openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: macOS: agent exec / gateway exec cannot reach SSH host, while terminal and direct runExecProcess work [1 participants]

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

After upgrading to 2026.4.2 (d74a122) on macOS, OpenClaw agent/gateway exec can no longer reach an SSH NAS target ("No route to host"), while the same host succeeds from Terminal, direct Node spawn, and direct bundled runExecProcess.

Steps to reproduce

1. On macOS, set tools.exec.host = "gateway" and configure an SSH alias nas that works from Terminal.
2. Verify /usr/bin/ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 nas "echo TERMINAL_OK" succeeds in Terminal.
3. Ask an OpenClaw agent to run /usr/bin/ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 nas "echo OPENCLAW_OK".
4. Observe ssh: connect to host 192.168.0.181 port 22: No route to host.
5. Ask the agent to run /usr/bin/nc -vz 192.168.0.181 22 and observe the same failure.

Expected behavior

OpenClaw agent/gateway exec should behave the same as the host Terminal for the same SSH/TCP target. Running /usr/bin/ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 nas "echo OK" or /usr/bin/nc -vz 192.168.0.181 22 should succeed, just as they do from Terminal, direct Node spawn, and direct bundled runExecProcess.

Actual behavior

OpenClaw agent/gateway exec fails only inside the OpenClaw tool path. /usr/bin/ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 nas "echo OK" returns "ssh: connect to host 192.168.0.181 port 22: No route to host", and /usr/bin/nc -vz 192.168.0.181 22 returns "nc: connectx to 192.168.0.181 port 22 (tcp) failed: No route to host". The same host, same SSH config, and equivalent environment succeed outside the OpenClaw agent exec path.

OpenClaw version

OpenClaw 2026.4.2 (d74a122)

Operating system

macOS 26.3.1

Install method

npm global

Model

minimax-2.7 / gpt-5.4

Provider / routing chain

openclaw -> local gateway -> agent exec tool (host=gateway) -> /usr/bin/ssh -> NAS

Additional provider/model setup details

This issue is not model-provider specific. The failing path is OpenClaw agent exec on macOS: openclaw -> local gateway -> exec(host=gateway) -> /usr/bin/ssh -> NAS.

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Relevant evidence:

- OpenClaw version: `2026.4.2`
- Platform: macOS
- Gateway mode: local launch agent
- `tools.exec.host = "gateway"`

Observed only inside OpenClaw agent/gateway exec:


ssh: connect to host 192.168.0.181 port 22: No route to host
nc: connectx to 192.168.0.181 port 22 (tcp) failed: No route to host

But all of the following succeed outside the OpenClaw agent exec path:

Terminal: ssh nas
Unrestricted equivalent env: env -i ... /usr/bin/ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 nas ...
Direct Node spawn: spawn('/usr/bin/ssh', ...)
Direct bundled OpenClaw runtime call: runExecProcess(...)
This strongly suggests the bug is in the higher-level OpenClaw agent -> exec tool -> gateway path, not in the NAS, SSH config, or host machine network.

Additional local findings:

I confirmed a separate PATH regression in gateway exec and hot-patched it locally.
I also tested a deeper local hotfix for direct argv spawning of simple commands.
Even after those mitigations, real OpenClaw agent exec still fails, while direct bundled runExecProcess(...) succeeds.
That narrows the issue further to the upper exec orchestration layer, not the low-level runtime itself.

Impact and severity

Affected: macOS users relying on OpenClaw agent/gateway exec for SSH-based NAS access Severity: High (core exec workflow is unreliable for remote host operations) Frequency: Reproduced consistently after upgrading to 2026.4.2 Consequence: OpenClaw cannot perform SSH/NAS tasks that work correctly from Terminal and direct runtime execution

Additional information

No response