When `--json` is passed, stdout should be valid JSON (single document). One of: 1. Suppress the `Config overwrite: …` line entirely when `--json` is active, OR 2. Emit the `Config overwrite: …` line to **stderr** instead of stdout (most common convention), OR 3. Include the config overwrite metadata as additional keys inside the JSON body itself (e.g. `{"configOverwrite": {"path":"...","sha256Before":"...","sha256After":"...","backup":"..."}, "agentId":"..."...}`). Option 2 is the least disruptive for callers that currently parse the JSON with tolerance and seems consistent with the spirit of `--json`.

openclaw - ✅(Solved) Fix agents delete --force --json emits non-JSON 'Config overwrite:' prefix line to stdout [2 pull requests, 1 participants]

openclaw2026-04-24 02:39:44

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openclaw agents delete <id> --force --json is documented (and commonly used) as emitting a machine-readable JSON summary to stdout. In practice, the command emits a Config overwrite: … status line to stdout before the JSON body, making the combined stdout stream invalid JSON.

Root Cause

json.tool rejects the stream because the "Config overwrite: …" line is not valid JSON.

Fix Action

Fixed

Fixed by PR: fix: agents delete JSON output and shared workspace safety (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/70897)
Fixed by PR: fix(agents): suppress Config overwrite log in agents delete --json mode (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/70917)

PR fix notes

PR #70897: fix: agents delete JSON output and shared workspace safety

Repository: openclaw/openclaw
Author: kaseonedge
State: open | merged: False
Link: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/70897

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Fixes #70889 and #70890.

#70889 — Config overwrite log leaks to stdout in --json mode

Added skipOutputLogs flag to ConfigWriteOptions
Suppresses Config overwrite: message when --json is requested
Passed through replaceConfigFile call chain in agents delete command

#70890 — agents delete recursively removes shared workspace

Added isWorkspaceShared guard to detect workspace path collisions
Skips workspace removal when another agent references the same directory
Reports workspaceSkipped: true in JSON output when guarded
Added regression tests for both fixes

Changed files

scripts/stage-bundled-plugin-runtime-deps.mjs (modified, +22/-0)
src/commands/agents.commands.delete.ts (modified, +28/-1)
src/commands/agents.delete.test.ts (modified, +78/-0)
src/config/io.ts (modified, +12/-0)
test/scripts/stage-bundled-plugin-runtime-deps.test.ts (modified, +68/-0)

PR #70917: fix(agents): suppress Config overwrite log in agents delete --json mode

Repository: openclaw/openclaw
Author: zhouhe-xydt
State: open | merged: False
Link: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/70917

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

openclaw agents delete <id> --force --json emits a Config overwrite: … diagnostic line before the JSON body, breaking machine-readable JSON parsing (e.g. | python3 -m json.tool).

The root cause is that replaceConfigFile → writeConfigFile logs config overwrite diagnostics via console.warn regardless of whether the caller requested JSON output.

Changes

Extend ConfigWriteOptions with an optional logger override (Pick<typeof console, "error" | "warn">).
Pipe the optional logger through the global writeConfigFile wrapper into createConfigIO.
In agentsDeleteCommand, pass a no-op logger via writeOptions when --json is set.
Add tests verifying the silent logger is passed in --json mode and omitted otherwise.

Test plan

pnpm test src/commands/agents.delete.test.ts passes (5/5).
pnpm test src/config/io.write-config.test.ts passes (11/11).
pnpm lint:core passes (0 warnings, 0 errors).
pnpm tsgo (core typecheck) passes.

