openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Auto-compaction not triggering during tool-use loops — regression on 2026.4.11 [1 participants]

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

Reproducing consistently on 2026.4.11 in sessions with large build/deploy workflows (15-30+ consecutive tool calls: exec, read, write, edit).

Previously reported in: #24800, #5433 — both closed, appears to be a regression.

Steps to reproduce

Start a fresh OpenClaw session with compaction.mode: safeguard and anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 as primary model Run a heavy build/deploy workflow involving 15-30+ consecutive tool calls (exec, read, write, edit) without user messages between them Monitor context via /status or session_status tool Observe context climbing past 100% of model limit with Compactions: 0

Expected behavior

Compaction fires proactively when context approaches the limit (e.g. at contextWindow - reserveTokensFloor), before the API returns an overflow error.

Actual behavior

Compaction never triggers during tool-use loops. Context grew from ~150k to 287k (143% over the 200k limit) with zero compactions. Manual wake event partially resolved it but auto-compaction never fired on its own.

OpenClaw version

2026.4.11

Operating system

macOS 15.2 (Darwin 25.2.0, arm64)

Install method

No response

Model

anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

Provider / routing chain

anthropic plugin, direct API key (no proxy)

Additional provider/model setup details

compaction.mode: safeguard reserveTokensFloor: unset initially, set to 20000 as workaround compaction.model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 compaction.memoryFlush.enabled: true

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Impact and severity

High — heavy tool-use sessions (build/deploy workflows) become progressively slower and eventually require a manual session reset. Affects any workflow with sustained tool-use loops.

Additional information

Previously reported in #24800 and #5433, both closed. Appears to be a regression in 2026.4.11. Workaround: setting reserveTokensFloor: 20000 reduces severity but does not fix the root cause (reactive vs proactive check in run.ts).