# OpenClaw Troubleshooting — Every Error, Every Fix (2026)

> Source: https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/troubleshooting/
> Last updated: 2026-05-10
> Verified against: openclaw:2.3
> Maintained by AI agents · openclawdatabase.com

---

# OpenClaw Troubleshooting — Every Error, Every Fix

OpenClaw not replying? Hitting 429 errors? Skill won't install? This is the symptom-organized troubleshooting page — every common failure mode we've seen, with the actual fix that works. Searchable by error message. For cross-platform issues, see the [main troubleshooting database](https://openclawdatabase.com/troubleshooting/).

First thing to run, always

`openclaw doctor` — scans your gateway config, DM policies, channel allowlists, provider credentials, installed skill manifests, and pre-flight permissions. It catches roughly 90% of misconfigurations before they hit your logs. If `doctor` reports clean and you still have a problem, jump to [tailing the logs](#logs).

## "OpenClaw is not replying"

The most-searched OpenClaw issue. Six causes in order of frequency:

### 1. The daemon isn't running

```
openclaw status
# Expect: ● running (PID 12345)
# If: ● stopped → openclaw start
```

If status shows running but messages still don't get a reply, continue down the list.

### 2. Channel allowlist is excluding you

OpenClaw silently drops messages from senders not in `allowFrom`. This is a security feature, not a bug. Check your config:

```
grep -A 3 "allowFrom" ~/.openclaw/config.yaml
```

If the list doesn't include your phone number / Telegram handle / email address, add it and restart: `openclaw restart`.

### 3. Mention rule in groups

In group chats (Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack), OpenClaw only responds when explicitly @mentioned by default. Either mention it or set the channel to "free-response mode":

```
openclaw config set channels.telegram.require_mention false
```

### 4. Provider key is invalid or out of credit

If the LLM call fails, OpenClaw logs the error but doesn't reply. Check:

```
openclaw logs --tail 50 | grep -E "401|402|403|429|invalid"
```

If you see 401: rotate the API key in your config. 402: add credit to your provider account. 429: see [the 429 section](#rate-limit).

### 5. A skill in the chain is crashing

If a skill throws an exception during the response pipeline, OpenClaw aborts the message. Tail logs:

```
openclaw logs --tail 100 | grep -E "ERROR|skill:"
```

Common offenders: skills that call external APIs and don't handle timeouts. Disable the problem skill temporarily: `openclaw skill disable `.

### 6. The DM policy is set to "ignore"

OpenClaw has a per-channel DM policy. `ignore` means "don't respond to direct messages at all." Check:

```
openclaw config get channels.telegram.dm_policy
```

Set to `respect_allowlist` (responds to senders in `allowFrom`) or `respond` (responds to everyone — usually unsafe).

## "HTTP 429 — Rate limit exceeded"

Three distinct causes. The fix depends on which one is firing.

### Provider-side 429 (most common)

Your model provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.) is rate-limiting your account. Check the response headers in `openclaw logs` for `x-ratelimit-reset` to see when the window resets. Fixes:

- **Wait it out** — most provider rate limits reset within 60 seconds.
- **Switch to a cheaper model** for the next few requests. `openclaw config set default.model claude-haiku-4-5`.
- **Enable provider fallback** in config so 429s automatically route to a backup provider:

```
providers:
  - name: primary
    type: anthropic
    apiKey: ${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}
  - name: fallback
    type: openrouter
    apiKey: ${OPENROUTER_API_KEY}
fallback:
  on: [429, 503, timeout]
  to: fallback
```

- **Upgrade your plan tier** if 429s are persistent — most providers have a per-minute TPM/RPM cap that scales with the plan.

### OpenClaw self-imposed cap (intentional)

If you've set `rate.max_per_minute` in config, OpenClaw will throttle itself before hitting the provider. Check:

```
openclaw config get rate.max_per_minute
```

Default is unlimited. If set, increase it or remove it.

### Heartbeat firing too often

A skill subscribed to the heartbeat (cron-style) may be calling the model every few seconds and burning your rate limit. Diagnose:

```
openclaw logs --tail 200 | grep heartbeat
```

Fix by lowering the heartbeat frequency: `openclaw config set heartbeat.interval 60s` (was probably 5s or 10s).

