openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Bootstrap order after upgrade to 2026.04.21 [1 comments, 2 participants]

Official PRs (…)
ON THIS PAGE

Recommended Tools

×6

Utilities matched from this issue’s tags and category — try them while you read without losing context.

GitHub issue graph ai analysis

Paste a GitHub issue URL. We fetch that issue, discover linked issues from bodies/comments/timeline, collect linked pull requests, and produce a structured English report.

The report is written in English Markdown for sharing and archival.

Helpful · Quick feedback

Loading…
GitHub stats
openclaw/openclaw#69994Fetched 2026-04-23 07:30:35
View on GitHub
Comments
1
Participants
2
Timeline
4
Reactions
0
Timeline (top)
labeled ×2commented ×1subscribed ×1

After upgrading to 2026.4.21 (from an earlier version), subagent spawning started loading BOOTSTRAP.md from agent workspaces instead of SOUL.md. This had not occurred before the upgrade.

Root Cause

After upgrading to 2026.4.21 (from an earlier version), subagent spawning started loading BOOTSTRAP.md from agent workspaces instead of SOUL.md. This had not occurred before the upgrade.

RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

After upgrading to 2026.4.21 (from an earlier version), subagent spawning started loading BOOTSTRAP.md from agent workspaces instead of SOUL.md. This had not occurred before the upgrade.

Steps to reproduce

• Agent luke (workspace: ~/.openclaw/workspace-luke/) had a BOOTSTRAP.md file dated March 20, 2026 • After the 2026.4.21 upgrade, spawning Luke caused his BOOTSTRAP.md to fire instead of loading SOUL.md • Same issue confirmed present for agent mia • Deleting BOOTSTRAP.md from workspace-luke/ fixed Luke's spawn immediately • After deletion, Luke correctly loaded SOUL.md and greeted as "Hi GT! Luke here!"

Notes:

• BOOTSTRAP.md was present in the workspace before the upgrade but was not being triggered • The upgrade appears to have changed bootstrap priority/order, causing BOOTSTRAP.md to fire before SOUL.md on subagent spawn • Other agents (workspace-recon) also have BOOTSTRAP.md and may be affected

Expected behavior

Persistent sub agent should have loaded soul.md

Actual behavior

agent bootstrapped instead of reading soul.md

OpenClaw version

• OpenClaw Version: 2026.4.21

Operating system

OS: macOS (Darwin 25.x, arm64)

Install method

npm

Model

minimax2.7-highspeed

Provider / routing chain

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Impact and severity

No response

Additional information

No response

extent analysis

TL;DR

Deleting the BOOTSTRAP.md file from the agent's workspace fixes the issue by allowing the subagent to load SOUL.md instead.

Guidance

  • Verify that the BOOTSTRAP.md file is present in the agent's workspace and delete it to confirm if it resolves the issue.
  • Check other agents' workspaces (e.g., workspace-recon) for the presence of BOOTSTRAP.md and consider deleting it to prevent similar issues.
  • Review the changes introduced in the 2026.4.21 upgrade to understand the modified bootstrap priority/order that caused this behavior.
  • Test the fix by spawning the subagent after deleting BOOTSTRAP.md and verify that it loads SOUL.md correctly.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue is related to file presence and priority, not code functionality.

Notes

The fix may not be permanent, as the root cause is related to the changed bootstrap priority/order in the 2026.4.21 upgrade. Further investigation into the upgrade changes may be necessary to implement a long-term solution.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by deleting the BOOTSTRAP.md file from the agent's workspace, as it is a straightforward and effective solution to the immediate problem.

Vote matrix · Quick signals

Works
Did the solution work? Tap to confirm.
Easy Fix
Was it a quick fix?
Time Saver
Did it save you time?
Blocking
Was it severely blocking?
Common Issue
Are others likely hitting this too?
Flaky / Intermittent
Is it intermittent?
Verified / Reproducible
Can you reproduce it reliably?
Loading…

FAQ

Expected behavior

Persistent sub agent should have loaded soul.md

Still need to ship something?

×6

Another batch ranked right after the header list — different links, same matching logic.

Back to top recommendations

TRENDING

openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Bootstrap order after upgrade to 2026.04.21 [1 comments, 2 participants]