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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: `openclaw gateway` enters an infinite loop on startup [1 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#69616•Fetched 2026-04-22 07:50:12
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Error Message

The openclaw-gateway.service fails to start correctly. Any attempt to run the gateway via systemctl or directly via openclaw gateway run results in a process that consumes high CPU but never becomes responsive. Commands like openclaw status hang indefinitely. The process does not crash or produce error logs, it simply gets stuck in a busy-loop during initialization.

Code Example

231257 getpid()                         = 231257
231257 capget({version=_LINUX_CAPABILITY_VERSION_3, pid=231257}, { ... }) = 0
231257 getuid()                         = 0
231257 getgid()                         = 0
231257 getegid()                        = 0
231257 getpid()                         = 231257
231257 capget({version=_LINUX_CAPABILITY_VERSION_3, pid=231257}, { ... }) = 0
231257 getuid()                         = 0
... and so on, indefinitely.
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug: openclaw gateway Enters Infinite Loop on Startup

Version: 2026.4.15

System Information:

  • OS: Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS
  • Kernel: Linux 6.8.0-107-generic x86_64

Problem Description: The openclaw-gateway.service fails to start correctly. Any attempt to run the gateway via systemctl or directly via openclaw gateway run results in a process that consumes high CPU but never becomes responsive. Commands like openclaw status hang indefinitely. The process does not crash or produce error logs, it simply gets stuck in a busy-loop during initialization.

Reproduction Steps:

  1. On a comparable system, ensure OpenClaw v2026.4.15 is installed.
  2. Run openclaw gateway stop to ensure no stale processes are running.
  3. Execute openclaw gateway run.
  4. Observe that the process starts but never logs that it is listening. It will continue to run, consuming CPU, without ever completing its startup sequence.

Diagnostic Evidence: Using strace, we've determined the process is stuck in a tight loop, repeatedly executing a series of getpid, capget, getuid, and getgid system calls, as shown in this representative snippet from the trace:

231257 getpid()                         = 231257
231257 capget({version=_LINUX_CAPABILITY_VERSION_3, pid=231257}, { ... }) = 0
231257 getuid()                         = 0
231257 getgid()                         = 0
231257 getegid()                        = 0
231257 getpid()                         = 231257
231257 capget({version=_LINUX_CAPABILITY_VERSION_3, pid=231257}, { ... }) = 0
231257 getuid()                         = 0
... and so on, indefinitely.

The full strace log can be provided if needed. This bug is preventing the use of OpenClaw on this system.

extent analysis

TL;DR

The openclaw-gateway service is likely stuck in an infinite loop due to an issue with system call handling, and a code or configuration change may be necessary to resolve the problem.

Guidance

  • Review the openclaw-gateway initialization code to identify any potential causes for the infinite loop, focusing on the system calls getpid, capget, getuid, and getgid.
  • Investigate if there are any known issues or bugs in the 2026.4.15 version of OpenClaw that could be related to this problem.
  • Consider running the openclaw-gateway service with increased logging or debugging enabled to gather more information about the cause of the loop.
  • Look into potential system configuration or permission issues that could be contributing to the problem, given the repeated getuid and getgid system calls.

Example

No specific code snippet can be provided without more information about the OpenClaw codebase, but a potential debugging approach could involve adding logging statements around the system calls in question to understand the loop's trigger.

Notes

The exact cause of the infinite loop is unclear without further investigation into the OpenClaw code and system configuration. The strace output suggests a low-level system interaction issue, which may require a detailed understanding of the OpenClaw internals and the Linux system calls involved.

Recommendation

Apply a workaround by downgrading to a previous version of OpenClaw, if available, to see if the issue persists, as this could help isolate whether the problem is version-specific.

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#runtime error#dependency conflict#environment setup#docker error#permission error

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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: `openclaw gateway` enters an infinite loop on startup [1 participants]