Issue Station
Sign In
Tools hereToolbox

openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: message tool intermittently fails to send media - Channel is required (no configured channels detected) [1 comments, 2 participants]

Official PRs (…)
ON THIS PAGE

Recommended Tools

×6

Utilities matched from this issue’s tags and category — try them while you read without losing context.

GitHub issue graph ai analysis

Paste a GitHub issue URL. We fetch that issue, discover linked issues from bodies/comments/timeline, collect linked pull requests, and produce a structured English report.

The report is written in English Markdown for sharing and archival.

Helpful · Quick feedback

Loading…
GitHub stats
openclaw/openclaw#78025•Fetched 2026-05-06 06:17:45
View on GitHub
Comments
1
Participants
2
Timeline
2
Reactions
2
Author
YuZhiCaptainYuZhiCaptain
Participants
clawsweeper[bot]clawsweeper[bot]YuZhiCaptainYuZhiCaptain
Timeline (top)
closed ×1commented ×1

Error Message

Error Messages (interchangeable)

Error 1:

"status": "error", "error": "Unknown channel: openclaw-weixin"

Error 2:

status": "error", "error": "Channel is required (no configured channels detected)."

Parameters Tried (all failed during error window)

Fix Action

Workaround

Using the read tool to read the image file causes it to be attached as an inline attachment in the reply, which auto-routes to the source channel (WeChat). This works reliably but is not the intended use pattern.

Code Example

{
  "status": "error",
  "tool": "message",
  "error": "Unknown channel: openclaw-weixin"
}

---

{
status": "error",
  "tool": "message",
  "error": "Channel is required (no configured channels detected)."
}
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Environment

  • OpenClaw Version: 2026.4.5 (3e72c03)
  • OS: Windows 11 (x64)
  • Channel: openclaw-weixin
  • Node: v22.21.1
  • Shell: PowerShell

Bug Description

The message tool intermittently fails to send images/media to the WeChat channel (openclaw-weixin), even though:

  1. The system is actively receiving messages through this channel (inbound metadata confirms it)
  2. The plugin is configured and enabled in the config file
  3. The same call succeeds at other times

Error Messages (interchangeable)

Error 1:

{
  "status": "error",
  "tool": "message",
  "error": "Unknown channel: openclaw-weixin"
}

Error 2:

{
status": "error",
  "tool": "message",
  "error": "Channel is required (no configured channels detected)."
}

Reproduction Steps

  1. Receive a message from WeChat user via openclaw-weixin channel
  2. Capture a screenshot and save to local path
  3. Call message tool with action=send and media=<local_file_path>
  4. Observe intermittent failure

Observed Timeline (2026-05-06)

Time (GMT+8)Result
01:07FAILED - both errors
01:08Success
02:35Success
02:47Success
02:57FAILED
03:00FAILED (multiple retries with different params)
03:03FAILED

Parameters Tried (all failed during error window)

Attempt 1 - Full params: message(action=send, accountId=a29dab13942a-im-bot, channel=openclaw-weixin, to=[email protected], media=<path>) Result: Unknown channel: openclaw-weixin

Attempt 2 - Different channel name: message(action=send, channel=wechat, media=<path>) Result: Unknown channel: wechat

Attempt 3 - Minimal params: message(action=send, media=<path>) Result: Channel is required (no configured channels detected)

Workaround

Using the read tool to read the image file causes it to be attached as an inline attachment in the reply, which auto-routes to the source channel (WeChat). This works reliably but is not the intended use pattern.

Expected Behavior

The message tool should consistently send media to the currently active inbound channel, especially when that channel is confirmed working for receiving messages.

Impact

  • Cannot reliably send screenshots/files to users via WeChat
  • User experience degraded - requires fallback workarounds
  • Affects any scenario where agent needs to proactively send files

Additional Notes

  • Gateway status shows running normally (pid 19380, port 28789)
  • Inbound metadata always contains valid chat_id and account_id for openclaw-weixin
  • The failure appears non-deterministic - works sometimes, fails other times

extent analysis

TL;DR

The message tool's intermittent failure to send images/media to the WeChat channel may be due to channel configuration or detection issues, and using the read tool as a workaround can attach the image file as an inline attachment.

Guidance

  • Verify that the openclaw-weixin channel is correctly configured and enabled in the config file, and that the channel name is consistent across all configurations.
  • Check the inbound metadata to ensure that the chat_id and account_id are valid and correctly associated with the openclaw-weixin channel.
  • Test the message tool with different parameters, such as specifying the channel parameter explicitly, to see if the issue is related to channel detection.
  • Consider using the read tool as a temporary workaround to attach the image file as an inline attachment, as it has been observed to work reliably.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue does not imply a specific code-related solution.

Notes

The non-deterministic nature of the failure makes it challenging to identify a root cause, and further investigation into the channel configuration and detection mechanisms may be necessary.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround using the read tool to attach the image file as an inline attachment, as it has been observed to work reliably, until a more permanent solution can be found.

Vote matrix · Quick signals

Works
Did the solution work? Tap to confirm.
Easy Fix
Was it a quick fix?
Time Saver
Did it save you time?
Blocking
Was it severely blocking?
Common Issue
Are others likely hitting this too?
Flaky / Intermittent
Is it intermittent?
Verified / Reproducible
Can you reproduce it reliably?
Loading…
#model loading#dependency error#configuration error#environment variable#network issue

Still need to ship something?

×6

Another batch ranked right after the header list — different links, same matching logic.

Back to top recommendations

TRENDING

openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: message tool intermittently fails to send media - Channel is required (no configured channels detected) [1 comments, 2 participants]