Fixes #70889

Changed files

src/commands/agents.commands.delete.ts (modified, +7/-0)
src/commands/agents.delete.test.ts (modified, +49/-0)
src/config/io.ts (modified, +7/-1)

Code Example

# any existing agent
openclaw agents delete <id> --force --json | python3 -m json.tool

---

Config overwrite: /Users/<u>/.openclaw/openclaw.json (sha256 <a> -> <b>, backup=/Users/<u>/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak)
{
  "agentId": "<id>",
  "workspace": "...",
  "agentDir": "...",
  "sessionsDir": "...",
  "removedBindings": 0,
  "removedAllow": 0
}
Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0)

RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

`openclaw agents delete --force --json` emits non-JSON prefix line to stdout

Version affected: OpenClaw 2026.4.14 (323493f) on macOS

Summary

Reproduction

# any existing agent
openclaw agents delete <id> --force --json | python3 -m json.tool

Actual output:

Config overwrite: /Users/<u>/.openclaw/openclaw.json (sha256 <a> -> <b>, backup=/Users/<u>/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak)
{
  "agentId": "<id>",
  "workspace": "...",
  "agentDir": "...",
  "sessionsDir": "...",
  "removedBindings": 0,
  "removedAllow": 0
}
Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0)

json.tool rejects the stream because the "Config overwrite: …" line is not valid JSON.

Expected behavior

When --json is passed, stdout should be valid JSON (single document). One of:

Suppress the Config overwrite: … line entirely when --json is active, OR
Emit the Config overwrite: … line to stderr instead of stdout (most common convention), OR
Include the config overwrite metadata as additional keys inside the JSON body itself (e.g. {"configOverwrite": {"path":"...","sha256Before":"...","sha256After":"...","backup":"..."}, "agentId":"..."...}).

Option 2 is the least disruptive for callers that currently parse the JSON with tolerance and seems consistent with the spirit of --json.

Impact

Breaks any script that pipes --json output to a JSON parser. Worked around downstream by reading capture_output and parsing only from the first { — but that shouldn't be callers' responsibility.

Discovered

2026-04-23 during Wave4u's independent verification pass of the agent-deployer meta-installer. Full trace in outbox/logs/spec_mover.jsonl + conversation thread.

extent analysis

TL;DR

The openclaw agents delete --force --json command should be modified to emit the "Config overwrite: …" line to stderr instead of stdout to produce valid JSON output.

Guidance

Verify the issue by running the reproduction command and checking the output with json.tool.
Consider modifying the openclaw command to redirect the "Config overwrite: …" line to stderr using a redirection operator (>&2) or a logging mechanism.
Update the openclaw documentation to reflect the expected behavior when --json is used.
Callers of the openclaw command may need to update their scripts to handle the changed output format.

Example

openclaw agents delete <id> --force --json 2>&1 | grep -v "Config overwrite:" | python3 -m json.tool

This example uses grep to remove the "Config overwrite: …" line from the output before piping it to json.tool.

Notes

The solution may require changes to the openclaw command's source code or configuration. The example provided is a temporary workaround and may not be suitable for all use cases.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Redirect the "Config overwrite: …" line to stderr to produce valid JSON output, as this is the least disruptive solution for callers that currently parse the JSON output.

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FAQ

Expected behavior

When --json is passed, stdout should be valid JSON (single document). One of:

Suppress the Config overwrite: … line entirely when --json is active, OR
Emit the Config overwrite: … line to stderr instead of stdout (most common convention), OR
Include the config overwrite metadata as additional keys inside the JSON body itself (e.g. {"configOverwrite": {"path":"...","sha256Before":"...","sha256After":"...","backup":"..."}, "agentId":"..."...}).

Option 2 is the least disruptive for callers that currently parse the JSON with tolerance and seems consistent with the spirit of --json.

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openclaw - ✅(Solved) Fix agents delete --force --json emits non-JSON 'Config overwrite:' prefix line to stdout [2 pull requests, 1 participants]

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Root Cause

Fix Action

Fixed

PR fix notes

PR #70897: fix: agents delete JSON output and shared workspace safety

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Changed files

PR #70917: fix(agents): suppress Config overwrite log in agents delete --json mode

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

Changes

Test plan

Changed files

Code Example

openclaw agents delete --force --json emits non-JSON prefix line to stdout

Summary

Reproduction

Expected behavior

Impact

Discovered

extent analysis

TL;DR

Guidance

Example

Notes

Recommendation

FAQ

Expected behavior

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`openclaw agents delete --force --json` emits non-JSON prefix line to stdout