Bug: exec-approvals socket not created on gateway restart when Telegram delivery fails

OpenClaw version: 2026.4.2 (d74a122) OS: macOS 15, Apple Silicon M4 Date: 2026-04-05

Summary

The exec-approvals server fails to start (no socket created) after a gateway restart when there is a pending approval that previously failed to deliver via Telegram (message too long).

Steps to Reproduce

1. Configure approvals.exec in openclaw.json with mode: "session" and a Telegram delivery target
2. Trigger an exec command that generates a very long approval message (>4096 chars)
3. The Telegram delivery fails: GrammyError: Call to 'sendMessage' failed! (400: Bad Request: message is too long)
4. Restart the gateway
5. Observe: ~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.sock is never created

Expected Behavior

• Gateway restarts cleanly
• exec-approvals socket is created on startup
• Failed delivery from previous session does not affect new startup

Actual Behavior

• exec-approvals server enters a retry loop on startup trying to re-deliver the failed message
• Socket is never created
• All exec calls SIGTERM immediately
• Loop persists across restarts until approvals.exec.enabled is set to false

Log Evidence

{"subsystem":"gateway/exec-approvals","1":"exec approvals: failed to deliver to telegram:telegram:8538179299: GrammyError: Call to 'sendMessage' failed! (400: Bad Request: message is too long)"}

This error repeated at 11:43, 11:45, 11:48 — retrying every ~2-3 minutes, preventing socket initialization.

Workaround

# Disable exec approvals to clear the retry queue
python3 -c "
import json
with open('~/.openclaw/openclaw.json') as f:
    cfg = json.load(f)
cfg['approvals']['exec']['enabled'] = False
with open('~/.openclaw/openclaw.json', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(cfg, f, indent=2)
"
openclaw gateway restart
# Re-enable after socket is confirmed present

Suggested Fix

In the exec-approvals server startup sequence:

1. Do not retry failed deliveries from previous sessions on startup
2. If delivery fails, log the error and mark the approval as expired/failed — do not block initialization
3. Consider truncating long approval messages to fit Telegram's 4096 char limit

Additional Notes

• The issue is exacerbated by having agents with ask=off in approvals.agentFilter — these agents don't need the approval UI but their commands still trigger the delivery loop
• The exec-approvals rulebook (exec-approvals.json) is unaffected and continues working correctly
• Disabling approvals.exec does NOT disable exec security (the rulebook always applies)