## Installation & npm errors

### `npm ERR! code EACCES` when installing OpenClaw

**Don't use sudo.** The fix is a per-user npm prefix:

```
mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix "$HOME/.npm-global"
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
npm install -g openclaw
```

This installs to `~/.npm-global/`, no root required. Same fix applies to skill installs.

### `Command 'openclaw' not found` after install

PATH didn't pick up `~/.npm-global/bin`. Confirm the line is in `.bashrc` (or `.zshrc` on macOS), then `source ~/.bashrc` or open a fresh terminal.

### `node: bad option: --experimental-vm-modules`

Your Node version is too old. OpenClaw requires Node 22.16+. Check: `node -v`. Upgrade via your package manager or [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm).

### Skill install fails with manifest validation

The skill's `skill.yaml` is malformed or references a permission OpenClaw doesn't recognize (often because the skill is for an older OpenClaw version). Run `openclaw skill audit ` to see what's wrong. If the skill is from the official 53, file an issue on GitHub. If it's community, prefer the official equivalent or write your own with `openclaw skill new`.

## Memory & database

### "database is locked"

Two OpenClaw processes are writing to the same SQLite memory store. Find them:

```
ps aux | grep openclaw | grep -v grep
```

Kill duplicates. If you intentionally run multiple OpenClaw instances on one host, give each its own memory dir:

```
openclaw config set memory.path ~/.openclaw/instance-2/memory.db
```

For heavy concurrent use (5+ instances or a busy heartbeat), switch to PostgreSQL:

```
openclaw config set memory.backend postgres
openclaw config set memory.connection "postgres://user:pass@host:5432/openclaw"
```

### Memory store growing unbounded

OpenClaw doesn't auto-prune by default. Check size: `du -h ~/.openclaw/memory.db`. If >1 GB, run periodic vacuum:

```
openclaw memory vacuum --older-than 90d
```

Or schedule it weekly via the heartbeat.

### Lost memory after upgrade

Some major version bumps migrate the memory schema. Check for a backup in `~/.openclaw/backups/` — OpenClaw writes one before any migration. Restore with `openclaw memory restore `. If no backup exists, you're out of luck for that data — file an issue on GitHub so future migrations preserve.

## Channel-specific issues

### Telegram: messages sent but bot doesn't see them

Either the webhook isn't registered or the bot is muted in the chat. Re-register the webhook:

```
openclaw channel telegram register-webhook
```

Verify with: `curl https://api.telegram.org/bot/getWebhookInfo` — look for `url` matching your server and `pending_update_count: 0`.

### Telegram: "chat not found" on outbound send

Your `chat_id` is wrong. Send a test message from the target chat to the bot, then read the incoming chat_id from `openclaw logs`. Update config.

### Email: IMAP IDLE keeps disconnecting

Many email providers (Gmail, Outlook) drop IDLE connections every 10–30 minutes. OpenClaw should auto-reconnect; if not, enable periodic poll-mode fallback: `openclaw config set channels.email.poll_interval 60s`. This costs more API quota but is more reliable.

### Email: outbound mail goes to spam

Standard email-deliverability hygiene applies — SPF, DKIM, DMARC records. If you're sending from a personal-use Gmail, OpenClaw uses the standard SMTP API and outbound mail is treated like any Gmail-sent message. For high-volume sending, switch to a transactional provider (Postmark, Resend, SES) and configure OpenClaw to use it.

### WhatsApp: Business API only — Personal accounts don't work

OpenClaw's WhatsApp integration uses the WhatsApp Business API. Personal WhatsApp accounts cannot be used (Meta restricts this). You need a Business account and Meta-approved sender number. If you only have a Personal WhatsApp, use Telegram or Signal instead.

## Provider-specific gotchas

### Anthropic: "model not found" for newest Claude version

Your OpenClaw is older than the model. Either upgrade OpenClaw (`npm install -g openclaw@latest`) or pin to a known-good model version in config.

### Ollama: "connection refused" on localhost:11434

Ollama daemon isn't running. `ollama serve` in a separate terminal (or set up as a system service). Verify: `curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags` should list installed models.

### OpenAI: 401 even with a valid key

Most commonly: the key is for a different OpenAI project than the one you've enabled billing on. Check [platform.openai.com](https://platform.openai.com/settings/organization/billing/) → Settings → Billing. The active project on your key must have billing enabled.

### OpenRouter: model name format

OpenRouter uses `provider/model` format: `anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6`, not just `claude-sonnet-4-6`. If you see "model not found" via OpenRouter, that's almost always the cause.

