PR #69941: fix(memory-core): suppress startup "cron service unavailable" warning (closes #69939)

• Repository: openclaw/openclaw
• Author: Sanjays2402
• State: closed | merged: True
• Link: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/69941

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Closes #69939.

Bug

On every gateway startup, memory-core logs:

memory-core: managed dreaming cron could not be reconciled (cron service unavailable).

The warning fires once (guarded by unavailableCronWarningEmitted), but recurs on every cold/warm restart. The managed dreaming cron job itself runs correctly — this is purely a log-noise regression, not a functional failure.

Root cause

In src/plugins/core/server.impl the gateway:startup event is emitted via a deferred setTimeout (~250ms). deps.cron is not yet attached to the event context when memory-core's startup hook runs, so resolveCronServiceFromStartupSource(startupCronSource) → source.context.cron ?? source.deps?.cron returns null on the first invocation. reconcileManagedDreamingCron() then emits the warning on the startup path, even though the cron service comes up seconds later and the runtime heartbeat reconciliation path successfully attaches the job.

Reporter's diagnosis and reproduction steps are in the issue (thanks @mlaihk).

Fix — Option A (minimally invasive)

In reconcileManagedDreamingCron(), only emit the warn when the function is called from the runtime reconciliation path (before_agent_reply heartbeat). On the startup path with cron == null, demote the message to logger.debug and leave the unavailableCronWarningEmitted flag unset so that if cron genuinely fails to initialize, the next runtime reconciliation still warns.

This preserves the existing "cron service is actually missing" signal — we only silence the known startup race.

Before

const cron = resolveCronServiceFromStartupSource(startupCronSource);
if (!cron && config.enabled && !unavailableCronWarningEmitted) {
  api.logger.warn(
    "memory-core: managed dreaming cron could not be reconciled (cron service unavailable).",
  );
  unavailableCronWarningEmitted = true;
}

After

const cron = resolveCronServiceFromStartupSource(startupCronSource);
if (!cron && config.enabled && !unavailableCronWarningEmitted) {
  // The gateway emits `gateway:startup` via a deferred setTimeout, and
  // `deps.cron` may not be attached yet when memory-core's startup hook fires
  // (see issue #69939). Avoid logging a confusing warning on the startup path —
  // the runtime reconciliation path (heartbeat-driven) will still warn if the
  // cron service remains unavailable after boot.
  if (params.reason === "startup") {
    api.logger.debug?.(
      "memory-core: cron service not yet available at gateway:startup; deferring to runtime reconciliation.",
    );
  } else {
    api.logger.warn(
      "memory-core: managed dreaming cron could not be reconciled (cron service unavailable).",
    );
    unavailableCronWarningEmitted = true;
  }
}

Considered but rejected:

• Option B (track cronServiceSeen): more state for the same observable behavior.
• Option C (reorder startup so deps.cron is attached before emitting gateway:startup): correct fix long-term, but touches server.impl and the core startup sequencer — out of scope for a log-noise patch. Worth tracking separately.

Tests

Added to extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts:

1. does not emit the cron-unavailable warning on gateway:startup when deps.cron is missing (regression #69939) — reproduces the issue: fires gateway:startup with deps: {}, asserts logger.warn is never called with "cron service unavailable", and asserts the debug message is logged instead.
2. still warns on runtime reconciliation when cron remains unavailable (preserves #69939 genuine-failure signal) — fires startup with no cron (silent), then a heartbeat before_agent_reply with no cron, and asserts the warning does fire — ensuring the genuine reconciliation-failure signal is preserved.

Also added debug: vi.fn() to the existing createLogger() test helper to observe the downgraded log.

Test run

Full memory-core suite (test/vitest/vitest.extension-memory.config.ts):

Test Files  47 passed (47)
     Tests  496 passed | 3 skipped (499)

Scope

• 2 files changed, 121 insertions, 4 deletions.
• No changes to server.impl, the 250ms startup setTimeout, or the cron service itself.
• No changes to dist/.

Changed files

• CHANGELOG.md (modified, +1/-0)
• extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts (modified, +106/-0)
• extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts (modified, +15/-4)

PR #1: fix(memory-core): suppress false cron unavailable warning on startup

• Repository: Noor-ul-ain001/openclaw
• Author: Noor-ul-ain001
• State: closed | merged: True
• Link: https://github.com/Noor-ul-ain001/openclaw/pull/1

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

• Suppresses the false "cron service unavailable" warning that fires on every gateway startup for 3-5 minutes
• Root cause: reconcileManagedDreamingCron() fires on gateway:startup before deps.cron is attached (250ms deferred init race)
• Fix: added params.reason !== "startup" guard so the warning only fires for genuine runtime unavailability

Test plan

• Gateway starts with no false cron warning in logs
• Warning still appears if cron is genuinely unavailable at runtime
• Cron job runs on schedule as before
• All existing tests pass: pnpm test

Fixes #69939

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Changed files

• extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts (modified, +1/-1)

PR #69983: fix(memory-core): suppress false cron unavailable warning on startup

• Repository: openclaw/openclaw
• Author: Noor-ul-ain001
• State: open | merged: False
• Link: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/69983

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

• Suppresses the false "cron service unavailable" warning that fires on every gateway startup for 3-5 minutes
• Root cause: reconcileManagedDreamingCron() fires on gateway:startup before deps.cron is attached (250ms deferred init race)
• Fix: added params.reason !== "startup" guard so the warning only fires for genuine runtime unavailability

Test plan

• Gateway starts with no false cron warning in logs
• Warning still appears if cron is genuinely unavailable at runtime
• Cron job runs on schedule as before
• All existing tests pass: pnpm test

Fixes #69939

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Changed files

• README.md (modified, +294/-372)

PR #69644: Improve README with clearer instructions

• Repository: openclaw/openclaw
• Author: Noor-ul-ain001
• State: open | merged: False
• Link: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/69644

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

I updated the README to make the setup process easier for beginners.

Added:

• Clearer instructions
• Common issues and fixes

This should help new users understand the project better.

Changed files

• README.md (modified, +294/-372)
• extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts (modified, +1/-1)