openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: launchd plist not updated when upgrading via npm install -g [1 comments, 1 participants]

Summary

When OpenClaw is upgraded via npm install -g openclaw@<version>, the launchd .plist file is not updated to reflect the new installation path. This causes the gateway service to silently crash on every start after the upgrade.

Environment

• macOS (arm64, Mac mini)
• Previous install: via Homebrew (/opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/)
• Upgraded to: 2026.4.1 via npm install -g [email protected] (path: /Users/roger/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/)
• LaunchAgent: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install OpenClaw via Homebrew
2. Gateway is configured and working — launchd plist created pointing to /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js
3. Upgrade to a newer version via npm install -g openclaw@<version>
4. Gateway service starts crashing silently on every boot

Observed Behaviour

The gateway appears to be running (launchd shows it loaded), but immediately exits. openclaw gateway status reports Runtime: stopped. The error log shows:

Error: Cannot find module '/opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js'
    at Module._resolveFilename (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1475:15)
    ...
    code: 'MODULE_NOT_FOUND'

The plist still contained the old Homebrew path even though OpenClaw had been reinstalled at a different location.

Expected Behaviour

Either:

• The upgrade process (npm postinstall hook or similar) should detect and rewrite the launchd plist path to match the new installation location, OR
• openclaw gateway install / openclaw doctor --fix should detect the path mismatch and offer to fix it

Workaround

Manually edit ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist to update the ProgramArguments path from the old location to the new one, then reload:

# Find correct path
which openclaw  # → /Users/roger/.npm-global/bin/openclaw → resolves to .npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/openclaw.mjs

# Edit plist to replace old path with new path in ProgramArguments
# Then reload:
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

Impact

High — the gateway stops working silently after every npm-based upgrade. The user has no obvious indication of what is wrong unless they check the stderr log directly.