected after compaction (postCompactionSections headings in AGENTS.md) have different optimization priorities. Ensure critical instructions appear under postCompactionSections headings (default: Session Startup, Red Lines) so they survive compaction.

Full audit checklist, file role definitions, and detailed workflow: Read references/identity-optimizer.md

Output Shape

Executive summary — what matters most + why
Top offenders — cost drivers, context drivers, reliability risks
Options A/B/C — tradeoffs made explicit
Recommended plan — smallest change first
Exact change proposals — CLI commands or config patches, all with rollback
Rollback — exact command to undo every change

Sources: docs.openclaw.ai, github.com/openclaw/openclaw, r/openclaw, r/myclaw, r/OpenClawUseCases

Openclaw Optimizer

Install

OpenClaw Optimizer

Version Awareness

Runtime Check (once per session)

Update Workflow (user-initiated, never automatic)

Quick Start (copy/paste prompts)

Safety Contract (non-negotiable)

Backup Strategy

1. Model Providers

OAuth Providers (Subscription-Based Access)

Provider Removal Checklist

2. Model Routing Strategy

Tiered Routing (50–95% cost reduction)

Built-in Model Aliases (v2026.3.7+)

Thinking Levels (v2026.3.1+)

Per-Agent Config

Session Pruning (v2026.3.1+)

3. Context Management

Prompt Modes

Light Bootstrap (v2026.3.1+)

Bootstrap Truncation Warning (v2026.3.7+)

Compaction Config

Context Engine Plugin (v2026.3.7+)

Bootstrap File Size Targets (optimization recommendations)

Bootstrap Content Placement (What Goes Where)

Session Maintenance

4. Cron & Automation

Cron Job Schema (key fields)

CLI

Cron Defer-While-Active (v2026.3.7+)

Cron Restart Staggering (v2026.3.8+)

Silent Patterns

5. Skills & Plugins

Plugin Slots (v2026.3.7+)

6. Multi-Agent & Sub-Agent Architecture

ACP Dispatch (v2026.3.2+)

7. High-ROI Optimization Levers

8. CLI Reference

In-Chat Commands (v2026.3.x)

Environment Variables (v2026.3.x)

9. Ops Hygiene Checklist

10. Troubleshooting

10a. Remote Ollama on macOS (Known Bug Workaround)

10b. Multi-Provider Timeout Storms (Event Loop Overload)

10c. launchctl setenv Persistence (macOS)

10d. Context Bloat Cascade Timeouts

11. System Learning

How It Works

Session Workflow

What Gets Captured

Issue Lifecycle (directory format)

Rules

12. Continuous Improvement

When to Update SKILL.md

What to Update

How to Update

Versioning

Self-Audit Checklist (run mentally at session end)

13. Agent Identity Optimizer

Output Shape

Related skills

10c. `launchctl setenv` Persistence (macOS)