openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: 2026.4.22 passes tools: [] to Pi embedded sessions and disables customTools [2 comments, 3 participants]

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

1. Start from a pre-2026.4.22 OpenClaw build where Pi embedded tool calling works.
2. Update to OpenClaw 2026.4.22.
3. Run turns that require local/custom tool execution through Pi embedded sessions.
4. Observe that usable tool calling disappears across configured model/provider paths.After updating to OpenClaw 2026.4.22, usable tool calling disappeared across all configured model/provider paths because Pi embedded sessions were created with tools: [] and customTools were no longer usable.

Steps to reproduce

1. Start from a pre-2026.4.22 OpenClaw build where Pi embedded tool calling works.
2. Update to OpenClaw 2026.4.22.
3. Run turns that require local/custom tool execution through Pi embedded sessions.
4. Observe that usable tool calling disappears across configured model/provider paths.

Expected behavior

Observed before 2026.4.22: the same tool-required turns emitted structured toolCall/toolResult records and local/custom tools remained usable.

Actual behavior

Usable tool calling disappeared across all configured model/provider paths after the update.

Observed results:

• GPT path reported no usable local tools
• Grok emitted tool calls as plain text
• Sonnet produced </s> on tool-required turns

OpenClaw version

2026.4.22

Operating system

macOS 26.4.1

Install method

No response

Model

macOS 15.4multiple: openai-codex/gpt-5.4, xai/grok-4-1-fast, anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

Provider / routing chain

local source checkout with pnpm build, launched via OpenClaw gateway/mac app workflowopenclaw -> pi embedded runner -> openai-codex-responses / openai-responses / anthropic-messages

Additional provider/model setup details

Affected: all configured local GPT, Grok, and Sonnet paths using Pi embedded sessions Severity: high Frequency: always observed after updating to 2026.4.22 Consequence: tool-required turns fail, so normal agent operation is broken across those pathsRegression report.

Last known good behavior was before 2026.4.22. First known bad behavior was immediately after updating to 2026.4.22 on April 22, 2026.

Observed prior forwarding behavior in the relevant area used: tools: toSessionToolAllowlist(allowedToolNames)

Observed 2026.4.22 behavior passed: tools: builtInTools where builtInTools was [].Observed across the configured GPT, Grok, and Sonnet paths after updating on April 22, 2026.

Relevant call sites:

• src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.ts
• src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/compact.ts

Suspect regression commit:

• d7ea136384

Last known relevant fix that preserved custom tool execution:

• bee2e0f38f

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Observed code-level change:

`d7ea136384` changed Pi embedded session creation to pass:


tools: builtInTools
customTools: allCustomTools


At these call sites, `builtInTools` is `[]`.

Pi treats `tools` as a tool-name allowlist, so `tools: []` silently strips `customTools`.

Relevant call sites:
- `src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run/attempt.ts`
- `src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/compact.ts`

Impact and severity

No response

Additional information

No response