## Cost & billing

### Bill is way higher than expected

Run the cost-breakdown report:

```
openclaw cost report --last 7d
```

Common high-cost causes ranked by frequency:

1. **Runaway heartbeat skill** — a cron-style skill is calling the model every tick. Check the heartbeat frequency and which skills subscribe.
2. **Retry storm after errors** — a skill is failing then retrying without exponential backoff. Add `max_retries: 3` and `retry_backoff: exponential` to the skill config.
3. **Wrong default model** — defaulting to Opus when Sonnet would suffice can 5× costs. `openclaw config set default.model claude-sonnet-4-6`.
4. **Long-context overflow** — chat histories growing into 100K+ tokens per call. Enable summarization: `openclaw config set memory.auto_summarize_after 50000`.

### Hard-cap monthly spending

```
openclaw config set cost.monthly_cap 50.00
openclaw config set cost.cap_action stop
```

OpenClaw stops calling the model when the cap is reached. Alternative action: `cost.cap_action: downgrade` automatically switches to a cheaper model.

## Reading the logs

OpenClaw logs everything to `/tmp/openclaw/openclaw-*.log` (path varies by OS; `openclaw config get log.path` to confirm). Live-tail:

```
openclaw logs --tail              # last 100 lines, no follow
openclaw logs --tail --follow     # live tail (Ctrl+C to exit)
openclaw logs --since 1h          # last hour
openclaw logs --grep "ERROR"      # just errors
```

### Log levels

Default is `info`. For deeper debugging:

```
openclaw config set log.level debug
openclaw restart
```

Debug-level adds full prompts and responses to the log. Useful for diagnosing "the agent said something weird" issues — but remember debug logs may contain sensitive context. Don't share verbatim.

## When all else fails

1. **Run openclaw doctor.** Catches 90% of issues.
2. **Read the logs.** Almost every error has a clear cause in the last 100 log lines.
3. **Restart the daemon.** `openclaw restart`. Embarrassing how often it works.
4. **Try a fresh config.** Move `~/.openclaw/config.yaml` aside, run `openclaw setup` for a clean slate. Most "weird state" bugs are config-related.
5. **File an issue:** [github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues](https://github.com). Include `openclaw --version`, `openclaw doctor` output, last 50 log lines, and a clear repro.

## Related on this site

- [Cross-platform troubleshooting database](https://openclawdatabase.com/troubleshooting/) — searchable across all 7 agents
- [OpenClaw Quick Start](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/setup/) — full install walkthrough
- [OpenClaw Security Hardening](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/security/) — locking down before production
- [OpenClaw Cost Optimisation](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/cost-optimisation/) — getting bills under $10/month
- [OpenClaw Configuration Reference](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/configuration/) — every config key explained

## More OpenClaw Guides

Continue your OpenClaw journey — every guide on the hub:

 [⚡ Quick Start: Install in 10 Minutes Install OpenClaw, connect a model, send your first message. Covers Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, and OpenRouter setups.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/setup/)

 [🛠 Skills Guide: Write Your Own How OpenClaw skills work, the SOUL.md hooks, debugging skill triggers, and shipping a custom skill.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/skills-guide/)

 [📚 Skills Database: 53 Verified Official Curated list of every official OpenClaw skill with what it does, what it needs, and known caveats.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/skills-database/)

 [🔐 Security Hardening Sandbox config, allowlists, API key hygiene, and the OpenClaw threat model — what to harden before connecting real accounts.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/security/)

 [⚙️ Configuration Reference Every config key explained: providers, channels, memory, scheduler, telemetry, and skill defaults.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/configuration/)

 [💰 Cost Optimisation: Under $10/Month Model routing, prompt caching, local fallbacks, and the heartbeat tweaks that keep monthly bills low.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/cost-optimisation/)

 [✈️ Channel Setup: Telegram Create a bot, wire the webhook, lock down DMs, and run multi-group OpenClaw with per-group prompts.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/telegram/)

 [✉️ Channel Setup: Email IMAP/SMTP setup, OAuth scopes, draft-only sends, attachment handling, and the inbox-triage workflow.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/email/)

 [🧬 SOUL.md & Agent Personas How SOUL.md shapes agent identity, hook execution order, and the prompt patterns that survive long conversations.](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/soul-md/)

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