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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Agent failed before reply: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'. [1 comments, 2 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#56127•Fetched 2026-04-08 01:44:35
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george-cugeorge-cu
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EronFanEronFangeorge-cugeorge-cu
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WhatsApp plugin crashes the agent on every message with "missing light-runtime-api" error even when WhatsApp was never configured or installed. Affects both the OpenClaw dashboard chat and Telegram channel. Issue persists on 2026.3.24.

Error Message

Error: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp' Embedded agent failed before reply: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'

Root Cause

WhatsApp plugin crashes the agent on every message with "missing light-runtime-api" error even when WhatsApp was never configured or installed. Affects both the OpenClaw dashboard chat and Telegram channel. Issue persists on 2026.3.24.

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

Affected: Users running OpenClaw 2026.3.24 in Docker environments who have never configured WhatsApp Severity: High — blocks all agent responses via dashboard chat; Telegram workaround available but requires full channel reconfiguration Frequency: Always — 100% reproducible

The following workarounds were attempted without success:

  • openclaw plugins uninstall whatsapp — error: "Plugin 'whatsapp' is not managed by plugins config/install records and cannot be uninstalled"
  • Disabling via openclaw.json using plugins.whatsapp.enabled: false — config validation error: "Unrecognized key: whatsapp"
  • openclaw plugins install @openclaw/whatsapp — same config validation error
  • openclaw doctor --fix — did not resolve the issue

A config-level opt-out such as channels.whatsapp.enabled: false would be a helpful workaround until the runtime files are properly bundled.

Code Example

Error: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'
Embedded agent failed before reply: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'

---

[diagnostic] lane task error: lane=session:agent:main:main error="Error: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'"
Embedded agent failed before reply: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'
[health-monitor] [whatsapp:default] health-monitor: restarting (reason: stopped)
[health-monitor] [whatsapp:default] health-monitor: restart failed: Error: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

WhatsApp plugin crashes the agent on every message with "missing light-runtime-api" error even when WhatsApp was never configured or installed. Affects both the OpenClaw dashboard chat and Telegram channel. Issue persists on 2026.3.24.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Install OpenClaw inside a Hostinger Docker container via npm: npm install -g openclaw@latest
  2. Start gateway: openclaw gateway
  3. Configure Telegram channel only — do not configure or install WhatsApp
  4. Send any message via the OpenClaw dashboard chat or Telegram
  5. Observe agent crash with WhatsApp runtime error

Expected behavior

Agent responds to messages normally via the dashboard chat and Telegram. WhatsApp plugin should not load or interfere when it has never been configured.

Actual behavior

Error: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'
Embedded agent failed before reply: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'

The WhatsApp plugin appears to load automatically at gateway startup even when never configured, crashing the agent on every incoming message.

OpenClaw version

2026.3.24

Operating system

Ubuntu 24 (Hostinger Docker container)

Install method

npm global (npm install -g openclaw@latest) inside Docker container

Model

anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

Provider / routing chain

openclaw (gateway) → anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

Additional provider/model setup details

Anthropic API key configured via openclaw configure. Standard ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json setup. Gateway mode set to local.

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

[diagnostic] lane task error: lane=session:agent:main:main error="Error: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'"
Embedded agent failed before reply: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'
[health-monitor] [whatsapp:default] health-monitor: restarting (reason: stopped)
[health-monitor] [whatsapp:default] health-monitor: restart failed: Error: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'

Impact and severity

Affected: Users running OpenClaw 2026.3.24 in Docker environments who have never configured WhatsApp Severity: High — blocks all agent responses via dashboard chat; Telegram workaround available but requires full channel reconfiguration Frequency: Always — 100% reproducible

The following workarounds were attempted without success:

  • openclaw plugins uninstall whatsapp — error: "Plugin 'whatsapp' is not managed by plugins config/install records and cannot be uninstalled"
  • Disabling via openclaw.json using plugins.whatsapp.enabled: false — config validation error: "Unrecognized key: whatsapp"
  • openclaw plugins install @openclaw/whatsapp — same config validation error
  • openclaw doctor --fix — did not resolve the issue

A config-level opt-out such as channels.whatsapp.enabled: false would be a helpful workaround until the runtime files are properly bundled.

Additional information

Telegram is functional after full channel reconfiguration. The dashboard chat remains broken. The WhatsApp plugin appears to register itself as a built-in channel at gateway startup with no supported mechanism to disable or remove it.

extent analysis

Fix Plan

To resolve the WhatsApp plugin crash issue, we need to prevent the WhatsApp plugin from loading when it's not configured. We can achieve this by adding a conditional check to disable the WhatsApp plugin if it's not explicitly enabled in the configuration.

Step-by-Step Solution

  1. Update the OpenClaw configuration: Add the following configuration to your ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json file:

{ "channels": { "whatsapp": { "enabled": false } } }

2. **Modify the WhatsApp plugin loading logic**:
   We need to modify the WhatsApp plugin loading logic to check the configuration before loading the plugin. This can be achieved by updating the `openclaw` codebase.

   Create a new file `whatsapp-plugin-fix.js` with the following content:
   ```javascript
const openclaw = require('openclaw');

openclaw.plugins.register('whatsapp', {
  enabled: false,
  load: function() {
    if (openclaw.config.get('channels.whatsapp.enabled')) {
      // Load the WhatsApp plugin
      require('./whatsapp-plugin');
    }
  }
});

This code checks the channels.whatsapp.enabled configuration before loading the WhatsApp plugin.

  1. Apply the fix: Run the following command to apply the fix:

node whatsapp-plugin-fix.js


### Verification
To verify that the fix worked, follow these steps:

1. Restart the OpenClaw gateway: `openclaw gateway`
2. Send a message via the OpenClaw dashboard chat or Telegram.
3. Check the logs for any errors related to the WhatsApp plugin.

If the fix is successful, the WhatsApp plugin should not load, and the agent should respond to messages normally.

### Extra Tips
To prevent similar issues in the future, make sure to:

* Always check the configuration before loading plugins.
* Use conditional checks to enable or disable plugins based on the configuration.
* Keep the OpenClaw configuration up to date and consistent across all environments.

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FAQ

Expected behavior

Agent responds to messages normally via the dashboard chat and Telegram. WhatsApp plugin should not load or interfere when it has never been configured.

#api#runtime error#request error#file not found#serialization error

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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Agent failed before reply: WhatsApp plugin runtime is unavailable: missing light-runtime-api for plugin 'whatsapp'. [1 comments, 2 participants]