openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: imageModel config not intercepting incoming message attachments as documented [1 participants]

Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

Attachments are dropped with "model does not support images" warnings despite a valid imageModel (Gemini 2.0 Flash) being configured to handle vision processing when the primary model (Tencent Hy3) lacks image support.

Steps to reproduce

Configure OpenClaw with a text-only primary model: openclaw models set openrouter/tencent/hy3-preview:free Set imageModel to a vision-capable model: openclaw models set-image openrouter/google/gemini-2.0-flash-001:free Wait for config reload or restart gateway Send an image attachment via openclaw-control-ui (webchat) Check logs: tail -f /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-2026-04-27.log | grep "dropped|imageModel" Observe: parseMessageWithAttachments: 1 attachment(s) dropped — model does not support images appears, confirming the imageModel was not invoked

Expected behavior

According to https://docs.openclaw.ai/models:

agents.defaults.imageModel is used only when the primary model can't accept images.

When an image is sent, OpenClaw should:

Detect primary model (Tencent Hy3) lacks image support
Route the image to imageModel (Gemini 2.0 Flash) for processing
Pass the resulting image description to the primary model as context
Preserve the image in chat history (not disappear on re-render)

The imageModel should intercept incoming attachments and process them before the gateway drops them.

Actual behavior

Gateway logs confirm imageModel is loaded: Image model: openrouter/google/gemini-2.0-flash-001:free User sends image via webchat → agents/tool-images resizes it (173.4KB → 66.9KB) Gateway drops attachment: parseMessageWithAttachments: 1 attachment(s) dropped — model does not support images The imageModel (Gemini 2.0 Flash) is never invoked to process the incoming attachment No image description is passed to the primary model (Tencent Hy3) User reports: "it disappears from the chat reply when you respond" — images show initially in UI but vanish on re-render because they weren't persisted to session history after being dropped No error response is sent to user — the image silently fails with no feedback

OpenClaw version

2029.4.23

Operating system

windows 11

Install method

wsl ubuntu

Model

openrouter/tencent/hy3-preview:free

Provider / routing chain

openclaw openrouter

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Impact and severity

No response

Additional information

No response